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what am I listening for in a bass?

W

Wgtroutman

Sep 9, 2011
12
0
#1
I went in to my local music store the other day and tried out some basses for the first time (I'm a guitarist) and they all sounded good to me.

When I first started playing guitar, I couldn't tell you the difference between an Epiphone and a Gibson (acoustic), or even a Gibson and a Martin. Now I can blindfolded, and I'm very picky with my guitar tone. I'm sure I'll be the same way with bass really soon, right?

I guess my question is, what makes a bass sound good, and what do I need to be listening for in an electric bass? I played an American Standard P, a 5 string squier jazz with active/passive toggle (I could hear the difference between those two), squier VM fretless, and I think that is it. I played through a fender rumble, and an SWR, both combos, relatively low wattage, I would assume.

be easy on me, I'm new to this. I understand the mechanics of an acoustic guitar, but a bass is a completely animal; I would love to know what makes a bass sound like it does.

Thanks again for putting up with my ignorance; I think I'm starting to like this bass guitar stuff!
 
#4
TolerancEJ said:
Your ideal bass sound is entirely up to yourself. One person's preference may not be favoured by next person. What are some albums where the bass sound stands out for you?
Click to expand...

This is a good starting point... find someone else's tone that you like.... once you find that and can get that then the tweaking can commence.... personally I like a Chris Squire or Paul Turner (Jamiroquai) and from there I started tweaking, but now it sounds nothing like them lol....

find a starting point and we can point ya from there =D
 
#5
I think it helps to learn how the instrument works. Adjust the tone settings and pickup levels and listen to the difference in each sound. Once you learn how to control the instrument's settings, you can manipulate the instrument to produce your favorite sound. Only you will know what you like.
 
#9
For me it was all about what was comfortable in my hands, and feels good playing. A great deal of TONE comes from your hands. For me a MM Stingray is a perfect fit, I love them and they happen to sound great! Just keep trying basses until you find something you like!
 
#10
TolerancEJ said:
Your ideal bass sound is entirely up to yourself. One person's preference may not be favoured by next person. What are some albums where the bass sound stands out for you?
Click to expand...

Okay, here goes:

I love Dear Prudence off the white album. the bass sounds so relaxed, but very bold. Does that make any sense?

I also love the bass on Storm Warning off The Flecktone's latest. Great tone. again, it sounds effortless and relaxed, but without competing with everything else.

I like sustain, strength, warmth, and plenty of presence.


I guess one thing I didn't make clear that kind of concerned me was the fact that I couldn't tell, audibly, a difference between the fender bass and the squier bass. What should I be hearing?
 
#11
Same as guitar, the more you play the more you will discern the differences rather than the similarities in tones.

There is no shortcut, so start with what sounds good now and worry about it when you start developing preferences. In any case you will be unconsciously shaping your tone from the start with your fingers, EQ, etc.
 
#13
I like a tone that works real well with overdrive and which is crunchy rather then smooth. Soapbar type pups char or warm humbucker bass pup char (think guitar humbucker). Modern rather then vintage. I'll also listen to the bass, mid and treble preamp controls to get idea if they are set to my preferred area for center freq's. Beyond thaqt its more a case of build qaulity check including fretwork qaulity. Along with playability, fit ans asthetic appeal.
 
#14
Two things......
first off, your idea of a good sound will change as you become more knowledgable, same as it did with guitar,
second, it's so subjective. Some people are les paul people, some are strat people, some are tele, etc. Well, it's exactly the same with bass. Me, I love a vintage sound with very little sustain and lots of punch, so I use a Fender with flatwounds. Others will like a bright, modern sound and will go for stainless roundwounds on an active bass.
Good luck with your quest.
 
#15
Wgtroutman said:
Okay, here goes:

...I guess one thing I didn't make clear that kind of concerned me was the fact that I couldn't tell, audibly, a difference between the fender bass and the squier bass. What should I be hearing?
Click to expand...

Sometimes it can be difficult to tell a Fender and Squier apart. I'm not sure if the same holds true for their guitars, but sometimes you will get a Fender that doesn't quite sound up to par... Other times you'll get a Squier or Fender MIM/etc that just sings. It's pretty much hit & miss.

On YouTube, there's a Bass Whisperer (Ed Friedland) review where he compares 3 Squier Classic Vibe issues against the original time-periods' Fenders they attempted to replicate. The results were pretty much spot on.
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#16
Oh yeah, another thing, don't obsess over your bedroom tone as it will be very likely the wrong one for your band mix. EQ with your ears instead of your eyes while playing with your band, and play along with CDs and see how your sound fits with different recordings.

Most bedroom tones are too mid-shy, and you will gain a lot by experimenting with blending in or popping out of mixes. Then there is the sound of your drummers kick- you don't want to be fighting it, and you have to decoide where in relation to it you want your bass to be. You might sound guite thin when soloed but sound plenty fat and supporting in a mix- such is the paradoxical nature of EQing the low end of a band mix.

Sounds more complicated than it is, but many bassists don't even consider it.
 
#17
As many people said, 80% of the tone is in your fingers.
In my opinion, the *best* bass is the one you find the easiest to play, the one you're the most comfortable with.

Try it, play with the settings and since it's your first bass make sure it's versatile (as in: you can get many different good tones out of it) enough and you're golden.

have fun!
 
#18
Consider listening for this:
Are there any dead spots on the neck?
Can you get clear ringing harmonics with good sustain?
How do the strings sound when you tap?
Does the bass respond to where you play the strings, ie thicker tone at the neck and more bite or growl at the bridge?
After some trying several basses you will be able to define and find what you want.
 
#19
I don't know if you're planning on playing live any time soon or if bass is just a hobby for you (being a guitarist at heart). Either way is great! However, your tonal considerations will depend on your intended use of the instrument.

If you're playing as a hobby and typically sitting by yourself banging out awesome bass lines without a band, then you've got it pretty easy. Just find the bass with the solo tone that is most pleasing to you. This is similar to the way you'd shop for a guitar I would guess.

However, if you plan to do a good bit of your playing in the context of a band, you might need to think a little bit differently. Typically, live (band) guitars are placed up front in the mix using the vast majority of the guitar's tonal spectrum. Therefore, your solo (or bedroom) guitar sound will be very similar if not identical to your live/band-context sound.

In contrast, basses tend to be mixed in such a way as to support the rest of the mix. Some bands and solo artists are notable exceptions here, but this is the circumstance of the majority of bassists. Because of this, certain portions of the bass' vast tonal spectrum will be favored over other portions. If whoever's doing your mix knows what they're doing, the portions favored will be the portions not occupied (or less occupied) by the "up-front" elements in the mix. Some of those tonal spectrum portions will have to be taken by either the bass or the kick drum (but hopefully not both at the same time). Could a band be mixed around the bass' tone instead of the guitar and vocals? Sure, that's just not common practice in today's music.

All of this is to say that, if you're planning to play in a band, you probably won't fall in love with a bass if the parts of it's tonal spectrum that you really like are also predominant in your band's guitarist's tone.

Don't go around thinking, "My guitarist usually cuts his tone a little at 824.584 Hz, so I need a bass that's present at that frequency." You'll never buy anything. Instead, find a bass with a tone that pleases you. Then ask yourself, "Will it be ok if I lose some of the top end of this tone to the guitarist? Will it be ok if I lose some of the low end or midrange to the kick drum? What will this sound like in my band?"

Ultimately, get a bass you like, and be content with it. GAS will set in soon enough.

Best of luck!
 
#20
As long as you feel a thump and something on the wall shake your bass is doing it's job.
As for the sound you want to hear that's your job.

For a beginner I'd suggest just getting a bass under or around $300 no point in getting a $500 bass to start on although I wouldn't blame you.

I would suggest you get a 4 string first though it'll help you better in the long run but, then again that's my opinion do whatever you want.
 

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