Looking for a fatter bass sound

[ctmullins]

The BG-250 has built-in compression that you can't turn off. Change the pickups to Quarter pounders. If that doesn't help, change your amp to a Rumble 200.

Where on earth did this piece of info come from? I have the BH250, the head-only version of the BG250, and it's a solid little amp. It comes from the factory with a compressor loaded into one of the TonePrint slots (I believe), but there is a knob for varying the amount of the TonePrint effect, or even turning it off completely . And you can replace it with a different TonePrint any time you want. Reliable info here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Lots of good advice in this thread about playing with pickup adjustment, string choice, and playing technique. Go there first.

 

[groooooove]

p basses definitely do have a lot of low end.

neck humbucker basses would be the next step, but that always sounds better in theory than reality.

 

[BassLife77]

the stock pickup is junk. upgrade to a real pickup like Quarter Pound or Bill Lawrence for a dramatic improvement in sound and low end. every cheap bass I ever bought the first thing I did was dump the pickups

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Buy some flat wound strings. Stick a piece of foam under your strings down by the bridge saddles. Mute strings with the palm of your right hand. Roll off the treble. Eq the amp for bass only. Pluck closer to the neck. Use your thumb to pluck. Use a rubber or felt pick. Use dead strings. Set your pickups down lower. Use a high impedance cable. 15 inch speaker. 18 inch speakers. Buy a Gibson EBO bass or the Epiphone version. Get a cheapy Hofner.

As a last resort, stick with playing guitar.

Kudos for being the guy who finally suggested the foam.
But tell me more about this high impedance cable you mentioned.

 

[bobcruz]

Fatter bass? Here ya go!

 

[madbass6]

Hi, all. Sorry for cross-posting this, but I think initially I put this in the wrong forum.

I'm principally a guitarist, but more and more I'm asked to play bass. I'm really quite ignorant of bass gear, though.

I'm in a fairly heavy 3-piece. My equipment is pretty low end: I have a Squier P-Bass which I use with a TC Electronics BG250 1x15. I occasionally use a Boss bass overdrive.

My problem is that the sound I get is too 'honky'. It doesn't really have the thickness I need to drive the band when the guitarist takes a solo. Where should I be looking to add beef to the sound? I don't have millions to spend but was thinking of swapping out the pickups, but would that be enough?

nope! you should consider changing the preamp as well! in fact change the pre amp first before the pick ups it might do the job!

 

[madbass6]

Fatter bass? Here ya go!
View attachment 2769737

consider hiring this guy on bass and just go back to guitar..

 

[micguy]

Tone is in the fingers. Fat tone comes from fat fingers.

Seriously, I think some experimentation with the gear you have might get you to less honky. That amp is fine, and I'd imagine a 115 would probably do ok. Try some compressor tone prints or warm tube kind of stuff.

Oh, and put the amp in a corner.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Yeah, well that was my first thought, but I've used much better amps at gigs and that kind of honky character is still there.

Well, that should tell you that that bass, itself, is the problem, then. Try a better quality bass with two pickups and see where that gets you. And, tell the guitarist to turn down HIS bottom end which is making your bass sound like .

 

[MTN.bass72]

@KeefazBass .. nothing wrong with rockin' that "budget" P bass..

Look into an amp and cab upgrade.. something with at least 500 watts.. or more..

Used GK 700RB heads pop up pretty regular. They're rock solid and can pound..

Find a good used 212 cab..

Then practice with your EQ knobs..
With those suggestions, you could have a great rig for roughly $600..
Good luck!

 

[dxb]

Always change the simplest and cheapest things first. Experiment with how you play, like try it with/without a pick, or try different kind of pick, or use different strings like flats instead of rounds. Really spend some time with the tone knob and play closer to the neck if you normally play close to the bridge. Like others have said, check the pickup height and adjust it if necessary. Also play around with the amp's EQ and if you have any EQ or compressor pedals play around with those too. A pickup swap might help but I'd try all the other stuff first.

 

[Spent]

I agree with @bassdude51, try a foam mute. I used some of the foam insulation commonly used around air conditioners (cheapest stuff I could find at Home Depot) and it made a noticeable difference. I cut it 1/4" wide and just tall enough that it goes a little higher than the string height. It was almost counterintuitive to me. A/B'd it a few times just to make sure. Cheap, easy and if it doesn't work, yank it out.

 

[Bassquest]

Where on earth did this piece of info come from? I have the BH250, the head-only version of the BG250, and it's a solid little amp. It comes from the factory with a compressor loaded into one of the TonePrint slots (I believe), but there is a knob for varying the amount of the TonePrint effect, or even turning it off completely . And you can replace it with a different TonePrint any time you want. Reliable info here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Lots of good advice in this thread about playing with pickup adjustment, string choice, and playing technique. Go there first.

I had the head version as shown here. Didn't download any toneprints so maybe the compression was already there in the factory pre-sets:

 

[Chrisk-K]

The cheapest P will sound fatter than any J, and even many J players wonderfully fill the space when the guitar player plays solos in 3 piece band settings. So, the OP doesn't need anything fatter. Perhaps the OP should change his approach. For example, a moving bassline fills more sonic space than a repeated bass note.

 

[AndyPanda]

I have a BG250 2x10 and I find the EQ that works best for me is counter intuitive. To start, I turn the gain up to just below where the clip light flashes when I'm digging in as hard as possible on the bass (for me, passive P, that's about 1 o'clock) then control your volume with master volume. On the EQ I turn the bass down to about 11 o'clock and the mids down to about 9 o'clock and the highs down to about 9 o'clock and with a P-bass I still have plenty of highs and grind with the passive tone up all the way and can turn the passive tone down for some thud.

I also turn OFF the tone print effects - I haven't found one that didn't seem to take away the sound I want.

If you do go for pickups -- I second the vote for for SD SPB-1, it's inexpensive and sounds terrific.

 

[Billoney]

If you mean what I think you mean by "fat", I'd just turn up the bass control. turn it up too far and the bass sound gets too fat for the room. If I'm describing something else please--SOMEBODY STOP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[EastCoastThump]

Fatter bass? Here ya go!View attachment 2769737

His instrument looks suspiciously strat-ish. That enormous dude must be tiny.

 

[WardEarth]

+1 for new amp and speaker. Save and sell the tc or keep it as a backup. Lots of options but it does come down to what you spend. I would recommend spending about $1k on a non-combo setup. Then roll back the tone and turn up the lows and low mids. 250 watts is not enough class D power. More like 500 preferable closer to 1000 watts.

 

[instrumentlevel]

Buy some flat wound strings.

So, in my experience, the best thing you could do for a thicker sound would be to change to flat would strings. Round and pressure wound strings have that midrange grind/clang that some folks love, and works well in some styles, but is not "fat." I use LaBella Flexible flats, and they are great. They feel a lot like rounds at the same gauge (flats can be much stiffer at equivalent gauges), focus the sound on the fundamental, and drop out all of the clang and grind. I made the switch a few years ago and it made my whole sound fall into place.

That said, some of the grind will always be there on a P-bass. That's the nature of the beast. But that's what will keep the fat sound from getting buried in the mix. The low-mid bump of the p-bass pickup brings the sound of the flats forward so that they are articulate but deep. I have a bass with a sting-ray style Bartolini and I used an early 90so EMG p-bass pickup, and both were very scooped. Neither works as well as a "typical sound" p-bass pickup. Yours might not be the best example, but the basic tonality is there. (I now have a Nordstrand p/j set and love them.)

As for the amp, I have the head version of the same amp and a single 15 cabinet I use it with. It does well in rock settings. Maybe not loud enough at times, but tone works fine. Pull the mid back a bit and roll off some highs (or all of them) because that tweeter is pretty brash. But it can get very low endy.

As for the compression issue, that amp has the "toneprint" built in effects. I know that a lot of people like the SpectraComp, but I find it super midrangey. Basically, the opposite of the direction you want. You may want to experiment with the tones of some other comps that you can load in, but many of them are going to focus on that midrange you don't want. Consider dialing the effects off until you are happy with your sound.

 

[M0ses]

Didn't read the thread but what you're looking for, OP, is headroom.