Do you have a signature sound?

[dmccombe7]

Now that i'm playing a bit less hard with my right hand plucking its changed "my tone" from a hard edgy Ric type rock sound to a more mid focused mellower punch with more depth. Think what i'm saying is that simple little changes in style do affect how i sound out front. 

Please note i'm on the JD Honey tonight as tomorrows gig in Dundee was cancelled as their boiler / heating system has failed and can't get parts till Monday. 

Dave

[ezbass]

3 minutes ago, dmccombe7 said:

Please note i'm on the JD Honey tonight as tomorrows gig in Dundee was cancelled as their boiler / heating system has failed and can't get parts till Monday. 

Probably just as well as the journey might have been, let’s say interesting.

[dmccombe7]

19 minutes ago, ezbass said:

Probably just as well as the journey might have been, let’s say interesting.

Is it bad up your way ?

I'm not too bad as have 4x4 Subaru but its never an easy drive in snowy conditions no matter what you drive.

I see on news Amber warning out now and not drive unless you need to.

 

Dave

[Downunderwonder]

On 29/12/2025 at 01:33, TimR said:

I played at our local jam on Boxing Night. As the 'only bass player in the village' I get the dubious honor of playing for 4 hours without a 'break'.

 

Anyway - the pub now has a DJ with a 16 Track PA, subs and tops. So I left my amp and cab at home and dug out my StudioSpares DI (last used before Y2K).

 

5 minutes fiddling with the PA (bass, parametric mid, and treble) and bingo. I sounded just like me. I still don't know how to describe what that sound is though. 

 

 

 

 

That's the sound of victory.

[WalMan]

Currently loving the FrankenJazz -> Darkglass Anagram -> Darkglass Microtubes -> Barefaced BB2

 

Nice bright, slightly gritty sounds with thump   

[Stub Mandrel]

I try to get a balanced, full tone riding on the edge of overdrive so I can did in for a bit of grit.

 

Ideally new Roto 66s but for longevity Fender nickelscthat aren't as bright.

[Russ]

It started off as me trying to find a sound something between Tony Levin (circa Thrak-era King Crimson) and Justin Chancellor, which gradually morphed into its own thing to accommodate my tastes and playing technique. 

 

I used to be a fairly heavy-handed player, but I'm playing with a far lighter touch these days but I still want things to sound big, so I'm using two compressors in series, Levin-style, to control the dynamics, then, in terms of EQ, notching out that boxy-sounding 800Hz frequency range  and gently boosting low and high mids. I also mostly play a 6-string these days, so I've had to adjust the EQ and compression to accommodate the high C so it doesn't sound brittle compared to the others. I also have an alternate version of this sound for fretless where I don't dial out the 800Hz range, since that's where a lot of the "mwah" lives in the frequency spectrum. 

 

I'm currently using a Headrush Flex Prime for effects - not a popular choice for bass (it doesn't have many bass-specific effects, amps or IRs), but it's small, powerful, easy to use and does everything I need it to do. It also came with the ReValver amp modelling software, which I used to model my previous Zoom B3n-based tone, directly from the pedal, so I had a good starting point to go from there. 

[ezbass]

1 hour ago, dmccombe7 said:

Is it bad up your way ?

I'm not too bad as have 4x4 Subaru but its never an easy drive in snowy conditions no matter what you drive.

I see on news Amber warning out now and not drive unless you need to.

 

Dave

Not terrible, but a couple of centimetres at least, coupled with high winds, with more to come. It’s not necessarily the conditions, rather other road users, with a lack of respect for the conditions. Stay home, keep warm, have another JD.

[dmccombe7]

12 hours ago, ezbass said:

Not terrible, but a couple of centimetres at least, coupled with high winds, with more to come. It’s not necessarily the conditions, rather other road users, with a lack of respect for the conditions. Stay home, keep warm, have another JD.

Gig cancelled as their boiler has failed and can't get parts till next week. 2 yrs in a row our gig has been cancelled in Dundee. Last year health issue and now this. Not meant to be. 

Edited January 3 by dmccombe7

[dmccombe7]

9 hours ago, Russ said:

It started off as me trying to find a sound something between Tony Levin (circa Thrak-era King Crimson) and Justin Chancellor, which gradually morphed into its own thing to accommodate my tastes and playing technique. 

 

I used to be a fairly heavy-handed player, but I'm playing with a far lighter touch these days but I still want things to sound big, so I'm using two compressors in series, Levin-style, to control the dynamics, then, in terms of EQ, notching out that boxy-sounding 800Hz frequency range  and gently boosting low and high mids. I also mostly play a 6-string these days, so I've had to adjust the EQ and compression to accommodate the high C so it doesn't sound brittle compared to the others. I also have an alternate version of this sound for fretless where I don't dial out the 800Hz range, since that's where a lot of the "mwah" lives in the frequency spectrum. 

 

I'm currently using a Headrush Flex Prime for effects - not a popular choice for bass (it doesn't have many bass-specific effects, amps or IRs), but it's small, powerful, easy to use and does everything I need it to do. It also came with the ReValver amp modelling software, which I used to model my previous Zoom B3n-based tone, directly from the pedal, so I had a good starting point to go from there. 

That's a good point about high c string on fretless and eq'ing to account for it. If I plug in my 6er fretless with my normal settings the high c string is exactly as you described and I need to tweak my EQ 

Dave 

[jazzyvee]

On 29/12/2025 at 09:14, jazzyvee said:

I have played covers for most of my bass playing life, so mainly tried to capture the bass sound on those records. When I have gigged in originals bands I have found tones to suit their music.  I don’t have a sound that i think is distinctive such that i could recognise it in a blindfold hearing test, however i think I would recognise myself more by note choices and articulation more than tone. Others may hear if i have a signature sound more than I would. 

Well strange how things work. Yesterday evening a band i used to play in uploaded a video of facebook described as their current band. So i decided to watch it to hear what they now sound like. As the video started and the musicians were hidden by generous stage fog, i thought .... hmm that sounds just like my alembic bass and how I played that song and wondered who the new bass player was as it sounded like me. When the cloud cleared and I could see all the members I realised it was me with my alembic. So maybe I do have a recognisable sound to some extent.

So made me wonder why it wasn't a video of the current band.

[dmccombe7]

2 minutes ago, jazzyvee said:

Well strange how things work. Yesterday evening a band i used to play in uploaded a video of facebook described as their current band. So i decided to watch it to hear what they now sound like. As the video started and the musicians were hidden by generous stage fog, i thought .... hmm that sounds just like my alembic bass and how I played that song and wondered who the new bass player was as it sounded like me. When the cloud cleared and I could see all the members I realised it was me with my alembic. So maybe I do have a recognisable sound to some extent.

So made me wonder why it wasn't a video of the current band.

Now that must have made you laugh a bit. 😂

Dave

[Stub Mandrel]

23 minutes ago, jazzyvee said:

Well strange how things work. Yesterday evening a band i used to play in uploaded a video of facebook described as their current band. So i decided to watch it to hear what they now sound like. As the video started and the musicians were hidden by generous stage fog, i thought .... hmm that sounds just like my alembic bass and how I played that song and wondered who the new bass player was as it sounded like me. When the cloud cleared and I could see all the members I realised it was me with my alembic. So maybe I do have a recognisable sound to some extent.

So made me wonder why it wasn't a video of the current band.

 

Tomorrow you get the message saying "where are you?"

[Mickeyboro]

1 hour ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Tomorrow you get the message saying "where are you?"

I would be royally fogged off!😤

[dmccombe7]

Would've been funnier if you had criticised the bassist before you realised it was you @jazzyvee. 😂

Dave

[WAYNESWORLD]

I’m currently running the most expensive gear I’ve ever owned and guess what…yeh it sounds the same as I’ve always sounded ,occasionally hitting the right notes and sometimes  in the right order unfortunately not always in the required song. I have been educated playing lots of set ups ,had fun and drawn my own conclusions along the way.Only took me the thick end of 50 yrs to realise that a bass makes Bassie type noises. 

 

[Kiwi]

I have a sound that I definitely prefer, which is a combination of 80's burp but with extra warmth.  It's probably closest to the tone that gospel players use.  I feel that having a signature sound is probably something for others to decide, assuming my playing ever becomes noteworthy enough.

[SimonK]

7 hours ago, WAYNESWORLD said:

I’m currently running the most expensive gear I’ve ever owned and guess what…yeh it sounds the same as I’ve always sounded ,occasionally hitting the right notes and sometimes  in the right order unfortunately not always in the required song. I have been educated playing lots of set ups ,had fun and drawn my own conclusions along the way.Only took me the thick end of 50 yrs to realise that a bass makes Bassie type noises. 

 

 

Definitely this for me as well... I think new/expensive gear is also about the satisfaction of owning it, which I do think gives a better playing experience even if it makes little difference to the sound per se. Thus said I do find it easier to dial in a sound I am happy with using Trace Elliot or Genzler/Genz Benz amps, but nevertheless I still have numerous occasions where I am not happy with my sound despite having the same kit, being in the same room etc.

[jazzyvee]

20 hours ago, Mickeyboro said:

I would be royally fogged off!😤

It vindicates me when I think of the circumstances of the split.

[jazzyvee]

On 03/01/2026 at 14:03, dmccombe7 said:

Would've been funnier if you had criticised the bassist before you realised it was you @jazzyvee. 😂

Dave

😂👍🏾

[DTB]

My sound , whilst not really MY signature sound but the sound I love to play with, I stole from Christian McBride. He often runs a Marshall 100watt guitar amp along side his bass rig (something the guitarist in my last band asked me to do and I thought he was nuts, little did I know back then!!!). It adds just a bit of grit to the tone and gives it more of that bridge pickup bite, but with a lot of neck pickup added so you have more bass without having to turn the bass up on the amp or on your active bass. 
I get it by running a valve preamp into my bass power amp and have recently started using a cab at home again rather than going into my mixer and monitors, sounds so much better using a real cab. 
Good example is live version of It’s On by George Duke available on facetube. 
Edit; Also see Reggie McBride on When Love Comes To Town, kind of similar tone on the bridge bit. 

I stole my guitar tone too but thats another story. 

Edited 14 hours ago by DTB
Stupidity

[Dankology]

Do I have a signature sound?

 

I do believe I do. It is the sound of a tepid pie being being flung against a sheet of plexiglass. Whether it's a passive P strung with flats, or the active Jazz with rounds, Bass VI, Aerodyne, Rick, Hofner violin or a semi-hollow bass, it is always the same soul crushing ill-defined thrum. Doesn't matter if it's through the big Trace rig, small TC combo, a borrowed amp, direct to the desk or through a myriad of effects it is always this way: it truly must be, as they say, all in the fingers. Apart from when I play with a pick - when it is, inexplicably, much the same.

 

I hope this does not appear boastful to those still searching for their signature sound as it has taken many years of changes big and small to arrive at this lofty plateau.

 

Weirdly, in the mix it always sounds ok.

 

I am utterly convinced I hear with different ears when I'm playing versus when I'm listening back.

[dmccombe7]

9 hours ago, Dankology said:

 

 

I am utterly convinced I hear with different ears when I'm playing versus when I'm listening back.

Have to agree on this. I seem to experience the same.

I'm still trying to figure out what a tepid pie against a sheet of plexiglass sounds like but i'll work on it 😂

Dave

[Dood]

 

This! I am obsessed with this sound! It’s sounds a great deal like my 76 P bass but more of everything. I’ve never tried Optima Gold strings before, but hearing comparisons against standard Nickels, it’s exciting stuff.. to my ear anyway. I asked Don what EMG he has on board and he let me know it’s a P-X.. so, guess what I want now!! Literally the sound I’ve had in my head for years! 

[Wolverinebass]

29 minutes ago, Dood said:

I’ve never tried Optima Gold strings before, but hearing comparisons against standard Nickels, it’s exciting stuff.. to my ear anyway. 

Optima strings are brilliant. I got into them about 20 years ago, for the obvious reason. Playing on my Status Buzzard. They're not cheap of course, but I'd recommend them thoroughly and they last very well.