grich154 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 hey guys, i recently purchased a Modulus Funk Unlimited Bass wth the following: -Aguilar OBP1 Preamp -Badass Bass II Bridge - Basslines MM Pickup The bass is constantly active with no switch (only when batteries run out) but i have noticed that i cant seem to hear it when it comes to gigging or having band practice. I find that my Blade Jazz bass seems to be louder when i play it. The modulus sound is absolutely fantastic, and is exactly what i wanted to get when i bought the bass, however, when gigging with 2 sets of percussionists my bass sound seems to get lost amongst the drums :\ . I have gigged using a Roland Cube Bass 100 and used a Peavey Delta Bass 140W Head and Bass amp (separate). I bought this bass thinking that it would bring the bass sound even further to the front of the band but it seems to not cut through to the front as much as i thought. Any advice at all will be appreciated? i am not sure how many people on here are familiar with the bass as i am still fairly new... perhaps some form of pedals will help? Thanks GAV=] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I haven't heard a Blade but I thought they had "hot" pickups. Do you run the Modulus at the same volume? Now you've got a better bass I think you need a better rig to let your bass shine through. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 If you're not cutting thru then you might need to increase the mids on the amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZMech Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 [quote name='grich154' post='1262493' date='Jun 9 2011, 11:58 AM']when gigging with 2 sets of percussionists my bass sound seems to get lost amongst the drums :\[/quote] Could this be of more of an EQ issue? Have heard it many times, and used to make the mistake myself, of applying a nice big mid-scoop. Whilst it sounds great unaccompanied, those lower mids are the main bit of frequency space that we get as a bassist, so boosting instead of cutting them should help. Try experimenting during a band practise, see what works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EBS_freak Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 [quote name='chris_b' post='1262499' date='Jun 9 2011, 12:03 PM']I haven't heard a Blade but I thought they had "hot" pickups. Do you run the Modulus at the same volume? Now you've got a better bass I think you need a better rig to let your bass shine through.[/quote] Not got any experience of a blade, but hot pickups usually boosted mids, which is what usually cuts through a mix the most. Try boosting the mids on the amp when using the Modulus. If not, go with the above, you probably need to look at improving your bass rig so you can push the tone you want through at volume, rather than compensate for lack of volume by changing your tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 It's also the case that what sounds great as a tone played solo isn't neccessarily what the band needs. Mid-heavy tones, as has been said above, cut through a band mix, but can sound odd to the ear when played solo when practising. I'd also consider your rig, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 I'll second some of the above - sounds like time for some more Mids! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassicinstinct Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 [quote name='xgsjx' post='1262506' date='Jun 9 2011, 12:08 PM']If you're not cutting thru then you might need to increase the mids on the amp.[/quote] + 10,000!!! Avoid the ubiquitous smiley face like the plague. Frown rules IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 [quote name='xgsjx' post='1262506' date='Jun 9 2011, 12:08 PM']If you're not cutting thru then you might need to increase the mids on the amp.[/quote] [quote name='Muzz' post='1262512' date='Jun 9 2011, 12:11 PM']It's also the case that what sounds great as a tone played solo isn't neccessarily what the band needs. Mid-heavy tones, as has been said above, cut through a band mix, but can sound odd to the ear when played solo when practising.[/quote] Never a truer word said. I`m currently depping for a heavy rock band, and the sound I`m using works really well in the band mix, great presence, right amount of lows and highs etc, but, on its own, sounds scratchy, mid-heavy, and horrible. I`ve always found that a cracking bass sound on its own seems to disappear in a band-mix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Vader Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 [quote name='bassicinstinct' post='1262528' date='Jun 9 2011, 12:17 PM']+ 10,000!!! Avoid the ubiquitous smiley face like the plague. Frown rules IMHO. [/quote] + another 10,000 Both for amp and your own face (if you do jazz) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grich154 Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 thanks guys, appreciate the amount of quick replies, yeah i turned the low and high mids up on the amp both times, only helps slightly i find, and tone goes all hazey like everyone has said it will, guess i will need to sort a different rig out for myself . i have a backline GK which is 140W, not sure if that will make any difference to it, worth a try i guess... someone suggested a harmonix pedal for boosting sound? any thoughts on that.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) [quote name='grich154' post='1262557' date='Jun 9 2011, 12:35 PM']i turned the low and high mids up on the amp both times, only helps slightly i find,[/quote] That's strange. I'm not familiar with your amp, but maybe it's to do with where the mid-frequencies are centred? Also, if your bass itself has a kind of "scooped" sound, there may not be many mid frequencies for the amp to boost! It could also be down to a lack of volume I suppose... Edited June 9, 2011 by Conan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 (edited) Your EQ and your gear isn't helping the new bass to shine. You've moved up a league with this bass and now you need an amp of the same quality. Bass and low mids can cut through if you're using 10's. The usual advice from me is a 500 watt amp and a couple of 112's or 210's. You need more volume but you also need headroom for your tone. Edited June 9, 2011 by chris_b Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmachine2112 Posted June 10, 2011 Share Posted June 10, 2011 Watts I,m afraid, 500 watt would be about right. Plenty headroom for tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
risingson Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Unless the rest of your band are being unreasonably loud then I would completely agree with the advice below. Mids are your friend, depending on the bass and room you're playing in but I find somewhere in the 300-500hz range helps (I experiment from room to room) in cutting through in a band situation. Also, I don't know of any onboard active EQ that boosts any one frequency independently, and it takes a bit of fiddling to find out what works best with your preamp. It might be that you just leave it flat and let your amp do the work, in which case see below again [quote]Your EQ and your gear isn't helping the new bass to shine. You've moved up a league with this bass and now you need an amp of the same quality.[/quote] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Is it a Modulus thing? I saw my mate's band a while back, the bassist had a Modulus Quantum 5 and a Status S2 5-string and alternated between the two. The Status was thundering, but the Modulus was all click and no balls. Not what I was expecting at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean-Luc Pickguard Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 are other instruments stomping on your frequencies? There are two guitarists in my band - I remember a rehearsal when the guitarist put changed from Martin electroacoustic and telecaster to Gibson 335 & les Paul and I continued with my jazz bass. The overall sound of the band turned into a mess of low end mush even though we didn't sound any louder - everyone was contributing to the low and low-mids so there was no definition in that part of the audio spectrum. It sounded so bad it was pointless carrying on with the song until they worked out how to eq their amps so that everyone had space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjones Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 [quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='1264781' date='Jun 11 2011, 11:48 AM']are other instruments stomping on your frequencies? There are two guitarists in my band - I remember a rehearsal when the guitarist put changed from Martin electroacoustic and telecaster to Gibson 335 & les Paul and I continued with my jazz bass. The overall sound of the band turned into a mess of low end mush even though we didn't sound any louder - everyone was contributing to the low and low-mids so there was no definition in that part of the audio spectrum. It sounded so bad it was pointless carrying on with the song until they worked out how to eq their amps so that everyone had space[/quote] +1 I agree with the above. Individuals should pick a frequency range and stick to it and then everyone's happy. Otherwise you get to the stage where everybody tries to be louder than everybody else because they can't hear themselves in the general mush onstage. Also it's worthwhile getting a long lead and standing a decent distance from your amp and experimenting with different sounds while the band are playing. As someone earlier said your favorite EQ settings may sound fantastic when your bass is played on it's own but disappear in the band mix, while an EQ setting that doesn't sound so great when you're playing without the band, fits in nicely with the mix once the band start playing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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