When to know you’re over-processing your sound?

[micguy]

If I had a dollar for every pedal I see on some of the pedalboards I see posted on TB, I would be off to an Island.

Just don't ask me how many pedals I own

KISS

My problem isn’t the number of pedals on the pedalboard. My problem is how many pedals there are on a shelf that didn’t quite make it to the pedalboard.

 

[Micha84]

First of all, the ground rule always applies: If you like it, it can't be wrong.

Apart from that, three criteria come to mind: Noise, dynamics, definition. Turn off everything, play for 15 minutes, then turn everything back on again (important: keep the loudness level). If you notice a lack of definition or articulation, or just generally something weird, you should have a closer look at your signal chain. If there is unwanted noise, that is a red flag right there.
Also always a fun game: try to describe exactly what each part of your signal chain does, but avoid non-auditory phrases like warmth, depth etc. Can't do it? Chances are there is a good reason for that.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hey folks!

I’ve been a gear enthusiast for a few years now and like many of us hear, I am seeing the signs of a trap when it comes to finding that “perfect tone.”

Starting to hit a point where I love the “core tone” pedals I use, but have myself convinced they ALL make my tone better and need to always stay on.

This is starting to feel silly to me as something tells me I’m just over-processing and tone-deaf as of late.

Recently purchased an Orange Terror Bass and I think I’m struggling to stop using the pedals that really pushed my Gallien Krueger 700RB into another realm of sound.

My current path + “core tone” is:

Bass (regardless of bass I’m using) —> FX pedals (fuzz, oct, wah, modulation which we’ll exclude from this convo) —> “Core Tone” (Lusithand Alma V2 Comp —> Sushi Box More (tube boost) —> EQD Monarch (helps capture and drive the MORE’s tube’s essence) —> Mesa Boogie Subway Di+ (primarily for EQ, and filters) —> Orange Terror Bass 500 (which JUST replaced my Gallien Krueger 700RB).

Since acquiring the Orange, I’m wondering if things like the Sushi Box More and the EQD Monarch (literally an Orange voiced preamp) are now redundant, but my prideful ears and inability to let go of certain gear is clouding my judgement and actually hurting my sound. I’m lost in the space of “this feeling is a placebo vs this actually helps my sound”

With the background provided, circling back to my main question:

When do you know - not so much feel, but actually know - when you’re over-processing your sound and what are some tricks you guys have used when in this predicament?

I’d love to hear this community’s thoughts, questions, and suggestions.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this!

I have no clue what your sensibilities are, but my suggestion is to make a quality recording of yourself, listen to it a bit, then make up your mind.

 

[cxcxcx]

I think the big determinant should be the honest answer to this question “If I was a vocalist, guitarist, drummer, or other instrumentalist in a band where the bassist used as many effects as I did, would I be musically inspired and comfortable with what I was hearing?”

 

[Lardass5000]

I like to err on the side of less. My best friend borrowed a bass from me and has been touring with it for 20 years. (Probably not getting it back). Anyway he has a massive pedalboard. I mean massive. And here is some perspective....
....Ive never heard any of his effects unless no one else is playing....

 

[Lardass5000]

Not saying anything in particular. Just an observation from lil ole me.

 

[SoulReflection]

If you like to process this much it helps a lot to have a basic, even free daw like ableton lite or reaper where you can drop in bass-less tunes and play along with them while recording. Then listen to the mix and see how it works.

Great advice here...this is where the rubber hits the road. I came back to bass after over 60 years away...a time where pedals for bass were unheard-of. I fell into the TB thoughts that you had to have pedals to augment or improve your sound.

Fortunately for me, I bought of few of the cheaper, highly recommended pedals at the same time as COVID hit and I invested in a home DAW. The pedals were compressor, OD, HPF and several tube pedals.

With Reaper, Moises and a Looper, I was able to compare my raw basses with the pedals to determine just how much they provided. I ran tests just with my basses and through various amps (Fender and Ampeg) and then through plugins of the same manufacturers. My conclusions were quite notable.

First, they did alter and sometimes improve the sound but, it was more noticeable when playing through the DAW with ear/headphones. To its credit, the compressor did even out the volume of notes. The OD was not something I would use often. The HPF is only useful when playing a volume in a room and EQ that needed it.

The tube pedals did offer some tubey goodness and would probably be better suited to playing at volume. Since I am not playing out and at volume, I have sold and am selling my tube pedals.

In the process of selling my pedals, I am amazed at the number of them that are always for sale. It makes me wonder....

Edit: OOPS, I just read the rules for Effects. Sorry, didn't realize I might be treading on toes. If so, maybe the mods can delete this before sending me to the penalty box.

 

[lomo]

If it sounds good it is good. If it doesn't; it isn't. Pedals can dig a deep, wide rabbit hole that can be fun, expensive, useful, a waste of time or a variable combination of the above.

 

[JRA]

...the signs of a trap when it comes to finding that “perfect tone.”

chasing "your tone" = chasing your tail/tale!

This is starting to feel silly to me as something tells me I’m just over-processing...

listen to your inner self!


When to know you’re over-processing your sound?
you're probably "over-processed" when you find yourself asking the question "When do you know...when you’re over-processing your sound...?"

the whole idea of a "signature sound" has nothing to do with gear. if it did = your "signature sound" would be the same as many of the other players who use exactly the same stuff, in exactly the same way. what makes you different is the way you play --- the way you play is your "signature sound."

relax on "your sound," and go for playing your best because that's really your sound! good luck!

 

[IvanBassist]

This is probably not the answer you're waiting for, but to me, there's no right or wrong level of processing, it depends on your goals. Some music genre work well with super processed sounds, others work better with pretty direct sound.

Something else: when you listen to "isolated bass tracks" of famous songs, you may be surprised to realize that a bass tone that you would have thought sounded very natural in the mix - is in fact very processed when soloed. For example a clean sound when heard in the mix may be a quite overdriven when played solo.

So my only advice is: always judge in the mix, never soloed track.

This, but also consider that a live mix is different than a recorded mix.

Boosting a lot of treble or bass will sound pretty bad in most cases when playing live. You can definitely get away with it in the studio, due to flexibility of channels and processing available.

 

[SoulReflection]

This, but also consider that a live mix is different than a recorded mix.

Boosting a lot of treble or bass will sound pretty bad in most cases when playing live. You can definitely get away with it in the studio, due to flexibility of channels and processing available.

I thought it would have been the other way around given live can have a lot more variables.

 

[JimmyM]

No matter what kind of stuff I may throw in between bass and amp, the clean sound has to be happening or it’s all for nothing.

 

[elgranluis]

For a Beatles tribute , then yeah , it’s being over processed.

For anything else, if it’s “your tone”, then it is what it is.

 

[Parzival]

I was an effect junkie........I was cured when I accidentally left my pedals in my practice room at home. I didn't have time to turn back to fetch them, and was forced to use my amp and my bass for a gig........It was the best sound ever. since then I have added only compression and a tiny bit of grit to that sound. I'm so glad it happened.......it forced me to realize what I actually need.

Funny story. My guitar player left his Helix at home a few weeks ago. He was in panic mode. I gave him my HX One to use since he was familiar with Line6, but told him he could only use one effect at a time. He picked a delay he uses and other than his amp, that’s all he used. He sounded fine all night.
Funny thing is, some young cat came up to him after the show raving about his tone and asked what all he had on his pedalboard. He just laughed and pointed at the One.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Hey folks!

I’ve been a gear enthusiast for a few years now and like many of us hear, I am seeing the signs of a trap when it comes to finding that “perfect tone.”

Starting to hit a point where I love the “core tone” pedals I use, but have myself convinced they ALL make my tone better and need to always stay on.

This is starting to feel silly to me as something tells me I’m just over-processing and tone-deaf as of late.

Recently purchased an Orange Terror Bass and I think I’m struggling to stop using the pedals that really pushed my Gallien Krueger 700RB into another realm of sound.

My current path + “core tone” is:

Bass (regardless of bass I’m using) —> FX pedals (fuzz, oct, wah, modulation which we’ll exclude from this convo) —> “Core Tone” (Lusithand Alma V2 Comp —> Sushi Box More (tube boost) —> EQD Monarch (helps capture and drive the MORE’s tube’s essence) —> Mesa Boogie Subway Di+ (primarily for EQ, and filters) —> Orange Terror Bass 500 (which JUST replaced my Gallien Krueger 700RB).

Since acquiring the Orange, I’m wondering if things like the Sushi Box More and the EQD Monarch (literally an Orange voiced preamp) are now redundant, but my prideful ears and inability to let go of certain gear is clouding my judgement and actually hurting my sound. I’m lost in the space of “this feeling is a placebo vs this actually helps my sound”

With the background provided, circling back to my main question:

When do you know - not so much feel, but actually know - when you’re over-processing your sound and what are some tricks you guys have used when in this predicament?

I’d love to hear this community’s thoughts, questions, and suggestions.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this!

I think it's when it sounds over processed, which is kind of in the eye of the beholder as well as situational.

 

[hieronymous]

Thanks for the suggestion! Hadn’t considered doing my own at-home-mix-test… This is GOLDEN advice!

I do have Reaper, but am not sure of where to find bass-less tracks to import into Reaper… any advice on that? Is this similar to tracks found in WikiLoops?

thanks again

I've been using the amazing moises.ai - it uses AI to analyze a song into separate tracks, so you can do one that includes bass, then remove the bass completely. I feel like I've been waiting for this all my life lol. I think it's a great practice tool - when you're just playing along with a song (that's basically how I learned how to play), if you stop, you can still hear the original bass line, and there's a comfort in that. Remove it, play along, then stop playing along - all of a sudden something is missing! It helps to show how important the bass is.

Anyway, I don't really have advice on telling when you are over-processing - I have a compressor that I use as an always on (CAE/CAJ V-Comp tube compressor) - recently I finally thought, "I'm gonna try not using it" - and I thought I sounded fine (I have it set so it's only compressing when I really dig in) - so I feel like I could play without it. BUT I still use it, because it has an LED showing when it's compressing (well, actually it's compressing before the LED lights up, but I just set it so I'm hitting, then lower the threshold a bit) - this helps me set consistent volume levels between instruments.

And also, I would suggest you spend time with just the amp - get to know it - what does it sound like with your bass and your playing? Then maybe go back to pedals to add in what you find you still need, but now having a closer relationship with the amp...

 

[Green Hornet]

How about 2 setups:
1. Bass to pedal tuner (also used as a mute) and maybe a HP/LP filter (I use a Brougton) or a compressor then to amp.
2. A larger pedalboard (also with tuner/mute) and all the other pedals you like just in case that gig wants a DI signal only (no amp or cab). Leave the compressor off since the FOH will take care of that.
Now you are ready for anything.

 

[Short4since64]

Heaven would be about 8 classic B-15Ns with a very mild preamp pedal to be able to drive all the inputs without loading the pickups down. Maybe 9 stacked up in a frame like the classic Queen photo of the AC-30s. No processing at all. Worked with a guitarist who used a curly-cord in the air from his Strat to his Marshall stack to show that every tone came from his fingers alone; I'm of the same old school.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

My current, "is it too much" voodoo is to place a deep, pleasing natural reverb at/near end of chain. If I then remove an effect, EQ setting, filter, etc. and if what remains sounds better, it stays out.

Think of the reverb as simulating hearing your rig in a challenging environment.

I do the reverb at home...Boss RV3...Eden Metro with semi parametric EQ always playing around with the EQ..a bit of comp and some dirt...thats it really.

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Hey folks!

I’ve been a gear enthusiast for a few years now and like many of us hear, I am seeing the signs of a trap when it comes to finding that “perfect tone.”

Starting to hit a point where I love the “core tone” pedals I use, but have myself convinced they ALL make my tone better and need to always stay on.

This is starting to feel silly to me as something tells me I’m just over-processing and tone-deaf as of late.

Recently purchased an Orange Terror Bass and I think I’m struggling to stop using the pedals that really pushed my Gallien Krueger 700RB into another realm of sound.

My current path + “core tone” is:

Bass (regardless of bass I’m using) —> FX pedals (fuzz, oct, wah, modulation which we’ll exclude from this convo) —> “Core Tone” (Lusithand Alma V2 Comp —> Sushi Box More (tube boost) —> EQD Monarch (helps capture and drive the MORE’s tube’s essence) —> Mesa Boogie Subway Di+ (primarily for EQ, and filters) —> Orange Terror Bass 500 (which JUST replaced my Gallien Krueger 700RB).

Since acquiring the Orange, I’m wondering if things like the Sushi Box More and the EQD Monarch (literally an Orange voiced preamp) are now redundant, but my prideful ears and inability to let go of certain gear is clouding my judgement and actually hurting my sound. I’m lost in the space of “this feeling is a placebo vs this actually helps my sound”

With the background provided, circling back to my main question:

When do you know - not so much feel, but actually know - when you’re over-processing your sound and what are some tricks you guys have used when in this predicament?

I’d love to hear this community’s thoughts, questions, and suggestions.

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read this!

Ditch the Mesa for a Qstrip. Completely neutral, with filters. Try your amp with the orange clone off.