I'd get a peavey practice amp, the 15 watt one I think, and a Squier P or J. Should save you some money, if you're a broke beginner like I was. 'Sides, a P is what Dirnt uses anyway.
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unhappy with my tone
- Thread starter Billy Lowe
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Look into the Ampeg 1x15 combo. It runs around $400 and has great tone with enough power for small gigs.
Amps in a lower price range, say the $200 mark, will only serve for home practice, and IMO none of the amps at that price point have very satisfying tone.
Crate makes good amps. They are badmouthed around TB but they can sound good.
I suspect you need some good stainles steel roundwound strings. Then play around with your EQ settings. Maybe then, down the road, add an extension Cabinet.
Edit: And no. Don't drop down prom a pretty decent 100 watt amp to a 15 watt amp.
I suspect you need some good stainles steel roundwound strings. Then play around with your EQ settings. Maybe then, down the road, add an extension Cabinet.
Edit: And no. Don't drop down prom a pretty decent 100 watt amp to a 15 watt amp.
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I beg to differ with those suggesting upgrading the amp first. Crate amps are OK, it's the EB-0 that's the problem. That Gibson design has super muddy pickups. Get a Fender style bass and you'll be happier. Take your EB0 to a store and try it against some Fender-style basses and I think you will hear what you are looking for.
If you have the money just buy a Squier Mike Dirnt bass (used about $300) and be done with it
If you have the money just buy a Squier Mike Dirnt bass (used about $300) and be done with it
it isn't the amp.
Get a fender and then focus on practice - forget gear after that.
Get a fender and then focus on practice - forget gear after that.
I started out with a Crate. I played one in the store and it seemed fine. Then I got it home and as I tried to learn found myself struggling against a fuzzy tone that was never crisp enough or cool enough.
My tone was awful for many years. Some of it I improved through picking technique and left-hand technique, but when I hit a ceiling I got better basses and amps. The amps I have bought went in order from worst to best Crate < Peavey < Ampeg SVT-PRO5 < Genz Benz ShuttleMax 12.2 . Nowadays I know my sound does not suck because I get many pleased comments from the guys that do live sound and they never bury me.
What's your budget?
I was the same way ^ with basses. I would try them out in the store & love them, then they sounded just ok at home.
Thus begins your infinite struggle to find "your sound".
If you have access to a Sam Ash and/or Guitar Center, take both your amp & your bass there.
Try out several combinations of stuff in the store, then bring in your own stuff to figure out which is the weak link.
Thus begins your infinite struggle to find "your sound".
If you have access to a Sam Ash and/or Guitar Center, take both your amp & your bass there.
Try out several combinations of stuff in the store, then bring in your own stuff to figure out which is the weak link.
So give a few minutes to this video - they exercise the bass thru a number of settings and if you sound like this, then it's not the amp.
The bass you have has a naturally deep, muddy, dirty sound. So step one is turn the tone knob to full treble (which on a passive bass like this is actually a "treble roll off" knob). So setting that knob all the way to the treble side is actually the natural sound of your bass, at least with the current strings. If you have any pedals, remove them from the signal chain for the moment. On the amp side, set all the EQ knobs to "noon" and use the clean channel. Now how far off from the sound you want are you getting? It may be you can get to your sound by REDUCING the bass tone from your EQ stack, because the bass is so muddy to start with.
Try that. If you want to try some canned settings, the owners manual for your amp comes with a number of suggestions, but they are all probably basing those on you starting with a P or J type bass. Link Removed
The bass you have has a naturally deep, muddy, dirty sound. So step one is turn the tone knob to full treble (which on a passive bass like this is actually a "treble roll off" knob). So setting that knob all the way to the treble side is actually the natural sound of your bass, at least with the current strings. If you have any pedals, remove them from the signal chain for the moment. On the amp side, set all the EQ knobs to "noon" and use the clean channel. Now how far off from the sound you want are you getting? It may be you can get to your sound by REDUCING the bass tone from your EQ stack, because the bass is so muddy to start with.
Try that. If you want to try some canned settings, the owners manual for your amp comes with a number of suggestions, but they are all probably basing those on you starting with a P or J type bass. Link Removed
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If you want Mike Dirnt tone, he used a Fender Jazz bass on early albums and a Fender Precision later. I'm pretty sure he has used Ampegs, Mesas, and Fenders when it comes to amps. I'd get a jazz bass and either a nice ampeg or fender combo amp if I were you.
Or you could just go to the source and get the Squier Mike Dirnt P Bass:
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
You'll have to find it used but any Squier P-bass will do unless you absolutely want to spend more.
Mike drint used a Gibson ripper for the majority of the early green day albums...so there's that.
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With regard to the first part, that is certainly a minority opinion but hey, everyone is entitled.
With regard to the second part, if you can use an amp on the same circuit as a blow-dryer without throwing the circuit breaker, then it isnt a proper bass amp.
godofthunder59
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Yup, roll the bass down on the amp first.
Try a new set of bright sounding strings.
I picture Dirnt's sound as fairly punchy and middy, an EB0 might never quite get there.
So, a bass and amp upgrade may be needed at some point.
I'd probably start with the bass, but an excellent amp line at a good price is the Fender Rumble series.
Try a new set of bright sounding strings.
I picture Dirnt's sound as fairly punchy and middy, an EB0 might never quite get there.
So, a bass and amp upgrade may be needed at some point.
I'd probably start with the bass, but an excellent amp line at a good price is the Fender Rumble series.
Try a used Fender P bass and a Fender rumble amp for starters. You'll never get the tone you're looking for with the setup you have.
Depending on your budget, a P-Bass (in order; Squier, MIM standard, American Standard) or J-Bass plus a Fender Rumble would get you the sound you're looking for.
This is what you could sound like if you go down the Fender/Squier route. Is it any closer to the sound you want?
The EB-0 is a very specialised sound. It's very muddy and sits almost below the mix, filling the really low section of the sound spectrum. It's not what you want to get a punchy, mid-boosted, almost growling tone like Mike Dirnt. I'd say go with a Squier P-Bass, as others have been saying. If you wanted something a bit different, a Squier Jazz isn't a bad option either, it's a similar sound with its mid range boosted.
Not so with it with amps so, go with what everyone else is saying
Woody
Not so with it with amps so, go with what everyone else is saying
Woody
