Finding your sound

[Stub Mandrel]

We all have different sounds in our heads.

 

How do you go about getting the sound you want? At home, in different venues, maybe when faced with an unfamiliar amp.

 

Looking for your thoughts on how to go about achieving different sounds, especiallyfor amp only setups.

[Lozz196]

I know how I want to sound for each of my bands, although all slightly different invariably it`s a permutation of scooping mids and adding highs so nothing drastic. What I have found is that when I get an onstage sound I like with an unfamiliar amp I then back off the bass/lows a notch on the dial, it might not make the onstage sound as pleasing but I find it then fits in the mix better.

[Mykesbass]

Can't answer this, and can give a reason why I can't. 

 

We record, on the guitarist's phone, every rehearsal. The recordings are very useful for learning/improving our original material. The bass tone sounds to me like my bass tone.  Last rehearsal we were in a smaller room, so I used the studio Laney with its 15" cab. Sounded pretty close to my sound in the room. On the recording it was just this horrible, indistinct mush.

 

There seems to be so many variables to bass tone I think we need to accept just a close approximation of this holy grail!

[BigRedX]

This is why I have completely given up on the traditional bass rig. Fine if you can guarantee to always be using your rig, but at multi-band gigs with backline sharing this is hardly ever possible. Using multi-effects I had got to the point where my rig was simply there to make my sound loud enough for me and the audience to hear, and for any gig where the bass was going through the PA what most of the audience heard was very much down to the sound engineer. Even if I bypassed the pre-amp of whatever bass rig was at the venue my sound was still being shaped by the cabs, so I've stopped using other peoples bass rigs and now go straight into the PA from my effects - currently a Line6 Helix Floor. That way I have eliminated as many uncontrollable variables for my sound as possible. For the very few gigs where there is no PA support for the bass I have an FRFR cab, that has the dual advantage of not only being far more neutral sounding that an typical bass rig, but will also fit in places on stage where there is no room for an amp and cabs.

 

On stage so long as I can hear that I am in time and in tune with the rest of the band I am happy. I've stopped obsessing about getting a perfect sound on stage, because for the majority of gigs I do, it's simply not going to happen. Maybe if my band starts playing 1000+ venues on a regular basis I can be a bit more diva-ish! FoH I'll have a quick listen to check that my sound is in the ballp[ark of what I'm expecting and it usually is, mainly due to the sorts of gigs we play the sound engineers know what sort of bass sound I'm aiming for. And if they don't I'll play them some of my "guitar" patches and soon sorts them out!

 

TLDR: my sound comes from the Helix. On stage I just need to be able to hear myself and the rest of the band. FoH I trust the PA to do the right job.

[stewblack]

One of the drummers with whom I often work, is not just a great musician but also has a great ear.

He and I share a liking for similar sounds.

So when I hit 'that' sound, the one I really love, and I glance over and he's clearly hearing it too, I take notice.

These moments always seem to happen when I use a 1x15 cab and a big old style head.

The last time this happened I had bypassed the complexities of the preamp and used a simple preamp pedal instead.

The Joyo series is my favourite for this. American Sound, Californian Sound, Oxford Sound - they're all great.

I was pondering why this should be. The conclusion was that the bottom end is less big and booming - these are after all g****r pedals - and the mids seem tighter, more pronounced.

All of which is to say the sound sits better in the mix. 

None of the above applies in my reggae band mind.

[chris_b]

2 minutes ago, stewblack said:

One of the drummers with whom I often work, is not just a great musician but also has a great ear. . . . He and I share a liking for similar sounds.  . . . So when I hit 'that' sound, the one I really love, and I glance over and he's clearly hearing it too, I take notice.

 

 

Same here. I usually ask the drummer if the bass is OK for him. Most of the guys I play with have good ears and it's always good to get confirmation from someone you know you can trust.

 

2 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

How do you go about getting the sound you want? At home, in different venues, maybe when faced with an unfamiliar amp.

 

I rarely gig with a different amp. If I do it's at a festival and whatever I do probably won't affect the sound out front. If the amp has an active EQ, always start with the controls at 12 o'clock. 

 

I don't care what I sound like at home. I'm working on songs so the sound is the least important thing going on.

[Dan Dare]

"My sound" is what's appropriate for the song/genre. I play in a function band and we cover a few styles. So the sound (and instrument) I use will vary over the course of a typical gig.

[Stub Mandrel]

20 minutes ago, Dan Dare said:

"My sound" is what's appropriate for the song/genre. I play in a function band and we cover a few styles. So the sound (and instrument) I use will vary over the course of a typical gig.

 

I do this by changing pickup settings, finger position etc. and sometimes effects.

 

Do you do this and 'set and forget your amp settings', or change them on the fly?

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

I get whatever tonal changes I want with technique and occasionally the tone control on the bass. I seldom touch the amp on the fly. I do adjust the amp at sound check because close to half the result is dictated by the room. I always go out onto the dance floor to hear what it sounds like there, and if there's an FOH I check it there as well. I never trust the sound man to get it right, unless said sound man is me. 

[Stub Mandrel]

I didn't share my approach, but I will now.

 

I accept that my different basses will sound different - I tend NOT to compensate for this. My starting point is to set my amp (which has three-band e.q.) with Mid at 12 o'clock, treble and bass at about half-past 12, these small adjustments from straight up are barely audible. With volume low, I adjust gain so normal playing gives a pretty clean sound, but I can get an overdriven sound with modest digging in (easy to do with my Terror 500). I have a fair idea where it needs to be for my regular instruments.

 

I then see how it sounds in the room at gig volume, with any PA support in place. I find room effects are usually either the room eats bottom end (lots of sound traps or soft surfaces) or exaggerates it (hard or resonant floors, hard walls) and adjust the bass control as necessary, some venues require a fairly hefty adjustment. If the PA issound is by someone who believes bass is all under 200Hz I may boost treble or mids to get a bit more presence.

 

If I use effects, then I play with levels (only) to keep things balanced when they are switched in.

 

Sometimes I will vary a bit. Last two gigs, the bass drum, has lacked a rounded bottom end, so I upped my bass control a bit to 'fill the gap'. I know someone who has made an art of doing this with a genuine early 60s P with ancient flats, and by playing locked to the kick he gets a really solid rhythm sound.