In what ways do some amps/cabinets colour sound?

[rip-da-cut]

In what ways do some amps/cabinets colour sound? Do any particular bass guitars have a distinctive character?

I'm trying to find/or explain a distinctive sound I keep hearing in a lot of old reggae/dub numbers, maybe you guys can help me out, the sound I hear could be described as almost "vowel" like, for example in this Dennis Brown number, the bass appears to me to have a slight "e" formant/characteristic.

[url="http://dl2.musicwebtown.com/rip_the_cut_/playlists/283991/2983425.mp3"]http://dl2.musicwebtown.com/rip_the_cut_/p...991/2983425.mp3[/url]

I'm wondering if maybe bass tones recorded through distinctive sounding amps could cause the sound to lean towards particular vowels, maybe one bass/amp combination might have a subtle "e" voicing, the next an "o" could this be possible? Are amps or bass guitars ever talked about in these kinds of terms such as formant charictoristics?

[stevie]

There's not very much bass fundamental there - so don't boost the very lows. Try boosting between 80 and 100Hz, scoop the mids between 600 and 1200Hz and cut the HF somewhere above that to soften the notes without killing definition. You might have to cut at 200Hz or thereabouts to prevent boom. No guarantees, of course, because your rig might already have some of those characteristics, but that's how I'd approach it.

You can do an awful lot with judiciuos use of eq.

Edited December 17, 2009 by stevie

[Balcro]

[quote name='rip-da-cut' post='687124' date='Dec 17 2009, 10:51 AM']In what ways do some amps/cabinets colour sound? Do any particular bass guitars have a distinctive character?

I'm trying to find/or explain a distinctive sound I keep hearing in a lot of old reggae/dub numbers, maybe you guys can help me out, the sound I hear could be described as almost "vowel" like, for example in this Dennis Brown number, the bass appears to me to have a slight "e" formant/characteristic.

[url="http://dl2.musicwebtown.com/rip_the_cut_/playlists/283991/2983425.mp3"]http://dl2.musicwebtown.com/rip_the_cut_/p...991/2983425.mp3[/url]

I'm wondering if maybe bass tones recorded through distinctive sounding amps could cause the sound to lean towards particular vowels, maybe one bass/amp combination might have a subtle "e" voicing, the next an "o" could this be possible? Are amps or bass guitars ever talked about in these kinds of terms such as formant characteristics?[/quote]

I think "stevie's" right.

That may have been a plain bass line at some time, but it sounds very processed to deliberately remove normal note definition. That way it matches the rest of the sounds.

Balcro.

[stevie]

[quote name='rip-da-cut' post='687124' date='Dec 17 2009, 10:51 AM']In what ways do some amps/cabinets colour sound?[/quote]
To answer your question directly whilst everyone is busy in the other mega thread, there are three ways I can think of in which an amp/cab can colour your sound. Distortion, delayed resonance and frequency response anomalies.

The concept of distortion is self-evident. It is introduced both by the amp and the speaker. It is not always perceived as 'distortion' but rather as a lack or clarity, mudiness, added warmth, softening of attack, compression, and so on. It's not always unpleasant (valve amps) but should be kept to a minimum unless distortion is part of the target 'sound'.

Delayed resonances are produced by the driver and the cab 'ringing' when the actual signal from your bass has stopped. How well these are dealt with is a matter of good design and (frequently) cost. All cabinets and drive units ring - some more than others. Bad ringing in the passband is always audible but usually difficult to 'put your finger on'.

Frequency response anomalies are the most obvious colouration and also the easiest for the user to deal with. Some manufacturers deliberately boost or cut bass, boost treble or cut mid in their amps in an effort to get the best out of their speakers (or, dare I say it, to fool the punter). For reasons that I won't go into here, most bass cabinets have a rising midrange response that requires equalization to prevent the bass sounding honky and nasal. All things being equal, larger cabs need less midrange eq than smaller ones. This is where the bassist's 'smile' comes from.

As a postscript, I always try to eq cabinets before comparing them. Otherwise, I am liable to prefer the one that is closest to my preferred eq setting (which is fairly flat).

[Anders]

That sound has alot to do with playing technique.It sounds particularly in this recording like not the most hifi sounding bass going through not the most hifi amp and cab.And that the sound is from mic. and not lined.
Otherwise doing the sound,to me sounds like he's plucking with the thumb,muting with the palm/side of the hand.Sounds like a Jazzbass,by the way.

Edited December 17, 2009 by Anders