Solo vs. Recording vs. Live tone

[MarkMcCombs]

I've always just set my eq, etc. how I like it and I've never been bothered. However, I don't know how I sound in the mix and thru the FOH. From what I've gathered about recording bass guitar, I need to have a much more aggressive, mid-range or upper-mid-range boost, and probably a low-end roll-off from how I think I should sound, to fit in the mix. Makes sense to me. I've just recently seen that I should do the same for live sound in a rock band setting.

Am I getting this right? Worth noting is that I've never been one of those "boost the lows cuz it's a bass" guys, I've always pretty much run everything flat.

I have noticed when playing alongside recordings on a stereo, my normal tone sounds a bit dull and lifeless, though by itself sounds fine.

Thanks in advance.....

Mark

 

[Steve]

There's a thing on youtube, an interview with Steely Dan in the studio...I think the song is Peg.

In the midst of it they solo out Chuck Rainey's bass line a couple of times.

It's interesting to note the tonal difference between the tone solo'd and how it sits in the mix.

It's a place to start. But, yeah. For me playing finger style, I need to sound pretty narley to bust through a mix either live or on tape.

I think it's much less of an issue if you use a pick.

IMHO

 

[IanStephenson]

"narley" is a good word. Me live sound is KNARLEY!!! I play classic heavy rock, in a three piece, and I've found that the amount of distortion that sounds good in a band context like this is way more than any reasonable person would consider using if they were just listening to the bass... I have a few sounds set up from clean to extreme, and if I sound check on extreme the guys think it sounds OTT, and occasionally say so. 10 mins into a gig, I select that same sound and with the rest of the band playing they comment on how awesome it sounds, and how much better than the OTT sound I had earlier - same sound, different context.

 

[Deacon_Blues]

There's a thing on youtube, an interview with Steely Dan in the studio...I think the song is Peg.

In the midst of it they solo out Chuck Rainey's bass line a couple of times.

It's interesting to note the tonal difference between the tone solo'd and how it sits in the mix.

It's a place to start. But, yeah. For me playing finger style, I need to sound pretty narley to bust through a mix either live or on tape.

I think it's much less of an issue if you use a pick.

IMHO

Here it is:


Great vintage bass sound in that song.

Personally, I think the main focus for the bass is the lows. Mids are required to prevent the sound from being muddy, but I'm not a guy that starts cutting the bass, at least not live. More likely I'll boost it (range below 200 Hz). But if I do that, I also boost the mids/high mids a little to prevent a too muddy sound. My guitarist loves the fact I'm staying out of his frequency range more or less, and he's staying out of mine, making our instruments fit well together.

I've found it's mostly unnecessary to have a lot of treble in my bass sound as the guitars, vocals, keys, snare drum and cymbals have a lot going on in the treble range already. I don't need that range for the bass to sound full and balanced in a mix. That's why I've started using flats more or less exclusively. When I occasionally slap, I like the focus of the slap tone to be in the range 2-4 kHz, which it is naturally with flats. Boosting that range make the sound through. I never got it right with boosting the treble above 4 kHz.

However, people have different tastes and playing styles, and what suits me well might not suit you...

 

[MarkMcCombs]

okay, now I'm really confused....

Here it is:


Great vintage bass sound in that song.

Personally, I think the main focus for the bass is the lows. Mids are required to prevent the sound from being muddy, but I'm not a guy that starts cutting the bass, at least not live. More likely I'll boost it (range below 200 Hz). But if I do that, I also boost the mids/high mids a little to prevent a too muddy sound. My guitarist loves the fact I'm staying out of his frequency range more or less, and he's staying out of mine, making our instruments fit well together.

I've found it's mostly unnecessary to have a lot of treble in my bass sound as the guitars, vocals, keys, snare drum and cymbals have a lot going on in the treble range already. I don't need that range for the bass to sound full and balanced in a mix. That's why I've started using flats more or less exclusively. When I occasionally slap, I like the focus of the slap tone to be in the range 2-4 kHz, which it is naturally with flats. Boosting that range make the sound through. I never got it right with boosting the treble above 4 kHz.

However, people have different tastes and playing styles, and what suits me well might not suit you...

 

[Deacon_Blues]

okay, now I'm really confused....

Well, I understand why you're a bit confused. My last post wasn't exactly very clearly written.

What I tried to say (I think) is that my job is to deliver bass frequencies to the mix. However to prevent muddiness in the tone some mids are required. I favor a slightly scooped sound over a flat one in a live setting, and I get that by boosting the lows (<200Hz) and mids (>800 Hz), but not equally much. People say cut instead of boost, but this way works for me.

I try to stay out of the mids/high mids as much as possible to allow the guitars, keyboards and vocals to operate more freely in that register. My guitarist says I'm never "stepping on his toes" with my sound, still it sounds full and focused.


Remember this is what works for me, live. What fits you the best might be a different story. My sound and playing style don't need a lot of highs. Just enough to keep the tone focused. It's far more important to me to have enough bass in the sound. That's what makes the chicks shake their things...