punchier sound question

[misterCRUSH]

I have an ampeg PF 500 going into an ampeg 15 inch cab. I love the sound but am looking for a little bit more punch and definition, especially in the lower quadrants. I an looking at the Ampeg 2x10 cab with a horn. If I added this to the 15 would it give me that definition, or should I replace the 15 with the 2x10? TIA

 

[byacey]

A horn offers more clack and clang, but doesn't do much in the punch department. Punch resides in mids territory.

 

[misterCRUSH]

A horn offers more clack and clang, but doesn't do much in the punch department. Punch resides in mids territory.

I noticed this issue when I got a Phil Jones Bass double four. It's great for practice, but too small for gigs. It has a really tight, punchy sound with a lot of clarity. I was hoping to get that sound in my bigger rig.

 

[byacey]

Roll off some bottom end, dial up some 400 to 700 in the mids.

 

[misterCRUSH]

Roll off some bottom end, dial up some 400 to 700 in the mids.

Awesome, thanks!!!

 

[Wasnex]

Roll off some bottom end, dial up some 400 to 700 in the mids.

I agree that punch rests in the low mids, but IMHO you have to be careful boosting (400hz). Most sound sources in a band tend to produce energy in this frequency range. Even worse, the energy tends to bounce around and build up. IMHO, too much build up in this frequency range can mask punch and clarity and cause the bass to sound loose and unfocused.

The other thing is a surprising number of bass amps don't sound very punchy even in totally dry acoustic environment. If the rig does not produce a punchy sound it's pretty much a lost cause.

If the rig does sound punchy, it may help to elevate the cab and tilt it back to aim at your head. This is so you can hear the full bandwidth the cab produces and the sound travels directly from the speaker to your ears, rather than bouncing around the room for awhile before you hear it. If the cab is flat on the floor, the upper mids and highs will shoot out in front of the cab, below ear level.

 

[Raf Seibert]

Perhaps a HPF would help keep the energy up in the useful range.

 

[scottfeldstein]

Perhaps a HPF would help keep the energy up in the useful range.

This. Also maybe use some of the onboard compressor. Not sure how good it is. I did own this amp for a while, but I always used the MXR on my board.

 

[chaosMK]

I like to run Bass flat or a bit cut depending on the room. Bump low mids ("1" on the selector is 220 Hz) instead. A boost around 500k is nice as someone mentioned but the PF doesnt have a ton of controls (you might be able to boost the mids on your bass). When I tame the low bass and bump low mids, usually I can run the Master a little higher. I find low mids around 180-220 Hz sit pretty nice (more audibly) in rock and metal music.

Amp/Cab set up will help or optimize (or in some cases diminish) the punch factor but in the case of punch a lot of the tone is in the fingers. If you are playing with a soft light touch it's probably not going to punch that much.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I have an ampeg PF 500 going into an ampeg 15 inch cab. I love the sound but am looking for a little bit more punch and definition, especially in the lower quadrants. I an looking at the Ampeg 2x10 cab with a horn. If I added this to the 15 would it give me that definition, or should I replace the 15 with the 2x10? TIA

Punch is in the EQ. Try adding a little less bass and more in the low mids.

 

[coy garcia]

Adding the 210 will sound a little fuller but I don't think it's worth the effort. Those amps sound great with a 115. I have a 115, 210 and a 4ohm downfiring 112. I use either the 115 or the 112 by themselves. I like the tone of the 115, but I like the spread and mids of the 112. Because the 112 is lighter and smaller it usually wins on what I decide to bring.

 

[Indiana Mike]

I have an ampeg PF 500 going into an ampeg 15 inch cab. I love the sound but am looking for a little bit more punch and definition, especially in the lower quadrants. I an looking at the Ampeg 2x10 cab with a horn. If I added this to the 15 would it give me that definition, or should I replace the 15 with the 2x10? TIA

Is your Ampeg ported or sealed ?

Exactly which cab do you currently have ?

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Don’t play a p bass. Active eq with humbuckers will give the punch you are looking for. Sounds start at the guitar.

 

[darwin-bass]

A horn offers more clack and clang, but doesn't do much in the punch department. Punch resides in mids territory.

But does it?

So what does "punch" mean, anyway?

 

[byacey]

But does it?

So what does "punch" mean, anyway?

I believe so.

 

[darwin-bass]

I confess, after years of reading TB, I still don't know what punch means. My engineering brain wants all y'all to speak in terms of frequency, not terms of flavor, color, taste, texture, mass, temperature, age or ...

 

[jimmyjames77]

Get a compressor pedal. Punch city. EVEN with a P bass. ; )

 

[scottfeldstein]

To me, "punch" is somewhere in the 100-200hz range. It's not the subs. It's not the high mids or the highs. It's the meat that comprises most of the sound (unless you're playing in a high register). I get good punch through a variety of things. I run a HPF to ditch all the mud. I run a comp to make sure all my notes are even volume so I can be loud in the mix. And of course I EQ to make sure I get plenty of that meaty bump. But yeah it's all pretty subjective and what I mean bye "punch" may not be what you mean. I want a good clean bump with no mud that can sit high in a mix without the risk of loud notes dominating it.

 

[landrybass]

I noticed this issue when I got a Phil Jones Bass double four. It's great for practice, but too small for gigs. It has a really tight, punchy sound with a lot of clarity.

I would agree, I love my pj amps but I feel like this is the minimum for a gig. Even using the bg400 by itself would be too quiet, with the c4 cab it’s perfect. But that’s 8 speakers, definitely won’t work with 2.

 

[pfschim]

I use a PF500/115HE cab combo in one of my rehearsal spaces. I find it will deliver pretty good punchy tone with just a bit of EQ tweaking.

If the OP has the 115HE cab, it's a sealed 1x15 and that already helps in the punch department because of its easy low bass rolloff and low mid hump characteristics.

I also use Jazz basses almost exclusively, so that may help with getting punch out of this combo.

For my settings I use the onboard comp set around 11-12:00. It's not a Cali76CB but it's not bad for an onboard 1 knob comp.
For EQ I just push the Bass and Treble controls just a bit past 12:00, I set the Mid Freq Selector on 2 or 3, and then push the Mid level up past 3:00. This is important as IMO/IME the Mid Level control does not do very much until it's pushed up quite a bit. I set the Gain at least at 12:00 and then Master to taste/needs for the gig. I think it's also useful to push the gain as much as you can before the grit starts .. just before lighting up the Peak light/meter.

seems pretty punchy to me.

good luck OP!