I am new to bass and so my knowledge is limited in most aspects, especially when it comes to gear. Right now I am playing a Sire V7 into a Focusrite Scarlett. It’s perfect in that I can put on headphones and practice without disturbing anyone and I can practices or play along with songs on the Internet. (I tend to stay in passive-mode when I play, if that matters)
I understand that there are a ton of factors that contribute to your tone/sound, from the instrument perspective, and that it can be the woods used in the body, neck, fretboard, the pickups, the strings, your technique, etc. But after that…it’s everything else I really have yet to grasp and that is the rest of the gear to get your tone.
I am reading about DI’s, Preamps, Preamps/DI’s in one box, Tube vs SS amps, speaker reviews, pedals, etc. The more I read the more I get confused at what I need right now and what I might need/want in the future.
I currently don’t feel the need to get an amp and cab since I have no intentions of playing gigs or being in a band; I just want to learn how to play the bass and enjoy it.
What I would like to do is to find a way to shape my tone. I have lost many-a-night to YouTube videos on sounds and instruments and I think I have a good idea of what sounds I like…but I have no clue achieve them.
Here are a couple of videos so there is context into what sounds I find appealing.
The first 2 are running into an Avalon U5 and then into an Aguilar DB-750 with a Bergantino cab. I love the warmth of the sound here.
The Kinga Glyk sound is just perfection to my ears but I have no idea if she is using anything to shape the tone. This is punchier and if I could get only one sound, I think I would learn towards this.
These MusicForce videos also sound great but I guess they would be considered a more modern sound?
I understand that I will need different basses to get different sounds (J bass, P bass, etc) but for the gear, is it possible to have one set of gear that would cover most of the sounds I like?
Or am I just crazy to be chasing after tone so early in my journey? Help!
As others have said here, you need to just woodshed with what you have for a couple of years before you start chasing tone. So much of the "tone" will depend upon your technique, where you pluck the strings on your bass and how you actually finger your notes.
Personally, I use a MIA Jazz Bass and I have since I bought my first one in 1966 (was a '65 Jazz). I run both volumes and the tone all the way up, and add some boost to my low mids at ~250Hz and then let me fingers do the rest. Your sire is much different than the Fender passive Jazz though in its EQ. Yours is a 3-band EQ. I'd suggest trying your bass and treble at the middle notch (flat) and turn the mids up just slightly. I think there's a Sire club here and you should definitely check them out for EQ suggestions.
Your plucking hand has a lot to do with what type of sound you get out of your bass. One of the things that you'll notice after you have initially set your EQ is that if you pluck your bass up near the bottom of the neck you'll get a darker, mellower sound. If you pluck it near the bridge you'll get a much more treble sound. If you pluck it in between the two, you'll get a lot of different shades of sound. So where you pluck the strings has a lot to do with your sound. You'll also control the dynamics of your sound (soft, loud, and everywhere in between) by how hard you pluck the strings. Always be sure you have the headroom to be loud in the loudest parts, but don't play everything at its loudest.
Another thing that will change the way you sound is how you fret the strings. For an articulate sound, use the tips of your fingers. For a meatier sound use the pads of your fingers. It's actually pretty easy to start doing this once you hear the difference it makes. For fast parts, use those fingertips. For accented notes that are being held, use the pads. My fingers are usually at an angle to the string when I'm using the pads and pretty much straight up above the fret when using the tips.
Now after you've practiced that for a year or two and know how to get different sounds out of your bass without messing with the EQ, you're well on your way to the "tone" you're looking for and can start messing around with EQ's. Be aware that the EQ your use for slap is night and day different than what you will use for finger-style or pick. Slap generally uses a very scooped sound (bass and treble way up and mids way down). So hearing someone demo a bass only using slap will NOT give you an idea of what that bass can really sound like.
Also, you need to be aware that the EQ set up you use while playing by yourself is NOT the same as you will use when playing in a group. Bedroom practice sounds good with bass and treble boosted because human ears don't hear bass and treble nearly as well as mid frequencies at low levels. When you play in a group though, you'll disappear with that EQ and your bass will be hard to hear in the mix. It will either sound muddy, or just totally indistinct.
As I mentioned earlier, I run my amp flat after dialing in the room and just add a little boost in the low mids at ~250Hz. That 250Hz to 500Hz is where the bass gets its definition and chest thump. Playing in a group, you and your audience will distinctly hear what you are playing.
A really good example of how different it sounds when you play in a group is to listen to your of Kinga Glyk video. She's playing a passive Fender Jazz and has her controls dimed (volume 1, volume 2, and tone). When she first starts, I'm thinking, "why does he like this sound? It's just not quite right." And then the rest of the group comes in and her bass sounds like honey - sweet and full with great definition. She definitely has her EQ set up to sound good in the mix with everything else playing and she has some really nice skills.
So don't confuse what sounds good while you are practicing by yourself with what sounds good playing in a group. Oh yeah...don't forget to enjoy the journey!
