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Where do I look for that dark, deep tone?

#141
ZenG said:
So I'm watching this vid on YouTube. It's a solid body Kala U-bass.

As I listen to it I realize that everything posted on Talkbass about tonewoods, strings and pickups combined with plucking style has to be 100% bullsh*t.

This bass has more low end than you can shake a stick at. Could smoke a lot of uprights.

Pickup:- when you look at it , there's no pickup in the "standard" area.
Strings:- doesn't use any conventional bass string
Body:- very small...wood would make no difference to tone.
Scale length:- short......defies the "longscales' have better bottom end myth.

I'll copy the vid and post it.....

Click to expand...


No man.. no.. that Kala bass does sound ok and most definitely can be used as a substitute.. but it Just won't look the same... for example this girl, hehe.. she needs a big bass.. and you ain't getting that "tone" out of a kala bass..

this is the look.. you need the original bass look.. haha.. can you imagine rock n' roll with kala basses?? eeewww...

 
#142
One Drop said:
You do realize that the strings and PUP are in fact special designs meant to give that fat sound, right?

The trade off is a lack of harmonics and detail in the mids.

Maybe on that bass your plucking position makes no difference but the way I play mine sure makes a difference.
Click to expand...

So every other bass ever made was NOT designed to produce fat bass tones or low end?
Given that there are alternate ways to construct a bass so that it DOES give fat tone and low end?
Yet we must rave about basses that use metal strings, have certain pups in certain positions and be constructed of certain woods yadda yadda yadda..... yet they can't get the low fat sounds of the Kala?
You will get variations in tone to some extent by plucking position and touch.....but it only takes you so far....not a "cure-all".

Oh...jeez..."looks".....I forgot all about that. Don't want to be ostracized on stage for playing a small bass....Lord forbid. (above post).....and yes...I can imagine playing rock 'n' roll on that particular Kala.

Mids shmids.......if I want mids I'll pick a bass from any one of the hundreds of *cough* TB-approved renderings out there....
 
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#143
ZenG said:
So every other bass ever made was NOT designed to produce fat bass tones or low end?
Given that there are alternate ways to construct a bass so that it DOES give fat tone and low end?
Yet we must rave about basses that use metal strings, have certain pups in certain positions and be constructed of certain woods yadda yadda yadda..... yet they can't get the low fat sounds of the Kala?
You will get variations in tone to some extent by plucking position and touch.....but it only takes you so far....not a "cure-all".

Oh...jeez..."looks".....I forgot all about that. Don't want to be ostracized on stage for playing a small bass....Lord forbid. (above post).....and yes...I can imagine playing rock 'n' roll on that particular Kala.

Mids shmids.......if I want mids I'll pick a bass from any one of the hundreds of *cough* TB-approved renderings out there....
Click to expand...

Suit yourself, you found a bass that sounds the way you want.

I have no idea why you think everyone should be satisfied with what you like.
 
#144
ZenG said:
So every other bass ever made was NOT designed to produce fat bass tones or low end?
Given that there are alternate ways to construct a bass so that it DOES give fat tone and low end?
Yet we must rave about basses that use metal strings, have certain pups in certain positions and be constructed of certain woods yadda yadda yadda..... yet they can't get the low fat sounds of the Kala?
You will get variations in tone to some extent by plucking position and touch.....but it only takes you so far....not a "cure-all".

Oh...jeez..."looks".....I forgot all about that. Don't want to be ostracized on stage for playing a small bass....Lord forbid. (above post).....and yes...I can imagine playing rock 'n' roll on that particular Kala.

Mids shmids.......if I want mids I'll pick a bass from any one of the hundreds of *cough* TB-approved renderings out there....
Click to expand...




Yo relax and try some zen ..ha


Just like the girl in the video, aesthetically good looking, the bass is also art by sound and looks beautiful.. (Not as much as the girl though.. I'll take her anyday over a good looking bass..)

but the kala bass doesn't aesthetically look good in my opinion.. It's just my opinion! When times change and everything becomes electronic and looks like futuristic robotic instruments, then I'm sure my taste will change as well..

But right now that kaka kala may sound like thick rubber strings on a ukulele and I hope they sell a lot.. Just for bass's sake.

I wouldn't buy it..

But the kala bass- it's made specifically for travel and less "space" so they achieved something ..

And I'm sure they've made their money..

Good

In the meantime, watch the rest of the videos that girl has.. I'm sure you'll soon forget all about the kana kaha.. Whatever it is.. You'll notice she plays the Charlie Brown peanuts theme on bass too.. It just wouldn't work on the kala..haha
 
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#145
ZenG said:
So every other bass ever made was NOT designed to produce fat bass tones or low end?
Given that there are alternate ways to construct a bass so that it DOES give fat tone and low end?
Yet we must rave about basses that use metal strings, have certain pups in certain positions and be constructed of certain woods yadda yadda yadda..... yet they can't get the low fat sounds of the Kala?
You will get variations in tone to some extent by plucking position and touch.....but it only takes you so far....not a "cure-all".

Oh...jeez..."looks".....I forgot all about that. Don't want to be ostracized on stage for playing a small bass....Lord forbid. (above post).....and yes...I can imagine playing rock 'n' roll on that particular Kala.

Mids shmids.......if I want mids I'll pick a bass from any one of the hundreds of *cough* TB-approved renderings out there....
Click to expand...

There sure is enough afterprocessing of that signal I'll look for an analog vid - Kala + amp.
 
#146
ZenG said:
So I'm watching this vid on YouTube. It's a solid body Kala U-bass.

As I listen to it I realize that everything posted on Talkbass about tonewoods, strings and pickups combined with plucking style has to be 100% bullsh*t.

This bass has more low end than you can shake a stick at. Could smoke a lot of uprights.

Pickup:- when you look at it , there's no pickup in the "standard" area.
Strings:- doesn't use any conventional bass string
Body:- very small...wood would make no difference to tone.
Scale length:- short......defies the "longscales' have better bottom end myth.

I'll copy the vid and post it.....
Click to expand...

Okay, so putting aside the unnecessary aggression towards other set-ups, I'll try to respond to this claim.

I have an acoustic U-Bass, that in my opinion sounds better than this guy's - maybe it's because he's playing too fast, but his Bass sounds completely choked. The acoustic probably has a bit more mids, so its sound has more, uh.. flavor? Life? Other random noun?

Anyway, it's problematic. You can't pluck too hard or it goes out of tune. You can't push the string down too hard on the fret or it goes out of tune. Hell, you play on it for a while and it goes out of tune, because the rubber strings have so much friction against the nut that plucking actually loosens them up. From a purely ergonomic point of view, the U-Bass is a gimmick.

Still, I'd agree the sound is totally awesome (On my U-Bass, not the video).
 
#150
Got another question about sound:

My Combo amp is pretty crappy so I'm using awesome Seinheiser headphones to cover for that, for playing while I wait for my strings. The problem is, my bass kind of ROARS when I use them. I am assuming the low-end notes are kicking my headphones' ass, but how can I know for sure?
 
#151
Semion N. said:
Got another question about sound:

My Combo amp is pretty crappy so I'm using awesome Seinheiser headphones to cover for that, for playing while I wait for my strings. The problem is, my bass kind of ROARS when I use them. I am assuming the low-end notes are kicking my headphones' ass, but how can I know for sure?
Click to expand...

Normally I would say this is the bass feeding back in the low freq's. Your recording/playback system may simply be overwhelmed if you are going for too bassy of a tone.
 
#152
You have to put it through more than just direct to your bass or amp.. like through your computer using software etc..

I have a little Zoom H4n I can plug my bass into, but even then it sounds thin and needs to be put through a correct Interface..

image.jpg
 
#154
Some ways to get deeper tones :

1. Swap strings (tapewounds or flats that aren't chromes)
2. Swap tone capacitors (0.1 uf is that classic deep roll-off used with some vintage P-basses)
3. Get a Mudbucker bass (EB-3, SG bass, Telecaster Bass with Neck Humbucker, etc.)
4. Change your wiring harness (if you have a passive bass)

#1, #2, #4 will work if you already have a passive bass. I'd recommend a P or PJ, or the Mudbucker one like I mentioned in #3 if you don't have one. Active basses always seem to keep the more modern, trebly/hifi sound that isn't suited for the deep dark stuff IMHO. But then again I've not tried them all. A filter-base preamp might make all the difference as I've never tried a bass with one of those in it.

The way I've got a deep-dark tone in the past was basically by either :

1. Use flatwounds on a P-bass, adjust tone accordingly
2. Get a varitone

The varitone can be set up to have some pretty deep treble cuts, but it doesn't have to sacrifice having some lighter or more subtle treble cuts. The main difference though is a varitone used like a treble cut doesn't behave the same way as a tone pot. A tone pot is more like a volume for your highs, you roll down the Db level with a set cut-off frequency. Varitone treble cuts change your cut-off frequency, but keep the Db roll-off the same (generally).

I have a varitone setup with a "deep scoop" which is kind of nice. It keeps some extreme presence-level high-end frequencies, but cuts out pretty much all the mids and some of the lower-treble. It sounds a lot like a mudbucker even though the deep-scoop is applied to a P-bass pickup.

Kellingsound on Ebay can make you a custom varitone harness that will do exactly what you want, just mention what you want and the kind of bass you have. He can also make something that has a push/pull tone pot that when pulled up makes your deep/dark tones, but when pushed down behaves like a normal tone pot. Just think of what you want and ask, he can do it for somewhere around 40-60 bucks a pop. (I have no affiliation).
 
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