tone...

gigi · Posted: Sun Jan 19, 2003 10:10 am Post subject: tone...

Help! I'm constantly battling with my amp to get a desirable tone. I can't seem to find the right combination to get rid of the 'muddy' sound. I want it punchy and low but not tinny. I'm using a Fender p-bass with live jazz and precision pick-ups and a Hartke 2000 bass amp with a Hartke 410 cabinet....any suggestions??

SteveJazz · Posted: Wed Jan 29, 2003 1:39 pm Post subject: tone...

gigi: That bass and rig should be capable of a defined sound. What kind of strings, rounds or flats? Are they old? Do you use a pick or fingers? If you use fingers, do you pick hard? (I hope so.) One reason I hear many players with murky tone is they tend to turn the amp up high, and keep the bass knobs at a low level. They also often pick too lightly with their fingers. Try turning the bass up all the way, then adjust the volume.

SJ

supermau · Posted: Thu Jan 30, 2003 9:47 pm Post subject: tone...

Also, keep your gain up on the amp. I like it around 1 or 2 o'clock. But your's may differ. I find that high gain with some bass boost gives my huge tone with a ton of sustain. I don't know exactly what controls your amp has so it's tough to say how to set it all. Boost your mids a bit too.

Experiment with your pickup selection too. I find that on some of my basses I'm only using on PU almost all the time.

But as Steve said, it sounds like you've got the tools you need. Just tweak it.

gigi · Posted: Tue Feb 04, 2003 1:26 pm Post subject: tone...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by SteveJazz:
[B]gigi: What kind of strings, rounds or flats?
rounds....DR's
Are they old?
just changed them
Do you use a pick or fingers?
fingers

If you use fingers, do you pick hard?
??? I don't know...I don't have anything to compare to.

Thanks for the tips.

I'll tweek her and see what I come up with...

gigi

SteveJazz · Posted: Sun Feb 09, 2003 9:35 am Post subject:

gigi, try this: turn your bass pickups all the way, turn your tone knob up halfway. Set your amp at your desired volume, with all tone controls flat (up halfway). Now, turn your amp down about 20 per cent. Now, to get your usual volume, you will have to pick harder. Try picking easy, listen to the tone, and then pick progressively harder. As the volume increases, you should hear more definition in your tone.

Supermau hit on a good suggestion above when he mentioned mids. Defined sound is built by strong mid range. Work with those controls, we are talking 300-800 hertz if you have marked controls. Unless I am slapping, I like to roll off the highs, say above 2k. That gets rid of the whizzing, clicking, hum and squanks. I boost the lows (not too much), mid lows, and mids, then roll off the highs. Bingo----punch, warmth and definition appear.

SJ Cool