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Guitar player thinks my tone is thin - is it?
- Thread starter Elmstreet
- Start date
(This is simply an expression of personal taste and I'm not going to argue with you or anyone else or attempt to change your or anyone else's mind. If anyone is offended, that's not my problem so don't respond)
Contemporary bass tone is thin and from my experience, modern amps have this as part of their design. Its why I got rid of every Class D amp I've ever owned, including the one like you have.
Having said that;
Listen to what your guitarist says and see if you can work together to come to some form of agreement or compromise.
Friendly relations are better than unfriendly ones.
YMMV.
Contemporary bass tone is thin and from my experience, modern amps have this as part of their design. Its why I got rid of every Class D amp I've ever owned, including the one like you have.
Having said that;
Listen to what your guitarist says and see if you can work together to come to some form of agreement or compromise.
Friendly relations are better than unfriendly ones.
YMMV.
Coming from years of using Ampeg SVT w/fridge, Sunn Coliseum, Marshall, Fender, etc, I hear what your saying, but some of it is all about personal preference and perception.
Every year at a festival we play the backline is an Ampeg SVT 300 watt tube head the matching 8-10 fridge. Do I love it? Absolutely, but the Mesa 800D with my Greenboy cabs give me everything I need for the other 80-90 gigs I play each year. Add to that the weight of the amp and two cabs is under 80 lbs and it’s a no-brainer, especially with FOH. In fact in some cases I’m asked to turn down.
The Mesa 800D is quite capable of giving him everything he needs without lugging around a 75+ lb amp head and 150 lb cabinet. All he needs is to dial down the LPF, adjust the EQ, and if that isn’t enough add another cab.
However, he needs to do what’s best for him and his situation, and that might be just the LPF adjustment and EQ.
I like a slight mid forward sound why I never use Tort PickgaurdAs long as it has a tort pickguard, if not it may be a little mid forward
Getting a Tort pickguard may solve OP's Guitarist problem with his tone
Guitar players often think the bass should be felt, but not heard - if they can hear anything but low end from the bass, then it's interfering with "their tone" - a "you're on my turf" kinda thing. Not sure if this is the case here, but it can be a real problem. Even big bands who should now better will have this issue (cough cough Metallica cough cough and justice for all cough cough)
My gigs are all ampless with FOH folks doing the mixing for the audience, and everyone has control of their in ear mix - if they want less of me, knock yourself out. In my mix, you're just the guitarist, not the only audible instrument, or too loud for me to hear myself think. In ear mixes (once past the learning curve) neatly avoid all this stuff.
My gigs are all ampless with FOH folks doing the mixing for the audience, and everyone has control of their in ear mix - if they want less of me, knock yourself out. In my mix, you're just the guitarist, not the only audible instrument, or too loud for me to hear myself think. In ear mixes (once past the learning curve) neatly avoid all this stuff.
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An all black bass, with you dressing in all black, may make you less visible, which will help the guitarist with his belief that he's "special", which may help this as well.As long as it has a tort pickguard, if not it may be a little mid forward
It seems you have a hi-gain // low gain switch on your amp. You're running a passive P bass into it. Turn the switch to low gain. Hi gain is for active stuff or with gainstage pedals/preamp pedals running after your bass into your rigs input.
Adjust where you're plucking. Move towards the neck.
Then make sure your head and cab ohm/resistance settings are good to go.
If you're running a distortion pedal it's probably robbing you of low end. Try rolling your tone knob on the bass.
DM me or respond here if you need other pointers.
More bass = less headroom. You don't need to add bass, especially if the sound guy has a sub.
A couple points as I go along....
The HPF is after the pre-DI, however it's before the post-DI. Since you sent post, you're cutting the amount of fundamental you're sending to FOH. Chances are the soundman was going to shelve that anyway, but my preference is to send him a full range signal so that he has full control over how I sound in the room. If I or the soundman want amp tone in FOH, I'll mic up and have that blended in.
Midrange. I see a lot of talking about bass, I don't see a lot of talk about midrange. Most of the clips you come through fairly clear, including when the camera is in front of the guitarist. Conversely, the guitars sounds weak, even when the camara is in front of the guitarist. One answer is to have the guitarist turn up, another is to dial the bass midrange back to make more space for that guitar to sit.
If this were me, my personal preference for this band would be to dial back my mids more so that the guitars pop, particularly if you're going to play with a pick.
That said, based on the volume of the drumkit I do feel the guitars are a little low.
IMO, musicians don't always articulate stuff well.
The HPF is after the pre-DI, however it's before the post-DI. Since you sent post, you're cutting the amount of fundamental you're sending to FOH. Chances are the soundman was going to shelve that anyway, but my preference is to send him a full range signal so that he has full control over how I sound in the room. If I or the soundman want amp tone in FOH, I'll mic up and have that blended in.
Midrange. I see a lot of talking about bass, I don't see a lot of talk about midrange. Most of the clips you come through fairly clear, including when the camera is in front of the guitarist. Conversely, the guitars sounds weak, even when the camara is in front of the guitarist. One answer is to have the guitarist turn up, another is to dial the bass midrange back to make more space for that guitar to sit.
If this were me, my personal preference for this band would be to dial back my mids more so that the guitars pop, particularly if you're going to play with a pick.
That said, based on the volume of the drumkit I do feel the guitars are a little low.
IMO, musicians don't always articulate stuff well.
I initially thought the same as you, however it's the reverse on these. High gain is for low output, low gain is for high output.
My assumption is that Agedhorse giggled when he spec'd it this way.
Just pulled up the manual for that amp. Wow... It literally is a low gain vs hi gain switch, it doesn't lower impedance.
Mesa.... Why you gotta try to be like apple?
From the other side of the stage way off axis, you know, the best spot to do so....
Two guitars strunmming like that? You need to be lean to cut through. Best tone in the audience (where it matters) should sound thinish on stage, not Jaco thin but def not bloated with thick bass. If it sounds good on stage its gonna sound muddy on the floor and with twoi guitars strumming you gotta problem.
