• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Trouble Getting Clean Tone - Help a Beginner

#21
[QUOTE.Yes, you did. Buy a Fender Rumble 500. You will have clean thermo-nucular attack for eons.[/QUOTE]


This is quit possible the worse response I have read in awhile. The GK is "poopie"?? really??

on top of that, I own a rumble - and "Clean attack" is the polar opposite of this amp.

I do not own a GK, put to call it poopie is just stupid. Why do you have to attack other brands than what you do not own? Both of the amps the OP has are quality amps and should be able to get the tone he is looking for.
 
  • Like
Reactions: red_rhino and InhumanResource
#22
lelandmccann said:
Hi all,

I've been playing bass for a number of years as a hobby but I'm newer to amps/electronics. I'm a professional Drummer by trade (let the jokes fly, haha), so my knowledge of this stuff is minimal. Here's my issue, hopefully someone will be able to knock this out for me as I'm very confused:

I'm currently using a MIM Fender Jazz with passive electronics and Flatwounds. I usually run the neck pickup rather high, the bridge pickup about halfway, and the tone control somewhere between 25%-50%.
I picked up two amps to play around with, a GK MB115 combo, and a 70's Peavey Centurion head with an older 1x15 cabinet. When I bought them, the guy played a Fender Jazz through them and they sounded good, or not as if something was apparently wrong (speakers blown, etc). I also picked up a Tech 21 VT Bass DI pedal to mess around with and get different tones with as well.

Out of either amp, on most settings, I'm having a hard time getting a good clean tone. It seems as if any low notes I play on the fretboard will distort. Not the overall sound per se (it doesn't sound like there is a distortion pedal on), but I can hear the speaker getting a little crunchy. Once I raise the volume, it gets worse. I've tried to read up on "gain structuring" but I'm not sure that's my issue. I'm trying to get a halfway decent vintage type tone, I love playing old Motown and Funk/R&B type stuff. I tried running the VT Bass DI through the Peavey both through the power amp input, as well as through one of the instrument inputs with the EQ flattened out. The GK doesn't have an effects loop so it was going through the Passive Input with the EQ flattened,.

Is this just the nature of a 1x15 cab? Should I be running my instrument volume lower? Could there be something wrong with the VT Bass DI? Did I buy poopy amps that can't produce good tone? Is it just a curse because I'm a drummer?


Any help would be greatly appreciated! Cheers!
Click to expand...

you already received some good suggestions on the GK settings. I will add another for thought.
you may want to think about getting rid of the flats and installing some round wounds on that Fender Jazz.
That may help get that tome you are searching for and a rather cheap experiment. a whole lot cheaper than a new amp.
 
#23
Lots of good suggestions.
As a general rule, I like to turn the bass down as I crank the volume up.
Read up on the Fletcher-Munson curve to see why that works.
Also, one of the simplest things you can do is to check the settings
after you have a bass player over to play on your gear.
Chances are that most experienced bassists can get a decent sound out
of your stuff or almost anything.
What works for them may not be best for you, but it will likely be close.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Aqualung60
#24
Many, many years ago my instructor taught me to use a light touch on your picking hand and let the amp do all the work.

Also, as an extension of this idea, try keeping your gain as low as possible and use your master volume to get the needed loudness. I also tend to keep the volume on my bass pretty high. So the idea is a soft touch, let all or most of the signal flow from your bass to the preamp section of your amp, keep the preamp clean (low gain) and then make the power amp section do the work (master volume). I would not use the VT until you have the basics under control.

But it really all starts with your hands. Keep your fretting hand clean and your picking hand gentle. Gear will not help your fundamental technique.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Aqualung60, Clutchcargo and Bill Whitehurst
#26
JimmyM said:
...although with SS amps, I prefer to have more gain because they sound ballsier when you have more gain,
Click to expand...

Yup, though it may seem counterintuitive to getting a very clean tone, this is why I recommend at least a little bit of boost as well. Techically it adds some harmonic distortion, but it's more complex than that - it's more about livening up the tone a bit and giving it some heft that I find more pleasing regardless of other tonal goals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JimmyM
#27
If it's not an EQ, amp or speaker issue, you might want to check the pickup height. It could be that the pickup(s) are too close to the strings on the lower side (E string). Fender factory specs are 1/8 inch gap between the top of the magnet pole and the bottom of the string, when the string is being pressed at the last fret.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bolophonic
#28
JimmyM said:
He's just trying to get you to buy a Fender amp. He does that to everyone. It's an OK amp but so is yours and there's no advantage to buying another one unless you bump your budget a lot more. At best, it's a lateral move. And the VT is one of the most popular bass pedals of all time and does clean sounds just fine. My advice, however, is to ignore the suggested settings and just turn knobs till you get a pleasing sound. The VT is a rather complicated pedal, but it's a great one with a ton of versatility. kap'n'kro had some good advice as he's familiar with both pieces of gear. Keeping the master on your amp high and using the gain to set your volume is the best way to get a clean sound with your amp, although with SS amps, I prefer to have more gain because they sound ballsier when you have more gain, but if you're looking for clean at higher volumes, lowering the gain often does it.

Also, one thing that hasn't been discussed is your technique. What is it like? Do you play hard? Do you get string rattle when you play? Hard playing, especially if it creates string rattle, often comes across as distortion.

And don't worry about other bass players...they can either bring their own amps or they will deal with your amp on their own and don't really need you to set it for them. Plus they could also give you some really good advice if they know what they're doing.
Click to expand...

I swear some of these guys are getting checks from whoever the Rumble product manager is. It shows up as a solution in almost every thread. There's nothing wrong with the MB115.
 
  • Like
Reactions: bobyoung53 and JimmyM
#31
lelandmccann said:
I'm currently using a MIM Fender Jazz with passive electronics and Flatwounds. I usually run the neck pickup rather high, the bridge pickup about halfway, and the tone control somewhere between 25%-50%.
Click to expand...
This is a recipe for low-frequency mud that small amps will have a lot of trouble reproducing. I'd suggest turning your tone back up to start with, and maybe trying regular round wound strings if you haven't already.

Rolling off a little bit of high end can sound great, but you're dialing in a heavy dub bass tone without having the heavy dub bass mega-stack to play it through! So I guess the converse is: if this is really the tone you want, you need more watts and speakers. I'd start by getting another of whatever you're using with that Peavey head.
 
#34
You may want to check into the Fletcher Munson curve, it explains a lot about how we hear things
and why at higher volumes equalization should be flattened. This is especially true of the bass signal
with it's longer wave lengths. As mentioned earlier boosting TOO much bass even at low volumes
will essentially make almost any speaker (15" or otherwise) "fart"out.
All that being said, as a lifelong bassist (well since 11yo) I can tell you it's a real struggle to
achieve a clean bass tone that is loud enough to be heard, especially playing hard rock (or any
style with a wailing guitar through a full stack, lol). It takes a serious investment in equipment
to achieve and as a rule of thumb you need about 5 times the wattage and double the speaker
surface area to get a bass to sound about as loud as a guitar. Keep in mind the guitarist
usually wants a distorted tone at high volume which is easy to achieve compared to clean bass
tone at high volume. My personal solution involves 2 4x10's and 2x15's, 1 Carvin B2000 and 1
Crown XLS2500...but that's a whole other story!
 
#36
Try taking the Tech 21 pedal out of the chain. It has a built-in speaker simulator and distortion that may be causing you issues. See how it sounds without it, and then put it in and see if you like what it does.

Tom
 
#39
Much very good repsonses here, and I think people are barking up the wrong tree when blamed at Tech21 VT or the amp.
Although it should be not heard, try the bass guitar on some more amps, maybe in a music store. Pretend that you're in for buying a new amp, and wants to try with your own instrument. That "distortion" thing of yours would be troubling. While flatwound strings doesn't ever produce fret buzz they still can be too close to the fretboard, and the fret buzz is percieved differently than with roundwound strings. You may have to have your bass set up first, regarding pickup height and action. So you have made sure that the bass is NOT the source.

Your bass amps will be sufficient enough, I find it peculiar because I think the Tech21 VT is "instead" of an amp or speaker, you bring too much icing on the cake on the icing on the cake. You should be able to get great sound with just the GK or with Peavey. If you bought your bass brand new there's warranty. You can also, if you know friend with a similar bass as yours come down and try the amps out. You have to compare all alternatives first. Then if you know it ain't anyones bass, neither theirs nor yours go on and error search the pedal or the amp settings. A blown speaker will sound "blown" or distorted no matter what bass you play into it.

BTW Your bass isn't active is it? Never ever heard of any MIM Fender Jazz that was, but there may be some models I've missed. Pix would help.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back