Sterling Bass

[BigStrings]

Hi there - Brand new to this site and forum and brand new user of the Sterling bass. Love all the tone variety in my game room but I know playing in a band setting changes things. So far, I'm liking the toggle switch in the neck and center positions. The bridge position seems to add a little bass but also seems to cut some of the high end. I like the treble control up all the way as well as the bass control with the mid control in the middle detent position. What tone control and toggle switch settings do some of you guys like in a live band situation? Thanks, think I'm going to like it here.

 

[Mobay45]

I don't play a Sterling, but welcome!

 

[nismaniac]

Hi there - Brand new to this site and forum and brand new user of the Sterling bass. Love all the tone variety in my game room but I know playing in a band setting changes things. So far, I'm liking the toggle switch in the neck and center positions. The bridge position seems to add a little bass but also seems to cut some of the high end. I like the treble control up all the way as well as the bass control with the mid control in the middle detent position. What tone control and toggle switch settings do some of you guys like in a live band situation? Thanks, think I'm going to like it here.

I believe it is the same wiring as on my SR5 but I could be wrong. I usually have my toggle switch set towards the neck which is the coils in series setting. I feel like it has more defined mids and a ballsier tone. I have the bass at 90-95% and mids at 85-90% and treble just positve of the center detent. Hope that helps

 

[zetabosio]

isn't that full-treble-flat-mids-and-bass setting sound a little thin?

 

[phatduckk]

ive been playing my sterling for a few years now ... most of the time i set everything at max and usually have the selector at the neck position ...

depending on the song and what feel im going for i toggle the selector. like u sed ... bass at the bridge pos, ballsy at the neck pos and kinda bright in the middle

rarely ill actually turn a knob or 2 down, but mostly im full blast

 

[Moondog]

Usually but not always . . .

Finger, sometimes pick the neck position (controls centered)
Pick, sometimes finger the center position (boost low and/or mid)
Slap the bridge position always (cut mid & boost low/high)

When I'm drinking, I play my Ray4 full blast.

 

[BigStrings]

isn't that full-treble-flat-mids-and-bass setting sound a little thin?

Actually, what I meant to say was bass up full, treble up full and the mid control in the middle (detent) position. Now that my kid isn't sleeping (he works nights) I've been able to crank it and I can see that I was overdriving a bit. With the toggle switch in the center and neck positions I still like the mid control in the notched position but the bass close to half way between the notched position and full and the treble just a hair above the notched position. With the toggle switch in the bridge position I have to cut the bass back to just above the notched position and turn the treble up full or close to it, still keeping the mid control in the center notched position. I'm not used to all this midrange coming out of the Sterling but maybe it's something I'll grow to like and end up cranking that a little more.
What I was really trying to get at with the start of this thread was to see what settings guys are using on the gig. I know that all the time spent in the game room refining tone settings can get thrown right out the window when you're all of a sudden competing with drums, guitars and keyboards on the job.

 

[Bluesbob]

I dig that...

no matter how the amp and guitar are set you can change the sound with just the 3-way switch. I usually set the amp's bass control flat, cut the mids on the high end and slightly boost the low mids, while cutting the highs to about 9 or ten o'clock. On the Sterling I just crack the bass control, leave the mids flat and boost the highs slightly more than the bass, sometimes turning up the highs to accent slap or pop sounds in a line. I'm pretty sure this is not the scientific way to do it, but it works for me. I use the forward (toward the neck) position on the 3-way for everything except when I want a fat, bluesy, almost-dub bottom (I'm sure we've all been there), which is when I use the rear position (toward the bridge). I only use the middle position for early funk stuff (think "I Feel Good") and classic rock like Beatles and Zep. Being able to change the basic tone "on the fly" is cool.