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Tone help

pan1k

pan1k

Sep 16, 2011
572
37
Las Vegas, NV
www.facebook.com
#1
Good day gents. I need help getting THAT tone. Background information: here's a shameless plug / link to my bands first music video for somewhat of a reference


Current rig:
Marcus Miller Jazz (finger picking)
Line 6 G50 wireless
Zoom B3
GK MB fusion (500)
GK MBE 410 + 115
I'm trying to get a punchy tone
With a hint of harmonic grit

I know I should probably be using a comp and an OD of sorts but I'm trying to figure out which one and in what order. ANY / ALL suggestions wanted
 
#2
I know you are looking for a different sound by wanting to add an OD but I really enjoyed your sound just the way it was. It seems you already have all the tools given the B3 and the GK stuff so perhaps more tweaking is what you should do. Maybe a little more mids would help to cut through the mix a tad better. Thanks for sharing the video.
 
#3
[QU OTE="ShantiCat, post: 15967306, member: 37471"]I know you are looking for a different sound by wanting to add an OD but I really enjoyed your sound just the way it was. It seems you already have all the tools given the B3 and the GK stuff so perhaps more tweaking is what you should do. Maybe a little more mids would help to cut through the mix a tad better. Thanks for sharing the video.[/QUOTE]


Thanks for the input !! And thanks for watching :)
 
#4
Is your struggle to repeat this tone in the studio or live? That's a good bass tone for the genre—deep guts with click, but not what I'd call punchy. The key is keeping the guitars out of the low end, which is easy enough while mixing in the studio. (Listen to how thin a slice of the eq spectrum each guitar takes.)

Live, it calls for a lot of discipline from your guitarists in setting up *their* tones. You can HPF and LPF each guitar at the FOH console; but if the guitarists' stage amps dial in a lot of low end, you'll be sunk from the start in many rooms.
 
#5
Oddly enough right after I posted this, I sat down with our rhythm guitarist and really tweaked tones together. I ended up using a Sansamp DI for a bit of harmonics and a slow comp. It's giving me a bit of punch but also letting me sit in the mix better. The pains in trying to make your studio sound consistent with your live sound.
 
#6
pan1k said:
Oddly enough right after I posted this, I sat down with our rhythm guitarist and really tweaked tones together. I ended up using a Sansamp DI for a bit of harmonics and a slow comp. It's giving me a bit of punch but also letting me sit in the mix better. The pains in trying to make your studio sound consistent with your live sound.
Click to expand...
It's pretty tough getting your studio sound live with much consistency as there are so many more variables in play that will also change from room to room.

I'd work on getting a good approximation of your studio sound but don't expect to nail it exactly everywhere every time.

Distance and venues can have a tendency to "smooth" your sound a bit. Meaning something that can sound like the right amount of drive or growl up close can still come out sounding pretty clean a ways away, and something that sounds too dirty up close can end up being "just right" out there. Likewise something that sounds nice and full up close can be too bassy/muddy out there and something that sounds a little too shy in the bass, little too midrangey up close can come out being "just right" in the mix at a distance.

Sometimes us bassists just don't get the luxury of having our on stage tone and our "out in the room" tone being all that much identical to each other. Just the way it is. In a well treated room designed for sound, like a studio or theater/purpose-built concert hall, they can be much closer to each other. Unfortunately, a lot of places we play aren't designed with acoustics, especially low frequency acoustics, at the top of the list.

All in all, you already have a nice tone happening there. Don't be afraid to "dirty it up" a little bit, or add a little bit more mids somewhere, knowing it won't seem like as drastic a change to the audience as it does to you.
 
#7
hello,
i agree with what you said about the comp and OD plus i think you have to pump the mids and highs a little more .. i like the comp after the OD but you may prefer it the other way round.. it will probably make your tone and attack more consistent throughout the track.. (check out the bass rig rundown of periphery's bass player, sorry forgot name) ..
i use the wampler ego compressor (preferred a BBE opto stomp but thats in repairs) and darkglass VMT (with an MIA dlx JB, MIM JB, EBMM HH SLO SPL, fender bassman 135/warwick profet 5.2 tc rs210 ) and am really digging that tone but there are a lot of good compressors and ODs out there which you should check with your current setup.. (i think you are looking for a slightly driven tone so you may prefer pedals with a blend setting.. i'm only guessing)
at one gig i went through an EBS 660 linked to a fender twin (you could try any other guitar amp) which had been miked for the mids and highs of the bass guitar (blended with a DI out).. that really sounded pretty sick..

some ODs to check out are darkglass VMT, B3K, amptweaker bass tight OD, Trex Moller, and some compressors: FEA labs, origin effects Cali76, empress.. keeley is making a new bass compressor... or maybe check out a rackmount like a DBX160..
thanks for the video
Best of luck
 
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#8
Do you have a recording of a live performance to compare to the studio track?

In the meantime, a couple general points, FWIW: If you're going for a SansAmp here, a lot of Tech21 boxes lean toward mid-scooped tones. So if your band's live sound is masking the bass with guitar low-end and drum-kit slop, you might try one of the SansAmp flavors that give you a mid control and a blend knob (for example the Paradriver DI or the VTDI).

As adi77 suggests above, there's plenty more boutique kit you could use, but the key is knowing/learning how to use it. If you all have the chops, great. Otherwise, its money well spent to have an experienced tracking engineer comb through your rigs and tones at one rehearsal and one live gig.

Finally, trees for the forest. You band's appeal probably depends on being able to deliver lead and backing vocals better than most similar bands in your circuit. As you work on the bass/guitar balance, be careful to leave space in the stage sound and FOH mix for vox. That's where your money lives.
 
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