Hey all. So, I find myself playing my VM J-bass more often these days than I used, and I'm tinkering more with bass tones.
Basically I've figure out there are two tones I seem to gravitate towards:
1. Neck pickup on full, tone knob rolled back - Deep, growly sound
2. Neck and bridge pickup on full, tone knob rolled back a bit - Deep, smoother sound
So far so good. So then it comes to using the tone stack on my amp to shape the sound. With the bass control, I turn it up until things sound boomy and then back it off until it's more controllable. With the treble control, I turn it up until things sound clanky and then back it off until it's present but not overpowering. So far so good.
There's also a mid control, and then a special knob for scooping mids. This is where I run into problems. What are some rules of thumb to use with these controls? Scooping the mids seems to give a nice hi-fi sound . . . and unlike with guitar you don't seem to immediately get lost in the mix with a band while doing this (but it's maybe harder to make out what notes are being played). Boosting the mids gets kinda honky and doesn't sound right to me. Flat mids makes it very clear to pick out the notes . . . but the bass doesn't sound as nice as with the mid cut. What do you guys use? In what situations do you prefer one mid setting over another? Are there rules of thumb that I should know?
Basically I've figure out there are two tones I seem to gravitate towards:
1. Neck pickup on full, tone knob rolled back - Deep, growly sound
2. Neck and bridge pickup on full, tone knob rolled back a bit - Deep, smoother sound
So far so good. So then it comes to using the tone stack on my amp to shape the sound. With the bass control, I turn it up until things sound boomy and then back it off until it's more controllable. With the treble control, I turn it up until things sound clanky and then back it off until it's present but not overpowering. So far so good.
There's also a mid control, and then a special knob for scooping mids. This is where I run into problems. What are some rules of thumb to use with these controls? Scooping the mids seems to give a nice hi-fi sound . . . and unlike with guitar you don't seem to immediately get lost in the mix with a band while doing this (but it's maybe harder to make out what notes are being played). Boosting the mids gets kinda honky and doesn't sound right to me. Flat mids makes it very clear to pick out the notes . . . but the bass doesn't sound as nice as with the mid cut. What do you guys use? In what situations do you prefer one mid setting over another? Are there rules of thumb that I should know?
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