a meaty tone out of a passive bass?

[varunkapahi]

hey all
how can i get a meaty/beefy tone (in the most cost efficient way) out of a passive squier jazz bass?
would a hartke vxl bass attack preamp help?

ususaly you get the meaty kinda tone out of an active bass but i cannnot afford an active bass with a three band eq or a sansamp because gear is very very expensive up here in my country, india. u can imagine if i tell you that a standard MIM FENDER J BASS costs 36,000 INR which is equal to US900$!!

anything in the range of US100$(US market prices) would be feasble for me...please suggest
and again what do you say about the would a hartke vxl bass attack preamp ?

[markdavid]

I would definately go with new pickups over a preamp as a preamp will only boost the basic tone of the pickups whereas the attack and the beefyness comes from the pickups (amongst other factors) . What kind of tone are you after? bright? , dark ?

[infect]

Roll the tone off and use flatwounds perhaps?

[Pilgrim]

I have NO idea what you mean by "meaty", but that's how I define any P-bass with flats. I'd say all you need is a P-bass with flats more than six months old on it.

[varunkapahi]

more towards the Nathan east tone, the tone you hear with fourplay and with eric clapton
maybe am wrong about my definition of a meaty/beefy tone

markdavid :
I would definately go with new pickups over a preamp as a preamp will only boost the basic tone of the pickups whereas the attack and the beefyness comes from the pickups (amongst other factors) . What kind of tone are you after? bright? , dark ?

would hot output but passive pickups do good?

[Lowtonejoe]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

hey all
how can i get a meaty/beefy tone (in the most cost efficient way) out of a passive squier jazz bass?
would a hartke vxl bass attack preamp help?

ususaly you get the meaty kinda tone out of an active bass but i cannnot afford an active bass with a three band eq or a sansamp because gear is very very expensive up here in my country, india. u can imagine if i tell you that a standard MIM FENDER J BASS costs 36,000 INR which is equal to US900$!!

anything in the range of US100$(US market prices) would be feasble for me...please suggest
and again what do you say about the would a hartke vxl bass attack preamp ?

The Hartke VXL Bass Attack pedal is an EXCELLENT pedal. Not only for the money! I am truly amazed at how they make my small, cheap combos sound. They sound even better into bigger rigs. Heck, since they are so inexpensive go on and get one.

It's probably THE most underrated pedal out there. It's even a DI for Pete's sake!

Anyways, I'm happy with mine.



Joe.

[bongomania]

To me, "meaty/beefy" is a combination of strong mids and a certain amount of compression. It is possible to get those qualities several different ways: your playing technique, certain strings, certain pickups, certain amps (especially with tubes), or EQ and compression "effects".

I don't have any experience with the Hartke pedal, but if you are able to find a tube-preamp pedal with a 3-band EQ (in your price range) then that might work as an all-in-one solution. The Behringer copy of the Sansamp BDDI is worth looking into. I just recently sold an ART tube parametric EQ unit for $70 USD, and I've seen that unit around that price range many other times- it definitely could help you out.

Passive pickups with hot output will be louder, but they may not necessarily be any punchier/meatier etc. It depends on the specific pickups. You might try some Bartolinis, as several of their models are known for a warm, fat, somewhat compressed sound.

You may also be able to find an onboard preamp to fit into your existing bass; it would require some modification of the bass, but it would be a lot cheaper than buying a new bass.

[Psychicpet]

Originally Posted by Lowtonejoe

The Hartke VXL Bass Attack pedal is an EXCELLENT pedal. Not only for the money! I am truly amazed at how they make my small, cheap combos sound. They sound even better into bigger rigs. Heck, since they are so inexpensive go on and get one.

It's probably THE most underrated pedal out there. It's even a DI for Pete's sake!

Anyways, I'm happy with mine.



Joe.

+1

and.... get some DiMarzio Model Js or Ultra Jazz p/ups when you can

[varunkapahi]

posted by bongomania:

Passive pickups with hot output will be louder, but they may not necessarily be any punchier/meatier etc. It depends on the specific pickups. You might try some Bartolinis, as several of their models are known for a warm, fat, somewhat compressed sound.

hey which Bartolinis specifically for that warm, fat sound?
i have heard that some pickups are meant to be run with onboard preamps (for ex; the fender SCN) in this case which pickups should in generally steer away from?

[fullrangebass]

Meatier is not identical to punchier IMO. Meatier IMO fills the strong low-mid to mid part of the spectrum along with a somehow compressed sound (just like others have suggested). Browse in the "For sale" category and go to "Accessories". You may find pickups that suit the case.

I'd suggest Villex pickups but they are out of the price range (they have the sound you want as well as many more sounds, yet passive). You may look at differentt hreads regarding these pickups

[Nighttrain1127]

The cheapest way to get a meaty sound out of a passive bass is change the cap on the tone pot to a higher value. This will Fatten up your sound Plenty.

[fullrangebass]

Originally Posted by Nighttrain1127

The cheapest way to get a meaty sound out of a passive bass is change the cap on the tone pot to a higher value. This will Fatten up your sound Plenty.

This will remove more highs, not necessarily thicken up the sound IMO

[TomB]

Here's a different idea. Very subtle settings of an OC-3 in Drive mode may be just the meat you seek. I think you can find 1 around US$100.

[varunkapahi]

another question: do single coil j pickups and the hum-cancelling j pickups sound very different? will a humcancelling j bridge pickup give me less "bite"??

[cybersnyder]

Why are things so expensive in India? Protective tariffs?
(Not trying to get political, just curious.)

For below $100, I'd suggest the Electronix Submarine pedal. There's a thread over in the effects forum.

[Mickey Shane]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

another question: do single coil j pickups and the hum-cancelling j pickups sound very different? will a humcancelling j bridge pickup give me less "bite"??

For live use I'd stick with the stock pickups. hum-cancelling and shielded cavities are for studio use IMO.

I use a Presonus microphone pre-amp in front of my amp for true grit with my passive Jazz bass. It's quite powerful, so I have to use the -15dB pad. This preamp has a 12ax7 tube in it. There are several stomp boxes and rack effects that would do the same thing.

[varunkapahi]

originally posted by cybersnyder:
Why are things so expensive in India? Protective tariffs?
(Not trying to get political, just curious.)

nothing like protective tariffs much because there is hardly any inside production of westen instruments they do build cheap acoustic electric guitars but they are quite ****** and no serious musician thinks about them at all
i bieleve gear is expensive because of the import duty (these come under "luxuary goods" hence high taxes/duty and the shipping charges) there is not BIG market up here though the rock music scene is pretty much comming up very well!

also because the dealers dont sell a lot of stuff everyday so they try to get heavy profits out of every sale made (i can be wrong i am not a retailer, but i think so)

[markdavid]

Originally Posted by varunkapahi

more towards the Nathan east tone, the tone you hear with fourplay and with eric clapton
maybe am wrong about my definition of a meaty/beefy tone



would hot output but passive pickups do good?

Hot output pickups will generally have boosted mids and rolled off treble which to some people is interpreted as a meatier sound but not to everybody. Having said that quarter pounders have hot output but scooped mids

[kraigo]

Originally Posted by Pilgrim

I have NO idea what you mean by "meaty", but that's how I define any P-bass with flats. I'd say all you need is a P-bass with flats more than six months old on it.

I know the P-Bass suggestion is not much help to the poster. It's interesting to read about the Hartke pedal, I'll have to check it out.

I suppose everyone's definition of "meaty" is different. To me, active electronics are bad for tone, which is sure to be heartily rebuked by 90% of you guys. I'd say if you've got a reasonable jazz bass (it sounds like you do), turn up the neck pickup, pluck over the bridge pickup.

If it's not meaty enough, look further down your signal chain. I'm hesitant to suggest replacement pickups because the bass probably comes with decent pickups as is.

To me the road to tone is about simplifying your signal chain. Remember that Nathan East is probably plugging into a very expensive studio preamp.

What amp are you using? What kind of strings? I like stainless steel flats. They sound good and they last forever (almost literally).

KO

[varunkapahi]

Originally Posted by kraigo

I know the P-Bass suggestion is not much help to the poster. It's interesting to read about the Hartke pedal, I'll have to check it out.

I suppose everyone's definition of "meaty" is different. To me, active electronics are bad for tone, which is sure to be heartily rebuked by 90% of you guys.

+1, yes the p bass suggestion wont help as i cant get one and i dont know if active electronics are "bad for tone" but i feel i dont relate to them much (atleast all of those lower-mid price range 10-15active basses i have tried here) i feel at home with the passives in most respects

I'd say if you've got a reasonable jazz bass (it sounds like you do), turn up the neck pickup, pluck over the bridge pickup.

i would try that!

What amp are you using? What kind of strings? I like stainless steel flats. They sound good and they last forever (almost literally).

i have different amps at home and the jam room but none of them are really standard kinda but i often do get to play through a fender rumble 100W when i visit a friend who is a semi-pro bass player.
about the strings actually am not using flats at all i am currently using d'addario nickel wounds .045s i would think about flat wounds but they wont allow me to play slap/pop style right? i have only one bass i and have to pick everything consdring "maximum versatility" in my mind untill i find that one tone and style which is out and out ME and i can forget the rest for it (kinda very unlikely to happen)

yeah i ofcourse would sure get a better bass than the squier but it would take atleast 2-3 years from now