• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Advice for Sound Cutting Through

#21
it just depends--what kind of strings? some ar emmore middy than others. Do you play with a pick or fingers? do you pluck the strings near the bridge or near the neck? What kind of attack do you have--light or heavy? All these affect the sound. pickups are different, some more midrangey than others. Your amp probably has a "voice"--even if thee controls say "flat" (every tone knowb at noon) the frequency curve might not actually BE flat. On traditional fender style preamps you don't get even close to "flat" unless the bass is at 9 o'clock, mid at 2 o'clock, and treble at 9 o'clock.

But like everyine has said, it's the midrange frequencies that make it happen. I generally roll the tone knob back a good bit, but that just happens to be what works with my rig. Try to work the midrange
 
#22
I always run all my basses "wide open." Volume, tone, whatever. I make any dynamic changes with my finger attack on the strings. If you use a pick, same thing. As previously noted, volume and tone controls only subract. As far as I'm concerned, they could leave everything except pickup select/blend on the shelf when they build a bass for me;)
 
#24
Well I had a similar problem the other day when I heard my 'sound' for the first time from afar. The post was : 'Will reverb help my sound?' I had alot of great replies all of which agreed that reverb wouldn't help but the mids bumped and the lows bumped down would. I thought My lows were low enough and kinda dismissed that idea of cutting them more. I then played live for our Thursday night service and decided to give it a try.
:hyper: +++++++++++++++ IT WORKED +++++++++++++++++ :hyper:

I was really surprised and concerned that I would lose my sound, but I didn't and it cleaned up the mud. There was much more clarity than before.
There is much knowledge in these forums. Give it a try, it can't hurt.
 
#25
Once you have the EQ sorted out you might look at a couple of other things. Do you have a keyboard player using an organ? Does he lay heavily on the lower register with his left hand all the time. This can create a heavy layer of mud right in the frequencies that belong to the bass player. I used to play with a B3 man who always played full chords with his left hand down low on the keyboard. Talk about mud. Most "professionals" will work it out with you if you are polite about it. If not, just ask him how he'd like to be playing with just one hand. Another problem is the microphone on the bass drum. Especially if the drummer is stomping on it continuously. That low thunder coming out of the PA can destroy the beautiful bass sound that you worked so hard to get. Here again, a polite visit with the soundman can usually get him to back down the bass drum a little bit. If not, that's why I always carry a small pair of wire cutters in my gig bag.. One snip and problem solved. ;)
 
#26
Joe Beets...I didn't even think of that, but we do mic the kick drum in our space...excellent point - (I guess the rats chewed through the wire :) We are getting together on Monday and I am going to try and get a good EQ with the Mids up and the Lows down. I'll post back how things turn out.
 
#29
Just one thing about studio work.

I always prefer to EQ as much as I can with the band then messing with it on a mixer. After all, the sound out of my amp is the sound I want, right?
I'll usually set near flat, record a take and then go in and have a listen. If it needs changing, I change it on my amp, not later on the mixer.
I find messing around too much on a desk takes away 'my' sound.

Just my $0.02.
 
#30
So.. what a job reading everything!...

Until now, making up the balance..

* - EQ-setting not a 'smiley'
* - Try to stay out of other people's ranges (and vice versa, which doesn't happen all the time) while playing and adjusting sounds.
* - Volume and tone of the pickups 100%

I read some great advices, the one going flat is probably one of the best. Only the point is... you've gotta have a bass which cuts trough. As Joe Nerve (I believe it was him) mentioned that practically no-one mentioned this very important factor. How many of us haven't had problems with different basses. I've had an old Aria TSB 350 which cut through a lot better than the 55.02 I owned. It is so important to check it out.. otherwise any of the changements you make won't have an important effect. Off course it's possible to enhance things a bit, but the sound is also in your bass... and your hands!

For now I've got a great handmade bass which cuts-through very well. One of the best jazzers ever I'm convinced. The rest of my gear (T-Max amp and Bag End 4.10" cab) I leave untouched, thus flat. To quote somebody over here... this combo is capable of shifting the moons orbit too. :D
 
#31
I'm curious if there are any doublers reading this? Normally for upright I run my eq nearly flat, and then cut a little bass, and a lot of mids. This provides a nice woody wqarm sound, but...In one room in particular this renders me nearly invisible on stage. Would this same theory apply to upright?

Using a schroeder cab solved the problem, but there are other cabs I have that might benefit from this?
 
#33
Oh, and in addition to the way the ear perceives sound at different volumes, when you play on your own, you just hear yourself. When the guitars come in, they're putting out a lot of sound in the midrange, which overwhelms the relatively weak midrange of the bass, so you can't hear it anymore.

The bottom stuff has no competition, the bottom comes through fine. By masking the mids, the guitars make the bass sound muddy all by themselves. I always make sure my bass sounds more midrangey than I like when I warm up and sound check by myself, cause I know when everyone else is playing, they'll mask much of my midrange and I'll end up close to what I'm looking for out front.

Randy
 
#35
Steveksux - I actually wear earplugs during jam and live. I've tried telling them to turn down, but they like it loud. We play a lot of all agers in non PA rooms and they like the sound where the volume will be live.. I know it's stupid, but it's a 1 against 4 situation and I dig playing the tunes.
 
#36
Okay so here's the deal. I picked up a set of EMG's because the stocks were garbage...I've been working around them for years and finally took the plunge...MAN WHAT AN IMPROVEMENT!!! I also took your advice with the EQ settings. I need to fiddle a bit more, but what a monster the Ampeg PR-410 HLF is. The guys told ME to turn down. **** you dudes, I've ben listening to your whiney ass guitars for so long...now it's the time of the bass!!! We shall rule the world with a ... Just kidding, I turned down, but thank you so much for this help. My bass sliced through the guitars. Alone it sounded a bit bright, but with the guitars it sounded great (I'll just need to tweak.) The forum and the thread have been invaluable.
 
#37
Great, I hope you'll whipe there arses! ;)

About the hearing-loss... the beeping/hiss in your ears after practising is not a guarantee for it. It occurs without hearing anything too, so you should be following the advice of wearing them all the time!!! Too many people don't do this and only take (if they do) it for true when they hear a lot of noise. It's ignorance 'pur sang'. :mad:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back