That is a complete misinterpretation of both the comments made and the intent of those comments. Nice try!
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That is a complete misinterpretation of both the comments made and the intent of those comments. Nice try!
m
A flat setting is still pretty far from a pure sine wave fundamental, or even a “straight wire with gain.” It could be argued that The overtones which distinguish one sound of a given pitch from another are contaminants. To each their own, do what inspires you, but to me it seems the notion of signal purity being debated here is a theoretical, artificial construct.
Again, That is irrelevant to what was said or meant. We were talking about plugging a bass into an amp without any additions between them, ie, no pedals.
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My OP :
My reply to you :
Got grumpy last night. Not enough sleep. Sorry for the last part.
Having looked around, the box I heavily recommend you should go into a music shop and try out is the Fender Downtown Express bass preamp. 3-band EQ, compressor with threshold, gain, and blend controls, OD with level, tone, and drive controls, and baked-in Fender sound. All yours from Sweetwater for $249.99.
Peace,
SoundSupport
You introduced the idea of contaminants into the discussion. I was addressing that. I don’t mean any disrespect toward what I assume is your preference for minimal signal path, but you seem to be on the prod for folks who like to add stuff to theirs. You’re calling them “addicts” and implying that the issue here is that they’re on your case for preferring simple signal paths.
The thread started off peacefully enough, with no shade cast upon lovers of signal purity.
If you have no interest in trying to understand what inspires and motivates others, just read another thread, rather than telling them their approach is polluted and wrong.
My response is towards the misinterpretation of what I conveyed. Its that simple.
I don't come here to stir or start trouble, I like to read others and comment where the point is of interest.
I have no interest in pedals of any kind. I just like a bass into an amp and that is the only players that interest me. I do get short with people who invent irreverent non-sense for the point of pointing a finger. Only happens on the internet as you know.
No harm meant.
I don't come here to stir or start trouble, I like to read others and comment where the point is of interest.
I have no interest in pedals of any kind. I just like a bass into an amp and that is the only players that interest me. I do get short with people who invent irreverent non-sense for the point of pointing a finger. Only happens on the internet as you know.
No harm meant.
Friendly reminder here that there are rules to follow in the forums not the least of which is to respect fellow members. Also, we don't tolerate trolling. We'd rather not have to evaluate whether awarding points is necessary so let's keep discussion on point please.
OK, now back to regularly scheduled programming.
OK, now back to regularly scheduled programming.
Who says? And who says we want “flat response?”
Sorry…I think you’re a good guy but you keep moving the bar. And you were throwing shade at pedal users for sure. Nobody threw any at you but you keep throwing it and claiming you’re not.
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My gigging rig had a PBDDI with one channel set to a flat(ish) setting, plus a SD Doubleback Compressor as my 'always on.' I'd use the other channels of the PBDDI for added tone shaping, and a BDDI for 'oomph' when needed (the PBDDI doesn't quite get there). Other pedals were for actual effects.
Jimmy,
Its simpler than that. If everyone agrees with the same thing, life gets very boring, very fast. I simply added an alternate view. What gets extremely distorted is comments misinterpreting the meaning or offering reinterpretations that are miles from what was originally said. That is what you see me attempting to correct and on the internet, reality is often lost at the click of the next page.
Easy to prove but looking at any thread and skipping a page and whoa..... where this this thread go?
I don't force my opinions on anyone but I will state them. What I also won't do is succumb to an inaccurate distorted interpretation of what I said or meant.
Flat response is a good example, I was simply referring to plugging a bass guitar into and amp as an alternative.
I don't come here to stir the pot, just read opinions and experiences and place one of my own here and there, but not with any intent to troll or distort a thread. That's simply not me. Kind of like speakers, some like 10's, 8's, 12's or others and then someone tosses closed cabs into the comments in lieu of the never stated vented cabs and off we go. That's the internet.
Hope that clears this up a little,
John
Its simpler than that. If everyone agrees with the same thing, life gets very boring, very fast. I simply added an alternate view. What gets extremely distorted is comments misinterpreting the meaning or offering reinterpretations that are miles from what was originally said. That is what you see me attempting to correct and on the internet, reality is often lost at the click of the next page.
Easy to prove but looking at any thread and skipping a page and whoa..... where this this thread go?
I don't force my opinions on anyone but I will state them. What I also won't do is succumb to an inaccurate distorted interpretation of what I said or meant.
Flat response is a good example, I was simply referring to plugging a bass guitar into and amp as an alternative.
I don't come here to stir the pot, just read opinions and experiences and place one of my own here and there, but not with any intent to troll or distort a thread. That's simply not me. Kind of like speakers, some like 10's, 8's, 12's or others and then someone tosses closed cabs into the comments in lieu of the never stated vented cabs and off we go. That's the internet.
Hope that clears this up a little,
John
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Let us proceed in a brotherly, mutually respectful fashion in this discussion of effects that constitute an always-on part of one’s signal path.
Let us do so in a fashion shorn of provocative, dismissive language, and in the pursuit of shared interest in the chosen topic. For it hath long been decreed thus: thou shalt not intercede in FX discussions with anti-FX commentary.
Hearken back to those posts that fell by the wayside in this journey, existing now only in memory. Let us bear no grudge or ill will from those now-excised posts, but go forth with intent of learning from one another, with the understanding that for some, the amp itself is the lone always-on part of the signal path, while for others, an intricate string of signal modifying devices are part of the process.
Let us do so in a fashion shorn of provocative, dismissive language, and in the pursuit of shared interest in the chosen topic. For it hath long been decreed thus: thou shalt not intercede in FX discussions with anti-FX commentary.
Hearken back to those posts that fell by the wayside in this journey, existing now only in memory. Let us bear no grudge or ill will from those now-excised posts, but go forth with intent of learning from one another, with the understanding that for some, the amp itself is the lone always-on part of the signal path, while for others, an intricate string of signal modifying devices are part of the process.
I don't know if you'd say I use a wide array to achieve my clean tone, but I'm a big fan of a compressor and a Micro-Thumpinator (or some other high-pass filter to get rid of non-pitch sub-fundamental rumble). No post-processing is ever going to save a crudey bass tone, but it can definitely take a great tone and make it stellar.
I also have a BMC on the board. It's not always in use, but it's there if there are problems with the mids that I can't correct with the amp or bass or if I just need some more intelligibility in the high-mids.
+1
I never really got the preoccupation with flat. IME, it has little relation to achieving a desirable bass tone in real world situations. Studio is its own beast, but I've yet to hear in a live situation a bass -> DI -> console that sounds good with no EQing. Even the defining amplifier of bass guitar, the SVT, usually requires some knob twisting to get the magic to come out.
I also have a BMC on the board. It's not always in use, but it's there if there are problems with the mids that I can't correct with the amp or bass or if I just need some more intelligibility in the high-mids.
+1
I never really got the preoccupation with flat. IME, it has little relation to achieving a desirable bass tone in real world situations. Studio is its own beast, but I've yet to hear in a live situation a bass -> DI -> console that sounds good with no EQing. Even the defining amplifier of bass guitar, the SVT, usually requires some knob twisting to get the magic to come out.
Much of the time it comes from the "tone is in the fingers" crowd. You know, those who can make beautiful music just by strumming their fingers on a table.
In the real world there's no such thing as absolutely flat. Pickups are colored, amps are colored, speakers are colored. Finding an amp rig that sounds great with the knobs set flat just means you've found one with the tonal coloration you like. And of course the idea that EQ only exists to correct deficiencies is ridiculous. Might be true for sound reinforcement, but for instrument rigs, EQ is there to please your ears.
Fwiw, my always on for "clean tone" are Xotic RC Bass Booster, Keeley Bassist, SSBS Mini, with the Broughton Fliptop on maybe 90% of the time, into a Radial Stagebug. Haven't gigged in a while, so live setup may change. Also looking info to a HPF, so that may be added to the always-on crew.
A Spectra compressor, to a HOF reverb (barely audible), to a Smoothie Compressor, to a Broughton HPF. Always on! As clean, thick, punchy sound. Then a Mesa amp.
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I'm with Aussieplayer in that straight into an amp and dials apart from volume all around 12.
There is your clean sound.
Plenty of basses have active options but I make sure I set mine up with playable sounds that work passive. All of them.
Then it becomes a question of working on my touch and input.
There is your clean sound.
Plenty of basses have active options but I make sure I set mine up with playable sounds that work passive. All of them.
Then it becomes a question of working on my touch and input.
On a bunch of amps, all knobs at noon is nowhere near flat response...
I'd call a bass straight into an amp a raw tone instead of clean. Of course it's clean but I think there's a difference. Adding a compressor or a low pass filter still gets you a clean tone. It's now processed but still clean..
Cork sniffing about clean tone in a thread about effects as your main tone, how surprising..
On my amp, it sounds pretty clean to me.
Not direct into the board clean because the cabs are a factor but true to the sound of the bass.
