How do i get that fat beefy tone?

lars-h · #1 07-22-2007, 05:25 AM

I just started playing Blues bass and i would like some tips on how to get that fat beefy tone that is required for blues bass. I currently play a active Yamaha bass, but planning on bying a active Fender Jazz bass in the near future. My amp is a Roland D-bass 210.

How do i dial in that tone?
Any special strings?
Effects?

Any comment is welcome.

Regards

Jim Carr · #2 07-22-2007, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lars-h

I just started playing Blues bass and i would like some tips on how to get that fat beefy tone that is required for blues bass. I currently play a active Yamaha bass, but planning on bying a active Fender Jazz bass in the near future. My amp is a Roland D-bass 210.How do i dial in that tone? Any special strings? Effects?

In order of increasing cost...

Pluck farther from the bridge, roll off treble a bit and boost the lows a little (on an active bass), add some flatwounds, and consider adding a little compression/tube emulation (perhaps a EBS Multi-Comp or Demeter Compulator).

Many will say you need a tube preamp (or tube head), and a passive
Fender P-bass. All these things are good, too, but not essential.

I use a passive P-bass or an active P/J with flats OR rounds, a tube preamp, assorted compressors (with restraint), and like to use an epi 2x10, an swr goliath II 4x10, or both the 4x10 + an swr son of bertha 1x15 cab, depending on the size of the room and the band.

Then there are the fretless and the upright....sighhh!!!

fenderbassabuse · #3 07-22-2007, 06:40 AM

I find that a dose of low mids (100-200Hz) can really help to fatten and warm up the sound. Also, try using some Nickle rounds or even flats if you want. Also, if your amp has any preset modes on it, use one that sounds "tubey". Hope this helps.

PB+J · #4 07-22-2007, 06:49 AM

It's a cliche, but it's true--it's mostly in your hands. You don't need an active bass, or fancy equipment. Most classic blues bass was played on passive basses--there's absolutely no need for an active bass. If you like active, fine. A tube amp would be nice, but it's not necessary either, and compressors sound good but once again they aren't necessary. A fender precision bass has a strong low midrange emphasis. That's the classic sound

Here's my suggestions--don't boost the bass. The tone you want lives in the low midrange. It sounds wrong, but it's true--boosting the bass will just make things muddy. You want low mids. Try this: cut the treble AND the bass. You don't need to do it all the way--just keep cutting till you get there. You could try cutting the treble more than the bass; just think of cutting the bass and treble as a way of making the midrange more pronounced. The tone you get will then be mostly midrange. It might sound harsh, but in a mix, with a band, it'll sound great

Also work on your right hand technique--focus on a clean, strong finger stroke though the string, coming to rest on the string below the one you just played. You could try plucking closer to the neck too. Try to get that tone without the amp.

IMHO you don't want a "zingy" sound, so you could try nickel strings or flatwounds. But you don't need new gear to get that sound. Once you get that sound, then you can get some new gear to put a nice polish on it

Jim Carr · #5 07-22-2007, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PB+J

It's a cliche, but it's true--it's mostly in your hands. You don't need an active bass, or fancy equipment. Most classic blues bass was played on passive basses--there's absolutely no need for an active bass. If you like active, fine. A tube amp would be nice, but it's not necessary either, and compressors sound good but once again they aren't necessary. A fender precision bass has a strong low midrange emphasis. That's the classic sound

Here's my suggestions--don't boost the bass. The tone you want lives in the low midrange. It sounds wrong, but it's true--boosting the bass will just make things muddy. You want low mids. Try this: cut the treble AND the bass. You don't need to do it all the way--just keep cutting till you get there. You could try cutting the treble more than the bass; just think of cutting the bass and treble as a way of making the midrange more pronounced. The tone you get will then be mostly midrange. It might sound harsh, but in a mix, with a band, it'll sound great

Also work on your right hand technique--focus on a clean, strong finger stroke though the string, coming to rest on the string below the one you just played. You could try plucking closer to the neck too. Try to get that tone without the amp.

IMHO you don't want a "zingy" sound, so you could try nickel strings or flatwounds. But you don't need new gear to get that sound. Once you get that sound, then you can get some new gear to put a nice polish on it

+1 Wise advice!

About the low-mids--I must admit that I do boost the bass a tad on my active P/J, which probably has a lot to do with the Sadowsky onboard pre and P/J configuration itself. However, my racked preamp is run with the entire EQ section defeated.

I have done the "cut the bass and treble" thang on a variety of different combo amps I have encountered, and found it helped me find the low-mids I needed, especially on my upright.

derrico1 · #6 07-22-2007, 07:11 AM

+1 to technique.

+1 to less bass & treble, more low-mids.

+1 to flats. If you're going to make any gear changes, this would be the one I'd recommend. You'd be amazed at the difference in sound.

emblymouse · #7 07-22-2007, 12:10 PM

Get as much meat in contact withthe string as you can. This means the pad of your finger, not the tip so much. The soft, meaty center of the finger. Meat = beeftone.
Also, you might try downplucking with the outside of your thumb. It seems awkward and slow at first, but it has rhythmic differences all it's own and it's an alternative tone in the bag o' beef.

sedan_dad · #8 07-22-2007, 01:41 PM

also do you plucking at the end of the neck or even around the 19th fret.
Pretty mellow there.

Ibanezzer · #9 07-22-2007, 04:44 PM

Playing up towards the neck helps and +1 on low mids.

saxnbass · #10 07-22-2007, 05:03 PM

Play/pluck close to the neck, roll off the tone, favor the neck pickup, humbuckers or split coils (p bass), flatwounds, palm muting or foam at the bridge; not all at the same time, that may be too much.

sockdeluxe_mike · #11 07-26-2007, 05:30 PM

+1 to definitely trying to ooze the most out the tone with your fingers

you can really coax out a lot more low mids with your bass by just working on where you pluck the strings on your bass..if you sit with your amp and just try plucking on different places of the string with your right hand, you can learn which places give you certain results. P-bass pickups are located on the "sweet spot" of the bass where the string is taut and it gives a nice helping of patented beef-a-punch but is still really deep at the same time, and on a jazz bass this is located just a bit behind the neck pickup (from personal experience of course, it might differ!)