What really impacts on your bass tone?

[Terry M.]

With regards to Fender passive jazz basses the S-1 switch from the old American Series made a huge impact on tone(series/parallel for who might not know). I think it should have been a standard feature as the switch within a switch was so unobtrusive some owners didn't even know it was there. Don't like it? Don't engage it. Bit like me and the cruise control feature in my car.

[Bass4real]

A few knobs a switch or two and my choice 

 

 

[TimR]

Fingernail length. 

[paul_5]

On 15/02/2025 at 22:36, Lozz196 said:

I think the player themselves is one of the main things, whenever someone plays my basses I - irritatingly I should stress - invariably prefer the sound they get to the sound I get, with same bass/amp/pedals etc. I must have a “bassy” sound as usually other bassists get a treblier sound than I seem to. 

Bear in mind though that you're in a different position relative to your amp when someone else is playing, and high frequency sound is directional, so it could just be that.

[WAYNESWORLD]

I’ve give up worrying about personal bass tone. If it sounds like a bass and I hit the correct notes in the right order. Jobs a goodun.Other than a darker or brighter sound for me everything is in the low to high mid range and doesn’t change hardly from one gig to the next.. Pubs and small venues are not a problem ,large venues it’s over to the sound tech.Think a lot of people chase a recorded sound that’s almost impossible to replicate live .Also dependant on your preferred genre of music can cloud the issue more especially if you are bouncing all over the place with song choices and styles.

[Dan Dare]

On 16/02/2025 at 13:41, chris_b said:

Your tone is the most important thing you can get right for you and for the band. All band members making their sound fit into the band mix is the next objective. Sounding good on stage and bad in the room, and vice versa, is a fact of life. . . .  occasionally. . . .  but if you get that on every gig, there is something wrong with your signal chain.

 

The most important thing you can get right for you and for the band is to play the right notes at the right time and in the right order.

 

As far as tone is concerned, making your sound fit the overall mix should be objective numero uno, unless you are playing through the PA and can rely on the FoH engineer to take care of that. If you're running solely off backline, the choice should always be good in the room, less good on stage if there is a clash between them. Unless you're in the me, me, me, rather than the us, us, us camp.

 

It doesn't matter how good your signal chain is if venue acoustics are difficult.

Edited Monday at 17:28 by Dan Dare

[Woodinblack]

7 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

The most important thing you can get right for you and for the band is to play the right notes at the right time and in the right order.

 

Is 2 out of 3 ok?

[chris_b]

10 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

 

The most important thing you can get right for you and for the band is to play the right notes at the right time and in the right order.

 

 

If you are in a band where those are 3 things you have to worry about then your tone and the sound of the band are the least of your problems.

[SimonK]

12 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

the choice should always be good in the room, less good on stage if there is a clash between them. Unless you're in the me, me, me, rather than the us, us, us camp.

 

...apart from if you don't think you sound good you don't play as well so that overall the sound ends up being worse. My number one worry is to sound good to me (and yes in the context of all the other instruments) as there is someone else (sound guy) to worry about how it sounds in the room...

[tubbybloke68]

I must admit I’ve never used effects, when I did briefly experiment many many years ago i just found myself disappearing in the band mix .like someone else said, I’ve been to watch too many gigs where the bass sound has been one big inaudible mush/rumble with no definition. Therefore i always turn the bass control on my amp down to 10’o clock, and boost the mids on the bass itself.90% of the time I’m playing on the bridge pickup. Yes, it can sound a bit honky on stage i suppose but i do seem to get alot of positive comments about my sound WITH the band from out front, so im quite happy to pay that price. 

 

[msb]

String choice , your decision , flats or rounds is going to colour your tone the most. And then every link in your signal chain will have an impact. Your bass choice , amp selection , cab preference. And no two rooms sound the same , and the number of people around will change the sound of the room throughout the night.
Everything matters. 
I usually play mid sized bars. Much of the time I’m not in the PA. I’m looking for a rich , deep , thick , old school thump , but not boomy. Flats , mostly using a med scale hollow body bass. Tube preamp , class D back end and Berg cabs. I’ve found the tube preamp makes a big difference. I’m in the house band that does a weekly jam , the thumpers tell me the rig is magic. The hifi ones tell me it’s old school. I tell them it’s exactly what I’m after.
It’s surprising how it sounds completely different depending on the player. 

[JoeEvans]

I think the right hand fingers do a lot - hard or soft skin on fingertips, hard or soft plucking, on the neck, by the bridge or in the middle, effective muting to reduce boomy rumble, etc.

[Dan Dare]

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Is 2 out of 3 ok?

 Better than 0 out of 3, yes.

[Dan Dare]

4 hours ago, chris_b said:

If you are in a band where those are 3 things you have to worry about then your tone and the sound of the band are the least of your problems.

 

I still care about those things after 50 years. I never play a gig where I make zero mistakes. They may be minor, but I still make them. Anyone who claims they do is deluded or telling porkies. None of us is perfect. We can always do better.

 

4 hours ago, SimonK said:

...apart from if you don't think you sound good you don't play as well so that overall the sound ends up being worse. My number one worry is to sound good to me (and yes in the context of all the other instruments) as there is someone else (sound guy) to worry about how it sounds in the room...

 

I pointed out that if you have someone taking care of FoH, you have the luxury of being able to tailor your onstage sound to suit your own desires. If not, then getting it right for the room has to be primary consideration. Nobody comes to gigs to hear how great the bass player's tone is (with the possible exception of other bass players, who will probably spend the evening picking holes and moaning about how it could be better).

Edited Monday at 21:58 by Dan Dare

[HeadlessBassist]

1. Clean strings. If you want to be heard equally and not get buried in the mix, use some clean and zingy strings.

 

2. RH position. Learn to play in a musically and tactile manner, experimenting with the different tones you get from playing over the end of the fingerboard, or at the bridge - ask yourself where your instrument sounds best. Also, think about when you need to play gently and sit back (when someone is singing or soloing), and when you need to dig in and punch through.

 

3. Think about the length/sustain of your notes. Are you sounding lyrical, or leaving huge holes? Either is good at times, depending on the style and speed of the music.

[tauzero]

7 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

 

Is 2 out of 3 ok?

 

It ain't bad.

[paul_5]

3 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

None of us is perfect. We can always do better.

Nope. I’ve tried, and I can’t. 😄

[SteveXFR]

11 hours ago, JoeEvans said:

I think the right hand fingers do a lot - hard or soft skin on fingertips, hard or soft plucking, on the neck, by the bridge or in the middle, effective muting to reduce boomy rumble, etc.

 

I find the same with picks. Different thickness, material, shape, picking positions, the angle I hold the pick all makes a difference. 

[Marky L]

Bright rounds.
Sansamp.

Pick.

My (distinctly poor) technique.

[diskwave]

P bass, dead flats, Ampeg, and a light touch a hair behind the PU and 40 yrs experience. Punchy dry mids for days. Covers evrything cept slap heavy stuff which I dont tend to play anymore. 

[Terry M.]

31 minutes ago, diskwave said:

and a light touch

This is me all day every day. I don't dig in. Might as well let the amp work for it's keep and turn up the volume knob as and when needed. My tone doesn't suffer one bit as a result. 

[shoulderpet]

Obvious but boosted mids are a game changer, I run mine pretty much maxed.

[shoulderpet]

15 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

 

I still care about those things after 50 years. I never play a gig where I make zero mistakes. They may be minor, but I still make them. Anyone who claims they do is deluded or telling porkies. None of us is perfect. We can always do better.

+1 unless you are gigging and touring for a living and therefore spending most of your waking hours playing then you will make mistakes at a gig. 

 

We all have moments where our mind just goes blank and we can't remember what the next note is or where our mind wanders and we play a bum note or two.

[JoeEvans]

The great thing about playing bass, especially with a darker, softer tone, is that very often playing the exact right note isn't critical. You have to get the rhythm right, but a different note is often fine. I once played a couple of bars a semitone up, noticed and shifted down for the next bar, and it actually sounded pretty good in context, but when I mentioned it afterwards, nobody else in the band had noticed.

[Stub Mandrel]

A voice in favour of digging in... I  use it to vary the amount of overdrive on my tone.