Finding your bass tone.

By Justin Grado

·    What is Bass? When we speak of bass for our purposes, we are generally referring to the tonal range from approximately 60Hz to 250Hz, as well as the Instrument itself.

·    What style of bass are you playing? This question is twofold, referring to the type of instrument you’re using and the type of music you’re playing.  This leads directly to the next question.

·    Who do you listen to, who inspires you? Jaco Pastorius?

Or maybe, James Jamerson?

Or John Entwhistle? The list goes on….. Point being these guys and many other bassists out there approach the instrument in their own way.  If you aren’t listening, you should be. This can help you define what you want to hear from your own instrument. As well as inspire creativity and growth. The instrumentation and amplification these icons used is only a piece of the puzzle.

·    What is your application? Where are you going to be playing your bass, are you jamming with friends or starting a band? Are you looking to record in the studio? This is important for many reasons, in a band scenario you have to consider the other voices and vice versa. It’s important to allow it to breath or you get a muddy mix. In a studio atmosphere getting the purest tone from your instrument is ideal, then you can adjust the tone accordingly.

Now to the point of it all,

We have our bass of choice, our amp, our inspiration: Now what?

Let’s sit down and dial in some tones.

One thing you should remember is that the bass and the amp are only part of the equation, your technique in your hands is equally as important, if not moreso.

Let’s get started!!!

Searching for more information? Call us: 503.393.4437. Or you can use the instrument research request link below.  An Uptown Music amplication expert will research and get back to you with options.