How to get more low end without loosing that jazz bass tone

J

juan13

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Mar 4, 2015
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#1
Hi, most of you jazz bass player will notice this: when you run the two pickups on full you get that scooped sound, but once you start lowering the volume of one of the two, the one thats on full starts to shine more. I usually run my Jazz bass with the bridge pickup soloed. The thing is, i really love this sound but playing on a power trio live sometimes i feel the band needs more low end, and my ultramidrange setting lacks a little bit of it. BEFORE SPEAKING EQ'S and AMPS settings, i would like to center the topic on the jazz bass setting.

Sometimes i feel i gain more low end by using the brdige pickup on full and giving it a little bit of the neck pickup, sometimes almost up to 90% (never 100% because that scooped sound appears). I don't have any frequency analizer, but what you say? does this setting gives a little bit of more low end or i am imaging it?
 
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#2
Without talking about amps and EQ's....

I sometimes do the exact opposite! I'll go full neck (J or P) and add in some bridge till I get the mid response I want.

I say do whatever you can/want to get that tone you want.

They put the knobs on there for a reason, use them :)

Edit:
Adding in a confirmation to reduce confusion. Yes, what you are experiencing is real, adding in a some neck to an otherwise bridge only mix will get you some low end oomph. I do it the opposite way to get a more rounded, less "bite", sound that still retains some definition.
 
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#5
I see all of you use more the neck pickup. I use it when i want a more precision kind of sound, yeah, i know is not the same but i guess is nearer than the bridge pickup. My usual choice is the opposite, bridge pickup full. The thing is, i sometimes feel that adding some neck pickup volume gets the tone more low end, but sometimes i think its just my imagination, does anybody can tell if i am REALLY getting more low end with that setting?
 
#7
I rarely use that classic bridge J sound for that reason. When I hear others it doesn't bother me but I always feel it's too thin in my hands. The only time I will favor the bridge is if it's a solo or melodic passage or a busy bouncy kind of thing.
 
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#8
I prefer to run front at about 3/4
Bridge 1/4
Tone 1/4

I do that because I like the sound

A guitarist recently commented that my jazz bass in those settings, seems to him to sound deeper than my p

For my sense of it I am not certain if that is true but that was a comment from a guitar player listening to both basses

Eq on amp flat and 12 inch speaker

Rossa
 
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#11
juan13 said:
Hi, most of you jazz bass player will notice this: when you run the two pickups on full you get that scooped sound, but once you start lowering the volume of one of the two, the one thats on full starts to shine more. I usually run my Jazz bass with the bridge pickup soloed. The thing is, i really love this sound but playing on a power trio live sometimes i feel the band needs more low end, and my ultramidrange setting lacks a little bit of it. BEFORE SPEAKING EQ'S and AMPS settings, i would like to center the topic on the jazz bass setting.

Sometimes i feel i gain more low end by using the brdige pickup on full and giving it a little bit of the neck pickup, sometimes almost up to 90% (never 100% because that scooped sound appears). I don't have any frequency analizer, but what you say? does this setting gives a little bit of more low end or i am imaging it?
Click to expand...


Not sure why other people are responding saying to boost the neck pickup more than the J, its fairly clear that you are looking for the bridge jazz-bass tone. As to your second paragraph, I find the same thing. When I play for the bridge sound, I pretty much always keep the neck pickup on about 80%. That way you get the deep bass of the neck pickup with the punchiness and tone of the bridge. You are not imagining it, it definitely works, and you barely lose any of the J bridge pickup tone when you do it.
 
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#12
Full bridge and back off the neck pickup, need to be careful because a really small tweak really makes a difference, you need to find the sweet spot. I pluck mainly over the bridge pickup though, moving the hand from over the bridge pickup to a bit more towards the neck makes a big difference too.

Need to find the right balance between pickups and hand position, pickup height, and then EQ of course.
 
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#17
You're not imagining anything. Your observations are J-bass in a nutshell.

Bridge open with neck rolled out just enough to highlight the mids gives a round tone with a lyrical midrange presence peak. It's a pretty good catch-all setting for a lot of styles. Then the adjustments from tune to tune are minimal - play closer to the neck for depth and weight, closer to the bridge for punch and bark, control your highs with the tone knob. One-time sound check adjustment to the amp's low EQ, go with whatever suits the ensemble and the room. Voila.

As seen from the responses some folks prefer going the other way with their volume controls, running the neck pup open and attenuating the bridge to taste. Both approaches emphasize mids, but they impart two different contours. I've tried both and find the first setting to be most conducive to my playing, which is fingerstyle. But it can also be a lot of fun to swap dominant pickups, roll off the tone knob, and dig in with a pick for a song or two. As mentioned, it can put you in P-bass sonic territory.
 
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#18
Put both pickups full the slowly start backing up the neck pickup until you hear the mids coming back, usually you need to reduce the volume by 15%-20%, adjust tone to taste, I normally adjust it in the same proportion than the neck pickup. At this point you should have good lows and enough bite.

Something like this:
image.jpeg
 
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