What makes a bass sound punchy?

[caligula]

My 2 cents.
I have two basses built by the same guy (Boerjes Basses from Germany).
One is a 5string with swamp ash body and two Kent Armstrong soapbars, the other is a 4 string with alder body, maple top, a J pickup in the neck position and a MM type Kent Armstrong in the bridge position. The neck wood as well as the fingerboard are identical.

The 5 (swamp ash) has fantastic low mids that growl and snarl a lot like Gary Willis's tone, which I like a lot, it has good punch, but it can get buried in the mix at times depending on the music, the band, my rig, amp, especially the room, etc.
The 4 (alder body + maple top) doesn't have these growly low mids, it's more even regarding lows, mids, and highs, but is the punchiest bass I've ever had and ever heard - ever!!
It cuts through e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g. It's impossible not to be heard, no matter what band or type of music.
The very first time I used it live I was in quite a shock for the first two songs, because I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It was almost scary to hear every nuance of my playing including the sloppiness at times, yet it doesn't sound clinical, sterile or cold. I once used it on a straight ahead jazz gig (real book stuff) and just didn't sound right, simply because it's so incredibly quick and punchy.

If I reduce a punchy sound on the instrument first and not so much on the playing, the amp, etc., based on that experience, a punchy sound has a lot to do with the body + neck wood and the pickups being used.

 

[Deleted member 264575]

 

[someguyfromNC]

low mids and enough speaker

 

[bobyoung53]

My Jazz is strung with La Bella FL's and with both pickups on it punches like.... Tyson .

Like a lot of advice; mids! I find the jazz bass is more punchy than a P bass. But then again, dig hard enough and the P throws a good jab as well.

Yes, I also have a Jazz with Labella FL's (the PJ has FS's on it) on it and it does punch and I usually play it with either both pickups on full or favor the neck a little but both basses really have it with Labellas.

 

[Lowbrow]

If you're playing a P Bass: Slight boost at ~400hz. Bit more at ~800hz. Somewhere between at ~1.62k. Don't accentuate low end anywhere below 80hz.

 

[Spaldo]

When I'm recording bass, I use a little 3.2K to 3.5K with a mid-width Q, and a little compression with a low ratio (2.4:1 to 3:1). Works great on a Jazz or PJ =^)

 

[StraffordMike]

I'm no genius, as many people who know me will testify to, but I'm led to believe the first major component in a preamp is some form of compressor. I just bought a Seymour Duncan Studio and it has tightened up the bottom end on my p-bass considerably.

 

[socialleper]

If you think Jamerson had no punch and Geddy Lee does you and I are in different universes when it comes to defining punch.

Sounds like it.
I would say that Jamerson's tone is the definition of wooly. Little articulation , muddy, and if he was playing behind other instruments he would get lost in the mix. The classic Motown sound is, I think, boomy, not punchy.
As I said, using words for sound is pretty hard to do sometimes.

 

[Rumble Thunder]

Finding the particular spot between pups, or going closer to the bridge usually brightens, tightens and adds clarity to the tone. One cannot under estimate the profound impact technique has on the overall tone as well. I believe if you have a series/parallel toggle then you might want to switch the pup wiring over to series mode at certain times. Amps/EQ is important as well. Fun question!

 

[taylor16]

Get a precision bass. With fresh Chromes or Fender flats. Boom- Punchy

 

[SteveCS]

Sounds like it.
I would say that Jamerson's tone is the definition of wooly. Little articulation , muddy, and if he was playing behind other instruments he would get lost in the mix. The classic Motown sound is, I think, boomy, not punchy.
As I said, using words for sound is pretty hard to do sometimes.

I'm not wishing to start a bun-fight (disclaimer - I like both players equally but for different reasons) but I think I have to agree more with @bobyoung53 when describing Jamerson's tone. Sure it is resonant and might be described as heading into 'boomy' territory, but little articulation, without punch and getting lost in the mix, no way. I would describe Lee's tone as more 'Cutting' then 'Punchy'. Both hit hard, but for me Jamerson gets me where it hurts and leaves lasting emotional damage whereas Lee inflicts flesh wounds that sting for a while but heal reasonable quickly. In evidence, I submit these...





YMMV

 

[rtslinger]

I agree with anyone who said boosting the mids

 

[InhumanResource]

I'm surprised to hear people recommending rolling off the P pickup in a P/J configuration to get "punch". When I think of punchy, I think of a P-bass, moreso than a P/J and certainly more than anything that comes out of a J bridge pickup. That pickup can provide more clarity, but a bridge J pickup is more prominently hi-mid focused, and I think of punch as being in the low mids. Although, I agree that playing closer to the bridge will tend to give more punch than playing closer to the neck, which lends itself to boomier tone.

To get a punchy tone, I think you need to have a solid supply of the low mids for which P-basses are justifiably renowned, but to get punchy without getting boomy or woofy requires either the perfect bass/amp/speaker combination, or some very astute EQ tweaking. You need a strong low mid presence, with a notch cut right around the boomy frequencies.

That's totally valid. The other piece of this is that when playing a bass with two separate single coils (like a j) you get a natural humbucking effect when both pickups are on full blast or otherwise balanced equally. This typically gives you a rounder, less growly/punchy tone (although with a jazz there is plenty of "snap" up top). Favoring one pickup or the other cleans that up quite a bit, and indeed gets you more on the hi-mid side if you are favoring bridge pup vs. low mids and a very precision-like sound if you favor the neck pickup.

 

[Ant Illington]

After some experimenting and drawing my own conclusions I was wondering what the experienced people of TB think of the question: what makes a bass sound punchy? As in powerful and clear defined (not excluding deep) low notes and no whooly 'ooooom-y' sound.

BTW: talking about the bass, not the amplification.

Is it the type (P, J, P/J or others), active or passive, the brand of bass, the (brand / type of) strings, the (brand / type of) pickup(s), tuners, pots, caps, the setup, or whatever matters to you?

Well, I was interested just for the sake of reading and maybe getting some EQ science but 3 pages in and I think that almost every opposing idea has come up.

It's rounds; no, it's flats. Boost the bass and cut the mids; no, cut the bass and boost the mids, no make your eq in the shape of a mean scowl. It's a pick; no, it's fingers; no, it's the right finger technique. It depends where you stand; no, it doesn't. It's overdrive, maybe 2 overdrives; no, it's compression. Geez

 

[ahc]

So, to sum up, light woods, heavy woods, play by the bridge, play by the neck, play in the middle, high tension, low tension, high mids, low mids, P bass, J bass, heavy attack, light attack, flat eq, boosted eq, neck thru, bolt on, pick, and fingers. Well all right. I got it! It's so simple, why didn't I think of that???

 

[jlepre]

Fresh round wound strings, a good amp set to mids, and good technique. It's all in the hands.

 

[two fingers]

How you hit it. Period. Hand me a bass. It will punch whether it wants to or not. I play kind of aggressively. Not crazy hard, but with plenty of force. I have been told by my favorite guitar player that no matter what bass I play it sounds exactly like.....me.

You want punch? Don't play it like a guitar. Hold it like a bass. Hit it like a bass. You hand ma a Hofner with flats or a modern active Jazz bass with rounds and I will make them both punch.

Oh....and low mids.

 

[socialleper]

I'm not wishing to start a bun-fight (disclaimer - I like both players equally but for different reasons) but I think I have to agree more with @bobyoung53 when describing Jamerson's tone. Sure it is resonant and might be described as heading into 'boomy' territory, but little articulation, without punch and getting lost in the mix, no way. I would describe Lee's tone as more 'Cutting' then 'Punchy'. Both hit hard, but for me Jamerson gets me where it hurts and leaves lasting emotional damage whereas Lee inflicts flesh wounds that sting for a while but heal reasonable quickly. In evidence, I submit these...





YMMV

If Jamerson had to play in unison with a guitar with even mild distortion he'd vanish. His tone was all fundamental; just the note. When I think "punch" I think of something that can be heard either by its self or when other instruments are playing the same thing. Again this is all relative. The difference between "cut" and "punch" is a matter of preference, as to me, Jamerson sounds like getting hit with a one of those giant inflatable boxing gloves and Geezer's tone on the first two Sabbath albums is more like a bare knuckle bash in the jaw. Lee isn't maybe the best example, but I was trying to think of someone TB orthodoxy finds acceptable.

 

[orange joe]

I find a decent bridge humbucker wired in series will get you halfway there.Add a bit of compression and there you go.

 

[NortyFiner]

Big Al with EB Cobalt flats, bridge and middle pickup in active mode, EQ'd mostly flat with volume up full > pedalboard, DOD Milk Box comp tightening up and boosting the signal > GK amp, EQ mostly flat, low mids rolled up to 1 or 2 o'clock, treble rolled down an equal amount.