Which is a better Bass Sound??

[PSC]

If you were auditioning a bass player for a band, which bass sound would you prefer (in general).

Bass A or Bass B?

 

[pedro]

Will have to check this out later. No sound here at work.

 

[BZadlo]

They're both kinda muffled. It sounds like the low end is boosted and then it's compressed really hard.
I bet A would sound pretty good within a mix though.

 

[Alvaro Martín Gómez A.]

B, definitely. To me, bass A sounds as if the speaker were covered by a blanket. Not the kind of tone I'm after.

 

[woolysock]

A blows.
B sounds clean and wins ;-)

 

[lunarpollen]

I'm not fond of either, but B is closer to what I'd want.

 

[stflbn]

Definitely B, but with a touch more of A in it to fill it out. A has little definition though... and is not what I'm after.

 

[Biodome]

It depends on what you are playing, obviously, but I voted B. A would definitely fill out a mix, but it sounds like it could be on the muddy end if you like your notes to be heard.

 

[butchblack]

Carrots

(I always wanted to say that)

`Neither struck me as a tone I'd go after. A sounded muddy and a bit distorted. B was too bright. I'd want something in the middle The deepness of A with some of the clarity of B. It also would depend on what you were playing. A lot of slap and pop and I'd definitely go with B Old school R&B and I'd lean towards A if you could clear it up a bit.

My 2 ¢

 

[Passinwind]

Carrots

(I always wanted to say that)

`Neither struck me as a tone I'd go after. A sounded muddy and a bit distorted. B was too bright. I'd want something in the middle The deepness of A with some of the clarity of B. It also would depend on what you were playing. A lot of slap and pop and I'd definitely go with B Old school R&B and I'd lean towards A if you could clear it up a bit.

+1 to every bit of that, especially the Carrots part.

 

[stinger12345]

Definitely B, but with a touch more of A in it to fill it out. A has little definition though... and is not what I'm after.

+1. You should have played something more similar to each other in the samples

 

[steveksux]

Hated A, didn't like B, was lacking some bottom. I'd go with B if I had to pick one. I can beef up the bottom if I play lighter. Can't fix A. Add some other instruments to mask the highs and it would be even muddier in the final mix.

Randy

 

[uhdinator]

A=mud.......sounded like mic'd cab with a poor mic and or bad placement and bad EQ
B=much better....sounded direct

listened to on my Event studio monitors
Even though many mentioned they thought B lacked bottom, when you put it in a mix with other instruments it will not sound as bright as you think and will sit well in a mix.
B was rumbling my monitors just fine.

 

[mcapote]

Carrots

(I always wanted to say that)

`Neither struck me as a tone I'd go after. A sounded muddy and a bit distorted. B was too bright. I'd want something in the middle The deepness of A with some of the clarity of B. It also would depend on what you were playing. A lot of slap and pop and I'd definitely go with B Old school R&B and I'd lean towards A if you could clear it up a bit.

My 2 ¢

+1

and for future reference why not do the same song on both tests to you can go apples to apples? I mean come on how does my E string sound compared to my D string?

 

[fokof]

B by a thousand mile.

A sounds like a LPF + the bass boosted , or if it was EQ'd for an amp or reference that has absolutly no low end.

B sounds like a DI.
(Your lowest string sounds dead)

 

[CapnSev]

I'm the opposite of most here I think.

If I had to choose, I'd choose A. I like that kind of farty, burpy, fat sound in the mix, but A still needed a ton of work on the tone. It was too muddy, and lacked some note definition. It sounded like it was clipping in spots too.

I hated B. It was super thin and glassy, and way too scooped. I think you'd be lost on the first downbeat of the song with that tone.

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I'm the opposite of most here I think.

If I had to choose, I'd choose A. I like that kind of farty, burpy, fat sound in the mix, but A still needed a ton of work on the tone. It was too muddy, and lacked some note definition. It sounded like it was clipping in spots too.

I hated B. It was super thin and glassy, and way too scooped. I think you'd be lost on the first downbeat of the song with that tone.

+1

Although neither sound that great considering the quality

 

[fokof]

I think you'd be lost on the first downbeat of the song with that tone.

IME , it's the total opposite. The B has some mid/high mids to help cut through a mix. The big smilly curve EQ doesn't cut through because of the lack of mids. ( well in that case it's not a smile , it's a "\" )
But who am I to say so ?

 

[WayneP]

A=mud.......sounded like mic'd cab with a poor mic and or bad placement and bad EQ
B=much better....sounded direct

listened to on my Event studio monitors
Even though many mentioned they thought B lacked bottom, when you put it in a mix with other instruments it will not sound as bright as you think and will sit well in a mix.
B was rumbling my monitors just fine.

+1. My computer system has a sub, and B had plenty of low end. “A” would be fine for recording, especially if that particular sound worked for a particular song, but it would suck in a live situation.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt




Pedulla Club #45

 

[BigMac5]

I didn't like either, but it's all about how the bass fits in the mix to me. What sounds like good tone by itself is totally different with what sounds good with the band.