Looking for a 'tighter' sound live , especially low end

[Reedt2000]

I haven't played with it live yet, but I have enough experience to say that the Tech 21 Q/Strip with the high-pass filter engaged will clean up that mud right away. I'm super impressed with this pedal. I generally have always liked a high-pass when playing live to keep me out of the subwoofers, because most of the time they are way over-the-top. The kick drum can have them.

I used to use a Durham Sex Drive as well, which did a great job of tightening up the bottom. I used to combine that with a 40Hz cut, and a 120Hz or so boost.

Running pedals will make sure have some control over what you give the sound guy (outside of your bass' controls)

 

[ahbass2500]

That auralex pad looks crazy good!

I bought my first one 15 years ago when I was playing primarily in gymnasiums and small arenas for a high school group that I was in. I ran an SWR Henry the 8x8 with a Workingman's 4004 at the time. In that acoustic environment the Gramma was life changing. Boomy room was gone and tight focused bass that still has bottom was in.

Since then I have always used one (actually I now own 5 of them). I even tried recording in a studio on a few occasions both with and without. Myself and the techs both preferred with the Gramma. The studio was at a university (meaning high dollar studio with quality equipment). In that environment (acoustically designed rooms with studio foam everywhere) the Gramma's impact was less significant than in a gym, but still noticeable.

 

[BboogieXVII]

I only detect a little fogginess on the second example. Good to pretty darn good imo. Like mentioned before reggae sounds good with a little fat. However if you feel the need another piece or two of quality equipment will probably help things along a bit.

I listened again and find the second example to be more in line with the reggae concept. To get a good reggae buzz you sure don't want a nice super defined bass with tons of mids. Some people do call it "getting mellow"

 

[JimmyM]

Cutting 250 gives a perceived fatness, rolling off around 70 (find your sweet spot) and below removes mush.

Personally, I don't dig a cut at 250 but I do like rolling off at 60 hz. Those older Ampeg 610hlf's are more muddy down there than current ones from what I hear.

 

[pbass888]

Q/strip Looks crazy good and like the eq section layout.

 

[pbass888]

JimmyM
I played an old ampeg 610 last night and a bit too much mush .
But I had cut at 40 and boosted at 250 so prolly wrong on my part.

 

[pbass888]

Ahada2500l ,I'm sure I would use the pad for the dog house gigs in jazz too

 

[Ric5]

Hi Everyone !
I have been playing some bigger clubs and stages lately, and have not been totally
happy with my sound. I have playing through backlines and some bigger cabinets and felt like my sound could use some focus and less mushiness on the low end.

I am trying to figure out if I need to learn to eq better, add a preamp, or a compressor! I play finger style on a jazz with rounds usually no effects, but, sometimes I use a sadwosky outboard preamp to add a touch of fatness.

Last night I used a ampeg 450 head and a 6x10 cab and found when I dialed in the tonethe was a lot of 'mush' that I could not dial out. The room acoustics were pretty friendly and made for live performances.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thankyou!
Pbass888

Use lighter strings because that will bring out more mids. Turn down 40hz and 60 hz, turn up 125 and 250 hz,

Try a little bit of overdrive or distortion because that usually cuts low end and boosts mids.

 

[bass12]

The studio track sounded keyboard-like to me. Assuming that your bass is able to produce a clean and punchy sound (which it can, judging by the first video) I'd say that the best thing to check out would be a high pass filter. I've been using the Broughton high and low pass filter and it works great at cleaning up my sound and focusing the low end. For reggae gigs I find I get the best results by turning up and playing with a lighter touch. That helps me avoid unwanted string noise.

 

[pbass888]

Cool bass12 , isn't Josh a talkbass member? I remember speaking to him about something
else a few years ago.

 

[Stumbo]

Have you tried foam/scrunchie muting your strings so they don't ring out as much?

 

[JimmyM]

JimmyM
I played an old ampeg 610 last night and a bit too much mush .
But I had cut at 40 and boosted at 250 so prolly wrong on my part.

Unfortunately, I'll never know if that was the case or not Cutting at 40 probably doesn't hurt. Boosting at 250 can go wrong sometimes, and sometimes it's just what the doctor ordered. Best thing is to be flexible.

 

[madbass6]

Hi Everyone !
I have been playing some bigger clubs and stages lately, and have not been totally
happy with my sound. I have playing through backlines and some bigger cabinets and felt like my sound could use some focus and less mushiness on the low end.

I am trying to figure out if I need to learn to eq better, add a preamp, or a compressor! I play finger style on a jazz with rounds usually no effects, but, sometimes I use a sadwosky outboard preamp to add a touch of fatness.

Last night I used a ampeg 450 head and a 6x10 cab and found when I dialed in the tonethe was a lot of 'mush' that I could not dial out. The room acoustics were pretty friendly and made for live performances.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thankyou!
Pbass888

add a 15 inch to your setting!

 

[bass12]

Cool bass12 , isn't Josh a talkbass member? I remember speaking to him about something
else a few years ago.

Yes, his user name is Azure Skies. You might find this thread interesting (skip towards the end for more discussion on the H+LPF):

Broughton Audio Super Thread

 

[CapnSev]

Q/strip Looks crazy good and like the eq section layout.

At some point I'm going to ditch my amp and simply run the Q/Strip into a power amp or powered speaker, it's that awesome. I'm holding out to see if they'll do a rackmount version first.

 

[johndough247]

As a Caribbean bassist that has played a fair bit of reggae live :

• First things first, and I know it's been said ad nauseum on TB and beyond...but the sound really does comes from your fingers. If the recorded sound is the sound you want in your head, the technique you're using in the live video I just watched won't get you quite there...you're plucking too close to the bridge. Play where the neck meets the body (or even farther up the neck depending on the bass/strings/pickup) to get that deep reggae sound. But as Levar says: "You don't have to take MY word for it...", watch Familyman (20min 40secs in):
  
  
• Cut the high freq...you don't need anything above 2 kHz for that sound, and that's being conservative...roll back that tone knob!
• A little mush never hurt anybody, embrace it, it's part of the style...if possible ask the FOH engineer to record a pass during soundcheck. The 2 most important things is that you can distinguish the kick drum from the bass and that you don't overwhelm the room (all bets are off if you're outdoors).
• 15" (or even 12") speakers are your friend, if you can get one for the backline. Ampeg 8x10 rigs will do the job nicely as well, but I've been digging the 15" "fearful" type rigs, but that's near impossible to find as a backline.

 

[vin*tone]

A couple of people have suggested and HPF (Fdeck etc.) - this is what you're after. Seriously. A standard EQ is a blunt instrument in comparison. HPF allows you to dial back to exactly the frequency required for the room/stage. BUT (particularly for reggae) I would make sure you are sending a raw DI signal to the PA before the HPF.

 

[superheavyfunk]

Thankyou ghostinthemach, a fellow bassist suggested the whirlwind bass 10 pedal. The pedal sounded great in his studio...
But, I do think there is a lot of 'user error' going when it comes to setting my backline amp for a show. I have yet to be really happy with my sound on the recent larger venue gigs.

I play reggae bass and use a jazz, alongside my whirlwind, every time. Did a recording just yesterday and happened to take a picture of my settings. Here it is:



Sounded really great thru the monitors.

Live, I have the mids up a little bit more. I run this guy and *maybe* my compressor direct into the backline amp's effects return.

Also, I use roundwound strings and turn the tone knob down about 15-20% on my bass, depending on the song.

 

[wes stephenson]

As a Caribbean bassist that has played a fair bit of reggae live :

• First things first, and I know it's been said ad nauseum on TB and beyond...but the sound really does comes from your fingers. If the recorded sound is the sound you want in your head, the technique you're using in the live video I just watched won't get you quite there...you're plucking too close to the bridge. Play where the neck meets the body (or even farther up the neck depending on the bass/strings/pickup) to get that deep reggae sound. But as Levar says: "You don't have to take MY word for it...", watch Familyman (20min 40secs in):
  
  
• Cut the high freq...you don't need anything above 2 kHz for that sound, and that's being conservative...roll back that tone knob!
• A little mush never hurt anybody, embrace it, it's part of the style...if possible ask the FOH engineer to record a pass during soundcheck. The 2 most important things is that you can distinguish the kick drum from the bass and that you don't overwhelm the room (all bets are off if you're outdoors).
• 15" (or even 12") speakers are your friend, if you can get one for the backline. Ampeg 8x10 rigs will do the job nicely as well, but I've been digging the 15" "fearful" type rigs, but that's near impossible to find as a backline.

This.... Also, if possible get an amp that you really love and that gets the sound you want most of the time and then use it.

 

[ghostinthemach]

Thankyou Ghostinthemach...Dusty is a great trumpet player. the studio sound on the bass was the sound in my head

Also the live sound with flats, tried once, was a huge mush fest !

After further more thought, the most obvious and easy change to try when it's boomy is simply rolling back the bass control. As it thins, right at the point where it starts to get unsatisfying, i'd cut the highs a tad from my usual setting may need some additional gain to retain authority in the absence of the lows you've removed. Typically, at that point i have a sound that is still defined but now has a dubby feel. Play with the mid to fine tune (low mid for warmth, high mid sparingly for definition). Works for me even on foreign equipment.

My real point is learn what the controls do to what you're hearing.

It's more valuable in the long run than additional devices that can't alone guarantee a satisfactory experience in the situation you've described in your OP. Experience of course will make all this gibberish more meaningful as you encounter more different rigs, but being an amp whisperer, so to speak is invaluable.
Hope I haven't been insensitive in my explanation and that it helps.