Precision Bass At Last Nights Concert

[57pbass]

I saw the band “The New Pornographers” last night in Brooklyn at a venue called Brooklyn Steel. Large rectangular concrete room with open floor and balcony. No seats.
I expected a terrible bass sound.

The bass player used a Precision Bass for the entire show and played it with a pick.
Very good band .. lots of strong vocal tunes and catchy hooks.

I was surprised at the clarity and greatness of the bass tone.. beautifully EQ’ed with just the right amount of grind. He was using an SVT cabinets with a black faced AMPEG.. couldn’t ID the exact model.

I really have to revisit my P Basses on live shows since I can never seem to properly EQ them when we play larger rooms like this. It just always get too boomy. I know FOH engineers have a lot to do with what I was hearing.

Is there a secret to this ?

 

[bobba66]

P-bass!

 

[Killing Floor]

You need a good soundman ....

This.
And the band works with the room instead of against it. So all players have to try not to beat the sound man.

 

[tvbop]

P bass. Dead flats and roll the bass back on guitar and amp, gives me a mid punch that's crystal clear.

 

[N Scott Shaw]

P bass. Dead flats and roll the bass back on guitar and amp, gives me a mid punch that's crystal clear.

I think a lot of people boost the bass so high that it masks the mids on a P. I use rounds and finger pick. You also need to find that sweet spot, which, for me is right behind the pickups towards the bridge.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

Technique and arrangement matter a lot. From what I have heard of the band the bass is playing nice clean lines.

 

[tvbop]

The name of our instrument is not really correct. Its correct title should be. "Lower mid guitar". The term bass gets everyone in a muddle...literally.

 

[57pbass]

More P Bass clarity..

 

[Cave Puppy]

Try a HPF. That will get rid of some boom.

 

[dalkowski]

Their "Challengers" LP is a personal fave.

 

[bassicmike]

The bass player used a Precision Bass...He was using an SVT cabinets with a black faced AMPEG..
Is there a secret to this ?

This is not a secret. It is bass nirvana.

 

[brian579]

I saw the band “The New Pornographers” last night in Brooklyn at a venue called Brooklyn Steel. Large rectangular concrete room with open floor and balcony. No seats.
I expected a terrible bass sound.

The bass player used a Precision Bass for the entire show and played it with a pick.
Very good band .. lots of strong vocal tunes and catchy hooks.

I was surprised at the clarity and greatness of the bass tone.. beautifully EQ’ed with just the right amount of grind. He was using an SVT cabinets with a black faced AMPEG.. couldn’t ID the exact model.

I really have to revisit my P Basses on live shows since I can never seem to properly EQ them when we play larger rooms like this. It just always get too boomy. I know FOH engineers have a lot to to with what I was hearing.

Is there a secret to this ?

No secret. P basses always rise to the top!

 

[Engle]

I saw the band “The New Pornographers” last night in Brooklyn at a venue called Brooklyn Steel. Large rectangular concrete room with open floor and balcony. No seats.
I expected a terrible bass sound.

The bass player used a Precision Bass for the entire show and played it with a pick.
Very good band .. lots of strong vocal tunes and catchy hooks.

I was surprised at the clarity and greatness of the bass tone.. beautifully EQ’ed with just the right amount of grind. He was using an SVT cabinets with a black faced AMPEG.. couldn’t ID the exact model.

I really have to revisit my P Basses on live shows since I can never seem to properly EQ them when we play larger rooms like this. It just always get too boomy. I know FOH engineers have a lot to to with what I was hearing.

Is there a secret to this ?

HPF and roll back the bass. Less is more in a boomy room.

 

[Reid-O]

I think a lot of people boost the bass so high that it masks the mids on a P. I use rounds and finger pick. You also need to find that sweet spot, which, for me is right behind the pickups towards the bridge.

P-bass sweet-spot = Anywhere between the nut and bridge

 

[pbass2]

I saw the band “The New Pornographers” last night in Brooklyn at a venue called Brooklyn Steel. Large rectangular concrete room with open floor and balcony. No seats.
I expected a terrible bass sound.

The bass player used a Precision Bass for the entire show and played it with a pick.
Very good band .. lots of strong vocal tunes and catchy hooks.

I was surprised at the clarity and greatness of the bass tone.. beautifully EQ’ed with just the right amount of grind. He was using an SVT cabinets with a black faced AMPEG.. couldn’t ID the exact model.

I really have to revisit my P Basses on live shows since I can never seem to properly EQ them when we play larger rooms like this. It just always get too boomy. I know FOH engineers have a lot to to with what I was hearing.

Is there a secret to this ?

No secret. A Pbass sort of "mixes itself". Any good FOH person shouldn't have to fiddle with it much. You certainly weren't hearing the bass rig on it's own out front. My assumption would be you were hearing DI'd bass, maybe a mic as well on the cab, but in any event you're hearing the FOH bass sound, not the stage sound.

 

[Beej]

Fantastic band, and he's a consistently good bass player.

 

[Deleted member 271037]

How to properly eq a P-bass? Secret?

Well, in my opinion the "secret" about P-basses is that they usually don't need much eq at all. Which is also the reason why I massively prefer PASSIVE P-basses: Less possibilities to ruin the tone.

This will obviously depend on the amp/cab too but with P-basses I usually find that "less is more" when it comes to eq. Just use the passive tone control to obtain the desired balanced of clank/warmth and keep the amp relatively "flat". Maybe some broad stroke tone shaping using the amp's tone controls but definitely not a lot of boost/cut relative to the most "flat"(ish) setting on the amp in question (which of course means that you will need to use your ears and know how the tone stack on the amp works).

Even just a clean DI, 100% unprocessed, direct to FOH should provide a rock solid bass tone with a passive P-bass, unless the engineer is totally clueless.

Of course the bass tone you're hearing is (presumably) on stage. You might have a much better tone than you think, from the audience's perspective. Even if you walk around the room during the soundcheck the sound will change significantly when the room is filled with people, and usually to the better.

 

[Stylee Mousse]

see above. Also SVT cab already is a HPF in itself.

 

[bobba66]

Willie Weeks seems to have it figured out.....

 

[pbass2]

Even just a clean DI, 100% unprocessed, direct to FOH should provide a rock solid bass tone with a passive P-bass, unless the engineer is totally clueless.

This right here. That's usually the best FOH sound. It's all you need. Once you start adding other factors--a mic'd cab, effects, unnecessary compression and EQ tweaks--you start muddying the waters making it more difficult for FOH.