How to Get the PERFECT Bass Tone

Want bass tone like Geddy? or Flea? or Jamerson? Here’s why your sound isn’t cutting it, and how to make it *perfect*.

If you’re struggling to get the perfect bass tone, that sounds as good as your favorite bassist… you’re not alone.

When I was starting out, I didn’t really even know what bass tone was. And I was so focused on learning technique, theory, and playing songs, I had no idea if my tone was any good or not.

Sometimes it felt like my tone was super locked in, and I felt confident with my playing and had fun. Other times my tone just felt “off”, I didn’t know how to fix it, and… it was frustrating and kinda embarrassing.

In this video, I’m gonna teach you all the stuff I wish someone had taught me in my first year of playing:

- Mastering the “5 dwarves” of bass tone
- How James Jamerson mastered the art of mud
- How to ditch that annoying *honk* sound
- Why too much boom can ruin Tool songs
- How to actually HEAR your bass in the mix
- How Nolly gets those clanky Periphery sounds

#BassTone #BassBuzz

[BassBuzz]

Favorite bass tone of all time - go!

Note - sorry the frequency spectrum graphics are hard to read, Youtube compressed the visuals a bit too hard. I will hunt a better EQ plugin for future videos, in the meantime turn up your screen brightness and pray to the Dwarfs. ❤️

[szlptjx]

It took me ages trying to get the Dead Kennedys bass tone before I realized that he just had the bass knob turned to zero.

[danielcorrigan]

I think you're the first person who's talked about EQ in terms of problem frequency and subtraction, rather than thinking of boosting first. Great work!

[MrShtgoose]

The fact you use a fender rumble, one of the most common and decent sounding budget bass combos, makes this vid that much better

[blousug]

It’s also pertinent to note that this happens to professionals as well. The last Tool concert I went to Justin almost blew out our intestines with too much tubby and the sound engineer had to turn him down before he disemboweled 10, 000 people 😂😂

[earnestbass]

This is hands down one of the best music instructions videos I have seen. Most videos tell you what to do without explaining why or at least in a cryptic way. Laying out what frequency spectrum does what. Such a great help! Thank you!

[astrobearmusic]

Hey Josh great video! I’m an engineer that spends most of my time fiddling with knobs - and you had a great breakdown of showing how each range can affect the tone when boosted/attenuated. I’m trying to become a better bass player and your channel is helping a lot, cheers!

[michaelkeefer]

I have been playing bass for over 30 years now, I don't play in a cover band so I'm not trying to copy anyone else's tone, I just like to get a good phat but clear tone. That has been an ongoing struggle for me finding that elusive balance between phatness (not boomy) and clarity. The 250 Hz dwarf appears to have been my nemesis all along. After watching this video I added the parametric eq block to the end of my signal chain in my HX Stomp and experimented with each of the frequencies mentioned in your video, I discovered that my tone got much clearer but retained all that lovely phatness when I just rolled back some of those frequencies around 250 Hz. Don't know why it took me this long to discover this! Thanks man!

[Kaden_BASS_noob]

finally a bass tone that won't make my bass teacher puke.

[lowfrequencywizard]

Easily one of the best Bass channels out there, perfect blend between „no BS“ educational and still fun to watch. Been a bassist for 11 years now, and I still learn so much from you. And I‘m always motivated to keep practicing after watching one of your videos! Greetings from Germany✌🏼

[ryanballard]

This, BY FAR, has been the best video explain tone problems and how to fix/master them!

[madatlas]

I love that he's showing all of this on basic equipment, as well as high end stuff. This man is out to kill G. A. S., and I love it.

[furiousviking]

EQ pedals are a great way to gain greater control of your tone on the cheap, if your current amp lacks in EQ department.

[thomasfaraone]

Saw a cover band go back and forth between hip hop, rock, pop in as many songs. Went up to the bass player and asked him how he’s getting these great tones… must have like 8 pedals right?

“I have a nice beefy sound dialed up on the amp. I add bass for the hip hop tracks, put it back for the pop stuff and then kick on a drive for the rock stuff. That’s it”

It was mind opening

[Corniis]

That Fleetwood Mac joke killed me. Good job. More videos to revive me please.

[jjerkamillo]

I had all kinds of EQ problems when I was a teen, running a 3 band EQ active Stingray through a Boss GEB-7 into an Ampeg B2R head with a graphic EQ. Every time my band played a new venue I had to spend time re-dialing my tone. What made me stop having to do this was simplifying my rig. These days I play a passive MIA J bass directly into an Ampeg PF-500 with only Bass, Mid, Treble knobs and a couple quick select buttons for boosting and I NEVER have EQ problems anymore. My tone is great at home, rehearsal, and gigs. Most importantly it stays consistent. Less is more, guys. The best advice I can give over my 23 years of playing is that the less EQ crap you gotta mess with the better.

[williamduttlingerjr]

You need a t shirt with the Josh elves!

[theliberation]

I guess being a (mainly metal) guitarist first helped with the first two, I always went for the "full but not muddy" low end right away. But yes, you guessed it, it was Bitey and Edgy all the way for the first few months of learning bass.

Also, 10/10 for saying THE TONE IS IN THE WHOLE CHAIN and that yes, both fingers and (correctly setup) gear are important. I've also been in both "I need new gear" and "I just suck" lands at various points and both can be very toxic and demotivating if you ignore the other part/half.

[dbosse]

This video SHOULD be sponsored. You're a gem. Thanks for all your hard work out there.

[efeonuraydin]

This is by far the best video on youtube about EQ settings for bass.
I’ve been searching for a video like this for a long time, and actually was surprised that there is not a single instructional video on yt that talks about the corresponding sounds of the frequency ranges for bass guitar. This one felt like a medicine.
Keep up the good work Josh, really appreciate it.