For those of us who work with several different genres, do you prefer to expand your tone arsenal through having different basses (P, Js, active, passives, etc.) or through having more than one amp? (like having an ampeg, and also a hartke or swr)?
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Tonal versatility through different basses OR different amps?
- Thread starter mr_musica
- Start date
Probably both. I have the requisite passive P and J basses. Sold off my Stingray years ago as I tired of it's tone. Also have an active Yamaha 5 string for a bit more variety but certain basses sound better to me through certain amps and cabinets. I really like my Jazz bass through the Genzler Magellan and I prefer the P basses through my MarkBass amp. Those are my personal experiences and tastes. Your's may vary.
I rotate my basses to even-out wear so that's out of the equation and have settled on one amp config in the interest of weight / portability. Same holds true for the pedal board: one "character" preamp in front of the Epifani or foreign provided backline (rare). That being said, I always sound like "me" with some subtle variations depending on the conditions, venue, tides, and phase of the moon.
Riis
Riis
Even with one good bass and a great amp, vary your tone settings, pickup mixes, where you hit the strings, use a pick/slap/fingerstyle, you can get a LOT of different tones. Sure, a Hofner thru a flip-top Ampeg sounds WAY different than a Stingray thru a GK stack, but I don't need to work that hard to cover a LOT of ground.
OP, the first step is hearing what you sound like.. from the audience position.
Borrow or obtain a decent wireless rig then stand out front for a set.
What is heard out front is quite different from what is heard on stage or in recorded tracks.
I owned multiple basses, each unique.
Most were getting little use, so I sold them all off.
My favorite player was my first.. a MIM P with a DiMarzio DP146 with series/parallel wiring.
Alas.. I sold it because I had to force myself into playing only 5-strings.
I replaced them all with a Stingray HH5 and a Warmoth fretless P/J 5.
IMO, the subtleties of different amps are somewhat lost if you don't have decent speakers.
I use a Crest 3kw power amp, biamped, with Tech 21 rack preamps. No pedals.
I also play keys and synths, so full range speakers are a must for me.
Borrow or obtain a decent wireless rig then stand out front for a set.
What is heard out front is quite different from what is heard on stage or in recorded tracks.
I owned multiple basses, each unique.
Most were getting little use, so I sold them all off.
My favorite player was my first.. a MIM P with a DiMarzio DP146 with series/parallel wiring.
Alas.. I sold it because I had to force myself into playing only 5-strings.
I replaced them all with a Stingray HH5 and a Warmoth fretless P/J 5.
IMO, the subtleties of different amps are somewhat lost if you don't have decent speakers.
I use a Crest 3kw power amp, biamped, with Tech 21 rack preamps. No pedals.
I also play keys and synths, so full range speakers are a must for me.
Excellent advice!
And if I might add, have someone else play your bass and then step back away from the stage and listen to the sound and tone.
For some reason, hearing our bass when we play is different than hearing when someone else plays our stuff.
Example, I'm in the living room playing my bass and I'm not totally happy with how it sounds. Then, I hand it over to my son and let him play while I'm a room or two away. His playing style is not radically different than mine.
Anyway, I'm listening to my son play my bass with same amp settings and I am thinking.............."WOW! That sounds good!" Great sound, great tone. But, once again, when I'm playing, tone and sound are so, so.
I guess it is sort of like the difference between hearing ourselves talk and hearing a recording of ourselves
talking. Have someone else play your bass, stand back and listen.
It used to be basses for me.
Since I got the Mesa TT800 head, it's now BOTH. It has two channels. I set one a little dirty, round, and old-school. The other is squeaky clean and punchy. One tap of the foot pedal button and it's a different world totally.
Also, my two main player basses are both passive, and they have all kinds of switches to get the most out of my pickup configurations. So, yeah, both.
Since I got the Mesa TT800 head, it's now BOTH. It has two channels. I set one a little dirty, round, and old-school. The other is squeaky clean and punchy. One tap of the foot pedal button and it's a different world totally.
Also, my two main player basses are both passive, and they have all kinds of switches to get the most out of my pickup configurations. So, yeah, both.
I have 8 basses, 29 amps, and about 4 types of speakers.
In general I think the speaker makes the biggest difference.
IMHO the bass, amp, and speaker really should be considered a system. Some combinations work great, and others don't. In other words just because Bass A, Amp A, and Speaker A are all awesome, it does not mean they will work well together. Your favorite combination might be Bass C, Amp 18, Speaker A. With this combination you achieve gestalt--which means essentially the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. My favorite combination may be totally different than yours.
In general I think the speaker makes the biggest difference.
IMHO the bass, amp, and speaker really should be considered a system. Some combinations work great, and others don't. In other words just because Bass A, Amp A, and Speaker A are all awesome, it does not mean they will work well together. Your favorite combination might be Bass C, Amp 18, Speaker A. With this combination you achieve gestalt--which means essentially the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. My favorite combination may be totally different than yours.
I have one brand of amp (Ampeg) and how loud I need to be determines which I bring (MicroVR, V-4B, 112AV cabs, 210AV cabs). Tone wise, it's primarily through basses and strings. I keep 2 #1 basses: an active PJ5 with flats, and an active PJ5 with stainless. Those 2 have covered everything I've ever needed to do. In some cases, I stomp on a dirt or OD pedal. Either Ampeg is always the right amp.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
One very versatile bass (an active fretless 4 in my case, pretty much no one ever asks for a fretted one or a fiver) and one very versatile amp rig. Done, or maybe more easily said than done.
And now for a different answer to a different question. I can get by with a cheap bass that plays well (SX, Squier, etc.) and the amp of my choice better than the other way around. OTOH, I usually play a P or J variant through some sort of Ampeg so I really don't stray that far.
I probably should have mentioned...of all those basses amps and cabs I mentioned. My first bass was a Ric 4001. I still have it but it's a Frankenbacker with a 2-Tek bridge and Alembic pickups. Still a great bass but it doesn't sound like a Ric anymore 
. I have had the journey to do over I would leave it stock 
. My second #1 was a Yamaha BB5000 that owned by the organization. My third#1 was a Yamaha TRB6P that was owned by the organization, but I bought my own TRB6P which is my current #1.
I generally played the Yamaha for all gigs that required bass guitar. I also doubled on upright bass and played in jazz and classical style. Never could master fretless bass guitar so I had the organization buy me an NS Design 6-string electric upright. I had to turn that instrument in when I retire and I really miss it. If I find a decent deal I will buy another. Also plan to buy an upright sometime soon.
Of the 29 amps and cabs I own, I have only gigged the GK 700RB/112 combo, the old BFI cabs loaded with EVM118Bs, and a GK guitar cab loaded with JBL E120s. All the other amps were collected after I pretty much transitioned from performing on a regular basis. I have gigged SVTs, and I own SVTs...but I have not gigged the SVTs that I own
.
My last touring rig was a 16-space rolling rack with a stereo QSC power amp and an Ashley MX508 rack mixer. The rack also had a tuner, a power strip with lights, and a rack drawer. I used Shure A95U line matching transformer to plug my basses into the mic inputs. The idea was so I could switch quickly between all three instruments.
My main touring cab was an Eden D210XLT that I stacked vertically on top of the rack. I wedged an extra Countryman Type-85 under the front edge, so the cab tilted back to aim at my head. I also had a D410XLT but rarely used it.
Sometimes I added mics, up to four Galaxy HotSpots, and a pair of powered PA speakers, so my touring bass rig essentially expanded into a mini PA.
My unit also bought a GK700/112 combo, so I had the same amp at work and at home. I used this rig in the organization for rehearsals and jazz combo, and left the touring rig packed up.
. I have had the journey to do over I would leave it stock . My second #1 was a Yamaha BB5000 that owned by the organization. My third#1 was a Yamaha TRB6P that was owned by the organization, but I bought my own TRB6P which is my current #1. I generally played the Yamaha for all gigs that required bass guitar. I also doubled on upright bass and played in jazz and classical style. Never could master fretless bass guitar so I had the organization buy me an NS Design 6-string electric upright. I had to turn that instrument in when I retire and I really miss it. If I find a decent deal I will buy another. Also plan to buy an upright sometime soon.
Of the 29 amps and cabs I own, I have only gigged the GK 700RB/112 combo, the old BFI cabs loaded with EVM118Bs, and a GK guitar cab loaded with JBL E120s. All the other amps were collected after I pretty much transitioned from performing on a regular basis. I have gigged SVTs, and I own SVTs...but I have not gigged the SVTs that I own
. My last touring rig was a 16-space rolling rack with a stereo QSC power amp and an Ashley MX508 rack mixer. The rack also had a tuner, a power strip with lights, and a rack drawer. I used Shure A95U line matching transformer to plug my basses into the mic inputs. The idea was so I could switch quickly between all three instruments.
My main touring cab was an Eden D210XLT that I stacked vertically on top of the rack. I wedged an extra Countryman Type-85 under the front edge, so the cab tilted back to aim at my head. I also had a D410XLT but rarely used it.
Sometimes I added mics, up to four Galaxy HotSpots, and a pair of powered PA speakers, so my touring bass rig essentially expanded into a mini PA.
My unit also bought a GK700/112 combo, so I had the same amp at work and at home. I used this rig in the organization for rehearsals and jazz combo, and left the touring rig packed up.
For me, 1 amp/cab set (Mesa Boogie TT800 with a 115 and 112 cabs), 2 (soon to be 3) basses. I currently have 2 4-strings, and they are voiced very differently. One is a Fender MiM JBass with tapewound strings. Great tone for jazz/blues/blugrass/country. The other is a G&L that's been updated a bit to active pickups in a PJ configuration. It has a much better rock tone. So I take the bass with me suited to the genre.
Shortly to be getting a 5 string with an on-board EQ. Going to spend a lot of time playing with that. Based on the various sound clips I've heard online, it should be able to handle both of my normal situations well. I'll likely put both the 4-strings away for quite a while as I learn how to play the 5.
Shortly to be getting a 5 string with an on-board EQ. Going to spend a lot of time playing with that. Based on the various sound clips I've heard online, it should be able to handle both of my normal situations well. I'll likely put both the 4-strings away for quite a while as I learn how to play the 5.
I just bought this all passive fiver to see what would happen. Each pickup has its own volume and is summed to a passive tone control.
Played it live last night on a wedding reception in an acoustically challenging room and it really sounded great. I love the reverse P sound..ballsy and defined.
Can’t wait to try it out in the studio.
Played it live last night on a wedding reception in an acoustically challenging room and it really sounded great. I love the reverse P sound..ballsy and defined.
Can’t wait to try it out in the studio.
