"that" tone

[low5_er]

Hey Adam.
Btw, really impressed with your tunes, and MusicDojo rocks!
My question is in regards to tone. I recognize that you have your own signature sound and stuff, but I was wondering if you could give me some general advice. I am always impressed with fusion guys and how they seem to get great finger and slap tone without changing settings. It has been my bane for a long time. What I seem to be hearing is that generally, Jazz type pickups blended for a killer slap tone, and for the finger tone (tends to be burpy sounding), playing near the bridge. I would appreciate your thoughts. That "Burp" is what I'm after, and a stellar slap sound. Is it possible? I can only seem to get it when I dial in the rear pickup, but then the slap tone sucks. Anyhow, your feedback is appreciated.
Luc

[adamnitti]

hi luc! thanks for you kind words regarding the my music and musicdojo!

in answer to your question, it's always going to be a compromise... the closest thing i've found to a solution is to find an instrument that seems to get close to both ideal tones while being able to run both pickups at full volume... i agree with you in that i also prefer the slap sounds of the jazz-type basses. in fact, my best-sounding slap tone comes from my curbow retro II prototype which has 2 jazz pickups mounted in the same place as on a mid 70's jazz bass. however, the fingerstyle tone is a little bit more 'hollow' or 'scooped', if you will. my best fingerstyle tone comes from my warrior 6 and my yamaha trbpII, both of which have 2 soapbar pickups. i actually get the best compromise on finger/slap tone by playing that warrior or yamaha with both soapbars at full volume, and then adjusting my plucking hand placement to further influence the tone if i need to... if i'm doing my own gig and wanting to use a single bass, i'll generally just go with the warrior. but there are times when i just switch between 2 instruments to try and tonally match my albums live. either way, i almost never change the pickup blend on my basses. i just choose a different bass to get a different tone.

[low5_er]

thanks Adam. I appreciate the feedback.
Luc

[9_AM]

Great advice Adam
Just to let know that I am very happy with my Mike Lull M4V, I bought because of your suggestion. That thing is a tone monster.

[adamnitti]

Originally Posted by 9_AM

Great advice Adam
Just to let know that I am very happy with my Mike Lull M4V, I bought because of your suggestion. That thing is a tone monster.

awesome, that's great to hear!!!