Bass: balance between chord clarity and "big" single notes

[BoatRich]

Now just to clarify, when yall say low mids do you mean around like, 250hz?

Between like 150 and 400 hz, basically you want to feel the punch of the low note without the inaudible fundamentals muddying everything up. GK and Ampegs tend to have it baked into their mid response.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Could try EQing the phat single note tone with the tone knob rolled down and open it up to get more treble for chords? I do this combined with picking closer to the bridge and it works ok but also I have two pickups to swap between so that helps. Not sure it would be as big of a difference with one pickup.

[kbit]

^ if only i liked the sound of rolled off tone haha.

If I don't go power amp/pre amp for my next rig im definitely gonna try GK. I've never played through one but I think they might help me get where I wanna go. I had an old ss ampeg that I really disliked and im not really down with tube maintenance so I think theyll be off my list.

Also compressor. Also 12"s.

Of course all for the future because my band broke up hahah but still helpful knowledge. Thanks yall!

[mmurphy1000]

Consider 12"s. I play a bass vi mostly and do both chordy stuff on higher notes/string and fat bass (usually supplemented by an octaver and/or dirt), all with the bridge humbucker on full blast. So far, only 12" speakers have given me the 'best of both worlds', so to speak. Whenever I am in a situation that I play other people's gear I find that 15"s make me too undefined on the highs (but massive as thick fudge in the lows) and 4x/6x10"s lose the subs when the octaver is on (and I find they're somewhat more 'directional', and therefore louder to hear yourself on stage). Both yield an imbalance in overall sound that isn't an issue at all when I play through my delightful 4x12 cab. Now, there might be 2x15"s out there that do have the high end response I want, and maybe an 8x10 could deliver the sound of octaver-subs I require, but I haven't run into those yet. Given the choice I really prefer my 4x12 over other people's ?x?" cabs, as does the rest of my band.

1. What he said! I play through a 4x12 cab as well and it has made a huge difference.
2. the cheaper option - be conscious of where your right (picking/plucking) hand is. you can affect your tone a lot simply by varying the position of your hand. For some high string parts where I really want a rounder tone, my right hand is way up on the fretboard, around the 12th-15th fret.

[Moustache_Bash]

.....and then to poopoo on what everyone else said:

I used to use a 1001RB-II (a bright amp) with an Avatar 212 neo, and that was boomy as fuck. I think it really varies speaker to speaker (maybe how the cab is made?), and has nothing to do with speaker size.

[BoatRich]

.....and then to poopoo on what everyone else said:

I used to use a 1001RB-II (a bright amp) with an Avatar 212 neo, and that was boomy as fuck. I think it really varies speaker to speaker (maybe how the cab is made?), and has nothing to do with speaker size.

Agreed on the speaker size argument, it's absolutely a question of cab/speaker tuning as opposed to a set in stone guidelines

[kbit]

That makes sense. The 1x15 I have at the moment is double ported and definitely adds to my muddy woes because of its tuning.

[Decibill]

Consider 12"s. I play a bass vi mostly and do both chordy stuff on higher notes/string and fat bass (usually supplemented by an octaver and/or dirt), all with the bridge humbucker on full blast. So far, only 12" speakers have given me the 'best of both worlds', so to speak. Whenever I am in a situation that I play other people's gear I find that 15"s make me too undefined on the highs (but massive as thick fudge in the lows) and 4x/6x10"s lose the subs when the octaver is on (and I find they're somewhat more 'directional', and therefore louder to hear yourself on stage). Both yield an imbalance in overall sound that isn't an issue at all when I play through my delightful 4x12 cab. Now, there might be 2x15"s out there that do have the high end response I want, and maybe an 8x10 could deliver the sound of octaver-subs I require, but I haven't run into those yet. Given the choice I really prefer my 4x12 over other people's ?x?" cabs, as does the rest of my band.

1. What he said! I play through a 4x12 cab as well and it has made a huge difference.
2. the cheaper option - be conscious of where your right (picking/plucking) hand is. you can affect your tone a lot simply by varying the position of your hand. For some high string parts where I really want a rounder tone, my right hand is way up on the fretboard, around the 12th-15th fret.

This is a huge deal.. I don't think enough bass players realize this. The position of your "pick hand" makes a huge difference in tone, way more so than guitar.

[ChetMagongalo]

you and I have the same amp, but I have a 12in cab setup, and I can definitely get chord clarity real easily. I would recommend turning most of your EQ down or off, then turning up the master vol and vol to taste. I find the HD to be pretty bass heavy, depending on the bass I'll sometimes have to turn the bass to 0. I would also avoid humbuckers or other high output pickups. I generally don't like them, I get better tones from singles through pedals.

if I was playing in a loud band I would probably run a 2x12 and 1x15 setup personally

[kbit]

I sold the musicman when I moved a while ago that was definitely my favorite amp that ive owned but it wasnt quite what I wanted. I certainly wouldn't be opposed to buying another in the future if I needed it though.

[kbit]

Welp, part of it was definitely tge pickups in my Hondo. My newer mustang bass has waaaay more clarity with chords. I hadnt a/b'd them until just now.

[JonnyAngle]

250 to 400 is the range that it try to boost

[GardenoftheDead]

Compressors can help. Smaller speakers in conjunction with fifteens can help. An EQ pedal for those moments can help.

[D.o.S.]

Fuzz is EQ. Just sayin'.

[sears]

I find that Precisions are bad for chords. I've had much better results with Stingrays and even basses like Mustangs where a single pickup is in the same kind of position as the P. Maybe it's the individual bass. Also, the minor third is problematic when you get down too low so maybe you could invert it into a major sixth?