active problems/how can i be heard??

(hed)-less · Oct 11, 2001

hey people.

ive just been drafted into my first band. ive been playing for quite awhile now, and i get lessons so i feel im competent enough on my instrument to do this. this alas is not where my problem falls. i listen to extreme/heavy music; fear factory, korn, (hed)p.e., pitchshifter, p.o.d., cannibal corpse, morbid angel, amen, sepultura, static-x, powerman 5000....you get the idea.

anyway practicing by myself doesnt really give me an idea of how well my bass would stand out amognst all that distorsion in the guitars. i feel comfident in my bass lines, im just afraid they may be lost among the "noise". i want ta develop a sound like ryknow from mudvayne, rayna from coal chamber or fieldy from korn. reallyn stand out and cut through the noise with a "clicky" sound.

(im gettin to the "setup" part...just bare with me...) i know cutting is all to do with the EQ. im just wondering how vital and activbe bass is when it comes to doing what i want to do. you see i currently play a hohner rockwood, passive pickups, fender p-bass copy type thing. its not bad but i feel its more of a beginners bass and i needed to move on. this is why my moms bought me a beautiful 6 string bass for my birthday on the 27th of Oct. thing is it aint active and has no eq.

what im asking is 3 things (yes 3!...obnoxious arent i?)

1. how vital is the active electronics/eq? i wouldnt know...ive never played one. without will i still be heard in my band? is there any techniques i can use to make myself more heard?

2. can you get graphic equalisers which are just as good (if not better) as what you get on basses in a foot pedal, or control box, or built into an amp, or something along those lines which would mean i could have the effect of an EQ without having one built into my bass? if so, is this advisable?

3. is there anyway you can convert a passive bass into a active one with an EQ? give it a preamp? etc? should i replace my pickups?

i know i went on for a while and this is alot to ask but im really paranoid about this and id feel better with thsi answered. thank you very much who even bothers to read all of my ranting...let alone attempts to diagnose and assist me!

much love and respect!

AnT!

if it helps anyone to evaluate my situation you can see the 6 string bass im getting in question :here!

Nomadic Herder · Oct 11, 2001

Well, for the 'clicky' type sound, you need to turn the mids on your amp down and turn the bass n highs up. An active bass is not necessary. With the lack of mids, you will lose cutting power and need more power. Most of your cutting ability will be from your amp and EQ.

Forgot to ask- what kind of amp do you have now? And what kind of amp(s) are your guitarists running?

PS- the link in your message doesnt work.

merlin · Oct 12, 2001

extreme/heavy music like Korn or Hed pe??

lolol. Least u like Cannibal Corpse. Get into some Dying Fetus man!

Merls

Sorry just thought i'd add that.

brianrost · Oct 12, 2001

I didn't know anyone was even making passive 6s...what bass did you get?

cassanova · Oct 12, 2001

Originally posted by (hed)-less
1. how vital is the active electronics/eq? i wouldnt know...ive never played one. without will i still be heard in my band? is there any techniques i can use to make myself more heard?

weather you cut thru the mix or not, is mostly due to your amp imo, Ive had both active and passive basses and have never had a problem cutting thru the mix or being heard in general. The active eq more or less just allows you to fine tune your sound a bit more at the bass itself, a few more tonal options and gives the bass a "hotter sound"

2. can you get graphic equalisers which are just as good (if not better) as what you get on basses in a foot pedal, or control box, or built into an amp, or something along those lines which would mean i could have the effect of an EQ without having one built into my bass? if so, is this advisable?

yes you can get graphic eq's to tweek your tone more, (most amps have at least a 5-7 band built into them now), but you can always add an external eq to it if you would want to.
you can also buy an outbord pre-amp to your bass to give you the added bass, trebs, and mids right at the bass.

3. is there anyway you can convert a passive bass into a active one with an EQ? give it a preamp? etc? should i replace my pickups?

yes you can buy aftermarket preamps,(both internal and external ones)
no you dont have to replace your pickups if you go that route, the active fenders are passive pickups with active etronics. OR you can go with active pickups with passive electronics.

hope this is of some help to you, im sure someone will come along and add other stuff that i left out.
Click to expand...

barroso · Oct 12, 2001

in these days, amps can be much important than basses. it's sad, but it's the truth. you don't need to have a active bass. you can use a passive bass and att a preamp before your amp. that's the same if not better than use an active bass. sometimes this is cheaper. you can change your pickups and onboard electronics and i suggest you EMG, i higly suggest EMG due to your music style. they are plenty of output and attack. otherwise you can look for a outboard preamp, there are many and if you loof in the used market you can find great deals. one of the most respected is the tech 21 sansamp bass driver. i have great results with a hughes and kettner tubeman plus. bought used at 100$. obviously don't forget the amp. which is your amp now?

cassanova · Oct 12, 2001

Originally posted by barroso
in these days, amps can be much important than basses. it's sad, but it's the truth.
Click to expand...

true that, ive heard many a mediocre bass and my brothers cheap nasty lotus guitar sound pretty good thru a good amp.

all ya gotta do is give the bass a lil TLC (no not the group for all you wise guys that could possibly comment on that)

(hed)-less · Oct 13, 2001

thanx very much to evryone fo their help. especially to cassanova for reassureing me on a few things i was worried about. to merlin. yeah maybe i shoulda bin a little more specific: im into anythin loud, ie:nu-metal, death metal, doom metal (u gotta love cradle of filth man!!!), goth metal, dark wave, rapcore (wots wrong wit hed pe?? lol), and all the other stuff in between. lol

i erm....currently have no amp cuz i kinda blew it up....oops. it was only a 50 watt peavey practise amp anyway. im geddin a new job soon so i may get a nice 500 watt marshall i had my eye on.

i agree wit the amps vs. basses thing totally. my mates got a bad ass mess boogie amp and i tried my crappy old 4 string hohner rockwood (which im gunna turn into a fretless now) on it and sounded great.

TLC huh? i was thinkin of doin sum pickup replacin maybe, replace the knobs to gibson style ones, dunno wot they be called, the ones you get on a les paul or an sg. i like those. maybe a thru body bridge too. i love those. but none of this is mandatory, its just personal preference stuff. other than that is the bass im gettin any good? (see the pics below). i dont know of its specs so dont ask, i was hoping you could tell me, lol. i dont even know how to get to the galveston website or where ever that will carry info on it. so, oh wells:-

thanx again people

AnT

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