THE 7 SECRETS OF A GREAT BASS TONE

In this lesson we're talking TONE.

And no... I'm not going to be talking about how "the tone is all in your hands".

Instead I'm going to break down the 7 specific things that make up your bass tone - exactly what they are, and the differences between them.

Knowing these 7 bass tone essentials is going to help you understand:
- Exactly how to dial in the tone you want.
- Why you might not be happy with your current tone (and what to do about it).
- What things you'll need to bare in mind when purchasing your next bass.
- And way more...

As always, see you in the shed...

Scott :)

==============================================================

GET MORE BASS TIPS 👇
_________________________________________________________________

ABOUT SCOTT’S BASS LESSONS (SBL)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
As the largest online bass education platform in the world, with an ever-expanding course library and 40,000+ active members, Scott’s Bass Lessons (SBL) has everything you need to master the bass, all in one place.

Featuring beginner level bass lessons, engaging courses from expert instructors, step-by-step development curricula, direct feedback on your playing, real-time mentorship from A-list bassists and a thriving and incredibly supportive community, SBL is the perfect platform to uplevel your bass playing, whether you’re a total beginner, or an advanced pro-level bassist.

RECOMMENDED BASS PLAYLIST
-------------------------------------------------------------
Catch up with SBL Content you’ve missed:
#bassguitarlessons #bassforbeginners #easybasslines

LINKS
--------------
Tune in to our Weekly Podcast:
Explore our FREE courses:
Try our FREE GrooveTrainer App:

[singleproppilot]

As a guitar player that dabbles in bass, I'm constantly surprised at how many different tones you can get from the same bass and amp combination, and how many of them are great sounds. So many options.

[RMGCBG]

Left hand is what you’ve learned, right hand is who you are...

[nathanbasurto]

My bass teacher didn't change his strings in like years and his strings sounded freaking fantastic. That man is a mystery.

[zibbezabba]

1: Get a decent bass
2: get a decent amp
3: practice till the skin on your fingertips develops a callous (probably the most important part of creating YOUR individual bass sound)
4 practice your technique to avoid unwanted noise/tones through muting of strings not being played.

New strings are important only if that's your preferred sound. My fav bass player of all time never changed his strings (Bernie Edwards from chic) the result is a wicked low/mid tone with all of the brightness taken out.

The rest is down to your musical skill and knowledge

[McDoinky]

I like how the list on the board magically appears at 2:08, then disappears around 2:28

[danielvandoorn]

Some great tips in there, Scott!

I would have switched #5 Wood for #5 Effects. Wood might be important if oyu play accoustically, but electric, it makes minor difference compared to the other 6 (7 if you add the effects).

[projectz]

secret to great bass tone: set the bass knob on the guitarist's amp to 4 and then yank off the knob

[Khaospenguiny]

"Check out this bass tone"
> Plays bass through laptop speakers and records using cellphone mic

[MisterNiles]

I liked your 6 week old string sound better than the new strings.

[cmingus]

I like your advice on how to EQ an amp: „Put everything to 12 o‘clock - not the volume.“ 😂😂😂

[juhatarkka]

One factor that was not mentioned is the acoustics of the room where you play: its size, and the amount of echo in it. That has a bigger effect on the bass than on many other instruments.

[chriswenkle]

Thank you Scott. Having played bass for a while now, I've learned all of those points you listed via trial and error. It's why I've sold (and am selling) all my active basses (4, 5, 6, and 7 string) and play passive 4-strings for the most part these days (church worship). One thing I would have liked to see is what does one do when the playing situation is without an amp - i.e. when the bass signal goes straight to the board (passive or active DI). That being said, this is a great video and I plan on passing it along to our worship leader as a tool for young up-and-coming bass players. Cheers.

[pablosorbara]

Just 3 or 4 months ago?
The bassist on my band hasn't changed strings since he bought his bass...

[huntleyjohnc]

Thank you very much, Scott, for this video. This may be the most important lesson for any bass player and most valuable for how to choose your bass(es).

[sazful]

Scott I love your passion for what you're doing and you're right! I want to add that in the quality of the sound that we are listening in records or in live situations big part of this are sound engineers and the equipment that they have plus what you have... Marcus knows a lot about sound production !! The rig that he has on stage is what a sound engineer would have in a studio recording situation..

[iwsajet]

I would have to add "compression" to this list.

[MonkyMonk]

I'm a guitar player but I love playing bass as well. I've heard a lot of guitar players say, "if you can play guitar, you can definitely play the bass... piece of cake." This is why most guitar players suck. They only think in technical terms (not in artistic terms, or composition terms, etc.) and they're usually wrong or misguided within their technical prison mentality. For example, a shitty guitarist often thinks, "On the bass you only need to play one note at a time. There aren't even chords. How hard can that be? And you're not even shredding. It's so simple it would bore me to death... but I could definitely play the bass at a high level."

And you bass players (and all other competent musicians) think... "what an idiot!" Anyway, my point is... I'm not that guy. Yes I can play scales on a bass and know where all the notes are. I totally recognize that playing bass is fundamentally and completely different than playing guitar. It's purpose in a composition is completely different. You need to approach playing from a completely different mindset. I love the challenge of really trying to craft a great bassline. I strive to become a great bass player.

Now I might get laughed out of here with what I'm about to say, and that's fine... but I play bass with a pick. I can play with my fingers pretty well, but I just prefer the tone and the attack of playing with a pick. I'm a rock guy... and feel like there may be a bit of a genre barrier here because playing with a pick wasn't even mentioned as an option to even consider in the tone formula here.

[AJGreen-dijq]

Bass player changing their strings? Sorry mate, never heard of it.

[mhillaxeman]

How you set the gain (amount of breakup) and compression (none being the default option) will have huge effect.

[FrederickTSchurgerDC]

I'm still all about active EQ. I've always liked the brighter, punchier tone I get out of my active EQ, especially with a tonal difference that just shines thru. That said, I think ADDING an active circuit to bass is definitely a no-no, opposed to not buying a bass with an active EQ. Big difference. The SIRE basses have LOTS of variations available, especially with how you can split the pickups on some of their basses.

BTW, my active EQ tends to be pretty neutral unless I'm driving more towards one pick-up than the other or looking for a tonal difference towards bright or bass