Change the bass or the amp?

[smgleitch]

I love both my bass and amp. They sound great, especially when played with the band at gig volume. I have a Warwick Thumb 4 string BO and a Markbass F1 with a Berg 210 and 112 stack. Get all kinds of compliments on my sound and gear when I play out.

So ya everything is great and wonderful, but still for as good as the sound is it just doesn't seem to be exactly what I want. I am on a very limited budget and cannot just go out and buy stuff to try out and see if it works. I have been to the stores, but things in the store don't sound the way they do at home or at practice.

So if you were in my shoes would you replace the bass or the amp?

[B-string]

The amp.
What do you feel is missing in your tone?

[derrico1]

Depends on what sound you're after that is eluding you. Kim Deal tubishness? Change the F1. George Porter? Swap out the Warwick and the F1. Or just adjust your technique.

Bracketing off all considerations except horsetrading, I'd suggest first swapping out the pieces that would be easiest and least costly to return to. In this case, if you're just experimenting I'd let go of the F1 before the Thumb. If you decide you want another F1, you should be able to replace the one you let go without too much wasted money or effort.

[HeavyRockBasser]

I'm not familiar with that amp, but you can get tons of tone from something as simple as different strings and pick-ups. If you're pretty happy with what you've got already, and you just want to improve on it, I'd try some low cost fixes first.

[ampegfuzz]

Totally big plus one on strings first, maybe a different brand. What do you use now? And maybe a pedal can fix your woes maybe a good compressor or a modeler pedal like a sansamp or vt bass.

[RickenBoogie]

Chasing an elusive sound in your head can get expensive, and pointless. If you're happy with your gear, just play. Otherwise, the chase will never end.

[John D]

Originally Posted by smgleitch

I love both my bass and amp. They sound great, especially when played with the band at gig volume. I have a Warwick Thumb 4 string BO and a Markbass F1 with a Berg 210 and 112 stack. Get all kinds of compliments on my sound and gear when I play out.

So ya everything is great and wonderful, but still for as good as the sound is it just doesn't seem to be exactly what I want. I am on a very limited budget and cannot just go out and buy stuff to try out and see if it works. I have been to the stores, but things in the store don't sound the way they do at home or at practice.

So if you were in my shoes would you replace the bass or the amp?

Twiddle some knobs, before you do something rash...like spend money.

[Jaco who?]

Originally Posted by smgleitch

So ya everything is great and wonderful, but still for as good as the sound is it just doesn't seem to be exactly what I want.

Well, what is it that you want? Your profile indicates piano, bass, drums as a fav genre, I can relate - some basses are finicky with string types. I love DR Sunbeams and D'addario nylon tapewounds for that kind of stuff, the tapewounds are a lot like broken in Sunbeams without the schreechy string noise when I'm lazy and don't feel like working on my fretting hand problems, but you've got some good gear there.

[JimmyM]

Ya, who knows? If you're after McCartney's sound, I would say you're barking up the wrong tree. If you're after Mark King's sound, I'd say you weren't far off the mark.

[Ric5]

Dump the bass and get a 5 string.

[agreatheight]

Yeah, we are going to need a little info on where the set up is falling short.

More aggressive SS sound, maybe try GK?
More tube-like, maybe a pedal / preamp in front for a bit of grit? Or maybe a real tube amp?

Give us more info and maybe we can help.

[walterw]

match the cabs?

maybe lose the 1x12 for a second identical berg 2x10?

[dog1]

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Chasing an elusive sound in your head can get expensive, and pointless. If you're happy with your gear, just play. Otherwise, the chase will never end.

OP, take this to heart. The EXACT sound you want will change from venue to venue. Your rehursal place, your practice place at home, and where ever you are playing. Room acoustics change your tone as you hear it. Believe me, chasing your "perfect" tone is as RickenBoogie already said. Pointless and expensive. (or did he say expensive and pointless?) Be happy and content. Merry Christmas!!

[chadds]

Twiddle some knobs!

.....and! Play your bass in a corner unplugged. Do you love it? Do you hear a natural extension of you?

If you're close change strings. On some basses D'Addarios can be neutral.
On some, DR Sunbeams can bring out all manner of rich overtones that add color to each note.

If not change the bass. But play many until you hear it.

Your rig can be be transparent or warm and tubish. It's safe to keep that as it will amplify whatever you put through.

Oh yeah.
Try:
Change right hand position.
Raise your bass with a strap adjustment. Play really gently and turn up your amp.
Set your amp flat.
Get more into the music of your band.
Listen to some genre you never listen to.

Ignore the whole quest for six months and play better.

[ksandvik]

It's amazing what a change of string brand/type will do concerning sound.

[smgleitch]

Thanks for all the input. As for that sound I am chasing I would have to say that I am finding myself loving a lot of good old school R&B soul funk and blues music.

Have been thinking about changing out the Warwick for a p-bass with flats. Then I think I should get a tube head and a cab that matches the cab. Must say the I do like the idea of trying out the peddle to emulate a SVT rig. Always loved an ampeg 810 with a SVT tube head on top, but I don't play anyplace that I could even remotely justify using a setup like that.

I play finger style and love a quick moving bass line as much as giving the bass line plenty of room to breathe. I have been playing for a few years now and have been twiddling with this rig for the last 6 months. I can get a lot of great sound out of it, but am starting to think it might just all be to modern sounding. I spent a lot of money and time getting to this point with my gear and can't stand the idea of starting all over with a new bass and rig search.

As well I am conflicted as to how much the amp really matters at all. I have so to a lot of live music and most of it in small venues. One thing I have come to realize lately is that even in these small venues the bass is primarily being pushed through the FOH system. I am not sure why I spent all this money on my bass rig if no one is even hearing the high end berg cabs I paid so much for and lug around everywhere I go. The last show I saw was a blues act and the guys playing in this group were all professional musicians. The bass player had an MIA p-bass and played through a gx 210 combo, one of the old school ones. Made me really wonder if all this stuff is really worth it. I will always play with an amp on stage, but if everything out front will be direct maybe the bass is more important to my tone than anything else. Maybe I should sell a cab and get a p-bass.

[Downunderwonder]

Somehow I doubt there's any bass in FOH with the monster rig playing in a small joint.

[JimmyM]

There's a lot you can do to funk up your current rig that doesn't cost a cent...turn off the tweeters, let your strings go dead, use only the neck pickup, cut some treble out and boost some low end (the VLE on the F1 is very cool for cutting treble)...I'm a firm believer in making what you have work, and I've done it successfully. It may not be your ideal, but you can make it work. The only thing you may not be able to do is add a little bit of dirt unless you have a pedal, as the F1 is a very clean amp and won't do overdrive at all. I'm finding it pretty crucial to get that sound, as I'm discovering more and more just how dirty many of those old school bass parts were. They sound clean in a mix, but you hear them soloed and most of them have a layer of nasty to them.

[Adam Bomb]

Just want to echo the cautions against being too quick to make big changes. Swapping out gear, *in my limited experience*, always seems to cost me some money. If you are on a budget, already have nice gear (which you do) and like your sound well enough, I can't imagine there aren't better uses for your cash. As others have said, it never ends.

But, hey, do whatcha like. Merry Christmas, everybody!

--Bomb

[smgleitch]

Thanks everyone. Jimmy great ideas. I am going to mess with turning off the tweeters. Seems funny but that is one thing I have never touched on my cabs. I don't really want to buy anything else, but really leaning to getting a pedal. Hoping something like that might help to thicken the sound up.