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the right tone for your band?

#21
I play a Music Man Sterling 5 in my variety band,and it works just fine. We play classic rock,old school funk,Motown,New Country,and it does it all with no problem. I use the same settings for the entire gig. They just get the job done. I can get lots of different tones out of it,but don't need to.
 
#22
Although I would agree that certain basses lend themselves to certain genre's, in the essence of it all, the audience would never know the difference. Most wouldn't even know there IS a bass playing in the band. Good bass tone is important to us, but *they* could care less.
 
#24
ThunderousFunk said:
Here are some tracks that the singer has previously recorded. We are redoing the song called Still Counting, and Stand By. All I can hear is a background P-bass, but maybe I could put something different in there. I could ask'em what the previous bassist used, but he doesn't seem like he would be able to recall that kind of info, nor would care. I am in the market for a new bass, but am afraid that what I like to hear in the bass may not sound good in the band mix.
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Hmm, not a bass-oriented band, you need to change that! ;)

Most of the tunes I listened to have no bass or almost inaudible bass. I think they could use a more growly tone. I'm sure you can get a Warwick to sound right, use flats if you need to, boost the low mids and if you need to, lows. Play with a light touch and turn up the amp, should give you a thicker, darker sound that way.

You may not like it, but listen to some modern country music, a lot of those players get a great growly but round sound that might work really well for you.
 
#25
I bought a Dean Razorback NT for my heavy metal band as it looks the part but it also it has that deep Pantera style tone that fits perfectly with the genre. However its shape and design features lead to more problems that I had first predicted I would have with it.
 
#26
Not usually. I do have a few different basses for the variety, but I like them for the way they sound. I might adjust my tone slightly to suit a style, but my tone is part of my signature sound, and I wont let the style get in the way of that. If all tones sounded the same for every style, basses would be boring as hell to listen to.
 
#28
lenorules1950 said:
It's funny... it's not like I plan it, it just works out that way. Our first guitarist used a MiM Telecaster, and my MIM P went really well with it. Our second guitarist had one of those cheap dual humbucker Ibanez jobs, and I got my MIM Jazz around the time he joined up, and they sounded good together. The guy before our current guitarist was really Hendrix-ey and played a Warmoth Strat which my Dirnt matched with. The guy we play with now uses a Parker, which seems to be working really well with my Jag.
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So I guess Fender basses do go with anything! :hiding:
 
#29
RickenBoogie said:
Although I would agree that certain basses lend themselves to certain genre's, in the essence of it all, the audience would never know the difference. Most wouldn't even know there IS a bass playing in the band. Good bass tone is important to us, but *they* could care less.
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no excuse, bro. the band can tell, and it's important to have a sound that works for the band. that's why i never get uptight when band members express a preference for a certain bass. i bring what works because it's no fun for anyone in the band but me to bring a bass that doesn't work, and if they're not having fun, nobody will. me, i bring my own fun and the bass is immaterial.
 
#30
I was playing an old Epiphone SG in my band, and after we recorded an EP I found I hated the sound I had. I went out and bought a Fender Jazz 70's model and a new amp to go with it so I could get a nicer, more defined and clear sound.

The band noticed immediately how much better it was! It was the best purchase of my life, definitely worth the money I put in.
 
#32
Yes, all music instrument gear purchases take into account need to also sound great in the mix. Dont allways get the latter done as well as hoped. But then those get traded toward somethinfg that works better. Hopefully I wont be stumbling across something that does it better then my latest tweak to gear which I hope is lifelong keeper. Lol.
 
#34
As for a previous post stating that the crowd will hardly know if there is a bass at all, much less if their tone is good, I somewhat agree, but I also have tons of musician friends who would say something about my tone if it sucked.

I think that finding a tone to fit the band is pretty important, but it also needs to be balanced with finding a tone you like. There are some tones that work really well with certain genres of music that I wouldn't like to play myself. The treble heavy, picked punk bass sound. Not a fan of for my playing.

I also try really hard to get a sound out of what I have before getting something else. I tried for months to get a tone for my hard rock band out of the T40 I bought and just couldn't get what I liked. I realized a P w/ a J or humbucker in the bridge is what I like.
 
#35
What about pickups? Obviously they have less effect than an entirely new bass, but if you're close to where you want to be... why not give them a shot? I've got 2 Fender basses: a MIA Jazz Bass and a MIM P-Bass. The Jazz came with Dimarzios on it when I bought it and I immediatly put Fralin pickups in and the sound just opened up, it was incredible. With the P-Bass I also put Fralins in and I got the growl I'd been missing with the stock MIM pickups. Just my 2 cents.
 
#39
RickenBoogie said:
Although I would agree that certain basses lend themselves to certain genre's, in the essence of it all, the audience would never know the difference. Most wouldn't even know there IS a bass playing in the band. Good bass tone is important to us, but *they* could care less.
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Of course the audience knows the difference between good and bad bass. They may not be able to articulate it, but their response is in how much they want to dance and interact with the music and the musicians. If your bass is the wrong tone for the band or the song, or is not dynamic enough, it flattens out the performance and the audience will disengage.

A couple weeks ago I re-tuned our drummer's drums, lowering the pitches of all drums significantly. It was like lighting a fire under the band. He played better, smacked out a stronger beat, kept better time, and the rest of the band played better and tighter as a result.

No one in the audience would have noticed that the drums were tuned lower, but they definitely noticed how much tighter and more rhythmic we were.
 
#40
perkidan said:
At the present time, I have no choice but for my 55-02 to fit in with the five different projects I got going on because it's all I have. Though I can coax alot of different tones out of it and my Eden gear.
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I hear that. I have a mahogany/wenge Cort fretless with USA Barts & preamp going into an Eden Nemesis. I can pretty much dial in anything I need (for the band I'm in). Those Barts are sweet and can be tone-shaped to do pretty much anything.

I could probably use an 8-string to good effect on a couple of songs. Maybe I should get an octave pedal and try it out instead to avoid MBS (multi-bass syndrome).
 

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