Bass Players - Explain the Low B to Me

[maggot]

This is a question for those of you who tune low or play a 5-string.

I'm just wondering how to deal with a low B sonically. Most amps have a pretty strong roll off above 30hz. Are you basically looking for harmonics? If you play the B on 10" speakers can you hear it? How do you prevent it from being either weak or a bunch of mud?

[D.o.S.]

It's not really about the fundamental at that point it's about the overtones.

[coldbrightsunlight]

5 strings aren't for me but on occasion I'll tune down to C or drop B or something. My 4x10 kiiiinda gets the fundamental but like D.o.S. said you mostly hear the overtones and the fundamental is half implied, half audible. I like that. can probably do a better job with some bigger speakers and a more powerful amp.

[JonnyAngle]

I am a bass player and the standard answers always boil down to midrange.

Here's how I "set my tone."

1. I turn the Bass knob all the way down.I turn the Mid knob to noon, and the treble to 9:00.
2. I adjust my volume to where I am audible in the mix.
3. I turn the treble knob up if I want a little more clarity. Turn the treble down if you want to sound dubby-er
4. I turn up the bass knob slowly until it sounds good (usually about 10:00 or so)

Every bass player that I've run into that is complaining about the B being too low or their amp not being loud enough has had success with this method. YMMV and whatevs

Other notes:
The diameter of your speakers will not make a difference. i.e. a 115 cab does not "go lower" than a 410 cab
What bass are you playing? You should visit bassstringsonline.com if you're having issues with the B string being too "flabby." Jason is a huge help.

[maggot]

Right now, I'm playing a P-Bass into a guitar cab quietly. I'm just wondering where to go next.

[dinoadventures]

I am a bass player and the standard answers always boil down to midrange.

Here's how I "set my tone."

1. I turn the Bass knob all the way down.I turn the Mid knob to noon, and the treble to 9:00.
2. I adjust my volume to where I am audible in the mix.
3. I turn the treble knob up if I want a little more clarity. Turn the treble down if you want to sound dubby-er
4. I turn up the bass knob slowly until it sounds good (usually about 10:00 or so)

Every bass player that I've run into that is complaining about the B being too low or their amp not being loud enough has had success with this method. YMMV and whatevs

Other notes:
The diameter of your speakers will not make a difference. i.e. a 115 cab does not "go lower" than a 410 cab
What bass are you playing? You should visit bassstringsonline.com if you're having issues with the B string being too "flabby." Jason is a huge help.

Cool story but your knob settings assume that other people have the same EQ type as you. Knobs at noon is not always flat. On the very common Fender Tone Stack layout like on my Alembic F1X, flat is 10-2-10. On a Baxendall/James I believe it is 5-5-5.

ANYWAY...

The purpose of a 5 string is to have options for staying present in the mix despite things that are out of the traditional range, such as synths and drop-tuned guitars. Modern amplification, in my opinion, is necessary but you're always going to run into folks who are going to claim that they're very pleased with how it sounds through huge arrays of old cabs. Those would be basically dispensing mostly overtones, yes, but that's not necessarily bad. People who mess with octave down pedals easily get into territory their cabs can't do but that doesn't necessarily sound bad either. What is bad is when the room isn't taken into consideration. If you throw tons of lows through like some huge 18s that make a wave that is like 16 feet long per cycle it'll sound reasonable on stage but you'll be detaching shit from the walls at the back and it'll sound like boomy garbage. For that reason I run a variable high pass and just have one of my guitar players play a few riffs during and I'll go check how it sounds out in the crowd to see if adjustments need to be made. This is not unique to 5 strings tho... that's just a good idea in general, and super easy to do if you have a wireless. The same thing with an acoustic foam pad if you're playing a hollow stage. Nobody likes a boomy mix, so it's always best to go check since what sounds good at home or at the practice spot will almost certainly need adjustment.

If you actually want strong fundamentals at large stage volume it can be had but it's expensive. Carvin 22" PA subs are like $600ish and do open B at almost full volume but you'd need to haul them plus a power amp to feed them hella watts.

[maggot]

I don't necessarily want a lot of fundamental. I just want it to sound relatively even. I hate really loud, low subs in most mixes that aren't hip-hop, but I do want it to sound loud and low.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Then what JA said is great advice. Get an actual bass cab and do that and you'll probably be OK. Personally I'm not a fan of notes that low except in specific contexts such as hip hop or doom. Otherwise through an OK amp and cab I think bass is powerful and low enough starting at E.

[maggot]

I usually play Baritone, and one of the cool things about Baritone is that sometimes you can play the bass line while the bass plays higher than you. But it seems like it would be a shame to deny myself the low unison riffs. The stuff I play isn't exactly doom, but it can be pretty doomy at times.

[maggot]

But in terms of texture, my idea of music is mostly midrange, so I'm not necessarily looking for a ton of extension; I'm just looking for a good "B" and wondering how it's done.

[BitchPudding]

I just like hitting the brown note every now and then.

[Mudfuzz]

The low B string on a bass predates the existence of the bass guitar by over 100 years, uprights have been tuned that way a long time. The reason so you can play the note you are playing in the correct octave that the song dictates. And no you want fundimentals as well as overtones. As to 10's I hate the things go buy a 18" or a 24" speaker

[Jwar]

I always had a 5 just to play Type O Negative covers.

I thought that was why everyone had one?

[JonnyAngle]

I always had a 5 just to play Type O Negative covers.

I thought that was why everyone had one?

That's how I get the MBV toanz

[Jwar]

I always had a 5 just to play Type O Negative covers.

I thought that was why everyone had one?

That's how I get the MBV toanz

MBV blows tho. As does all shoegaze...