If you think Pino's sound is too "bassy" maybe a P. is not for you. Granted - the 2 clips you provided are different in tone shape but both are VERY acceptable and EXQUISITE tones for a P. After all that 's been said here,I have NO idea what the problem is for you.
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P-Bass too bassy. Strings or pickups?
- Thread starter HolyGrowl
- Start date
If you think Pino's sound is too "bassy" maybe a P. is not for you. Granted - the 2 clips you provided are different in tone shape but both are VERY acceptable and EXQUISITE tones for a P. After all that 's been said here,I have NO idea what the problem is for you.
I can't believe no one has asked this yet, but: What kind of amp and cab are you playing through? And, are you using any kinds of pedals/effects?
- Jul 30, 2006
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- Endorsing artist:Regenerate Guitar Works Carvin, Micheal Kelly Guitars
If you can't make it stop putting out too much bass I may be willing to trade something for it......
butchblack
Life is short. Do good. Find and do what you love.
The parallel/ series question is a good one. The other would be what rating capacitor did he use and did he use a paper or an orange drop?
The other is that 2 different basses will often need two very different tone settings. Play around with your amp settings.
Where you've been getting compliments on the tone, I wouldn't mess around too much. Also, get a bass playing friend to play your rig and listen from the audience. I can never judge my tone well while I'm on stage.
The other is that 2 different basses will often need two very different tone settings. Play around with your amp settings.
Where you've been getting compliments on the tone, I wouldn't mess around too much. Also, get a bass playing friend to play your rig and listen from the audience. I can never judge my tone well while I'm on stage.
First let me say,... you have great taste in video clips!!!
Man, those two clips have me ready to... well, I don't know what... but ready for something.
Now for the tone...
Yeah, that Jamiroquai clip has one of the best bass tones I've ever heard. And I hear what you are saying about the difference. The Pino tone is much "bassier". (I actually love both tones, but they are miles apart.)
I get that difference when I adjust the mid and character knobs on my VT Bass. 12:00 for both mid and character give me a more full-range tone like that on the Jamiroquai clip. Mid and character turned down (anywhere from 9:00 to 11:00) and it gradually changes to the Pino clip. So it has less mids. And no treble.
I'm assuming Pino has that tone dialed in at the amp, or maybe an eq pedal or preamp.
How you would get that straight from your bass, I don't know. I wish I could help.
But the Jamiroquai tone definitely has more mids. The Pino clip is eq'd like a more modern hip-hop bass tone, or old school reggae maybe. At least to my ears.
Man, those two clips have me ready to... well, I don't know what... but ready for something.
Now for the tone...
Yeah, that Jamiroquai clip has one of the best bass tones I've ever heard. And I hear what you are saying about the difference. The Pino tone is much "bassier". (I actually love both tones, but they are miles apart.)
I get that difference when I adjust the mid and character knobs on my VT Bass. 12:00 for both mid and character give me a more full-range tone like that on the Jamiroquai clip. Mid and character turned down (anywhere from 9:00 to 11:00) and it gradually changes to the Pino clip. So it has less mids. And no treble.
I'm assuming Pino has that tone dialed in at the amp, or maybe an eq pedal or preamp.
How you would get that straight from your bass, I don't know. I wish I could help.
But the Jamiroquai tone definitely has more mids. The Pino clip is eq'd like a more modern hip-hop bass tone, or old school reggae maybe. At least to my ears.
Must be amp or settings (or the bass's wood!), SPB-1s are not supposed to lack clarity. That said, I played a SPB-1 equipped P bass a few months back with flats (the Steve Harris signature P bass) and it had plenty of bassy oomph. But there's definition to the tone. Or maybe the tone in your head is not the flatwound sound.
IMO, it should not be the pickup, unless it's ultra close to the strings, as mentioned above.
IMO, it should not be the pickup, unless it's ultra close to the strings, as mentioned above.
The basses wood should be the least of his worries, that kinda thing only has a subtle influence on tone.
- Feb 16, 2008
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I could see this coming.
These aren't acoustic instruments. SwamiRob's statement is accurate, he said it has a "subtle influence" a point which has been beaten to death in the world of Lutherie (and I mean in terms of an actual Luthier vs guitar tech who calls himself a Luthier).
Are you playing it directly after jumping out of the shower? Your pads have softened up giving you that softer/bassier sound 
My SBV550 has 1 Meg pot's fitted, I found this opens the sound up in detail a little more and the top end too....probably this pot change has been mentioned previously here.
My SBV550 has 1 Meg pot's fitted, I found this opens the sound up in detail a little more and the top end too....probably this pot change has been mentioned previously here.
- Feb 16, 2008
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duh....
and yet another false statement.....
What's false? There is a difference between a Luthier and a guitar tech unless you are referring to a dictionary definition.
If you want to go by definition then anyone who plays a musical instrument and exhibits a modicum of skill (can strum chords on guitar) can be called a Musician.
To the point though, two identical models of electric instruments made of the same materials from the same manufacturer can sound different. Two identical electric instruments from the same manufacturer made of different materials can sound the same. It's not just the wood.
In a blind test of recorded material the sonic difference between species of woods in similar instruments will be very difficult to discern if at all, even for a person with very good ears. It may make a subtle difference, but not the kind of difference the OP is describing.
Try it yourself - get a neck and a few bodies made from different woods, swap the bodies and electronics and see if the highs suddenly become muddy and muted.
Again, builders have been discussing this at length for a long time, and in the end if someone wants to think that their hunk of ash, alder, maple, or other exotic zoot gives their electric bolt-on neck instrument a special mojo other than visual, then cool.
To the OP - a good tech can make your P-Bass sound like a P-Bass. Maybe it's the pups, maybe the wiring, pots, and/or the cap, but there's no reason you can't get at least very very close to the sound you're after.
- Feb 16, 2008
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there's nothing for me to 'try for myself'. after building 100's of basses from scratch, and working on/restoring thousands of them, i've been there, done that. i consider myself both a guitar tech and a luthier.
IME, the wood makes a big difference in the voice (timbre/harmonic structure, attack and sustain) of a solid body bass and i currently own quite a few basses of the same model (with the same pickups/hardware in them) that clearly demonstrate that.
IME, the wood makes a big difference in the voice (timbre/harmonic structure, attack and sustain) of a solid body bass and i currently own quite a few basses of the same model (with the same pickups/hardware in them) that clearly demonstrate that.
