Tonight was the first night back at band practice after a 3 week break. I took advantage of the time off to make a few tweaks to my bass: new strings, filed the nut slots, better foam under the pickups so they'd raise up to the right height without wobbling, adjusted my preamp settings... I'll share the secret sauce recipe at the end for anyone interested.
The difference was pretty noticable, both (for me) in the playability and in the tone. I was going for a "heavy grunt" and my band mates remarked that it sounded really good. The tone really sat well in the mix, cutting through just enough to be present without overwhelming anyone else. I'm really pleased with the results, particularly since the rest of the band liked it so much as well.
What I'm playing:
Yamaha BB735A with GHS Pressurewounds, "Medium Light" gauge with a .128 B string (I like the feel of these better than the official 5 string set) into a Tech 21 Bass Fly rig 2, set to VT driver mode with just a bit of compression and moderate overdrive, bass and mids boosted a bit and the "bite" switch on. Pickup blend is 50/50. That all runs into an Ampeg PF500 on a matching 115 HE cab, with mids boosted quite a bit using frequency setting #2. I keep action on the lower side, though not super low, and I alternate between a pretty heavy fingerstyle and a pick.
The 50/50 pickup blend in this bass is something else - I've never really liked bridge pickups on my other P/J basses, but on the Yamaha it's placed further toward the neck than on my other basses and that seems to make a lot of difference.
Anyway. It felt nice to have someone notice the changes I made and appreciate them, so I just had to share.
The difference was pretty noticable, both (for me) in the playability and in the tone. I was going for a "heavy grunt" and my band mates remarked that it sounded really good. The tone really sat well in the mix, cutting through just enough to be present without overwhelming anyone else. I'm really pleased with the results, particularly since the rest of the band liked it so much as well.
What I'm playing:
Yamaha BB735A with GHS Pressurewounds, "Medium Light" gauge with a .128 B string (I like the feel of these better than the official 5 string set) into a Tech 21 Bass Fly rig 2, set to VT driver mode with just a bit of compression and moderate overdrive, bass and mids boosted a bit and the "bite" switch on. Pickup blend is 50/50. That all runs into an Ampeg PF500 on a matching 115 HE cab, with mids boosted quite a bit using frequency setting #2. I keep action on the lower side, though not super low, and I alternate between a pretty heavy fingerstyle and a pick.
The 50/50 pickup blend in this bass is something else - I've never really liked bridge pickups on my other P/J basses, but on the Yamaha it's placed further toward the neck than on my other basses and that seems to make a lot of difference.
Anyway. It felt nice to have someone notice the changes I made and appreciate them, so I just had to share.
