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Step on it …
- Thread starter Keetoz
- Start date
An eq pedal? Presumably have it off for bright and switch it on with the eq filters for high turned down to make it mellow?
maybe not exactly be the tone that you are after
maybe not exactly be the tone that you are after
There are tons of overdrive or preamp pedals that are an easy way to do this, and it's a matter of finding ones with the overall sound you like, as everyone has very different tastes/preferences. The programmable BDDI mentioned above can give you multiple options in one unit, but it has a very baked-in sound I'm not that big a fan of. For mellow, I really like the SolidGoldFX Beta or any tube-based overdrive.
Another good option that can do mellow or bright is the MXR Bass Preamp. It doesn't have a pre-baked sound that changes your core tone, and you can dial out the highs and mids while boosting the lows to get your mellow old school sound, or you can do the opposite to be bright and modern.
Umm... you're literally describing a tone pot...
I use this pedal to radically change my tone from fully open and bright to low-passed, subby, and dubby: CRIMSON RED BASS PREAMP (OC-CRBPn)
You can grab one used for about $100. I have two 'cause I like it that much. I'm probably among its biggest evangelists at this point.
~NvN
You can grab one used for about $100. I have two 'cause I like it that much. I'm probably among its biggest evangelists at this point.
~NvN
A 3, 5, 6 or 7 band EQ pedal would be the simplest solution that would not change the character of your bass sound.
Many pre amps or over drives as have been suggested will impart some harmonic saturation or mild distortion in some cases similar to a particular amplifier.
Many pre amps or over drives as have been suggested will impart some harmonic saturation or mild distortion in some cases similar to a particular amplifier.
Yup. Perhaps even a 10 position vari-tone. Flats instead of rounds. Mutes. 2 channel amp. Quite a few ways to do this without going down the pedal rabbit hole.
JeezyMcNuggles
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- Feb 23, 2018
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Don’t use flats, you’ll then be stuck with just that tone. As mentioned above, the Source Audio…
..gives you four programmable presets if you need multiple radical changes.
I have a Boss Geb7 EQ pedal that I use to quite heavily change my tone. But I also cut alot of the high frequencies off with that. Any sort of EQ pedal would work great for that. Boss pedals are available everywhere and they are cheap and simple.
If you're not comfortable with pedals, get a bass with both a neck and a bridge pickup (like my Jazz Bass for instance). Set the sound where you like for where you pluck the bass. If you want a mellower tone, move your plucking hand up farther in front of the neck pickup or even pluck over the heel of the neck. If you want a brighter tone, pluck over the bridge pickup. If you want your bass to growl, dig into the strings over the bridge pickup. If it's going to growl at all, it will do it when you dig in over the bridge pickup.
If you are doing this on a passive bass, dime all the controls and make your initial adjustment at the amp. If you're doing this with an active bass, do it with all your EQ controls flat and initial EQ set up at the amp. You'll be amazed how much difference you can get in the sound between mellow and bright without ever touching an EQ or stepping on a pedal, all by changing where you pluck the swtrings..
