The Ultimate Tone Shaping Tool!

[kirkplunkett]

I wasn’t sure where to put this. It could really go anywhere, depending on the answers we get… so miscellaneous it is!

I was curious to know what YOUR ultimate tone shaping tool is. Is it a bass, special pickups, or a preamp? It is your amp that gives you “your sound”? How about pedals… is there one that is always on? Maybe there’s two… or even three?

I have two pedal boards, one is for at-home fun when I’m playing solo. It’s got everything I have ever wanted on a pedal board to tinker with including a looper and a loop switcher for quick changes… but I’m not sure I would ever take it to a gig (unless it was a solo bass gig.) The other board is more of a utility board and hasn’t met its final form yet.

I’ve also got several amps that I enjoy using. Some of them are fantastic on their own… others take a little extra to make them shine. I’ve got a stable full of different basses that give me an array of different sounds, and I have preferences on which bass goes with what amp and the pedals that will be in the signal chain.

In thinking about the final stage of my utility board, I think it should have all the pedals I use to make each amp/bass configuration work. And that got me wondering… what do you guys use for your “secret sauce”? Do you have an ultimate tone shaping tool that you always use?

 

[C Stone]

My fingers mostly… but I have two pedals that are pretty much always on for noodling, a DOD MeatBox and a DOD Stereo Flanger, nothing extreme mostly for some added presence live it’s MXR/DI

 

[Jefenator]

When a passive tone knob spans from in your face sizzle all the way up to railroad tie blunt all the way down, IME there's nothing better.

 

[Killing Floor]

 

[Jeff Scott]

My fingers and playing techniques. All the toys just add to and flavor what I am doing.

 

[mrcbass]

I agree that fingers and personal style definitely influence my tone, but I also use a pedal board as a preamp - I can get "my sound" out of pretty much any clean amp. I have enough people that have bass amps/cabs built into their rehearsal spaces, that I found having a portable preamp was the key to my sound rolling with me. I really don't stomp it - in fact it typically sits on my amp. I just have my toys preset and adjust my HPF/LPF to each room.

 

[kirkplunkett]

…adjust my HPF/LPF to each room.

HPF/LPF, a good compressor, and a graphic EQ are all going on my utility board. I’d rather have them and not need them, than need them and not have them!

 

[Jogobass]

if you mean what shapes my tone, it's my bass. but I can shape that shape with EQ and effects, and playing technique of course

 

[39-Bassist]

Well for me...it's in my hands.

 

[REV]

I'll tell you. I normally use a EBS compressor, a VT bass pedal and a Broughton HPF/LPF. Last weekend we had a gig and the stage was so small there was no room for my pedal board so I went straight into the amp and I sounded just fine.

 

[Isaac_James]

Position of my hand (i.e. how close to the bridge I am playing), how hard I am plucking, pick vs fingers, pickup blend (I play PJ basses and sometimes use the neck pickup soloed, other times I use neck/bridge at 50/50). I mostly don't touch my preamp (Sansamp BDDI) except for slight adjustments at the beginning of a session to get dialed in. I will use overdrive or fuzz on songs that call for it.

Hand position makes a huge difference. On one of our songs I play right over the end of the fretboard for a warm, almost-but-not-quite-upright sound. Some other songs I'm right over the neck pickup for hard punch. Other times I'm in between the pickups for tight and growly.

Pedal wise though - the real "secret sauce" on my board is my Broughton Low + High Pass Filter. It's on all the time but I have it set up to scrape some mud off the bottom and to tame the fizzy, harsh high end.

 

[31HZ]

Parametric EQ, so that I can remove any "bloom" in the room.

Reducing my output at the resonant frequency of the room by ~3db = instant clarity.

 

[Slade N]

String and instrument selection (as they have their inherent/baked in qualities). Sure you can do a lot with eq/amp/cab/sim but a is a P and J a J and rounds are rounds and flats are flats and those form the basis of sonic character that you are working from. No instrument is sonically neutral. Next apply EQ/amp/cab and factor in technique. Lastly is the room itself and whats happening in your mix.

 

[J Wilson]

My ears and my hands. Everything else serves those two.

Give an Alembic Five and a Bag End rig, or my Squiers P5 and a Peavey Combo, and about five minutes to twiddle knobs, I'm going to sound like me. Any solid bass with nickel wounds and a good amp, I'm good.

Anything else gets in the way, and besides, I would NEVER paint myself in a corner where I think I'm just out of business IF I don't have this or that bass, strings, amp, or effects.

 

[JRA]

Do you have an ultimate tone shaping tool that you always use?

probably my imagination...which goes straight to my fingers. as long as everything past my fingertips doesn't get in the way = i'm good to go!

 

[Tom Bomb]

A good pre-amp: most important — this state of grace can be delivered up a number of ways, inboard or outboard. A good musical instrument is also important. Emphasis on musical. Skill is a given.
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[pbass2]

For me it's just passive FSO's, the right pickups, string choice, and my fingers or pick. Anything after that, including the two different pre stomps I sometimes use are just there to slightly enhance that. 99.9% of the tone is right where I want it coming outta the bass.

 

[RGerhart]

For me, it's the strings, and setup of any of my basses. If I can a great-feeling set of strings that play easily, but still can take a little digging in when I play, that's my "sound." I've also found that a two-pickup setup like a J bass, with my plucking a little closer to the bridge pickup, is my ideal spot with regards to timbre, string tension, and comfort.

 

[ctmullins]

Onboard filter preamp.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Here we go with the "fingers" again.