Need help with sound

[5deep]

Good afternoon all, i'm trying to get that deep professional sound that i hear from other bass player when i go out to a spot that have dinner and live music. Most of the time i'ts a cover ban that's playing some R&B hits  from the 70s - 80s . The ban will have a bass player, drummer, keys, sax, and a lead singers. and all of the time the bass player will have that clear deep professional sound.  I have professional  equipment: Ampeg B5R Head, Hartke transporter, an a ken smith bass and i still can't get that "sound"

I purchased a Boss GT - 10B bass effects processor from the the pawn shop for about $200.00 and i'm still not sure how to set it up for that pro sound. I hear that sound from a few bass player in church but i can hear it more clearly at a restaurant with a cover ban. Does any one have the GT - 10B bass effects processor and if so how do you set it to have that professional clean deep sound.

Thanks
5Deep

[malthumb]

Hard to say based on what you have posted so far.  First suggestion I would make would be to set your amp and bass both as flat as possible.  Leave the Boss GT-10B out of the chain for now.  Then dial in more low.  As much as you can take until the tone gets to be too muddy.  Then either back off on the low and/or dial in more treble.

Keep in mind that another thing you may be experiencing is the difference between active and passive basses.  Your Ken Smith is an active bass.  It requires batteries to operate.  Of course it is hard to say this definitively without knowing what other bassists you are seeing are playing, but passive Fender Precision and Fender Jazz basses are probably the most popular (by number out there) basses on the planet.  They tend to have more of an organic and dense sound than active basses that tend to be more even across tonal bands and more crisp and clean in sound.

As for the GT-10B, I would recommend first getting a tone and settings you like out of your bass and amp before adding it to your sound chain.  The effect(s) should supplement the sound of your bass, not change it or fix it.

Not sure that solves your issue, but hopefully it can help move you down the road a piece.

Peace,

James

[phbrown]

is it possible the sound difference comes you playing versus sitting in the audience ...

Is it possible to have someone play your bass while you sit in the audience or can you get a wireless transmitter and play while sitting in the audience to see how the sound changes?


Also can you post a gospel clip that has the sound you are looking for and one that has the sound you produce? I'm pretty sure I can't help you but at least we can give it the old college try.

[5deep]

Thanks for the advice  Malthumb, i tried what you said and it helped. Phbrown  listen to the song "thank you" by Marry Marry... That's the sound i'm looking for.

[berbie]

That's a bass?

[stix_clgi]

That's a bass?

If he's talking about "Thank You Lord" by Mary Mary (James Moore cover) then yes it is a bass. Andrew Gouche played his MTD 6er on that track. If it's the "Thank You" by Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin, I'm not too sure, prolly a synth bass of some sort or another.

[5deep]

If he's talking about "Thank You Lord" by Mary Mary (James Moore cover) then yes it is a bass. Andrew Gouche played his MTD 6er on that track. If it's the "Thank You" by Mary Mary and Kirk Franklin, I'm not too sure, prolly a synth bass of some sort or another.

Its the one that Andrew Gouche played.

[Back2Bassics]

One of the best things to do is when you attend any spot with live music is to go talk to the bass player. If they are humble enough, you can talk about technique, regiment, mental approach etc. More times than other you will find that "the sound" comes more from technique than it does equipment. For instance, if you place you fingers close to the fretboard when strumming, you will get a different sound than fingering more closer to the bridge. I love the "the sound" of Motown bass playing mainly James Jamerson. A lot of his sound came from the fact that he played all of his lines with one finger vs two or three. When i use that technique i hear a total difference. Every bass player has their own technique and tricks, the best thing to do is talk to the ones who have the sound you like and you can learn it and implement into your style