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Charting volume of several basses

Bullitt5135

Bullitt5135

Nov 16, 2010
2,058
4,162
SE Michigan
#1
I'm trying to figure out a method determine the relative volume (output) of several basses. My two Fenders are nearly identical in output, but the other three I like to gig with all run varying degrees of HOT. It makes it hard to swap basses mid-gig and keep the volume in check. When I try switching on the fly and by ear, there's always an uncomfortable amount of time mid-song as I try and fumble with the volume.

I'd like to chart out the relative volume of my basses in a controlled setting. I assume I'd need a dB meter for starters? At the end of the day, I'd like to have a chart I can can glance at and know "if the master volume for the Jazz is at 12 o'clock, I need to adjust the master to XX if I switch to the Thunderbird."

Any thoughts on how to approach this would be greatly appreciated.
 
#4
I swap pretty often. Fretted to fretless to Kala UBass. In my setup the fretted and fretless options are basically identical so they can share a common input. The UBass gets the other input. I use a Radial Bassbone for switching and level setting.

I would have a hard time justifying more than those 3 basses though ...
 
#6
Jazz Ad said:
If you want to compensate for the difference of output between basses, you want to adjust gain, not master.
Click to expand...

Good point. Adjusting the gain makes more sense than adjusting the master. I did some messing around with a sound meter app on my Android phone yesterday. While not terribly accurate, it did help give me some useful feedback that I was looking for. With my Fenders at around 12 o'clock, my other basses need to be at about 8:30-9 o'clock to achieve the same volume.

I typically bring two basses to gigs. If I switch during a gig, it's usually to my lighter Danelectro (which has a way hotter output). Other times, I might start with my T-Bird or LTD then switch to a Jazz when the ergonomics start wearing me out.
 
#7
Bullitt5135 said:
I typically bring two basses to gigs. If I switch during a gig, it's usually to my lighter Danelectro (which has a way hotter output). Other times, I might start with my T-Bird or LTD then switch to a Jazz when the ergonomics start wearing me out.
Click to expand...
it sounds like you're not switching for specific tonal reasons song-to-song; why not just pick the one bass that's comfortable and sounds good and play that one the whole time?
 

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