Should an amplifier colour your tone?

[i_got_a_mohawk]

Depends on what I'm playing.

Sometimes will run through a mic preamp for the cleanest possible sound, but most of the time I love a ballsy SVT tone.

It all comes down to what YOU want

 

[skidrawk]

The preamp stage of the head is designed to color the sound. The amp part of the head is designed to amplify the signal chain before it.

 

[fdeck]

Even if you disregard sub-100 Hz performance, full-range or 2-way bass cabs by most standards are pretty far away from flat, linear performance. This is especially noticeable off-axis, or if you are trying to EQ in an area that's especially un-even. Even the very best enclosures of other types can only approach within spitting distance, the accuracy that is common for non-speaker electronics - other than some bass guitar heads or preamps which often have a hidden default voicing either by design or accident.

Definitely!

Yep. Horses for courses. But people who whine about pre- and post-EQ DI inequities would be wise to examine the issues more carefully (it gets old explaining that EQ for the rig cab doesn't work with the PA usually, which has an entirely different tonal profile), or start carrying the right mic for "their sound" and insisting upon its use.

It was illuminating to measure the response curve of the preamp on my bass head.

 

[sonic assassin]

my amp is at least HALF of my tone. string age and technique is the rest. thats at least how i get MY tone. beat the (new) strings to death and send them into a breaking up, high-midrangey amp.

 

[JimmyM]

Long before the internet, flatter frequency response with better off-axis characteristics and better dynamic linearity was desired for studio and live sound reinforcement. Why? Because that can better reflect any source's tonal signature better from a wider variety of listening positions, and better represent what is going on when adding coloration for expressive purposes, especially valuable when recording or representing a band in a live venue. The two approaches - accuracy and predictability in results, and backline and mics chosen expressly for their tonal footprint - can work hand in hand. This becomes all the more desirable when designing or using modeling gear, too.

I like having both available.

Can't argue with that.

 

[Jim Carr]

A Countryman type 85 DI into a small Mackie Mixer, monitored by a set of AKG 240 headphones is my way of hearing an approximation of what my instrument sounds like to a recording engineer.

That is what I consider to be "uncolored." I strive to make that sound as lovely, clean, musical, and accurate as possible.

The discipline of working with that sound has taught me how to use any amplifier I am handed, i.e., set the amp to be as close to that headphone tone as possible, and then adjust the INSTRUMENT and my playing for style, room, and taste.