Low end without a lot of note articulation

[Derrick Shaney]

I am playing a show with a new band tomorrow. Medium sized gig up on the 2nd floor of a bar. I just started learning this bands songs about a week ago so there are bound to be a few errors in my notes. That being said I am looking for a very low end sound that will sit deep in the mix and be a little less obvious if there are any little hiccups. I want people to be able to feel the bass while not hearing too many of the intricacies of the notes as most of my playing will be pretty simple for this show. Any advice on the best way to achieve this sound? I have an acoustic 300 watt head with 1 15 inch speaker and horn. Direct out so I can plug into the house as well. Fender Jazz. Thanks everyone! Cheers.

 

[20db pad]

Favor the neck pickup, turn down the tone all the way.

 

[Derrick Shaney]

How about my amp settings? What type of placement is ideal and what should I do with my settings?

 

[20db pad]

For what you're trying to do, just set it flat with the tone turned down. If you can turn off the horn, do that as well. I don't think Acoustic stuff has defeatable horns but I could be wrong.

 

[StyleOverShow]

Hard to get weighty, that surround sound bass without getting blurry.

Don't agree entirely with the strategy of hiding in a big blobby sound.

Doesn't have to be perfect, rarely ever is, just good pitch, on time and when appropriate a little flair.

 

[AlembicPlayer]

sounds as if you want a bi-amp sound with a sub and x-over.
you can't get there with your setup as is.
Stay in the lower registers and maybe disconnect the horn.

 

[Bass'd on a true story]

This might sound obvious, but if you take a jazz approach to the music and just focus on remembering which key each song is in most of the time then it's slightly less important to remember each root perfectly. If a particular note happens to be the the 5th, the 8th and the minor 3rd of 3 of the chords in the progression, you can use that as a home base for a moment whenever you lose your bearing. That split second can be a life saver sometimes.

I play songs out of a church book (with hundreds of entries that I don't really know) every week, and this strategy has helped a lot.

Just for an example. In the key of Em or G, that high G note will sound good constantly. Just play this progression: G, D, Em, C with g on the g or d string after each root to and experiment with that a bit. If you have a rhythm guitarist that knows the songs better than you, it makes this even easier.

Now if you are playing something with key changes, none of this applies. Just use a kill switch everytime you miss a note

Also, if this is too obvious and elementary, please forgive me. My intention is only to be helpful.

 

[Munjibunga]

I'd love to help you but I don't want to be an enabler. You want to sacrifice good bass tone to cover up "little hiccups." Two things:

1. If you're going to make a mistake, make a big one.

2. No one in the audience is going to know even if you make a big one.

Get your best tone and play the gig.

 

[bassgrooves2]

When you make a mistake, Own It! Confidence is key! It's not the end of the world, don't worry about a missed note, but don't let it get you out of time.
Having said that, the best thing is to not miss notes either, lol.

Bass players are the most important members of the band. We control how people feel the rhythm and how they hear the melody and harmony. As one bass player said, the piano only plays a C chord if I play a C on the bass.

I am not a trained bassist, but I do enjoy expanding my knowledge of the instrument and its uses. I am finding that I learn more rapidly when I can apply theory immediately. Going through scales at 60bpm don't cut it for me. I have to learn by introducing information or concepts and then trying them in context. I do this by taking these concepts and apply get them to songs that I don't know, I just play along and test the waters until I'm comfortable. It's fun and you'll have some good Aaaahhhh moments.
Check out Scott's Bass Lessons or anything by the great Ed Friedland.

 

[superchicken_VI]

I think I have to agree with those saying to just play out and rock the house. We all miss a note here or there--but how you handle it separates the players from the pretenders.

 

[caligula]

I am playing a show with a new band tomorrow. Medium sized gig up on the 2nd floor of a bar. I just started learning this bands songs about a week ago so there are bound to be a few errors in my notes. That being said I am looking for a very low end sound that will sit deep in the mix and be a little less obvious if there are any little hiccups. I want people to be able to feel the bass while not hearing too many of the intricacies of the notes as most of my playing will be pretty simple for this show. Any advice on the best way to achieve this sound? I have an acoustic 300 watt head with 1 15 inch speaker and horn. Direct out so I can plug into the house as well. Fender Jazz. Thanks everyone! Cheers.

So, how was the gig?? or ?