okay, its happening ... tone knob tweaking

[shakinbacon]

I had a feeling I'd get to this point on the Bongo (5HHp) with its massive amount of tone control. It happened last night.

I'm spending more time twiddling knobs then practicing. Hence "I'm sending out an SOS..."

Not that it is sounding bad, I'm just searching for something in my head and am not *quite* there yet.

Whenever I get to this point with EQ systems, I have to take a step back and practice acoustically to stop wasting time focusing on tiny details and missing the big picture (the song).

The tone I'm going for is something in the vein of Robbie Shakespeare, Tom Scholtz (first Boston album) and John Entwistle (Quadrophenia album).

Using flats gets me close with the following setup

Pickup pan: center
Piezo pan: +25% to center
Lo mid: -25%
Hi mid: center
Bass: +10%
Treble: -10% to center

I tend to play over the neck pickup

Thanks for the moral support

 

[TheAntMan]

Hey there SB,

I am a big believer in messing around with the EQ until you fully understand it and come as close to locking in that 'in my head' tone we each are looking for. To me the EQ is part of the technique of playing the instrument. Ever watch a professional player making slight adjustments while playing on stage? They are adjusting to what the environment calls for.

My $0.02 would be to keep at it. You may not realize it but it is part of practicing with your instrument. Check out any guitarist and you will see them using the EQ, volume controls, selector switch and even bending the instrument neck to get what they are looking for. I have seen the same thing with bassists.

Oh, looks like I put in about $0.05

Enjoy and have fun!

--Ant

 

[Lynottfan]

Playing with the EQ is great, but I would say that it is often worth asking others what they think your bass sound is like, as YOU may have a great sound (good starting point already your playing an EBMM) and the urge to tweak may not be really be needed, but hey these things have got the knobs ons, may as well play with em

Also becareful that you are not trying to search for something (i.e. a tone or sound) that really is not within that type of instrument or your setup, Entwistle for example, now that is a mighty one, think of all the gear that John used, so getting close maybe better than you think.

Good luck man, rock on.

 

[oli@bass]

even bending the instrument neck to get what they are looking for

I do that... but using the EQ while playing is too advanced for me

 

[SteveB]

For starters, if I were experimenting with the Bongo's EQ, I'd make sure the amp's EQ was set flat. That way you hear the bass 'as-is' and any changes to the baseline sound are definitely the result of your tweaking on the instrument.

 

[Big Poppa]

some of the guys you are trying to sound like didnt use flats.... But What Steve b said....and then with the mongo I would start flat and then play with the pan control then tweak the eq

 

[shakinbacon]

some of the guys you are trying to sound like didnt use flats....

True. However Entwistle's tone on Quadrophenia is not trebly and twangy like his other albums. I am pretty close with the flats. But you have a good point.

 

[five7]

Try turning down your volume so you have to really dig in with your fingers on your right hand.

 

[shakinbacon]

Try turning down your volume so you have to really dig in with your fingers on your right hand.

hmmmm interesting. I've been doing the opposite.

I'll give it a try.

 

[Grand Wazoo]

Hi there shaking, what kind of bass amp do you use?

A great part of John Entwhistle sound, and in particular the setup he used for the Quadrophenia recording came from his huge tower of Custom Gelf amps played through an incredible array of speakers as per this list.

Custom Gelf amp rack

Sunn Speaker stacks:

• Three Sunn 412L 4x12 cabs (top)
• Three or four Mega 1x18 cabs (bottom), with Gauss drivers
• Miked with Sennheiser 421 microphones

Don't forget also of his playing style came from a combination of an unusual technique involving playing with his two fngers index and medium as most of us do, to which he had grown nails that allowed him to play very similarly to a flamenco guitar player, giving a sound that has both the fingering feel and the attack of playing with a pick.

 

[LawDaddy]

Hi there shaking, what kind of bass amp do you use?

A great part of John Entwhistle sound, and in particular the setup he used for the Quadrophenia recording came from his huge tower of Custom Gelf amps played through an incredible array of speakers as per this list.

Custom Gelf amp rack

Sunn Speaker stacks:

• Three Sunn 412L 4x12 cabs (top)
• Three or four Mega 1x18 cabs (bottom), with Gauss drivers
• Miked with Sennheiser 421 microphones

Don't forget also of his playing style came from a combination of an unusual technique involving playing with his two fngers index and medium as most of us do, to which he had grown nails that allowed him to play very similarly to a flamenco guitar player, giving a sound that has both the fingering feel and the attack of playing with a pick.

I had the chance to work with Tim Gorman several years ago, who played keys for the Who for a few tours. He said Entwhistle's stage volume was incredibly loud. I'm sure that was a big part of his sound.

 

[five7]

I ran sound for him once at the Buffalo Rose in Golden and he was using about 9000 watts if I remember right. It was LOUD!

 

[Stephen]

Try turning down your volume so you have to really dig in with your fingers on your right hand.

That should really be another key to his sound. The man was called "The Ox" for a reason.

For what it's worth, try to find some videos of him playing. When he digs in, it's frightening to see his attack, more so in the later stages of his career (Although rumor has it that another reason for his more extreme and distorted sound then was him being almost deaf).

 

[Basspro]

I ran sound for him once at the Buffalo Rose in Golden and he was using about 9000 watts if I remember right. It was LOUD!

Wow,that could make a deaf man hear again!

 

[Basspro]

I really dig Fran Sheehan's (Boston) style and tone.He plays some pretty cool inventive
bass lines.
A little EQ can go a long way so don't over do it. Set the amp flat and use the bass EQ.

 

[TheAntMan]

a little eq can go a long way so don't over do it. Set the amp flat and use the bass eq.

+1

 

[shakinbacon]

I really dig Fran Sheehan's (Boston) style and tone.He plays some pretty cool inventive
bass lines.
A little EQ can go a long way so don't over do it. Set the amp flat and use the bass EQ.

If memory serves me, I believe Tom Scholtz actually played the bass lines on the first album.

 

[shakinbacon]

Hi there shaking, what kind of bass amp do you use?

A great part of John Entwhistle sound, and in particular the setup he used for the Quadrophenia recording came from his huge tower of Custom Gelf amps played through an incredible array of speakers as per this list.

Custom Gelf amp rack

Sunn Speaker stacks:

• Three Sunn 412L 4x12 cabs (top)
• Three or four Mega 1x18 cabs (bottom), with Gauss drivers
• Miked with Sennheiser 421 microphones

Don't forget also of his playing style came from a combination of an unusual technique involving playing with his two fngers index and medium as most of us do, to which he had grown nails that allowed him to play very similarly to a flamenco guitar player, giving a sound that has both the fingering feel and the attack of playing with a pick.

Wow, that's the exact setup I'm using!

he he he
I'm doing a combination of going direct & using a GenzBenz Shuttle with Epifani cabs.