Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
How do you get a HUGE bass sound?
- Thread starter bdplaid
- Start date
When I see pictures like that it brings to mind early explorers in sailing ships. Climbing around in all that rigging and rope as they explore the uncharted waters of stadium sound reinforcement.
Often when playing without a rhythm guitar, I like to play a lot of 1-8-10 pseudo chords with my thumb wrapped around. It makes a much fuller sound.
- Jul 7, 2010
- 3,383
- 2,311
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist for: Duncan Pickups; Line6, Hipshot, GHS Strings, Somnium Guitars
Here is a short on topic article from Carvin you might find interesting.
carvinaudio.com
Playing Bass in a Power Trio: How to Fill the Sound
As a power trio bassist, you need to provide a strong foundation, fill out the sound from underneath, and maybe even provide some extra rhythmic coverage when the guitar goes off on solo tangents. In other words, you have to do the same job you always would, plus a little more. We’ll dive into...
carvinaudio.com
Roudning out the sound when the guitarist drops out for a solo... One of my best trucks is a little distortion, combined with a EHX POG.
Keep the fundamental sound strong, mixing in some octave up / octave down really thickens the sound. Make sure you have the HPF on your Mesa set to dump out everything under 30hz... probably more like 60hz for most cabinets.
Keep the fundamental sound strong, mixing in some octave up / octave down really thickens the sound. Make sure you have the HPF on your Mesa set to dump out everything under 30hz... probably more like 60hz for most cabinets.
My bass tone has always been described as "fat", "huge", "thick" and "heavy"...
I play fingers only.
Split P DiMarzio DP122 are my preferred choice (reverse p bass if possible).
I purposely use 215, 4 ohm, 800 watt cab. A 600 watt Class A or AB amp. I just dont sound the same through class D and the audience and band members have told me so.
No pedals, drives, overdrives, fuzz, anything..
I cut the highs and reduce the mids. Low mids are your friend.
I play fingers only.
Split P DiMarzio DP122 are my preferred choice (reverse p bass if possible).
I purposely use 215, 4 ohm, 800 watt cab. A 600 watt Class A or AB amp. I just dont sound the same through class D and the audience and band members have told me so.
No pedals, drives, overdrives, fuzz, anything..
I cut the highs and reduce the mids. Low mids are your friend.
FullumMusic
Commercial User
- Oct 13, 2022
- 2,010
- 5,689
- Disclosures
- Audio/Music software developer, contracted with a company you've heard of and deving my own stuff.
I think making bass sounding fuller in a 3 piece band has less to do with gear and more to do with what & how you play, and what everyone else is playing. (i know. Commenting on TB and NOT recommending throwing money at the problem by buying more gear? What's wrong with me?)
Part of this is gonna be on the guitarist, which can be tricky getting another musician to change. Guitarists who are used to playing lead or soloing with rhythm guitar support might not realize they have to lead/solo differently when in a 3 piece. They have to rework their solos and lead lines to also provide harmonic support for themselves like a rhythm guitarist would while they solo. It's why a lot of times 3 piece bands lose all their energy right at the solo when everything should be exciting. They think the bass & drums aren't big enough, but what they really need is to change how they play, or hire a second guitarist.
There are also two different contrasting techniques you can use: Fill in more space by playing more, or be bigger by playing less.
Playing more bridges the rolls of the bass & the rhythm guitar. Not necessarily really busy bass-lines, but maybe more pedaling and driving when you can, and a few extra notes that help spell out the chords where appropriate. I'm thinking Rage Against the Machine or Cream.
Playing less and being bigger: Think of how huge simple bass-lines can be in hip hop. Just a few notes starting and stopping at exactly the right time can be WAY BIGGER than a lot of notes or chords. Think of "the drop" in electronic dance music. After the buildup and the break, one of the BIGGEST things i do in my productions are come back with just the Kick & Synth Bass (and maybe snare.) Everything else waits a measure. If there is too much it would sound smaller and less impactful. Less is bigger.
Then tonally, i would suggest a relatively even tone across the spectrum, tapering off up high. Aim for a fair amount of Lows & Low-mids. A healthy amount of High-mids but still favoring the two lower bands. And then highs equal too or less than the high-mids. Just fill up that sonic space, and then adjust to fit with the guitarist's tone and the rooms. I can't give specific EQ settings because different basses' and amps' natural frequency response curve will require different amounts of EQ to achieve that spread.
And then, maybe just an ever so slight touch of distortion. Either just hitting the sweet-spot right at gain-breakup on your amp, or some saturation, or an overdrive that's just barely breaking up but not full-on distortion or fuzz or anything. No distortion techniques that reduce the low-end. Just something that makes you go "whoa that's a fat bass!"
And then maybe, some slight compression as a thickening agent.
And then maybe, maybe turn the amp up a little louder. Louder is exciting to the ears (until it's too loud.) Louder is bigger, but you run the danger of getting into a volume war with the guitarist. Or the mix engineer will just turn down the bass if it's too loud. And also all the tone thickening from before will give the appearance of louder.
Part of this is gonna be on the guitarist, which can be tricky getting another musician to change. Guitarists who are used to playing lead or soloing with rhythm guitar support might not realize they have to lead/solo differently when in a 3 piece. They have to rework their solos and lead lines to also provide harmonic support for themselves like a rhythm guitarist would while they solo. It's why a lot of times 3 piece bands lose all their energy right at the solo when everything should be exciting. They think the bass & drums aren't big enough, but what they really need is to change how they play, or hire a second guitarist.
There are also two different contrasting techniques you can use: Fill in more space by playing more, or be bigger by playing less.
Playing more bridges the rolls of the bass & the rhythm guitar. Not necessarily really busy bass-lines, but maybe more pedaling and driving when you can, and a few extra notes that help spell out the chords where appropriate. I'm thinking Rage Against the Machine or Cream.
Playing less and being bigger: Think of how huge simple bass-lines can be in hip hop. Just a few notes starting and stopping at exactly the right time can be WAY BIGGER than a lot of notes or chords. Think of "the drop" in electronic dance music. After the buildup and the break, one of the BIGGEST things i do in my productions are come back with just the Kick & Synth Bass (and maybe snare.) Everything else waits a measure. If there is too much it would sound smaller and less impactful. Less is bigger.
Then tonally, i would suggest a relatively even tone across the spectrum, tapering off up high. Aim for a fair amount of Lows & Low-mids. A healthy amount of High-mids but still favoring the two lower bands. And then highs equal too or less than the high-mids. Just fill up that sonic space, and then adjust to fit with the guitarist's tone and the rooms. I can't give specific EQ settings because different basses' and amps' natural frequency response curve will require different amounts of EQ to achieve that spread.
And then, maybe just an ever so slight touch of distortion. Either just hitting the sweet-spot right at gain-breakup on your amp, or some saturation, or an overdrive that's just barely breaking up but not full-on distortion or fuzz or anything. No distortion techniques that reduce the low-end. Just something that makes you go "whoa that's a fat bass!"
And then maybe, some slight compression as a thickening agent.
And then maybe, maybe turn the amp up a little louder. Louder is exciting to the ears (until it's too loud.) Louder is bigger, but you run the danger of getting into a volume war with the guitarist. Or the mix engineer will just turn down the bass if it's too loud. And also all the tone thickening from before will give the appearance of louder.
There is no substitute for cubic inches & ensuring you have all your gain stages at optimum. Minimum 4 x12's they hit harder & have better mids than a 15". Not what you want to hear but a Spector with EMG's will definitely get you there.
Overdrive + compression. Optionally gain stage some mild distortion with the OD.
Last edited:
4x10 cabs, 2 of them or 8x10. There's a reason why big venues and festivals don't provide 1x15 cabs... way less lows and subs, less dynamic, less volume overall, less clarity.
I still do not understand why people keep on using 15" cabs... it's a mistery to me... 12" is the limit to me.
Here in Europe there are 410 and 810 Ampeg everywhere on big stages, and it's way better than anything I can imagine. When I have to play on those stages, I trust Ampeg and the sound guys, always. That being said I use 12" cabs for jazz and smaller venues, simply because the portability/sound quality ratio is better than carrying a 410 or a 810. If it's really small, 1 cab, if it's for blues/blues-rock in a larger venue or a terrasse outside then 2 cabs.
But there will never be ANYTHING better than an SVT-CL plugged in an 810 with tweeter, NEVER. Even Janek Gwizdala who's that fusion jazz/synth modern guy recently switched to Ampeg for the same reason: the best sound he ever had was with 410 cabs and an SVT.
My go to gears when it comes to amps and cabs:
- working at home and at students location: Hartke HD combos, HD15 or HD25
- small to medium venues: Vanderkley 12" cabs
- big stages: I know there will be Ampegs, or at least I ask before (but I always know the answer) so I don't bring anything !
I still do not understand why people keep on using 15" cabs... it's a mistery to me... 12" is the limit to me.
Here in Europe there are 410 and 810 Ampeg everywhere on big stages, and it's way better than anything I can imagine. When I have to play on those stages, I trust Ampeg and the sound guys, always. That being said I use 12" cabs for jazz and smaller venues, simply because the portability/sound quality ratio is better than carrying a 410 or a 810. If it's really small, 1 cab, if it's for blues/blues-rock in a larger venue or a terrasse outside then 2 cabs.
But there will never be ANYTHING better than an SVT-CL plugged in an 810 with tweeter, NEVER. Even Janek Gwizdala who's that fusion jazz/synth modern guy recently switched to Ampeg for the same reason: the best sound he ever had was with 410 cabs and an SVT.
My go to gears when it comes to amps and cabs:
- working at home and at students location: Hartke HD combos, HD15 or HD25
- small to medium venues: Vanderkley 12" cabs
- big stages: I know there will be Ampegs, or at least I ask before (but I always know the answer) so I don't bring anything !
Last edited:
Add overdrive. ( mozztronics BOD)Add Octave pedal. (TC Sub n up) smidge -1 smidge +1 into the overdrive.
Touch of chorus possibly.
Playing in a trio is not just about trying to sound "big" or fill up sonic real estate. It's also about using the space available to you due to the sparser instrumentation as an element, to your advantage. Space is good. Listen to the the Police, who were essentially a power trio. Sting played very minimalist lines with lots of space and a pretty straight-ahead bass sound (the reggae influence was part of that). I saw them live on almost every tour and I'll tell ya, he sounded "bigger" than bassists who are constantly trying to fill in every little nook and cranny with a bunch of notes or wide ranging frequencies, effects, etc.
It's a low mid scoop effect that would be counter productive. In a power trio, low mids are a necessity. JMO.
