smoave bass tone

[cadencethefire]

how would you guys go about getting a nice smooth (smoave) clean, warm and wet tone without it sounding "farty" it feels like every time my band's bass player hits the lower notes it makes this really weird overdriving sound...

so what i want to know is if you had a choice, what kind of rig would you put together to get the tone i described above?

[Phalanx]

A lot of the sound you're describing actually comes from technique. A light touch when you pluck the strings will smooth the tone a lot.

I also like to use a lot of mids, enough bass and cut treble to get that tone.

[thelowsoundofbass]

Flatwound strings.

lowsound

[cadencethefire]

thanks guys i'll try both of your suggestions

[edgebass5]

Smoave?

[cadencethefire]

say it out loud

[Spaceman Spiff]

How do you pronounce it?

Where's the emphasis?

[cadencethefire]

in the oa

it's like saying s move but with an oa sound... smOAve

[Spaceman Spiff]

Fretless?

[cadencethefire]

i don't think it's a buzzing problem as much as it is straight up tone. it's weird... the upper strings sound nice but that low one blows

[Spaceman Spiff]

Fretless offers a different tone, it's not just for eliminating buzz.

[cadencethefire]

oh, awesome! i'll look into it :) i wonder if our bass player can play one though...

[Phalanx]

oh, awesome! i'll look into it :) i wonder if our bass player can play one though...

You don't have much faith in your bass player do you?

[cadencethefire]

it's still a new instrument to him, he's more of a guitar player...

[edgebass5]

You say the upper notes sound good, but the lower ones don't. Is it a boomyness issue? I typically find that EQ yielding great upper-register tones (specifically below the 12th fret on the D and G strings as opposed to above the 12th fret on the E and A strings) will yield boom and mud on the lower-register tones. A compromise is usually needed.

Can you elaborate on what bass, amp, cabinet, effects, etc. he's using? What type of strings are on his bass? How do you have the EQ setup on the amp and/or the bass, effects, etc.?

It's pretty hard to make much of an accurate judgement without knowing all the variables involved.

[rh15951]

start with 40 grit and work your way up to 2000 wet n dry.

[cadencethefire]

You say the upper notes sound good, but the lower ones don't. Is it a boomyness issue? I typically find that EQ yielding great upper-register tones (specifically below the 12th fret on the D and G strings as opposed to above the 12th fret on the E and A strings) will yield boom and mud on the lower-register tones. A compromise is usually needed.

Can you elaborate on what bass, amp, cabinet, effects, etc. he's using? What type of strings are on his bass? How do you have the EQ setup on the amp and/or the bass, effects, etc.?

It's pretty hard to make much of an accurate judgement without knowing all the variables involved.

wow a ton of questions, allright!! i'll have to take some pics and post it up here etc :) thanks so much, it's amazing how willing people on the internet are willing to help a total stranger... at the same time they're also so quick to judge and talk trash ;)

[edgebass5]

at the same time they're also so quick to judge and talk trash ;)

Clearly you've never been in the bass forum. I can't think of a single instance where somebody talked tra.... oh wait, I just snapped back to reality :p

[Mr. Grill]

Lots of mids, cut the treble, use both pickups.

Thats how I achieve my 'smoave' tone.

[Misanthropic]

You say the upper notes sound good, but the lower ones don't. Is it a boomyness issue? I typically find that EQ yielding great upper-register tones (specifically below the 12th fret on the D and G strings as opposed to above the 12th fret on the E and A strings) will yield boom and mud on the lower-register tones. A compromise is usually needed.

Can you elaborate on what bass, amp, cabinet, effects, etc. he's using? What type of strings are on his bass? How do you have the EQ setup on the amp and/or the bass, effects, etc.?

It's pretty hard to make much of an accurate judgement without knowing all the variables involved.

What frequencies should you be touching to achieve that compromise? I have that very problem (when playing hard with a pick, though) - high up sounds good, low end very boomy (or particularly higher up on the E and A strings). I could experiment for myself, but i haven't got access to my amp in the near future.

[edgebass5]

Ultimately it depends on the room and the band mix you're trying to sit in. I try focusing more on low-mids than actual lows. They're more useable, less boomy and easier to hear. I've also found that frequencies around 1khz are very "honky" and "nasal" sounding, which spells trouble for your D and G strings.

[cadencethefire]

Clearly you've never been in the bass forum. I can't think of a single instance where somebody talked tra.... oh wait, I just snapped back to reality :p

i'm actually enjoying how nice everyone is in the bass forum F*** the guitar forum, i don't even play bass and i think i'm gonna hang here more often!

Lots of mids, cut the treble, use both pickups.

Thats how I achieve my 'smoave' tone.

thanks, you wouldn't think mids would get you smoave tone but i'm sure there's a lot of reasons why that is :)

[Mr. Grill]

i'm actually enjoying how nice everyone is in the bass forum F*** the guitar forum, i don't even play bass and i think i'm gonna hang here more often!



thanks, you wouldn't think mids would get you smoave tone but i'm sure there's a lot of reasons why that is :)
When you lower the treble (at least on my amp), it also tapers down a bit of the offending 'honky' high mids.

This EQ allows me to achieve a smooth, yet growly (more of a purr) tone that supports the groove nicely.

[edgebass5]

you wouldn't think mids would get you smoave tone but i'm sure there's a lot of reasons why that is :)

Mids are a tricky animal in the bass world. When playing by yourself in your bedroom they tend to sound bad and quite obtrusive, hence the tendency for people to lean towards a scooped out midrange (smiley-face EQ). When playing in a band mix they're what allow you to cut through and add complexity to your tone. In a band mix lower mids are where you find warmth and upper-mids are where you find cut. Similarly lower mids are also where you find boom and upper mids are where you find honk... Be judicious :thumb:

[cadencethefire]

what about the low low knob? keep it neutral?

[Jimbobntnr]

what about the low low knob? keep it neutral?

ime that knob is to make adjustments for the room. It's more the freqs that you feel as opposed to hear, turn it down if the room is too boomy, up if your sound seems too thin.

People on the floor like to feel the bass in their chest and this is your chest-bass knob.

[edgebass5]

ime that knob is to make adjustments for the room. It's more the freqs that you feel as opposed to hear, turn it down if the room is too boomy, up if your sound seems too thin.

I generally agree with this, but have one caveat to add. Some rooms will result in a thin sounding bass that can be fixed by adding mid content rather than low-end which, despite not being able to hear it, can cause massive problems for the soundguy and the FOH sound. This isn't an "all the time" situation, but if you can fix a thin sound with mids it's almost always more favorable to the overall mix than adding problematic low-end.

[cadencethefire]

so that low end knob is really only for feel and some audibility?

[edgebass5]

It all depends on where the Q (center) is fixed and how much bandwidth that EQ control has.

The human ear bottoms out around 20hz. The fundamental of a low E is about 41.2hz. The majority of what you hear from the lower register of a bass is the 2nd and 3rd harmonic content. As such any control on a bass amp that's boosting below 80hz is going to be largely felt and only slightly heard for the content that it's actually increasing.

This is a concept that is often completely misunderstood. I'll see people with a very narrow 60hz control on their amp absolutely cranked and they'll wonder why it sounds thin. They flatten out the 60hz control and give the 250hz control a little boost and are shocked at how much more booty their amp suddenly has...

[cadencethefire]

wow, that makes complete sense now, people think they're boosting the frequencies they can't hear that well and expecting it to cut through the mix... ultimately i can see a lot of bass players who do that turning up too loud...

[edgebass5]

I'm constantly amazed by people who have no understanding of how their gear actually works. Especially when it's somebody running a very expensive and "high-end" rig.

That said, there are probably a lot of people who wonder why I spend so much time obsessing over gear and don't simply spend more time playing my bass :p

[cadencethefire]

it's all the nature of the instrument, tone is equally important as technique and skill, otherwise all the best players would be using mt2s, line6 poweramps and crate cabs hehe

i don't know what that translates into for bass lol

[EADGC]

i'm Constantly Amazed By People Who Have No Understanding Of How Their Gear Actually Works. Especially When It's Somebody Running A Very Expensive And "high-end" Rig.


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[edgebass5]

it's all the nature of the instrument, tone is equally important as technique and skill, otherwise all the best players would be using mt2s, line6 poweramps and crate cabs hehe

i don't know what that translates into for bass lol

Behringer, Crate, etc. Name your crappy brand of guitar equipment and you're likely to find it mirrored in the bass world. Since no one is paying attention to the bass player anyway we simply have a higher chance of getting away with it :lol:

[cadencethefire]

i hear an eden head with a 4x10, a 15 and a sansamp bass pre is a pretty good setup...

[fatbandit]

Whatever sounds good is a good setup. I've heard awesome tones from Behringer combos, and wanky ones from very expensive amps.

[tomtom]

Whatever sounds good is a good setup. I've heard awesome tones from Behringer combos, and wanky ones from very expensive amps.

123

if someone knows what they're doing, they can make almost anything sound good.

there are exceptions though, of course

[thelowsoundofbass]

i hear an eden head with a 4x10, a 15 and a sansamp bass pre is a pretty good setup...

Good setup, but I wouldn't trade mine for it and mine only cost me $700.

lowsound

[fatbandit]

Plus single cab solutions are the way forward. Why on earth do you need a 410 and a 115? When I don't even think they compliment each other well. 12" drivers ftw. My ideal speaker cab is a 412, or 2 212s for a bit more versatility.

[Sablate McNuff]

Plus single cab solutions are the way forward. Why on earth do you need a 410 and a 115? When I don't even think they compliment each other well. 12" drivers ftw. My ideal speaker cab is a 412, or 2 212s for a bit more versatility.

For filling out the sound.

The 15" is more for feel, truthfully, so with the right use of crossover, you can achieve a sound that is very pure and full, but beats the sh*t out of your chest. =)

[fatbandit]

412 does that too ;)

[thelowsoundofbass]

I use a 2x10 and it hits you hard in the chest and sounds amazing.

lowsound

[rh15951]

412 also hits you hard in the back har har

[fatbandit]

You're not a real man. Get out.