bonzodog Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I play my P bass with volume and tone up full and never touch them. I then play around with my amps Eq to a alter the tone I want. Whilst noodling around yesterday I played about with the basses own tone pot and was surprised in the amount of different sounds I got from only a slight movement especially switching between pick and fingers. As I play roughly 50/50 between fingers and pick I can now use my tone control to balance it out more. Just feel a bit daft not playing about with it before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefbaker Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Yeah, this. It took me years to realize that tone was actually worth playing with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigjohn Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I used to play with it rolled up, started, as you say, playing with it, now I roll the tone completely off . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Totally - I've started using my tone control loads for different sounds. Fingerstyle gets a nice variation when you roll the tone down for a smooth old school sound, and I've always rolled a bit of tone off when going at it with a pick to prevent it getting too harsh. That's before you get into playing with fingers near the bridge, over the pickup or at the bottom of the neck for even more variation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzodog Posted February 9, 2016 Author Share Posted February 9, 2016 It does make you wonder when you see so many comments about people not happy with the sound of a bass or an amp or cab, if they have explored all possibilities with the bass' volume and tone controls before reaching that conclusion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I've always used the tone control on any passive bass I've owned. After years of using all manner of active basses I went back to using passive because you can't get that sound any other way. I had a lot more options tone-wise with my active basses but I struggled to find one I really liked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roger2611 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I roll off the tone on a couple of songs we do where I want a smoother sound, I don't tend to do much with the volume control, the loud and quiet bits are in the fingers. A Les Paul Junior will go from huge bitey monster to purring kitten with a bit of volume adjustment, you don't really get the same effect with a Precision unless I suppose you were using large amounts of drive Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvin Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Leave the knobs alone, it'll only end in embarrassment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leftybassman392 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Tone controls on Lefty Fenders function as on/off switches. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JapanAxe Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 A good range on the (passive) tone control is one of the marks of a good bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highfox Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Yes, I use the tone a lot on the P.. more thump or more clang, something in-between, fingers, thumb and pick, Not sure anyone else notices tho lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 [quote name='bonzodog' timestamp='1455033564' post='2975236'] I play my P bass with volume and tone up full and never touch them. [/quote] I've never used the tone controls on any bass or guitar I've ever owned including the active basses, cant see any reason why I ever would either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeystrange Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 [quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1455044077' post='2975390'] I've never used the tone controls on any bass or guitar I've ever owned including the active basses, cant see any reason why I ever would either. [/quote] I take the tone control out of all my basses. Most of them have the volume pot replaced with an on/off switch too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odysseus Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 Always had tone halfway since the early days.... I might need to play around a bit more after reading these posts.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 My amp EQ is set-and-forget (once I've allowed for a bit of room EQ-ing) on the gig, everything happens on the bass, and I need everything from fingerstyle C&W thump to Marcus Miller slap to Duff clang... I do have East active circuits on every bass, though...but the principle's there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
machinehead Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 I find that the tone control on a passive bass makes a huge difference to your tone and the overall feel of the notes. That combined with using different plucking styles and positions is what makes all the difference for me. Frank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TrevorR Posted February 9, 2016 Share Posted February 9, 2016 (edited) Ok so my Wals have a wee bit more scope for tonal tweakery than your average passive wiring loom but for me there's a lot of fun to be had sculpting the sound with the tone controls and finding one that really works for the song and the mood. I have loads of different fave settings for different sounds on mine. And that's before you play around with right hand placement, the level of attack and where along the string you pluck, how you pluck the strings - tips of the fingers,sides of the fingers, fleshy part of the thumb... All make a huge difference. I did a wedding gig where a teenage kid came up in one of the breaks to ask what pedals I was using to get all the different tones I was using (songs from Britpop to folk to white reggae to rock n roll to funk...) . All I had at my feet was a Boss TU2 Tuner and a Lehle switching pedal to swap between my two basses. Edited February 9, 2016 by TrevorR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul_5 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I went for years without ever touching the tone control on my passive Jazzes, but just recently I've been exploring different sounds from the bass - Tone rolled all the way off, and just the neck pickup for reggae/dub numbers, and then tone at about 60% and just the neck pickup for a P bass sound-a-like. I changed the value of the capacitor when I rewired it a while ago and forgot what I replaced it with - the cut-off frequency is a little bit higher than the 'stock' sound though, so even when it's at minimum I still get a little bit of extra definition. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
40hz Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Never ever used the tone control, anything which dulls the sound is not for me! On the 3 Jazzes I've owned it's acted more like an 'on/off switch' anyway, with next to no tonal variation inbetween. Were they all faulty? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 Everything on full, everything hit hard, every single time. I`m a bit of a cave-man when it comes to all this, but that`s what my band needs. At home I play my Jazz mainly, and use the tone/volume controls to get a wide array of sounds but live, Precision set to kill is the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bassman7755 Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 (edited) [quote name='odysseus' timestamp='1455044505' post='2975396'] Always had tone halfway since the early days.... I might need to play around a bit more after reading these posts.... [/quote] I'm presuming your aware that fully on is the flat/neutral position on a passive tone control, any other setting is just attenuating highs. Edited February 10, 2016 by bassman7755 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimR Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I have three 'tone' knobs on my active bass that cut or boost centred on different frequencies. I have tried fiddling with them. In the end they just stay centred. I do have the balance between the P and the J pickup slightly towards the P though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul h Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I have three tone settings. Palm muting and thumb, fingerstyle, and pick. I am too OCD not to have everything up full Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefbaker Posted February 10, 2016 Share Posted February 10, 2016 I can admit to something worse. On the first Fender Jazz I owned I had all the pots turned up and couldn't understand why it didn't sound like your typical bridge pickup jazz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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