Bass tone

[JPAC]

How much do you change the tone of your bass?

[Eight]

I don't bother.

[rslaing]

[quote name='JPAC' post='522958' date='Jun 24 2009, 08:57 PM']How much do you change the tone of your bass? [/quote]

It's the notes that count................

(Victor Meldrew - 2009)

[iamapirate]

Well, as far as my clean tone, I usually just change it by pickup selector or tone knob on my bass. When I start going into effects and gis, I pay special attention to the 'Bass' control on my amp I also use my EHX micro synth, and I'd love to hook up by bass into MIDI!

[Kongo]

Just my bass' tone plugged into my amp with EQ tweaks and pre-shape ON!

My tone comes from my fingers, my strings, the wood on my bass, my speaker cab and amp head.
I have active EQ basses and the EQ is always kept flat, so I guess I'm a passive bass guy.

It's really a combo of MM and J pickups and my Trace Elliot that makes the tone...that's all I need.
My processor is set flat.

[wateroftyne]

I plug it in, leave everything flat and see what it's like. If need be, I'll give the bass, mid & treble a nudge here and there.

I avoid the para EQ though. It's for rocket scientists.

[chris_b]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='523175' date='Jun 24 2009, 11:55 PM']....I plug it in, leave everything flat and see what it's like. If need be, I'll give the bass, mid & treble a nudge here and there. I avoid the para EQ though. It's for rocket scientists....[/quote]
+1
I mostly run the amp flat and adjust from the bass, but never really need much more than a tweak on the bass control.

[funkypenguin]

When im recording its all pretty much flat, sometimes with a little nudge on the bass end, straight into the desk. any other EQ comes at mixing time. very occassionally use distortion and chorus, depending on the track.

Live, my amp is flat, bass is flat, bar a nudge on the bass end. i rarely use my pedal board unless its with my Prog. band

[acidbass]

I usually play with my basses' volume and tone controls on full, then do the rest of the shaping using the EQ controls on the amp. Can't remember the last time I've boosted treble on the amp though, come to think of it!

[risingson]

[quote name='wateroftyne' post='523175' date='Jun 24 2009, 11:55 PM']I plug it in, leave everything flat and see what it's like. If need be, I'll give the bass, mid & treble a nudge here and there.

I avoid the para EQ though. It's for rocket scientists.[/quote]

+1 taking into consideration the room also

[Kongo]

Like to add:

I use the graphic EQ to tame the low end on my Low-B and E strings...Like 30hz and 40hz cut slightly, 30hz greatly cause...4x10's won't re-produce it at volume.
Nice and warm sounding at low volume settings though.

[Grissle]

Bass+Amp+Pedals

My tone is something like a more burpy Geddy sound with a touch of wah pedal just cracked open - Aggressive Articulate

[Doctor J]

I haven't used the EQ on my amp in a few years now. Take a great sounding bass, make it loud and use your hands and onboard controls, whatever they may be, to do the fine adjustments.

[51m0n]

Pickup blend and hands, all else flat, if I'm going old school I'll turn the tweeter down for a more paper cone top end.

Currently having to live with people who think bass should have no top and hardly any middle, cos thats old skool innit.

Its doing my head in!

[WinterMute]

Whatever it takes t get the sound for the track.

I really like bass tone controls through a flat SVT, but it's rarely whats required, so I'll use the bass, the amp, pedals, outboard, mics and rooms to get the recorded sound I'm after, then slap EQ and dynamics on if needed in the mix.

Live it used to be bass, amp and a chorus occasionally.

[Aaren J]

I just roll off the treble on my bass & amp. Neck pickup and plectrum do the rest.

[RussFM]

Everything flat on the Active Jazz, pickup blend right in the middle (but the bridge has quieter output anyway). Then on the two amp channels I've got one quite punchy and the other pretty deep with the treble rolled off, and flick between them depending on the song.

[EBS_freak]

I leave the amp (TD650) flat with the exception of the bright knob which I put at about 10 o'clock (- although strictly speaking there is no such thing as "flat" because the amps voicing (all amps have a voicing regardless of what people say) and the cabs have their own eq response).

I have the volume on my basses set at about 3/4. With the amount of cut and boost (+-25 db) for each of the treble, mid and bass controls on my GBs, I have all the control of the tone that I need. Tweeters on the cabs are half way. The volume just acts as a master volume because as you imagine, with that much boost and cut and the switch, you can vary the output level tremendously. The preamps on the GBs are simply astonishing. So much power under your fingers. I love them.

The Lakland is a different beast... I tend to roll the top off a bit more because it's quite a savage top end. Spiky as opposed to to the "sparkle" of the GBs.

[henry norton]

Got no tone controls on either of my basses, so tend to run the bass amp slightly brighter and adjust my technique for trebly, bassy or middley sounds. It keeps me on my toes and means I play the strings rather than knobs and pedals. I do have a V-Amp I just can't stop playing about with (strictly for bedroom use though ).

[thodrik]

Depends on the bass the amp really for me. If its my passive P-bass played with any solid state head, I'll generally run it into an English Muff'n then into a Sansamp Bass Driver into the head. General pretend your going through an Ampeg settings which sounds fine in a rock band situation, but lacks definition for any slap, tapping and solo stuff.

With any kind valve amp, I try and run as few effects as possible. I'd be open to a bunch of pedals, but I'd rather just have a good amp. I've found that a Vigier Excess run into an EBS Fafner doesn't need a lot of tweeking! I turn the bass to between 2 and 3 o'clock, take the mids down a touch around 600 Hz, but depending on the room, yada yada yada...

Obviously, the most telling factor on tone will be your fingers and your attack. Also,string type, string gauge, action height, and pick ups all have an impact on tone..

A good bassist will be able to manage to make an entry level bass and amp sound have decent tone, but I still think that basses, amps and cabinets do play a role.This is especially the case when plugging a bass straight into an amp. I know its subjective, but for me there is a big difference, for example, between a Squier J-bass through a Crate combo and the same bassist plugging a Sadowsky into a Markbass combo. I know there are people that think its more impressive to make 'cheap gear sound great' than to just have good gear. However, I think these people are missing the point. Gear is an aid, not the determining factor on whether you can get a good sound. If you manage to make cheap gear sound good, it just means you are good, and you would sound impressive through most gear. Its just nice to be able to play through something that doesn't require any modding or a bunch of pedals to help bulk up your sound. It leaves you to get on with playing, which to me is the most important part.