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A more defined sounding P-bass. HOW?
- Thread starter Kelpie
- Start date
This is my personal experience as well. The closer a bass acoustically sounds, the easier it is to get that tone out of.
Some people mention electronics and they are right that they make a huge audible difference, but when I hear an active bass with highs and high mids boosted(like a Stingray) vs a Ric, an old Aria Pro neck-through, or an Epiphone or Gibson Ripper that has natural and sharp metallic highs, I hear a pretty big audible difference.
So in a perfect world, starting with the right bass will get you much closer to that sound.
I built a P/J from maple a while back in an attempt to get a really bright, cutting tone but the body was very thick. It has the same wood as a Gibson Ripper or a Ric, but unlike them it is very thick and not nearly as resonant. That bass will never sound as lively, but it has a solid tone. It's pretty heavy, but my Epiphone Ripper was as well. It just had a much thinner body.
I have an extra rock maple P bass body, and if I ever build it, I will shave the body down so it is much thinner.
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In the meantime I am very curious what you are going to do and how it works out. Please keep us updated!
I was at a gig just on Saturday and there were a number of bands playing. The ones using Fenders with Ampeg tended to fill the room with low end rumble but were not well defined whereas those using more modern active basses tended to have a more defined and warmer sound - plenty of bass but better mid and definition. Some of this may be down to playing ability and technique (my view is you really have to play a passive Fender hard to get anything like a defined sound from it. Putting it through a pre amp may also help - which makes it active!!
Maybe you should try an active bass like a Musicman or Warwick to achieve the sound you're looking for. You may be surprised. I'll defined bass sound from established instruments of the time is of one of the main reasons active basses were invented in the 70s.
Maybe you should try an active bass like a Musicman or Warwick to achieve the sound you're looking for. You may be surprised. I'll defined bass sound from established instruments of the time is of one of the main reasons active basses were invented in the 70s.
A preamp would help. I know it does me. But, I still needed EQ. To me, to make a P pop or more defined, it's all about EQ and having the proper frequencies to do it with.
Killing gods
Killing gods
Yep. A pedal like a Darkglass od is good at bringing out attack.
Speaking of passive basses, I recon a Ric would cut through just as easy(if not easier) than many actives with the right setup.
I have a bass player mag at home with an interview with Justin Chancellor saying he had a lot of trouble on fast parts with his Stingray back around Aenima. Said it was all "click and boom" and that he had a lot of trouble replicating Paul D'Amour's cutting tone. Paul played a passive bass, a Ric.
The Wal he uses now has a lot more high mids than his old Stingray.
Speaking of passive basses, I recon a Ric would cut through just as easy(if not easier) than many actives with the right setup.
I have a bass player mag at home with an interview with Justin Chancellor saying he had a lot of trouble on fast parts with his Stingray back around Aenima. Said it was all "click and boom" and that he had a lot of trouble replicating Paul D'Amour's cutting tone. Paul played a passive bass, a Ric.
The Wal he uses now has a lot more high mids than his old Stingray.
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I can say this much, my P has active EMG's in it. My Affinity P/J has passive pups in it (used to have the stock pups but I recently switched them out for the new EMG Geezers which are still passive). Before I got the SA PEQ, my Affinity didnt have any issues cutting through the mix, just had a lower output I had to adjust to. After I got the SA PEQ, my P SINGS in the mix. Very aggressive, very pronounced. Almost like a Rise Against but not quite ya know. The PEQ made all the difference.
I could be wrong but in my experience, if a bass does not sound good with different sets of pickups, I call it a dud. I have an Original '62 pickup on my 1996 Am Std PBass and no clarity issues. Obviously, if I really want a defined sound I use a Jazz Bass anyway as it is understood that a PBass sound is naturally fat and thumpy.
All this to say that I'd sell this bass of yours and buy one made after 2008.
All this to say that I'd sell this bass of yours and buy one made after 2008.
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Oh... this was a 1983 Fender US P-bass I got used in the mid-80's. I just replaced the stock pickup with the standard EMG active P-bass pup, no preamp. On that particular bass, it seemed to deliver exactly what the OP wants from his P-bass: clarity and definition.
Again, I don't always like EMG, but it happened to sound fantastic in this bass.
I actually have a set of ol EMG active. The EMG-P's. They were in my P before I replaced them with the PAX's. I'm kinda thinking of putting them back in. I really dig the PAX's but those older P's were extremely clear and crisp. I like that. Even more so than the PAX's. Which are quite clear and precise themselves.
Killing gods
I just finished a P bass for a customer and the comment he and his band used after 1st rehearsal was how "authoritative" the sound was and how well it "cut through" the mix. We used Lindy Fralin P/ups, 500K linear taper volume pot and 250K audio taper tone pot. Tone cap. was green "Chiclets" style .047uF and strings were D'addario Chromes.
Hope that helps. Here's some bass porn to go with it.
Hope that helps. Here's some bass porn to go with it.
I just finished a P bass for a customer and the comment he and his band used after 1st rehearsal was how "authoritative" the sound was and how well it "cut through" the mix. We used Lindy Fralin P/ups, 500K linear taper volume pot and 250K audio taper tone pot. Tone cap. was green "Chiclets" style .047uF and strings were D'addario Chromes.
Hope that helps. Here's some bass porn to go with it.
Extremely beautiful piece of bass. Wow.
Killing gods
I had a 62 Original and I was never a fan of it. Too bright, and a little down in the mids that I like for being heard and a little too up in the higher mids that can sound boxy. Trouble is, there are a buttload of pickups out there now, and it's very hard to predict what people will like. I like the EMG Geezer Butler P a lot because it's got great mids that sound more even and pretty (for lack of a better word) and the highs are present but not overbearing. But while it's great to have choices, it's pretty overwhelming to sort through P pickup options.
syco, that's dead-sexy! blocks-and-binding P, who knew? and the fender deluxe string tree is something i'd thought about too, since it so nicely solves the rattling A once and for all.
i'm curious as to why you went with 250k for the tone; my P is pretty much like that one (fralin, 500k linear volume) but i went with a 500k tone, too (audio of course). i get all my grind and clarity, and can nudge the tone back to like "7" to get exactly what that one does dimed.
i'm curious as to why you went with 250k for the tone; my P is pretty much like that one (fralin, 500k linear volume) but i went with a 500k tone, too (audio of course). i get all my grind and clarity, and can nudge the tone back to like "7" to get exactly what that one does dimed.
I've always had exactly the opposite experience. I will say that almost no one that I see in amateur bands has a clue how to eq to a room.
