Do you have a signature sound?

[Mickeyboro]

Evaluating my sonic arsenal, I have hereby decided my signature sound for my current blues band is created by combining:

 

Sandberg VM4

Gallien Krueger MB200

Barefaced Two10

 

Theres a warmth and authority that really appeals to me. 

 

Do you have a sound that makes you smile with contentment?

 

 

Edited yesterday at 17:41 by Mickeyboro

[Geek99]

Passive-mode  sire v7 with my zoom b2’s ampeg patch and quite loud. The active patch doesn’t sound as good - lady who runs the OM pulled a face at active mode, confirming what I myself thought 

[Lozz196]

Whatever bass or amp I use I sound like “me”, with me being scooped mids and boosted highs. I set up like this as in general I play rock/punk in bands with humbucking guitars so lower the mids to not congest that area, and add highs to sharpen/tighten the sound and not be flubby on the lows.

[uk_lefty]

I change gear so often that I don't think there's a particular sound apart from whatever it is I play close to the bridge, usually finger style, and there's probably some licks I'm tiring out each time I play. 

[Supernaut]

Yes. Yes, I do. 
 

Edited yesterday at 19:27 by Supernaut

[MacDaddy]

It's all in the fingers 😉

[Steve Browning]

Precision. Flats. Tone control only just on. Valve preamp, gain at 1 o'clock.  Slightly more bass than middle and slightly more mid than treble. Pair of 15s.

 

To my ears, a nice big, fat sound with a good deal of heft but good definition. 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

My signature sound is to play everything slightly out of tune and out of time.

[Franticsmurf]

Bridge pick-up on my Sterling 34HH through a Nux Sculpture compressor, Ampeg SCRDI, Sine HPF (40hz) and into the FX return of a Peavey Minimax 600 and thence into a pair of TE 1x10". I've been using the same combination for several dep gigs now as I'm very happy with the sound - punchy with a little bite and enough room to colour the tone with variations in right hand finger (and pick) techniques. I use the same signal path but DI directly from the SCRDI for my main band although I sometimes need a wider range of sounds and will vary the pick up combination and occasionally the Sterling's tone controls. Both set ups have received compliments for the sound from band members and audience members.   

[Rosie C]

Fretless jazz with flatwounds. Fingerstyle. 100% neck pickup, 0% bridge. Tone knob set right round to the most mellow. GEB7 pedal with the lowest band set very low and the rest in the middle position. A clean amp with the EQ set level across the bands. 
 

Edited 12 hours ago by Rosie C

[Ed_S]

4 hours ago, Mickeyboro said:

Gallien Krueger MB200

 

Good call. I fondly remember a session when I ran my MB200 with a totally ordinary Precision and a beaten rehearsal room 4x10; with everything at 12 noon on the amp and both knobs on the bass up to 10 it was one of those "damn.. that's the sound in my head" moments. Just a great blues/rock tone with a bit of drive but not overdriven, plenty of mids and presence but not harsh. Had a truly enjoyable few hours playing middle-of-the-road rock at reasonable volumes, but sadly the project went nowhere and with the gain/volume on that amp working as it does, I couldn't get the same sound at the somewhat higher volume I need for the bands I actually play in.

 

So for me, it's the SansAmp BDDI v2. The original was good into the front of an amp (and saved the day direct into the PA a couple of times), but since the v2 came along with its mid controls I can just set my sound up on the pedal and throw it straight at the PA. It might be reaching to call it a signature sound, though. Techs seem to like what I send them, but to quote the guy a week or so ago - "Yup.. that sounds like a bass.. which is good!"

[BassAdder60]

I have two sounds 

 

Pick playing and no band and I like the tone and immediate attack of the notes, sadly when with the band I feel the thump and full depth is lacking and in some rock songs is so noticeable.

 

Finger style I have my full sound which fills the band / room with bass you can feel and my challenge is maintaining clarity in the notes so I’m a high mids boosted kind of sound 1.5khz approx and 500hz approx slightly boosted too 

 

Pick playing of course I’m reducing the mids and high mids and trying to recover the full depth tone which is never really present.

 

Either way I’m a typical PBass rock tone but cleaner sounding in the main as I just dislike overdriven bass tones 

[Mrbigstuff]

I try to get a balanced tone where the instrument cuts though or I get close to what was recorded. But I always favour passive basses mad strong mids.

[Jamieboy]

I chase a tone which is clean, bright, active, "hi-fi", plenty of upper mids.

 

One man's meat is another man's poison and all that. How boring would it be if we all had the same tonal preferences!

[Skybone]

12 hours ago, Jean-Luc Pickguard said:

My signature sound is to play everything slightly out of tune and out of time.

All the right notes, but not necessarily in the right order

[Maude]

I don't know if I have a signature sound as such, but I do have an unhealthy amount of basses which I somehow manage to make all sound the same. Not necessarily identical but it always sounds like me, so I suppose that is my signature sound. 

[chris_b]

Me having a "sound" wasn't something I'd thought about before the internet came along and put everything under a microscope.

 

I guess I must have a "sound" because I've been told I make all my basses sound similar. Mike Lull and Sadowsky basses through Aguilar amps and 2 x 112 Barefaced cabs gets the the sound I'm happiest with, so I guess that's it. Duck Dunn, John McVie, Nathan East and Reggie McBride are the players who inspire me. I'd be very happy if I got close to sounding like those guys.

 

 

[tauzero]

Mrs Zero says I always sound like me. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

[NickA]

Fretless Wal custom biased to the bridge pickup into a small, clean sounding and mid rich pjb flightcase with flat eq.

 

Sounds like a stoned Percy Jones doing a jaco impression.

 

A have a fretted warwick that sounds completely different and keep intending to gig it .... but then just take the fretless instead.

 

More than one bassist has stopped playing a Wal as the sound is distinctive and detracts from their own sound and the music... not me, I love it.

[dudewheresmybass]

P bass

Rotosound swing bass 50-110

tone fully open

slight drive with my Marshall DBS amps eq set as a british frown rather than california smile through 1 or 2 410s

[bassbiscuits]

My main band is a blues/soul trio which I assumed would be P bass with flatwounds all the way.

 

Not so. 

I use a Yamaha BB604 active bass with roundwounds. It’s a very loud bass which pushes my amp to the edge of distortion when you really dig in, or ease off for a really textured, chiming sort of warm rasp which really fills out the space in the trio format when needed. 
 

Play softly near the neck with your fingers and it’s smooth, dig in with a pick by the bridge and it’s a full-throated roar. 
 

It’s a wicked sound. If I have any sort of signature tone, it is accidentally that one.  
 

[warwickhunt]

4 hours ago, tauzero said:

Mrs Zero says I always sound like me. I'm not sure if that's a good or a bad thing.

 

Ditto with Mrs WH.  She'll often hear another bassist and say something akin to 'He sounds/plays like you'... and I rarely get it straight away but she's often right.  She's attended a few Bass Bashes and she can hear me and knows when it is me playing (and NOT because I play the same bass line every time) amid a cachophony of bass!    

[Terry M.]

On 26/12/2025 at 18:38, Mickeyboro said:

 

Do you have a sound that makes you smile with contentment?

 

 

Signature sound I would have to say no as none of my 4 basses sound the same. With regards to this specific question it has to be my Broadneck Warwick Thumb 5 no matter which strings or amp it goes through. I had to "learn" it's ergonomic profile however but the sound is totally worth it to my ears.

[iainbass]

Never really thght about it..My primary objective tho is to sit in my own sonic space whatever Im playing and that is basicly, dry mid forward tone thanks to a light touch, dead Chromes, thru Ampeg with the bass rolled off. Always sounds tight out in the room/vid playback.

[la bam]

No matter what bass I play, or what head, speaker or combo, my signature sound is exactly the same.... flat, boring and uninspiring.... 

 

Guitarists love it

 

Edited 1 hour ago by la bam