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Something wrong with my bass tone?

S

SiriusVI

Oct 31, 2019
31
4
#1
Hey everyone,

I started out playing the guitar, but I found a band that I wanted to join. Since they needed a bass player, I picked up a bass guitar.

I bought this one, since I thought it looked cool, and I didn't want to spend too much money on my first bass:

Invalid Link Removed

Now, I'm currently trying to get a good tone and I'm really struggling. What I found was that my Bass DI tone sounds a lot more dull compared to other DI tones I found on YouTube.

So here is an example of what I found on YouTube (but in many videos the basses sound like this):



I've attached a file of what my Bass DI tone sounds like when I leave all the EQ nobs and the pickup nob at their center position.

My strings are relatively new (2 weeks old) and also I've changed them many timey, so it's definitely not the strings.

So I guess my question is: does that specific bass just have a very dull tone or is something wrong with my bass?


Thank you so much for your answers!
 

Attachments

#5
"If something's wrong with that tone"

I'm not sure it's the setting of the nobs. I've tried everything. Don't you here the crisp tone that the guy in the video is getting? It's so clear and vibrant compared to what I am getting. Sure, I can crank the highs of basss up to the max, but still my tone is rather dull.

Take a listen (attachment):

But just so I understand you. You don't think there is anything wrong with my tone. It's just how my bass sounds. Do I understand you correctly?

Here is another example of a vibrant, bright bass tone:

 

Attachments

#6
do you have fresh batteries in the bass?
have you tried playing with the onboard eq and pickup volume? why leave everything at noon? if you're not getting the sound you like try playing around with them. boost the treble and cut the volume on the neck pickup. you can also try stainless steel strings if you haven't already for some more brightness.

you can also lower the action a bit.
you may need a plugin if you want that super scooped tone. a heavier pick attack will help too. a darkglass b3k pedal can get you close too if you don't want plugins.
 
#7
"do you have fresh batteries in the bass?"

The bass is passive anyway. It just has an active EQ, and yes, I've changed the battery a week ago.

I have of coures tried playing with the nobs, but I just don't get that crisp tone I hear in so many YouTube videos. No matter what I do, my tone sounds rather muffled, don't you think? Have you listend to the two recordings I have provided?
 
#9
SiriusVI said:
I go straight into my audio interface and record through cubase.
Click to expand...

SiriusVI said:
I have of coures tried playing with the nobs, but I just don't get that crisp tone I hear in so many YouTube videos. No matter what I do, my tone sounds rather muffled, don't you think? Have you listend to the two recordings I have provided?
Click to expand...

You keep mentioning your bass DI tone. Which DI are you using?
 
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#10
I don't think anything is "wrong" with your bass. That's just how that one sounds. I've found that Bartolini preamp/pickups give me the bright, punchiness I like. Have you found a video of your bass with a tone you like? Generally, you can't get a budget bass with a low grade preamp/pickups and expect it to sound like a $2000 bass with a higher end preamp/pickups. My bass with Korean "Bartolinis" doesn't sound as good as my basses with American Bartolinis but it is also cheaper than those. I upgraded the preamp to an American made Bartolini, but didn't upgrade the pickups. It sounds better, but still not as good as the others.
Also, what brand string are you using? New strings don't always mean bright.
 
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#11
This is the "brightest" tone I can get. Again, I think that the knob settings aren't an issue. The tones I hear in the YouTube videos and the tones I am getting sound so different that it almost sound like they are coming from an entirely diffeent instrument.

Am I crazy or do different basses just sound THAT differently? I have 4 guitars here and they all sound like... well guitars, when I plug them into my interface. I don't understand why basses would sound this differently from one another.
 

Attachments

#12
SiriusVI said:
"If something's wrong with that tone"

I'm not sure it's the setting of the nobs. I've tried everything. Don't you here the crisp tone that the guy in the video is getting? It's so clear and vibrant compared to what I am getting. Sure, I can crank the highs of basss up to the max, but still my tone is rather dull.

Take a listen (attachment):

But just so I understand you. You don't think there is anything wrong with my tone. It's just how my bass sounds. Do I understand you correctly?

Here is another example of a vibrant, bright bass tone:

Click to expand...



Listening to that (2nd) video (parts of it, as I skipped around), he has lots of distortion/drive on those samples, whereas your bass tone is just a dry bass tone with no effects.

Is it the distortion that your talking about?

If so, you can get pedals/etc that give you that kinda sound. But remember, if you use a LOT of distortion/drive/fuzz and you can "thin" out your sound and get lost in the mix.

The bass tone you recorded of your bass would probably sit just right in the mix of other musicians.
That's the way it goes sometimes, that the bass tone you hear in "the bedroom" usually does not sit well in a mix, and vice versa, the tone that's best in a mix, does not usually sound awesome in the "bedroom".

Not sure how long you were playing guitar before takin up bass, but maybe you are so used to the "exciting" world of guitar effects, that the bass did not sound as "fun" to you (as it does on the internet).

(*usually/possibly/maybe/perhaps/sometimes- as there ARE exceptions to every rule)


YMMV

T$
 
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#13
"You keep mentioning your bass DI tone. Which DI are you using?"

With "DI" I mean that I plug my bass directly into my audio interface, so I get an unaltered, pure bass sound. That's what the people in the YouTube videos do, right?
 
#15
SiriusVI said:
This is the "brightest" tone I can get. Again, I think that the knob settings aren't an issue. The tones I hear in the YouTube videos and the tones I am getting sound so different that it almost sound like they are coming from an entirely diffeent instrument.

Am I crazy or do different basses just sound THAT differently? I have 4 guitars here and they all sound like... well guitars, when I plug them into my interface. I don't understand why basses would sound this differently from one another.
Click to expand...

are you comparing against the clean DI tones or the tones with the plugins and eq?
 
#16
Bassdirty said:
Listening to that (2nd) video (parts of it, as I skipped around), he has lots of distortion/drive on those samples, whereas your bass tone is just a dry bass tone with no effects.
Click to expand...


I included the correct time stamp. Just watch the video from where it starts. Both videos show their unaltered bass tones, if you just hit play.

I'm NOT talking about the sounds they get once they engage their amp sims and plugins. I'm talking about their clean bass tone.
 
#17
Have you changed your strings recently? I would start by trying different strings. Fresh stainless steel roundwound strings if you want that bright, crisp sound.

Personally I can't stand that kind of sound so I actually like your clip better than the video but YMMV.

Still, your bass does sound a bit dull. What is your recording chain?
 
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#19
Deleted member 271037 said:
Personally I can't stand that kind of sound so I actually like your clip better than the video but YMMV.
Click to expand...

"Personally I can't stand that kind of sound so I actually like your clip better than the video but YMMV."

The thing is, recently there was another bass player at my house and we jammed a bit and his clean bass DI tone sounded exactly like the tone the people in the YouTube videos got, even though he had a completely different bass.

That's why I was wondering, whether there is something wrong, sice every bass I've hear other than mine has that crisp sound to it.
 
#20
SiriusVI said:
"Personally I can't stand that kind of sound so I actually like your clip better than the video but YMMV."

The thing is, recently there was another bass player at my house and we jammed a bit and his clean bass DI tone sounded exactly like the tone the people in the YouTube videos got, even though he had a completely different bass.

That's why I was wondering, whether there is something wrong, sice every bass I've hear other than mine has that crisp sound to it.
Click to expand...

What kind of bass does he have? I've heard plenty of basses that sound dull because that's just how they sound. Basses don't all sound the same.
 

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