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My sound has changed...

H

HandsFree

Guest
Dec 23, 2015
294
472
#1
By using the bridge pickup and pushing the mid a bit I used to get that type of sound that Jeff Berlin had on the Bruford albums. While not really the similar, I hear that same tone characteristic in Bernard Edwards work with Chic.
So first off, is there an English word to describe that particular tone? Without using all those comparisons?

And next: on new amps I never get that tone anymore. Does this sound familiar? It didn't matter what amp was on stage I always got that tone (except with Trace Elliot). But no matter what (new) amp, I never get that sound anymore.

So is there anything I can do to help my sound get that characteristic again?
Maybe use a specific type of strings would help? I use nickel plated steel at the moment, but that's just a random pick.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
 
#4
I play a Fender Jazz. Used to have a Hartke that sounded good (forgot what model). But almost every amp sounded the way I like. That also made me suppport the idea that tone is in your fingers mainly.

But now every amp I try gives a metallic sound.
I Have a Hartke LH500 and its practically unusable. It gives so much low that I have to turn it down almost completely, otherwise I just hear zoom with no definition.
It only has 3 controls (bass, mid, treble) and turning up mid helps a bit, but the characteristic of the tone doesn't change.

But I don't even use that amp a lot on gigs, bass usually goes directly to the soundsystem.
So I have my hopes set on maybe using a specific type of strings that would help approaching that sound I mentioned in first post.

BTW there's a video on youtube (can't find it now) where Victor Wooten endorsed Hartke LH1000 saying that he didn't like the sound of Hartke amps until they came up with LH1000.
So I'd say something must have changed there, and from what I see not only with Hartke.
It just happens I really liked the old sound and not the new...
 
#6
Isn't the LH1000 basically two Lh500's in one box? I find it hard to get a bad sound out of my LH1000. I do turn the tweeters off in my Cabs. Horn tweeters are really not good for bass cabs IMO.
 
#8
I would suggest flatwound strings, Thomastik Infields are my favourites. In my experience many newer cabs give a much better low end response than those of years ago, not always a good thing for great tone. Try rolling back the bass end, I find this instantly releases the true tone. That classic Bernard Edwards tone has the lows rolled way back.
 
#9
True, I have to turn down the bass to get any definition in my tone. But then there's hardly any volume left. I have to turn the volume up to 9 to be audible at all. (with bass that's just 3 or 4).
I never used flatwound, I might try that next time. I always heard that it takes a lot of time for flats to sound good (weeks or even months) so I never gave that a thought. But on the other hand, it doesn't sound good now either...
 
#10
Have you changed strings or cabs? The reason I ask is this. Even with the "baked in" tones of various amps I am able to use the EQ section to get "my sound" on almost any amp. However, if the cab is too boomy, or just not designed very well, I can use my own amp and never dial in "my sound".

I had to use whatever amp was provided on hundreds of gigs over the years. That taught me that the cab often has a greater affect on tone than the amp. Sometimes I was able to bring my own amp but had to use a provided cab. And the cab often made finding a usable tone pretty frustrating.
 
#11
I changed amps when it broke down, not cabs. The previous one sounded better but still not as good as years ago, so checking my current amp with different cabs is an idea. I'm using 4x10 now... Maybe it's the cab and not the amp?
I haven't found a specific set of strings I prefer so I'm changing the type/brand constantly.
 

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