So what does "punch" mean, anyway?

[Wasnex]

Let's hear some examples. Is this punchy?

To my surprise, IMHO yes.

How about this?

 

[Deleted member 365158]

The perfect sound and the right time

 

[Blueinred]

To my surprise, IMHO yes.

How about this?

I'd say yeah.

 

[darwin-bass]

To me, punch is in the high mids, hard initial attack, felt as well as heard. I tend to bump ~1000 Hz when I want more punch.

And I would boost 250 hz to get more punch and 1000 Hz for more clarity or definition.

But I did start the thread by asking what punch is so maybe I am off base

 

[bobalu]

When I fart, I blame the drummer.

....whereas you should be blaming your speaker from now on........ Unless there is a dog on stage...

 

[bobalu]

For the life of me I can't hear "growl". A Jazz Bass has lots of growl. No idea what this is - watched you tube videos demonstrating it and I still hear no "growl." I must be growl deaf. I can however hear my dog growl clearly. Just not my Jazz Bass.

 

[DJ Bebop]

For the life of me I can't hear "growl". A Jazz Bass has lots of growl. No idea what this is - watched you tube videos demonstrating it and I still hear no "growl." I must be growl deaf. I can however hear my dog growl clearly. Just not my Jazz Bass.

 

[jdh3000]

To me it’s just something you can feel, instead of a speaker just passing sound, you can hear and feel that “punch”
I’ve heard it more though old tube amps I played, but some of the D class with a good pre- amp give you that.

 

[Marc DLarosa]

In L.A.?

Don't say "punch, cut, or..." I may be within earshot.

 

[Hofnerbacker]

We have so many terms to describe bass sound but I suspect that few of us really have clear definitions of them. We think we're clearly communicating but I suspect often we not even speaking the same language.

I'd love to have some definitions in terms of volume & frequency. No fair using the term to define the term ("Smooth, you know - when it sounds smooth like a gentle breeze").

• Growly
• In-Your-Face
• Hi-Fi
• Vintage
• Full
• Smooth
• Bite
• Bark
• Burp
• Fart (sorry, but I'm not making these up)
• Thud
• Thump

And the one that leaves me the most confused:

• Punch

THIS is Punch.

 

[Jay2U]

I'm out of punch, I drank it all.

 

[nilorius]

My opinion about punch is that the sound starts with good bass and very good mids and a little cut highs and it starts iexactly when play it and stays pretty long the same.

 

[jamro217]

I always thought of punch as a well defined, full tone that you could hear without concentrating on it. Not too loud in the mix, but easy to pick out and with enough lows and low mids to give the sense of it being a bass you're listening to and not a drop tuned strat.

 

[Mili]

punch to me is snap+low mid definition.

 

[HMZ]

Punch to me is when you can feel the bass in your chest. Its that hard hitting sound that cuts through and makes the ladys dance.

Fart is very much a term meaning when your speakers can't keep up and they're just flubbing around in the cabinet. A few things can cause this. Underpowered amp, speakers not able to handle the power suppled or just a cheap combo amp cranked beyond its capability.

 

[Vinny_G]

It's when you hit the strings hard.

 

[OptimalOptimus]

We have so many terms to describe bass sound but I suspect that few of us really have clear definitions of them. We think we're clearly communicating but I suspect often we not even speaking the same language.

I'd love to have some definitions in terms of volume & frequency. No fair using the term to define the term ("Smooth, you know - when it sounds smooth like a gentle breeze").

• Growly
• In-Your-Face
• Hi-Fi
• Vintage
• Full
• Smooth
• Bite
• Bark
• Burp
• Fart (sorry, but I'm not making these up)
• Thud
• Thump

And the one that leaves me the most confused:

• Punch

Growls, in-you-face and hi-fi to me represent a Warwick Thumb
Vintage, full and smooth would be a Fender Jazz with flats
Bite, bark and burp would be a Stingray
Fart is an amp with a blown speaker or way to much bass frequency
Thud and Thump would be a Fender P with flats
Punch would be a bass that emphasizes mid a lot

 

[bassliner50]

High excursion, fast transients. Abrupt leading edge. Thump.

 

[JTE]

"Punch" is the fist that hits you in the chest, it's around 125 -200Hz range. Gotta be up high enough to not be confused with the thud of the kick drum, but not so high as to get muddled with guitars and keys, etc.

 

[Valvehead]

Punch to me is when the initial attack of each note will come out more powerful.
Punch can be obtained by using 10" speakers rather then 15 or 18", especially with a closed design speaker enclosure.
Compressors with their attack dial set right will also increase punch.

It has nothing to do with any frequencies.