5 Easy Tips for AWESOME Bass Tone - Online Bass Lessons

Are you not happy with your tone? It’s a quicker fix than you might think! This lesson demonstrates five crucial tips for better tone that you can start implementing right this second. NOTE: Please listen to this lesson through a sound system or headphones to be able to hear the examples and tonal comparisons as optimally as possible, and download the free .PDF below for additional tone tips:

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[pCeLobster]

Messing up your pickup height sweet spot is true insanity. I hope everyone here appreciates such a commitment to the lesson.

[philsspace]

Great advice! I just wanna add a sixth one, and that is to consider where you choose to pluck/pick your strings; closer to the neck or closer to the bridge. It also makes a huge difference in the way your bass will sound.

[texasmike]

New strings are like magic. Dramatic improvement for me, personally.

[pianoatthirty]

the 'start with the midrange' and then add the lows and highs is SUCH an amazing tip! THANK YOU

[MarkoMarcello]

This was sincere, obviously as a result of tremendous experience and awesome in every way. Great things pointed out.

[marcjuras]

This is the best tutorial i've ever seen in my life! I've been playing bass now for about 30 years plus and people do like my sound, but there is still some way to go for me (btw. i also play a warwick). Thank you soooo much for this lesson .... priceless .... Take care

[colonelsanders]

Great advise. Where were you 45 years ago? No one in the 70's was teaching "Tone" except the rare John Entwistle or Geddy Lee interview and gear videos. Good job!

[ImYourOverlord]

The best bass guitarist of all time advocated setting high end on the bass first, then bringing in the low to get the right balance. On the amp, same deal, and include the midrange. Most bass amps don't have separate low and high midrange controls, unfortunately, but even just a single mid knob is helpful.

[wolfgangsaller]

One of the best lessons ever regarding this kind of "problems"! So helpful! Thanks, Mark!

[jeffromek]

Great lesson! I'm new to bass so this is very helpful.

[markooch]

You taught me a valuable lessen. I don't record or play in a band, but i play for fun. i always wondered when I played along with music why I couldn't hear my bass the way I should. Even though it was prerecord music the bass didn't cut through. I did what you said with the mids. I boosted the low mids and the h mids leaving the bass and treble cut. I left the active electronics on my bass in the center position. played like that for about two hours. took a break, went back and started playing for another ten or fifteen minutes. you were right it stared sounding pretty good to me, so I started adding dome bass and treble, wow what a fuller sound! I did adjust the low mids and hi mids a touch, it's a nice full sound. If I need to add a touch of bass or treble, I do it on the active EQ on my basses. Thanks for the tips, I'm much happier with my sound.

[Johnwearoutfit]

A lesson that I've been searching for so long, helped me a lot! Thank you.

[fight-centermunster]

Thank you for this excellent and educational video! I got so many good tips from this video! Many. Thank you for that!

[Bobby_Uterus]

just wanted to say thanks for taking the time to do this video. great info! very informative. you are a hell of a bass player.

[claytongouin]

Two things.

First, your speaker and cabinet may have a larger impact on your tone than many consider. DI signals, even patched to front of house PA systems can sound unimpressive because we are so used to hearing music recreated by a speaker pushing air. Can't get good EQ settings from an amp? It might be that you don't like your speakers. Thinking about changing your pickups to get better tone? Try using a different speaker cabinet, speaker size, and speaker combination. Even a speaker emulator can make a world of difference and improve the tone of the signal you send to the PA system.

Second, and as he says, the best bass tone is what fits in the mix...but, that does not mean the a scooped EQ is always bad. There may be cases where mid range on your bass signal chain may compete with other instruments. Depending on which instrument you begin recording, other instruments will need to be EQ adjusted accordingly. Here is a trick that I found to improve my bass tone in the mix:
-Find a tonal reference from a bassist who's tone you really like. Listen to how it fits in a mix, and try to determine if it is mid-focused, scooped, flat EQed, only low end, only upper mids and highs, etc. Try to achieve this tone with your bass, pedals and amp.
-Record a reference instrument track that is NOT bass (example, rhythm guitar).
-Track your bass using the settings from step one and use a frequency analyzer in a DAW to see how your bass overlays, or competes, with the reference instrument.
-Apply subtractive EQ to take away where the most sonic competition occurs to make space for each other. This reduction can be by changing your bass, pedal or amp settings.
-Trust your ears while EQing to fit the mix, and find the space where your bass neither disappears nor overpowers the other instruments. Look to compliment instead of compete.

Ultimately, the best bass tone is complimentary. It supports the other instruments, while having a space to be easily heard and differentiated, but this means fitting the mix. He is right that the best bass tone is rarely your solo bass tone when practicing at home, alone. Learn how to compliment by learning how to compromise your 'at home practice tone.'

[DoctorLincoln]

Even his bad tone sounds so pristine. It’s in the fingers!

[arudd]

Just did the grounding eq on my sansamp and you were right I was blown away with how little bass trebble and presence I actually needed once I got the mid dialed in.

[arpEDgio]

This channel finally came up in my feed. The depth of information is spectacular. Subscribed here and now considering joining the site.

[hewhoisathirst]

Def gonna try the gain trick. Pretty much the only thing im doing thats not in line w this lesson is volume over gain. thank you

[davidhall]

Great advice! I would add - check the neck/truss rod adjustment. The neck contour has a major impact on the tone of the bass.