Add Warmth

#61
I had this post written earlier this morning but got distracted pmsl.

That sterility and dry tone is one of the reasons why I hate SR basses.

I find finding the sweet spot for low mids be it amp or bass, warms up a dry sounding bass. so many folk by default cut mids in the smiley pattern (so 80s people... lets move past 40 years ago PMSL).

I'm having a similar issue with an active bass sounding too clean for me.
But it's only at home... In the band mix its all good.
 
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#63
Paul New said:
You say no drive, no distortion, but that's what the warmth is. Everyone recommends tubes for warmth, because tubes distort in a pleasing way. Get a VT Bass and apply it very gently.
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I’m sorry but I’m going to respectfully disagree on this one. While I personally think warmth can definitely be something that a drive pedal can add, I think in those cases it’s a byproduct of some other characteristics of the circuit itself, and not necessarily from the clipping of the signal. Because I’m not a fan of a distorted bass sound, that’s why I want to avoid that option.
 
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#65
Titanium said:
I’m sorry but I’m going to respectfully disagree on this one. While I personally think warmth can definitely be something that a drive pedal can add, I think in those cases it’s a byproduct of some other characteristics of the circuit itself, and not necessarily from the clipping of the signal. Because I’m not a fan of a distorted bass sound, that’s why I want to avoid that option.
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To add warmth is to boost low mid frequencies. There are a couple of ways to do that. Good luck!
 
#67
I have two pedals in my signal chain besides a tuner. A Tech 21 VT bass and an EBS compressor. The compressor fattens things up a bit and I would say that the tone is a tad warmer. The VT bass definitely adds warmth.
 
#68
Titanium said:
I’m sorry but I’m going to respectfully disagree on this one. While I personally think warmth can definitely be something that a drive pedal can add, I think in those cases it’s a byproduct of some other characteristics of the circuit itself, and not necessarily from the clipping of the signal. Because I’m not a fan of a distorted bass sound, that’s why I want to avoid that option.
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Have you considered a pedal like the ehx bass soul food? It's technically a drive pedal but also has boost settings. I use one and I notice it fattens up the sound with a little natural compression, even when the drive pot is pretty much all the way down (I think ehx calls this thier CLEAN boost). There's other pedals that are light drive/boost pedals too, I think the fairfield barbershop is one of them. Google search these options and see if you like what you hear.
 
#69
Titanium said:
I don’t have a P bass, and frankly I hate them and flats lol.
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When I got my SR1200 I didn't like the overly hi-fi sound of it but didn't really want to go to flats as I already have a P with flats. I tried some ground-wound strings and it was an improvement but the next day when doing some adjustments I snapped a string (be carful using a cordless drill as a string winder folks :whistle:).

I only had a set of flats at home so I put them on. Suddenly I had the sound I was looking for. It's still very different from the Pbass with much more clarity and sustain but it's tamed the tops and added that warmth.
 
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#70
I'd start with setting all the active bass controls flat, favoring the neck pickup. Then on the amp boost low mids and cut hi mids.
If that still doesn't work try flatwounds or old rounds.
 
#73
If you “hate” flats, you’re missing out on instant warmth. I used to hate flats, having tried them only before I really got into playing. I recalled only that flats seemed like dead heavy cables.

Years later I tried a new set, which played and sounded great, and discovered that punching through a mix can beat cutting through.
 
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#74
Titanium said:
I have an Ibanez SRMS805 bass, and a Mesa WD-800 head going into a 1x12 Darkglass cab. I’m happy with my tone for the most part, except I kind of wish there was maybe just a tad more warmth to it. Not sure how others feel, but even though I love Ibanez basses, I’ve always thought the tone on them was a little cold. Can anyone recommend a pedal or anything that I could add to my signal chain that might give me that little bit extra? I like my sound to be very clean, so I don’t want to use drive unless it can stay clean. Also I realize that new pickups would have a big effect on the tone, but I don’t want to go down that route just yet. To add, I am probably going to pick up the Origin Effects Cali 76 bass compressor. I realize compression isn’t necessarily supposed to alter tone a lot, but I’ve heard that this one does color it a bit. Anyone have this pedal have any thoughts on it adding any warmth?
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Some basses just don't have the warmth that others do. Many basses in the Ibanez line have a very bright, very modern tone, and it's just hard to get a whole lot of warmth. Sounds like you need another bass in your stable. :)
 
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#75
BaileyMan said:
Some basses just don't have the warmth that others do. Many basses in the Ibanez line have a very bright, very modern tone, and it's just hard to get a whole lot of warmth. Sounds like you need another bass in your stable. :)
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Yeah, I’ve felt for a while that I’d like a J bass, or something of similar build / tone. But that’s just not an option at the moment, other things to buy first
 
#77
Bob_Ross said:
Yep, that's exactly the approach I would take too.

Musicians -- and producers, and engineers, etc. -- often have a really hard time articulating exactly what they mean by "warmth". And even if they can describe it in terms that translate to a tone-shaping action that can add or subtract said "warmth" their description may not match the description of the other folks in the room.

But what does seem fairly universal is that whenever a bass has lots of high frequency information -- sizzle, tinkle, zing, clank, whatever euphemisms or onomatopoeias you want to use to describe that ultra-clear hi-fi elevated treble response -- everyone agrees that it is not "warm". So start by reducing that.
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What you've just described is, IME, enough to recommend variable high-pass and low-pass filters; I can't understand why they aren't standard equipment on all bass amps? Although I have never gigged an amp with a variable low-pass filter, I've used three different versions of the excellent FDeck hpf/pre, and my main amp [Acoustic Image] has one built in. I will never buy another bass amp that isn't equipped with a v-hpf. I may end up resorting to a Broughton pedal, but, I prefer not to use ancillary devices, just to keep the signal path as simple as possible.
 
#79
Noble DI in the effects loop of my amp head makes both the amp / iem’s and FOH sound better (warmer) in my opinion. Noble DI’s are expensive and there is also a six month wait, and mine was completely worth it all to me.
 
#80
Stock Ibanez preamp is shelving bass and treble starting from like 1 khz towards infinity at like 18 db.

Roll the highs back and boost the higher mids on the preamp and amp to play with that issue.

And yes, a slight overdrive will help.
 
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