Sort of related..?
I was recording some bass parts with my band the other day (eclectic Mr. Bungle-type silliness). For some tunes I had used my Nordstrand P/J active and VP5. We tried the VF5 for one song, and although it sounded amazing solo, the pitch definition seemed to get lost in the mix. We didn't have much time at that point, so I didn't experiment much with the controls. We ended up trying the blend somewhat to the neck pickup, with bass and treble controls boosted a bit. I was trying for an active P-bass kind of vibe. In the mix, it felt like the lows were too low, kind of below where you can really hear the pitch, more into the "feeling" the bass range. In the interest of saving time, we went back to the Nordy P/J, which filled out the low mids without the excessive extreme low end.
Now, this was the first time I have played the VF5 outside my practice room. On jazz-type basses I normally edge toward the bridge pickup and boost mids. That's how I play at home. This time I went with the "boost low and high" thing because so many people seem to like it. Maybe I should have gone with my instincts on that. But I have to say, I was disappointed that the bass didn't seem to cut through, since I would like to be able to use all the tones on the bass without getting lost in the mix. All equipment used was excellent, I believe I was going through a Neve channel and perhaps a high-end compressor.
I love the bass in my practice room, and plan to try it live etc. with a few different settings, but any advice would be helpful.
For the record, I owned a nyc Sadowsky, and never really got along with the "no mids" eq scheme. In that case also, the neck pickup just didn't seem to cut. Is it me???
Also, I feel the mid control on the VF5 really does add something, and doesn't get honky or boomy even when cranked.
