Double Bass Double-bass tone... What are you looking for?

[tb-player]

There are a large variety of players on this forum playing DB in a large variety of scenarios. I'm curious... what tone are you looking for out of your bass?

Do you want big booming sound?
Maybe more midrange to cut through?
Is there someone who prefers thin and nasally?

Granted, given the variety of environments and styles represented here, there may be a lot of different preferences. The symphony player will have different tone needs than the jazz cat.

What tone are you looking to achieve out of your bass?

 

[bass12]

Relatively thick and punchy - with good projection (I don’t want a choked tone). Present low end but not boomy, with a clear attack and a fairly quick bloom to the note. I don’t like a nasal sound. I’m not at all a classical player and I play pizz exclusively outside of some practice with a bow. Mostly jazz type situations.

 

[Sean Riddle]

A strong E string is my top requirement. If it doesn't speak cleanly and have enough gravitas, then I move on.

Otherwise I often gravitate towards basses with solid clarity throughout most of the range, but with a good low end. Not muddy but not overly bright.

 

[PBandJazzBass]

Lots of low end but still good definition to the low notes, especially on the E string in half and first position. All things considered, I tend to like a natural "acoustic" or "woody" kind of sound that's kind of in the middle. Not too bright or dark. A little bit of warmth but still some edge to the pizz attack.

 

[rickwolff]

This:

or this:

 

[Jefenator]

It's complicated...
I suppose I crave "growl" the most (which seems to come from steel strings with sustain), but I have also come to enjoy having true high end definition. And "boom" is essential as well! Perhaps the challenge is to find the harmonious blend of those three sometimes-competing objectives.
For amplification I've been favoring a Glockenklang head and a Bergantino cab - both designed for full-range fidelity. So no one of those three elements gets unduly magnified or suppressed. (When I can hear and feel every note I play without trampling on anybody else, I am a happy lad.)
I would eventually like to get a second upright bass so I could have one for steel strings and one for gut.

 

[Len S]

Ray Brown in Night Train.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

A strong, punchy sound on the front that is also lyrical because of the sustain. I prefer smooth, stiff strings that allow the player to dig in as much as they like without giving up or bottoming out. If a string farts out when I really hit it, or if its dynamic ceiling is too low, it's not for me. Nnick Lloyd told me years ago that a bass is really a resonating box with a neck on it, and that the majority of a player's preference is really in the setup. The older I get, the more I have come to agree with him.

Arnold Schnitzer also was an advocate for basses that are not overbuilt in terms of thickness. I agree with that as well, because it is harder to get the top moving on an overbuilt bass.

What I don't like: an unfocused, tubby sound without much pitch definition or "pop" on the front end of the note. Oddly, there are plenty of players who sound great with this concept, and it doesn't so much bother me when they do it. But I find basses set up that way hard to sing through.

 

[Fretless55]

Respectful response

 

[fdeck]

I've only shopped for a new bass once in my life, just over 10 years ago. Though I'm primarily a jazz player, I decided to focus on arco sound when auditioning basses. I was looking for versatility, if that makes sense.

On the bandstand, my bass is almost always amplified, and while I'm peripherally involved in the amplification business and am fascinated with the technology (not to mention saving my hands from destruction), I believe that amplification is always a compromise. What I really want is a bass that sounds great, unplugged, in my living room, arco or pizz. And I've gotten deeply into arco soloing.

The need for good arco and pizz sound forces me into another set of compromises. Much as I admire the heroics of getting good arco sound out of Spirocore Mitts, I have to choose my battles. Evah's have worked very well for me. Obligato's worked OK but didn't last as long, and Evah's are louder in the upper registers on my bass.

So I want a lot of tone and articulation in the upper registers, but also don't want to neglect the lows. Due to some family members being interested in fiddling, I occasionally get into situations where I'm one bass surrounded by a dozen fiddlers, so I need to have some sound down there.

I've been extremely happy with the bass that Vince Jesse set up for me at the Double Bass Workshop. He was extremely patient with me as I went from bass to bass and I think he figured out what I was looking for.

 

[fdeck]

I did get some very helpful advice from a luthier whose shop I visited. He told me: "Part of this process is getting the sound of your old bass out of your head, otherwise your new bass will just sound like your old bass."

 

[Rebop]

Depends on the genre, but most commonly I go for thumpy, punchy, and almost no sustain with my plywood basses strung with guts. Like a tuned bass drum. That's for old time swing, country/bluegrass, gypsy jazz, rockabilly, and jump blues. I don't want the bass to have any complexity in these cases. Just support for the guy telling a story. For the rockabilly I just add the click to the thump.

When I'm playing more modern styles I tend to grab my hybrid flatback bass with steel strings for a more even tone. My strings are still pretty high on that bass so I get the thump with minimal growl.

 

[longfinger]

It would be nice if it sounded the same to those playing the bass as it did for those listening in front. ;-)

A sound port on the bass side shoulder would help, but how many makers want to go there?

 

[tb-player]

A sound port on the bass side shoulder would help, but how many makers want to go there?

@arnoldschnitzer does. Check this out. Such a cool, creative concept.

 

[Keith Rawlings]

@arnoldschnitzer does. Check this out. Such a cool, creative concept.

View attachment 4121931

That’s genius!

 

[rickwolff]

@arnoldschnitzer does. Check this out. Such a cool, creative concept.

View attachment 4121931

I wonder if I'd have the guts to try this. It's tempting. Probably safer to stick with my personal monitor.

 

[rickwolff]

Personal Monitor Mark II. Lest anyone should question my 'Gear Junkie' bonafides.

A mini Headphone Amp plugged into the piezo (The 'Y' adaptor allows another cable to run to the primary amp). An 1/8 inch cable from the mini-amp to an Oontz Powered monitor (about 1/2 the size of an 'Earbox'). The Oontz speaker is attached by 3M Dual Lock (I'm an endorser) to a mic stand.

** The latest Oontz speaker won't work as it has a built in delay caused by its updated electronics.

Sorry for the derail. However, my preferred tone isn't necessarily the easiest for me to hear while I'm playing. As longfinger said above "It would be nice if it sounded the same to those playing the bass as it did for those listening in front. ;-)

 

[sean_on_bass]

This:

or this:

Yes and yes.

 

[sean_on_bass]

I like different tones for different things, but if i think about bread and butter tone...i want a big full rich sound, with some "wood" in the tone. I want to hear the top. I like punch on the front end of the note, which i suppose comes from somewhere between the bass and mid frequencies. I don't like too much sustain, since i like the old school sound. I think it creates a cool groove and adds weight to each note when the sustain is on the shorter side.

 

[BobKay]

I want the tone to be good for metal. Probably won't happen until I put on a tort pick guard.