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Bass brainiacs - I need help! I'm losing my mind!

fatbassman

fatbassman

Oct 17, 2008
46
12
Snohomish, WA
www.facebook.com
#1
Ok here it is.... I just bought a Warwick $$ fiver that I've been wanting forever... But the big dog won't bark!

I play in a metal band, two fast playing guitarists, a heavy handed drummer, and a hardcore vocalist... I just can't tune my warwick to cut through, and when I get it tuned high enough, it has no nuts. It's tuned A-D-A-D-G, but it's not slopsville, I don't even get much fret noise. The singer is a bass player too, we have both spent hours trying to fine tune the settings on the guitar and my Mesa M-Pulse 600... but nothing seems to work!

Is a warwick not voiced for such an environment? Am I doing somthing wrong? I've seen metal bassists play them (Messugah, etc.), but I can't seem to make it work for me!

Here's the hard to swallow part - I always end up going back to my ESP LTD TA-500 (EMG HZ's, active EMG three band eq), which everyone in the band prefers the tone of!!!!!

***???

Anyone have any thoughts????
 
#3
You got used to the EMG's mid-lows cutting thru like a knife and now you miss it... I switched from a cheap bass with EMG pickups and circuit to superjazz basses 6 years ago and today I still find situations where the EMG's would sound better. If after a few more weeks you still miss your old bass, I guess it's time to go back to it and sell the big guy...
 
#9
fatbassman said:
For Confused: Tuning may have been a bad word to use... I meant eq'd (using both the wick onboard and my amps eq section)
Click to expand...
Really? And that's not doing it? I'm no Warwick expert, but I'd think there would be some setting that should cut through (like boosting the mids, for example).

Maybe your amp isn't well suited to go along with your bass. Have you tried going through another amp?
 
#10
No, I'm pretty much in love with my amp.... Mesa M-Pulse 600 head on a Powerhouse 1000 cab. The bass would have to be sold before I'd get rid of my amp.

My practice amp is Markbass 121P... It sounds similar. The Wick is fantastic, the tone is amazing, it just doesn't cut. But to answer your question, I have never used anything else live or in practice.
 
#11
Jjango said:
Really? And that's not doing it? I'm no Warwick expert, but I'd think there would be some setting that should cut through (like boosting the mids, for example).

Maybe your amp isn't well suited to go along with your bass. Have you tried going through another amp?
Click to expand...

lol
 
#13
How are you eq'ing things on both the bass & amp?
I've found that flat is a good place to start on both bass and amp, and that overly tweezed sounds get lost in the mix.
What might sound harsh on its own will be O.K. when the cymbals and guitars wipe out those frequencies from the bass.
Or as others have said, maybe it's just not the right bass for your tone.
Good luck.
 
#14
fatbassman said:
Ok here it is.... I just bought a Warwick $$ fiver that I've been wanting forever... But the big dog won't bark!

I play in a metal band, two fast playing guitarists, a heavy handed drummer, and a hardcore vocalist... I just can't tune my warwick to cut through, and when I get it tuned high enough, it has no nuts. It's tuned A-D-A-D-G, but it's not slopsville, I don't even get much fret noise. The singer is a bass player too, we have both spent hours trying to fine tune the settings on the guitar and my Mesa M-Pulse 600... but nothing seems to work!

Is a warwick not voiced for such an environment? Am I doing somthing wrong? I've seen metal bassists play them (Messugah, etc.), but I can't seem to make it work for me!

Here's the hard to swallow part - I always end up going back to my ESP LTD TA-500 (EMG HZ's, active EMG three band eq), which everyone in the band prefers the tone of!!!!!

***???

Anyone have any thoughts????
Click to expand...

One word..........!
EMG pickups
 
#17
want some real metal advice with this bass?
First, the $$ best friend is a Tech21 Bassdriver.
2nd, boost low and hi mids like crazy, reduce the bass and treble section (reverse smiley face eq).
3rd, lots of compression
4th, with the bassdriver, use neck pu in series mode or single coil and boost presence a little bit and some overdrive (bass and treble below 12 o clock), if you don't have the bass driver, go with bridge in single or parallel mode and boost treble a bit on your amp or presence if you have it.
5th, pull the volume pot to bypass the eq to have more mids
6th, play hard.


I'm pretty sure this would help you and remember that even if a tone sounds crappy solo'd, it can shine in the mix like no others.
 
#18
IMO and IME, the Warwick/M-Pulse 600 combination doesn't work in that setting. I play a Corvette 5 tuned A-C-A-D-F with the preamp flat and, even with mids cranked (I don't scoop at any time) I couldn't get it to be more than a rumble, let alone cut. Plug the same bass into my GBE-1200 or Carbine and, magically, I have so much cut that my guitarist complains :). Either the bass or the amp is going to have to go. Personally, I would swap the M-Pulse for a Carbine, but you've already said that the bass would go first. You really should try a Carbine though... that thing is incredible.
 
#20
What strings are you running? I just picked up a 4 string $$ and it was a bit questionable in the tone department. I wasn't sure if I was going to keep it or take it back to GC. I couldn't find a tone that made sense and felt right. I decided to take a chance that the stings on it were just beat from being on the show room floor for too long. I swapped the stock ones out for some DR Lo-Riders in stainless steel and it jumped to life. Pure cash money tone. edit - By that, I mean lively and articulate with plenty of punch and definition and much more "growl" than the stock stings gave off.

BTW - I'm running it through an M6 Carbine and two PH cabs (115 & 212) and tuned to standard. I'm also running the bass with the preamp bypassed.
 

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