What is Flat?

[jar546]

I am using a Sansamp BDI and it says for active pickups keep the bass settings "flat". does that mean in the middle notch or all the way down counter clockwise?

I just bought a new Stingray 5 HH and I am struggling to get the tone I am looking for.

Thanks.

Jeff

 

[spencer]

Yep flat is the middle notches. Its no boost no cut in theory.

 

[PocketGroove82]

insert boob joke here

< >

 

[jar546]

Thanks. I was reading another thread and someone explained "flat" as being turned down all the way.

I appreciate you help.

Jeff

 

[PocketGroove82]

If a preamp or EQ is "Boost Only", meaning it cannot "cut" the freq., then flat would be all the way down/off/set to zero.

If it can both boost and cut, then flat would be the middle indent.

Think of the boost/cut bass, mids, treble knobs sorta like a parametric eq with all the little up and down sliders. While, a boost only preamp knob would act more like a gain or volume knob.

 

[Kristopher]

I am using a Sansamp BDI and it says for active pickups keep the bass settings "flat". does that mean in the middle notch or all the way down counter clockwise?

I just bought a new Stingray 5 HH and I am struggling to get the tone I am looking for.

Thanks.

Jeff

Hey Jeff,

I haven't used that particular pedal myself, but I've heard it's a pedal that seems to color the sound of the bass more than a bit. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.) I've read a post on another board recently that the pedal "makes a cheap bass sound great".

Just wondering a few things....
Do you like the sound of this pedal with other basses? What are you using the pedal for - EQ, distortion, etc.? How do you like the sound of your bass without the pedal? What changes when you use the pedal?

Your bass has active electronics, so its signal will be 'hotter' than passive basses like a Precision. This affects how the Sansamp will sound. For an experiment, try turning down the volume knob on the bass with the Sansamp engaged, you should hear a difference on how the pedal reacts to the dynamics of your playing.

If you're using the pedal for EQ, have you tried using the EQ knobs on the bass much instead? They're pretty darn good at what they do.

Hope this helps.

 

[jamesattard]

I normally set the SansAmp to SVT preset...I get a great edgy tone (similar to geddy lee). I flat all EQ on the bass.

 

[adouglas]

[hijack]

Well, you asked....

[/hijack]

 

[roballanson]

I was gonna say the Earth?

 

[jar546]

I have a Fender -P and I use the Sansamp to get more of a 70's tube sound which it can get close but not right on. I think that most of my problem is that I have an SWR WorkingPRo 1x15 which is a great amp but probably not what I need for the sound I am looking for. I am just trying to get a variation of sounds that are either tubelike, funky, etc.

Since I have only been playing for a year my experience with adjustments has been limited.

 

[Big Poppa]

Adouglas getting the most abused google clip award!



OK this sounds like a corp speak...but why do you need a pedal? You buy the pedal when you cant get what you want form your amp and instrument. Start with the amp and bass....The less in the signal chain the better....

One of the biggest issues with people new to our stuff is when either a bassist of guitarist say's I cant get the sound I want throughn my rig. It always starts with the person having the amp and signal chain tailored for there last instrument..start with both amp and bass flat and then tweak from there.

 

[oli@bass]

Also, keep in mind that the SansAmp Bass Driver DI is designed to go right into the mixing console, and not into an amp which will further colour the sound (in possibly similar or counteracting ways). It is a DI box that does sound like a mic'ed amp. An amp thorugh another amp generally sounds pretty crappy.

Two paths to explore:
a.) As BP said: Do not use the BDDI, set bass and amp flat and go from there
b.) Go from the BDDI directly into your stereo/headphones amp

 

[jar546]

Yeah I would agree. I have been keeping the Sansamp out of the loop trying to dial in what I want but my inexperience is getting the best of me. I am really starting to think this is an amp issue.

 

[Big Poppa]

no you are forcing things is my first guess.... The sans amp is an eq pedal...you have so much eq on the bass and on your amp that the last thing you need is additional eq...

Trying to dial in a sound is easy if you understand that baby steps are the best start...just bosst the bass a little then cut the mid...then add some mid cut the treble boost the treble and you should get an idea of what sonic direction you want

 

[adouglas]

Good words, BP.

When I radically changed the way I amplify my bass a few years ago the most valuable lesson I learned was to abandon all preconceived notions, start from zero and use your ears and a truly objective attitude instead of your assumptions to shape your tone.

Just because you THINK something is going to give you what you need, does not mean it really will -- and it's often very difficult to see that. People can be amazingly close-minded. I get negative reactions to my amp rig from people who have never heard it simply because they do not believe it can produce good tone.

It's a twisted maze...you head in a certain direction because of conventional wisdom, or something you read, or heard, or thought up. It doesn't quite work out, so you add something else to "fix" the "problem," and so on and so on. Most of us have been there. I know I have. It was madness...constantly buying more stuff to find the right sound.

This is IMHO why people put in new pickups and new electronics, and add signal processing, and go for amps with "magic sound enhancer" knobs, and go through flavor-of-the-month equipment like popcorn, and.....

 

[swinglow]

I like this thread, and I'm new, so i decided to say hi in this one.

Start flat and work from there, like everybody says.

before I got a StingRay I had a SUB, and I used to do all kinds of stuff trying to make it sound good (before I knew how simple it was... [when I play my SUB these days, I just plug it in and it sounds good]). I had an EQ pedal with distortion, and I thought that was cool, so i got another one just like it.

After a few hundred hours of playing I figured out my StingRay sounds amazing with the pre-amp set flat, my amp really close to flat, and no pedals.

The moral of the story... When you own a MusicMan bass, any defeciency in tone must be from something else, because it's surely not your bass.

anywho, sorry that post was so long.

 

[MrMusashi]

small eq adjustment can give big difference.. also people tend to forget there is so much sound in just your fingers
close to the bridge is one sound, further up on the neck gives a different sound.. not to mention what angle your fingers hit the strings, if they hit the strings above it, if you got fingernails touching the strings.. heh.. i get chunky lil clicks from hitting the plastic cover on the pickup.. and the worst part is: it sounds good in my head
the bass must be the most dynamic instrument in the world.. from silent whispering to flea like attack at the bass roaring back at ya

go experiment, if it sounds good its good.. to quote a swedish friend of mine.. and you gotta do it with the swing thing here ....
it dont mean a thing if it dont mean a thing.. bop shua bop shua...

MrM

 

[EBMM7181]

I like this thread, and I'm new, so i decided to say hi in this one.

Start flat and work from there, like everybody says.

before I got a StingRay I had a SUB, and I used to do all kinds of stuff trying to make it sound good (before I knew how simple it was... [when I play my SUB these days, I just plug it in and it sounds good]). I had an EQ pedal with distortion, and I thought that was cool, so i got another one just like it.

After a few hundred hours of playing I figured out my StingRay sounds amazing with the pre-amp set flat, my amp really close to flat, and no pedals.

The moral of the story... When you own a MusicMan bass, any defeciency in tone must be from something else, because it's surely not your bass.

anywho, sorry that post was so long.

swinglow,
Welcome to the forum. Glad you joined and stopped by to say hello.
Stingrays DO sound great with just the onboard EQ - I have mine set almost flat, I rol back the treble a bit, and boost the bass just a bit.

 

[Kristopher]

Funny thing, I'm joining a cover band where the bass player is switching to guitar. The guy comes over to teach me some of the songs and remarked how great my Sterling single H sounded when he played it, and he was further amazed because the EQ on my amp was set entirely flat (how I usually run it most of the time). I'm a meat and potatoes bassist, but he switched the pickup into single coil mode and started playing some Stu Hamm tapping stuff and he had the biggest grin on his face.

I had a gig a few nights ago and made EQ adjustments to account for the room and the guitarists sound. To me, that's what it's for. For one thing, if the amp and bass don't sound good flat, you might need a different amp more suited to your ear and/or situation (cause we know the bass is good, you're here aren't you? ). I mean, what decent manufacturer makes amps that you have to have the knobs in all sorts of funky directions to get a good sound?

 

[jamesattard]

when i use BDDI i always use the 'Return' input of the amp to bypass all the EQ. I use this technique with other DI pedals (boss gt6b, etc). In all situations you must know what you are doing. Finally, I always use the EQ of the bass to colour the sound...