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Bass Muff -Quick question

#21
Geddyfleaharris said:
Is the Pete Cornish article then advocating for putting a preamp first in line as a booster? Would an active bass preamp perform that function if the answer is yes?

Maybe I am hearing things but there sure seems to be a lot less difference in tone when I take the pedals out when using my Stingray as opposed to my Ric. It seems like the Ric's tone is affected a lot more by the board.
Click to expand...

An active bass does buffer your signal! So, what you're experiencing is consistent with the principles mentioned above!
 
#25
While I'm no expert in buffers, I have spent a lot of time listening to op amps, which are often used in bass preamps. As a general comment, I've found a lot of the low power op amps used in on-board preamps/pickups tend to compromise the tone somewhat. However, there are buffer circuits which use discrete components like FETs which can draw very little power and sound good at the same time. Of course, there is much more to this issue....
 
#26
Ok then. I used the pedal at a gig last night and had a little experiment beforehand. I tried using a very short lead from pedal to amp, and the signal was as it is without the pedal. However it was too short to be practical for live use. So I tried a longer Planet Waves lead and still, the signal was just fine, VU meter banging away as usual!:bassist:

So I think I can lay the blame here either on the lead I used at practice, or maybe it was the bass? I did use a different bass at the gig, but they are both passive P bass style with the same pickups, and when going direct into the amp their output is pretty much identical.
Also the lead in question is fine when used between bass and amp direct.
 
#27
kevteop said:
Might be because it's true bypass - your signal is having to travel down two cables and through your pedal(s) without getting buffered along the way, so it's getting weaker. Did you notice the treble end of your signal in particular was going missing?

True bypass can be a real pain if you don't have a buffer somewhere in your signal chain.
Click to expand...
or an active bass
 
#28
Kink Rimson said:
Ok then. I used the pedal at a gig last night and had a little experiment beforehand. I tried using a very short lead from pedal to amp, and the signal was as it is without the pedal. However it was too short to be practical for live use. So I tried a longer Planet Waves lead and still, the signal was just fine, VU meter banging away as usual!:bassist:

So I think I can lay the blame here either on the lead I used at practice, or maybe it was the bass? I did use a different bass at the gig, but they are both passive P bass style with the same pickups, and when going direct into the amp their output is pretty much identical.
Also the lead in question is fine when used between bass and amp direct.
Click to expand...

Sounds like a bad cable to me. Intermittent partial short, that for some reason, worked better with the stronger signal from the engaged pedal.

-or- maybe something wasn't plugged in all the way? :hiding:
 

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