Bass suggestion?

notCardio said:
Yeah, but it's not a bass preamp. Just like some pedals are designed for guitar and some for bass, some preamps are designed more for a bass.
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i see now. hmmm. it's more of a "general" pre-amp, maybe more so for vocals or synths? i'll look into that.
 
Sort of, yeah. It's meant to boost the signal as cleanly as possible, like plugging straight into a mixing board. And if you're using a bass amp sim, that is probably sufficient. I'm just saying that for me, and some other old analog guys, most bass (and guitar) amp sims leave a little to be desired.
 
I'm not sure if anyone asked this: How old are the strings on that bass? New strings will completely change the sound.

Also, with the amp sim, find something that emulates an old tube ampeg SVT and let it distort a bit.
 
Farview said:
I'm not sure if anyone asked this: How old are the strings on that bass? New strings will completely change the sound.

Also, with the amp sim, find something that emulates an old tube ampeg SVT and let it distort a bit.
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good suggestion, and i'm honestly not sure. it's borrowed from someone who didn't place any emphasis on maintenance. For amp sims, i'm using Studio One 2's built-in sim, Ampire. My options for bass are pretty limited, and include a 2x8 cab and a 4x10, i believe. the larger one is way muddy, so i use the smaller one, around 4.5:1 compression, HP around 45hz, and small cuts where necessary, and a LP around 4.5khz.
 
I'm not familiar with that sim. An SVT would be an 8x10 cabinet, but more importantly, it was a tube amp. If you use the muddier one, get it to distort, then add a few db of 800hz. The 800hz offsets the low end, gives not definition, and clarity in the mix. I've never had to low pass a bass. Also, do the compression AFTER the EQ, it will smooth everything out better that way.
 
I use ampsims for my bass tones, with a cheap, $100 pawn shop bass myself (I actually gave $90 for it)...:D.

Carlo Robelli 4-string:



While I don't think my sounds are anything special or stellar, I get decent & usable sounds from my setup...

My signal chain usually is:

bass > interface > compressor plug-in (input fx in Reaper) > Amplitube 3 > eq plug-in > compressor plug-in > limiter plug-in

Yeah, it's a lot of plug-ins, but most of the time I can get a usable tone like this...The eq most of the time has hp/lp filters, along with a few cuts here/there where a note might stand out...

99% of the time, I use the Ampeg sim in Amplitube 3 too, but I have no idea how it compares to the real thing, as I've only ever used this setup for my bass tones...
 
A new bass probably isn't going to fix your tone problem (if you have one), but it sure is fun getting a new guitar.

At $350, you can find a nice range of basses. Go to your local GC and try them out. I go in every so often just to tool around and I always keep going back to the yamaha and Ibanez basses.
 
Chili said:
A new bass probably isn't going to fix your tone problem (if you have one)
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Not sure how much I agree with this. My new Gibson was a dramatic improvement over my Fender clone. I honestly think this is a Kmart bass. Feel free to steal that for your signature.
 
notCardio said:
As much as I love that setup, it kinda depends on what you're going for.
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After listening to his track, it would work relatively well for the song. The main type of bass sound you can't get out of that amp is the super bright slap/funk, piano string clean sort of sound.
 
Farview said:
After listening to his track, it would work relatively well for the song. The main type of bass sound you can't get out of that amp is the super bright slap/funk, piano string clean sort of sound.
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They'll even do that too with the right pickups, cut the mids, and use the bright switches.
 
andrushkiwt said:
I honestly think this is a Kmart bass.
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Yeah, I guess there are those exceptions.... :D You could probably improve your tone significantly if it is indeed a bass from K-Mart/Walmart/Target....

Last week, someone else was complaining about their bass and not getting a good tone from it. Turned out it was a Yamaha and the same model I used for years. There are so many factors to getting the tone you want from a bass and the first step to getting there isn't the bass itself. But yeah, a Kmart bass... that's the first step.
 
Greg_L said:
They'll even do that too with the right pickups, cut the mids, and use the bright switches.
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Sort of. Some of the vintage and 'Classic' versions won't stop distorting long enough to do it right, but some will. I started getting confused with all the slightly different versions they have come up with in the last 30 years.

But, you are right, it is an incredibly versatile setup.
 
After inspecting the bass last night, it says "Fender Precision" - but it only has a single coil pickup. Every google image i searched shows two staggered single coils. is this possibly a knock-off?
 
andrushkiwt said:
After inspecting the bass last night, it says "Fender Precision" - but it only has a single coil pickup. Every google image i searched shows two staggered single coils. is this possibly a knock-off?
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The Fender Squiers will have a single pickup.

[Edit] wait, that's the broncos. Post up a pic.
 
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