Gig last night ruined me.

[asands]

I think his lack of anything MarkBass is his biggest advantage.....

In many cases, yes. However, CL108 is truly a magnificent cab if you use a fridge. Amazing

 

[NKBassman]

Why do people need to put others gear choices down in order to elevate their preferred brand?

One bands equipment could all be lower level $$ and they could still kick your band's a$$ music wise.

You can't buy talent!

The opposite is usually true more often. Band rolls in with a bunch of big big $$$ gear and the proceeds to suck ass all over the stage.

 

[jnewmark]

...makes a huge difference. If the SansAmp is running into the input of the amp, you are getting both the tone of the SansAmp and the tone of the amplifier itself. If you run the SansAmp into the effects return, you are bypassing the preamp of the amplifier completely and only getting the tone of the sans amp. This is what I do. Big difference. Does OP know the answer to the question of how the guy was running the SansAmp?

What I was thinking when I asked the question. Typically, the Sansamp would be used inbetween the bass and the 751 Input. But not always, especially if it's a rack mounted unit.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

What I was thinking when I asked the question. Typically, the Sansamp would be used inbetween the bass and the 751 Input. But not always, especially if it's a rack mounted unit.

I do mine via the effects loop because it sounds better. Mine is the VT Bass Deluxe which is ironically run into an Ampeg B2RE solid state head. It actually sounds more like an all tube SVT this way!

 

[byacey]

We played last night and I brought my mesa 800+ and my markbass cl 108. Plugged my bongo 5HH into my vt bass and had volume that made me happy.
Next band goes on and bass player rolls out a small ampeg cab and sets a rack on it containing an aguilar 751. Plugs in his precision and has the best tone I have heard at this venue, I have done 100's of shows there.
Afterwords I go talk to him about it and he tells me it is the sansamp pedal he is running into the aggy. The 751 is set flat. I have used sansamp before at church gigs but I have never had a tone like that.
As soon as I woke up this morning and 4 hours later I am haunted by that tone. I don't know what to do.
It's got to be the 751, right?

Are you the guy that was staring at my rig last night? I thought something was wrong with my sound.
Kidding aside, I wonder if the guy was as happy with his sound as you found it to be. As mentioned, what sounds good on stage doesn't necessarily translate to good sound in the audience, and vice versa.

I've been in situations where I'm struggling with the stage sound, yet reliable, respected opinions in the audience tell me that it sounds great from their perspective.

 

[husky123]

This is just yet another flicker of light guiding you down your tone path journey that never ends. Enjoy your journey, for there is no destination.

 

[rmars]

Maybe it was the combination of his bass, the pre, the amp and the cabinet? That's a lot of variables... just sayin'

Not to mention hands, touch and talent. I’ve chased tone, and bought the exact gear of my hero’s too many times and come up snake eyes.

No disrespect to the OP, not suggesting that he lacks anything in the talent department. Only saying we all have our sound.

That said, I watched Warren Haynes Live At Moody Theater with Ron Johnson on bass and his bass tone was killin’ me.... it was a Aguilar DB751. Maybe it was just a great DI but I think there was a mic on his cab. Haunted me for a few weeks. drool

 

[BassinCT]

I've experienced that before, but as I have gained a few years, I have placed more importance on finding my sound with the tools I own and to be able to get close to it on rented backline gear. If it is not happening with my own bass rig, I do my best to zero in on what I need to change and deal with the factors that are are out of my control.

Use that experience as a source of inspiration to guide you, but don't jump off the rails with the gear you have. The most common cause for GAS on TB is impatience- we search endlessly for the plug-and-play, set flat, tone nirvana when the solution may be at our fingertips. Having said that, some tools will get us there with less fuss. Repeating an earlier posted suggestion: specifically, what do you want to change about your tone? Have you played multiple basses through your rig to see how they are represented? (a P-type bass?)
I hope your journey is free of frustration

 

[Paulabass]

Damn, could have been his playing.

 

[Joebone]

Maybe it was the combination of his bass, the pre, the amp and the cabinet? That's a lot of variables... just sayin'

And...another variable - the way that other fellow plays!

 

[Frenchy-Lefty]

This guy uses the same gear I use myself. PBasses like a little scoop which the Sansamp does perfectly.

 

[five7]

I don't know how he had the pedal patched in, wasn't a rackmount one. The cab looked like a single 15 or 18?
He was playing with a pick and his band is a ramones tribute band, he complimented my playing but I suck.
If I see him again I will ask more questions.
He was plugged into the PA but I was standing directly in front of his rig and it sounded the same thru out the room.
Yes I would love to own a 751.
My markbass 102 cabinets I owned at one time did suck, this 108 sounds better than the svt 8-10 and the aguilar GS410 I owned.
The mesa 800 sounds better than the tone hammer 500 I had.
Maybe it was the wig he was wearing.

 

[nostatic]

you guys are missing the obvious reason for this - the other bass player went down to the crossroads, tried to flag a ride...

 

[bombpop14]

Another question I have is if the PA was getting its signal straight out of the BDDI....then the amp and cab don't matter really...(you know what I mean)

I use my sansamp between my bass and any amp I use. When I'm backlined, I at least know what's going to front of house is consistent with what I normally do.

Obviously if there was no PA support please disregard....

 

[Downunderwonder]

Then there's the guitar tone and how well it works with the bass tone.

 

[BassoSaku]

I think his lack of anything MarkBass is his biggest advantage.....

I don't get this, I have been very happy with my MarkBass setup!

I have played Ampegs, Aquilars, Hartkes, Mesas over the years and while they all have been very much to my liking, I still prefer the markbass setup I now have over any of my previous setups. The portability and versatility in different sound of F1 amp with 4 Ohm Traveler 102 cab is just sweet.

Caveats:

1) I have the older Italian made MarkBass equipment, I don't know if the present products are somehow inferior to the beginning of the millennium MarkBass gear that I have. Could be, I have heard stories, no personal experiences on that front.

2) I mainly gig smaller clubs and venues. I don't have a need for a huge stage sound. I split my signal with sansamp DI to FOH and cabinets.

 

[NaH]

I don't get this, I have been very happy with my MarkBass setup!

Caveats:

1) I have the older Italian made MarkBass equipment, I don't know if the present products are somehow inferior to the beginning of the millennium MarkBass gear that I have. Could be, I have heard stories, no personal experiences on that front.

I thought the same thing.

 

[uwrossl]

Not to mention hands, touch and talent. I’ve chased tone, and bought the exact gear of my hero’s too many times and come up snake eyes.

No disrespect to the OP, not suggesting that he lacks anything in the talent department. Only saying we all have our sound.

That said, I watched Warren Haynes Live At Moody Theater with Ron Johnson on bass and his bass tone was killin’ me.... it was a Aguilar DB751. Maybe it was just a great DI but I think there was a mic on his cab. Haunted me for a few weeks. drool

I watch this at least once a month. So great start to finish. Nigel Hall killing on keys and Alecia Chakour adding some tasty backing vox. Love it. Pretty sure he has the Avalon next to his DB and a TH sitting on top.

 

[Jazzbass1946]

I don't think there's anything wrong with the Indonesian made Markbass stuff. I have been using my Indonesian LMIII for years and it still serves me well and sounds fantastic. I hear lots of bassplayers who have an awesome sound which I would like to produce. But then.....I'm not them. I play differently, my fingers, skin, hearing........they all can be different and will make a difference.

 

[SonnyBassPlayer]

What I haven't seen mentioned is the mix. Two bass players can have the same sound but when it comes down to be mixed with different other instruments, the result from outside can vary.

I just read that the other player played in a Ramones tribute, that means the bass has to cope with a "open" distorted guitar. Guess what, a Ramones tribute in my area has a great bass tone too with a P bass. But what if you put the same bass player with two guitars of which one is a distorted Les Paul and the other a heavily effected Tele for example, and keys? The result may change quite a bit.
I'm not saying bigger ensembles have worse bass tones, but the band may have sculpted their tone over time, EQing well the bass and the guitar to not overlap frequencies.