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Getting big fat thud tones in big resonant rooms

Got it. So it's not necessarily a physical thing, but more of a state of mind. I can handle that.


IMHO it's more about studying the problem and experimenting to figure out what works for you. Perhaps we can share what works for us, but there is no guarantee that our approach will work for you. So, basically you need to find your own unique path.
 
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Just heard from Steve, and he registered on here and is getting a feel for the place and posting, so it looks like we'll be hearing his own perspective about what he does in the NF. I'm very excited to have lured him on here since I'm a huge Lovin' Spoonful fan and have been since I was 5. So don't blow it for me :D
 
IMHO it's more about studying the problem and experimenting to figure out what works for you. Perhaps we can share what works for us, but there is no guarantee that our approach will work for you. So, basically you need to find your own unique path.
Yep, I can't do what Steve does so I cheat a little bit :D But I think that how he does it on gear with tones you'd never think were suitable for that sound is something we can all learn from.
 
Both Herbie Flowers and Brian Odgers had a nice treble plectrum attack with a really warm resonance at one point. As far as I know, both were using jazz basses dialled all the way up, into either Watkins Dominator or a tiny custom made tube combo amp who's name escapes me, because the guy never put his name on his amps. They were almost always unnamed until closer to the end of his run.

Dee Murray also had a pretty good "click" when he wanted to.

None of those amps had tweeters, but many of them could produce a satisfying attack "crack", I'm sure helped by the metallic dust-caps on the speakers they used.
 
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It's 90% experience. I've been playing guitar since the early 80s, and bass for a few years. On guitar, I haven't been lost in a mix in decades. There practically no amp that's underpowered, and few bandmates that are too loud. Singing, I can make my voice into an overannunciating foghorn if I have to. On bass, I'm nowhere near that because I don't have as much control. The little technical tricks that make the mids jump out or mute the string in the middle of a riff without you even noticing are still a bit foreign to me on bass.
 
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I think you mean index finger as far as Jamerson is concerned. In this pic, you can clearly see the three fingers anchored, and the index finger the actual one plucking.View attachment 3575782
You can tell by the shadow of the E string on the fretboard in this photo how high the action was on Jamerson's bass. Youch!

Glad to hear Steve Boone is still active. He was great on the Lovin' Spoonful's albums. He and Joe Butler worked well together.
 
About 12 years ago, I recorded a three song EP with my brother (singer/songwriter), live in studio. It was a pretty famous studio, belonging to Swedish band Soundtrack of Our Lives, so lots of old/expensive gear.

Anyway. Instead of recording with my own bass, my very brand conscious brother insisted I record with the studio's old Fender Jazz bass, which was in such a poor state that they'd literally duck taped over the frets from the neck joint and up. When I asked them why, they said "those frets don't sound good anyway", and nobody cared enough to have it set up, give it a fret level or new strings.

The interesting thing is, you can still hear it is me playing on the recording. My style, touch and timing very much shined through the fact that I was playing a bass I wasn't comfortable with.
 
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Hi Jimmy :)

So for newbs or people who haven't figured it out yet, I would suggest sending your signal to the board with something that doesn't deviate from flat response too much and leaves plenty of room for the tech to work the room as needed.

It is easier to send a flat pre signal to the board and to blame the sound guy when the result is bad! :D

I' ve seen that go wrong so many times. And it was rarely the sound guy 's fault!

Two guitarist 's with their bedroom sounds + a keyborder who

uses the fattest sounds he has with a heavy left hand… and of course the drums aren' t tuned!

Add a flat D.I. bass signal and wait for the miracle to happen…:rollno:



But for those of us who have it figured out by and large, it's perfectly OK to sculpt your tone as long as you don't make it impossible for the tech to deal with problems, since dead flat response doesn't sound all that good to me, and our basses vary so much in tone that it really doesn't exist anyway.

I think I posted this before, but I am too lazy to search. :D


Nobody ever asked a guitarist to plug his guitar into a D.I. box and to give a flat and dry signal to the board

and just let the sound tech do the job.

Nobody ever asked a keyboarder to use only one sound for the full gig.


Why not? That' s obvious. Because it is wrong! Guitarists and keyboarders are responsible for their sounds.

So are we (bassists)! IMO

Why should we delegate our responsibilities to the sound tech? Let them do our job?

Let them play producers? :(


No way!


greetings

Wise