Can You Post You Bass Amp settings?

Herbz · #1 03-10-2011, 03:28 PM

im Looking For Some KILLER! Tones.

Selta · #2 03-10-2011, 03:34 PM

There's a lot more to tone than where the EQ knobs are pointing. Not to mention that just because my bass is pointed at noon, doesn't mean that is the same "setting" as yours at noon...

Kipaste · #3 03-10-2011, 03:37 PM

Yup. Differend amps work in differend ways with differend basses.

Only good advice I can give you is to learn and make your playing sound "killer" with all the controls flat.

Herbz · #4 03-10-2011, 03:45 PM

aha Yes i UnderStand That. but im just interestin in what Other peoples Settings are

Herbz · #5 03-10-2011, 03:48 PM

aha I Play an Ibanez. Gallien Krueger hi current 400RB Soild State amp. 1x15 Yorkville On top of a 2x10 EDEN cab

DubSound · #6 03-10-2011, 03:48 PM

Volume at 11 at all times

Herbz · #7 03-10-2011, 03:49 PM

Lol Spinal Tap

Marty Forrer · #8 03-10-2011, 03:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kipaste

Yup. Differend amps work in differend ways with differend basses.

Only good advice I can give you is to learn and make your playing sound "killer" with all the controls flat.

This is the best advice you will ever read. Good sound comes from the player, not the gear.

Herbz · #9 03-10-2011, 04:05 PM

Ughh Not Nessisarily. If Your Sound Is **** No matter how well You play Your Bass will sound like ****!

**IvanMike** · #10 03-10-2011, 04:10 PM

I start flat, then listen to what the entire band sounds like in the specific room and then adjust from there.

often a tone that sounds "awesome" by itself ends up not all that great when the entire band is playing. Sometimes you can find tracks from albums with just the bass track on youtube, and it can be very strange as the bass doesn't sound like it does normally when you hear all of the instruments. It really is the same tone on the album, you're just used to hearing it in the context of the entire band.

greenboy · #11 03-10-2011, 04:11 PM

I use 7:00 - 10:30 - 1:00 - 3:30 rush hour - and then happy hour.

BurningSkies · #12 03-10-2011, 04:12 PM

Four.

Nickthebass · #13 03-10-2011, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kipaste

Yup. Differend amps work in differend ways with differend basses.

Only good advice I can give you is to learn and make your playing sound "killer" with all the controls flat.

Pretty much going to agree with this. Good tone starts with your hands. When I first started I spent a lot of time practicing without an amp. Because I'd back myself to get a workable tone for pretty much any situation out of any decent bass and amp within a few minutes.

I think you'll find that a lot of people don't have "settings" as such. They'll have a tone in their head for whatever the gig is and will start from a flatish position on the bass an amp. Depending on your mood, the room, the age of the strings etc. etc. you dial it in from there with a combination of your hands, the bass and the amp.

kesslari · #14 03-10-2011, 04:43 PM

Five. Because I'm one louder than Burning Skies, but less than half as loud as Spinal Tap.

To be a bit more helpful and less of a smart@ss - it's really true, people posting their settings will tell you absolutely nothing about how to improve your tone.

You've got a GK 400 RB.
Start with everything set flat. Listen.
Now take one knob and crank it all the way up. Hear the difference it makes. Then crank it all the way down, and listen. Better still, pedal an open string while you twist the knob.
Now do the same thing with each other knob. You'll get a sense of how each impacts your tone.
Start finding settings you like on one knob, and vary the others around that and you'll arrive at a general tone you like.

A couple of starting points - some people like to "scoop" their mids. Try turning down the midrange and see how you like that.
Other people like to boost their mids. Try that as well. See which you prefer.
Rinse and repeat.

BurningSkies · #15 03-10-2011, 04:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kesslari

Five. Because I'm one louder than Burning Skies, but less than half as loud as Spinal Tap.

Do you find that five cuts through in the mix?

Because on stage I'm having a hard time and I wonder if I have too much four happening and need a little bit of five.

OOZMAN · #16 03-10-2011, 04:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ray Salamon

There's a lot more to tone than where the EQ knobs are pointing. Not to mention that just because my bass is pointed at noon, doesn't mean that is the same "setting" as yours at noon...

Quote:

Originally Posted by IvanMike

...often a tone that sounds "awesome" by itself ends up not all that great when the entire band is playing...

Holy crap, I've been trying to tell my guitards this for so long...

What they do right, is sit in their room, volume down, and find a tone there. Of course this results in a very scooped tone with highs that are ear-piercing at high volume. It's just terrible.

big evil robot · #17 03-10-2011, 05:22 PM

On my amp, everything is usually set flat (unless I'm in a crappy sounding room).
I set my gain to around 6, and volume to whatever suits where I am (seldom past 8).

On my tone hammer stomp box, I have my gain set to 5ish, treble is boosted a little, mids are in the middle at 5, and frequency is turned 3/4s of the way, bass is boosted slightly. I usually have the AGS engaged for some nice snarly growl.

In my younger days, I used to tweak the hell out of my amp settings chasing after "tone", I've really found that it's more about what you don't do to your tone than what you do.
Graphic EQs are much too easy to abuse on an amp, especially given that most people want to arrange them into some kind of logical visual pattern (smile, frown, wave, etc…).

greenboy · #18 03-10-2011, 05:29 PM

Believe it or not, it's hard for guitarists too. Though as a bassist, we suffer the worst from frequency masking. That's a good one to read up on, but I find rather than trying to cut through, it makes sense to balance cutting through with coming in from underneath. A good foundational pillow that's non-boomy is often the answer, with some bite up higher maybe, chosen carefully not to be the same place the guitars are filling up.

Though in some styles, boominess can work too. The main problem with boominess is that it interacts with venues so danged much it can really be a curse sometimes.

Thaos627 · #19 03-10-2011, 05:41 PM

+4 +4 +2 0 -2 0 +5 +5 thats one that works good on any amp. really i hate a lot of these people on here cus they want to say crap like oh my stuff is different so it wont sound the same. that doesnt mean it wont sound good.

if u have a 7 band take out the -2 if its a 5 band its +4 +2 0 +2 +5 if its a 3 band its +5 +2 +5

eq has never been a problem for me give me the style u like the most and ill post up some great eq's for ya

greenboy · #20 03-10-2011, 06:18 PM

PS. Read about EQ in the FAQ that's liked near the top of the AMPs forum. And check this out for some basic ideas: frequency tables