simple question

[reptilia]

hi, what are you guy's sugestions on strings that can CUT THROUGH BOTH MY DAMN GUITARISTS, soundwise, not literally.

[labgnat]

get some bright sounding light gauge roundwounds, and tell them to turn down

[Ole Man Blues]

I feel for you my brother....

I have a similar problem, thinking about going out and getting about 2000 watts of power 2 8x10's cabs and teaching him a lesson in how to share the stage Detroit style.......

OMB

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

You won't solve your problem by switching to a different set of strings if you don't learn to EQ your bass properly. Cutting through a wall of guitars isn't about bright-sounding strings. The key is: Don't be stingy with your middle frequencies. I agree that plenty of mids may make your bass to sound like an old radio (an approach that many bassists like but maybe you don't), but at least don't scoop them. If your amp has a "mid contour" button, turn it off!. Try that and you'll notice the difference.

[ge9375]

Piano strings will cut through a guitarist pretty well, but then you'll just need to hire another guitar player.

Seriously, I think scooping the mids puts you at a disadvantage for cutting through. That said, I love playing with scooped mids, but in my band, my job is not to cut through everything.

If there's ever a time that I need to "cut" through, I have 1200 watts at my disposal. I've never used it. It's kind of the Mutually-Assured-Distruction theory of amps on stage: if you do it, I'll do it, and we'll all be screwed.

[Joe Nerve]

bongo bass.

[vashts80]

Fill up the frequencies that they don't use. If they are both mid-scooped, turn your mids up. If they are both really bassy, turn up the mids and treble.

It's not always about bright strings.

[Jazzin']

The best for litterally cutting through would be their own high E strings.

If you can't cut through in the mix, do it litterally.

[Rattman]

Originally Posted by Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

...with your middle frequencies. I agree that plenty of mids may make your bass to sound like an old radio (an approach that many bassists like, but maybe you don't), but at least don't scoop them. If your amp has a "mid contour" button, turn it off!. Try that and you'll notice the difference...

Hello Alvaro.. please enlighten me on the functionality of "mid contour", so I'll never be tempted to EQ my sound that way, I also don't want to be lost in the "wall of guitars"...way down in the mix someplace, unloved and forgotten..thanks

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Originally Posted by Rattman

Hello Alvaro.. please enlighten me on the functionality of "mid contour", so I'll never be tempted to EQ my sound that way, I also don't want to be lost in the "wall of guitars"...way down in the mix someplace, unloved and forgotten..thanks

Most bass amps have a button labeled "Contour" or "Mid contour". When you activate that, it automatically works as sort of an EQ "preset" in which the typical "V" shaped EQ curve is set, so the low and high frequencies will be more prominent than the middle ones when you set your EQ knobs or sliders all flat (so it isn't really flat). That's great for "thump-thump" basslines and for slap-pop grooves, but if you want to play a melodic, jazzy bassline, the pitches will be barely distinguishable because the "thump-thump" will hide many details, not to mention harmonics. Mid contour is harmonics' #1 enemy!

Have you heard Korn? That's one of the prime examples of a mid-scooped bass tone. You can hear lots of "thumps" and "clicks" but the actual pitches are hardly distinguishable when the band is full blast. Cutting in the mix is exactly the opposite. When you turn the contour button off, you can have for sure that your amp's tone is the flattest it can give you when all the EQ controls are set to flat, so that's a good starting point in the quest of a "cutting" tone. Some amps also have a variable contour knob, which allow you to control how scooped will be the mids in your mix. BTW, I've never understood why in some Peavey amps I've tried, the contour function is activated when the button is depressed.

Hope this helps. Please let me know if you need further info.

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

Gallien-Krueger amps, for instance, have three "overall" voicing filters and you can see a graphic representation of the default curve that each one will apply to your tone. In this example, the first button allows you to cut lows from your sound when depressed, the second raises lows and highs plus cuts (scoops) mids if activated, and the third one boosts highs.

[reptilia]

i got dr hibeams, but i havent practiced with my band yet. thanks for all the help. il remember the mid stuff