Tone Control: Bass or Amp?

[IamGroot]

Unlike the situation you were faced with, my amps (Demeter) start off close to flat; and I only adjust them when the room has some kind of issue.

My main working basses are active, and have a wide variety of classic bass tones available onboard, which I can select between tunes as needed while at the mic.

Very nice amp, seen a few jazz db players with them.

 

[abarson]

I set up the overall tone on my amp for a given room, and do all the rest of my tone shaping on my bass. My Genz-Benz Shuttle 6.2 has a footswitch to engage bass boost, mid-scoop or treble boost so I can get a very drastic tonal change very quickly. My bass is a Tobias Growler and actually has too much tonal flexibility, to the point that it sometimes takes me too much futzing to find "the right tone". There are times I wish I actually had fewer options.

 

[Wasnex]

Thanks for all your input.

My interest was finding out how other TBers mix and match tone controls and I got some good pointers. I have spent the time to learn how to tweak my own gear.

The problem is I plug into other folks gear at music school and some gigs and quite a few jam sessions right now in between semesters. I plug into everything from Orange to Crate to Mark Bass, Fenders, etc with a minimum time to optimize the settings.

I mentioned the unfortunate jam session just to illustrate that if the amp settings are wacko, you may be able to get a passable tone (if you have active PUs.), but it will never be as good as optmizing the mix. I don't get my panties in a knot on jam sessions anymore. Jam sessions are just practice time under live fire for me that is mostly fun. Better to learn stuff there than on gigs. But jam sessions are another thread.

Basically when presented with unknown gear, use whatever works best as long as you are given to freedom to do so. I remember one gig with a provided back line. They didn't want me to touch the amp's tone controls, but allowed me to patch in my outboard EQ with a bypass switch. The rig still sounded awful, but a bit less so. I was playing a passive bass at the time and needed more high mids and treble, so no help there.

 

[Wasnex]

My thoughts exactly!


Hollowbody with flats? Mudbucker?

Some people like the sound with the treble cranked on the amp and a passive bass or guitar with the tone rolled back. Probably more common with guitar.

 

[ctmullins]

I find this topic interesting.

It seems to me that there are four dominant approaches:

1. Use the same basic tone throughout the entire gig. This seems to be the domain of blues, roots-rock, country, etc.
2. Vary the tone frequently during the gig, depending on the song. This seems to be the approach for cover bands with a wide repertoire, or perhaps originals bands. There are (at least) three ways to do this:

• Vary the tone on the bass. This is best/easiest done with active onboard EQ.
• Vary the tone using pedals. This is an entire sub-topic.
• Vary the tone at the amp. This seems to be the preference for people playing passive single-pickup basses.

I've noticed that lots of people fit into those various categories, so there doesn't appear to be any right or wrong approach. Personally, I'm a member of group 2A, onboard EQ. I usually set my amp for the room, and don't touch its controls for the rest of the night. Tonal variation is done through onboard EQ, pickup selection, and plucking hand technique. But it's interesting to hear how other folks do it!

 

[Wasnex]

I find this topic interesting.

It seems to me that there are four dominant approaches:

1. Use the same basic tone throughout the entire gig. This seems to be the domain of blues, roots-rock, country, etc.
2. Vary the tone frequently during the gig, depending on the song. This seems to be the approach for cover bands with a wide repertoire, or perhaps originals bands. There are (at least) three ways to do this:

• Vary the tone on the bass. This is best/easiest done with active onboard EQ.
• Vary the tone using pedals. This is an entire sub-topic.
• Vary the tone at the amp. This seems to be the preference for people playing passive single-pickup basses.

I've noticed that lots of people fit into those various categories, so there doesn't appear to be any right or wrong approach. Personally, I'm a member of group 2A, onboard EQ. I usually set my amp for the room, and don't touch its controls for the rest of the night. Tonal variation is done through onboard EQ, pickup selection, and plucking hand technique. But it's interesting to hear how other folks do it!

This is a pretty good summary. Although I favor using a fairly fixed tone and typically rely primarily on the amp's tone controls, ultimately the way I get results is driven by the circumstances and capabilities of the gear...so basically observe and adapt is an additional approach.

 

[chadds]

My amp sounds great.
My bass sounds great.
Eqing can’t enhance that.
Adjusting touch and hand position changes everything if the eq isn’t so set that it boxes me into one sound.

 

[jazzbass_5]

I got rid of all the controls, active electronics and P pup on my Fender American Deluxe Precision V. It sounds awesome! Any control is at my amps. Refinished from Montego black to a clear coat too.

 

[Ian Lewis]

Do you twiddle with the tone controls on your bass or on your amp or both?

For me, all the bass tone and volume settings controls are generally fixed fixed and I adjust the particular amp I am playing through to adjust for the amp/room. I do some minor tweaking on the bass tone and volume settings during a performance, but it is mostly the amp that I adjust and set to get my sound.

Tonight, I played a jam where the amp had the treble wide open and the bass at zero and was asked not to adjust it, and adjust my nass tone controls. Got a meh sound.

So, they really didn’t want bass then?