Looking for more low end..

[camrope]

I'm currently playing a USA Fender Jazz through a Orange Tiny Terror 500 watt head and a Orange 4x10 cab.. using a Darkglass vintage ultra pedal.

I'm playing post punk / rock and roll, so im getting a great heavy sound from my gear but the low end doesn't seam to cut through as much as when i play up high...
is this a common occurrence with a fender jazz?
would it help if i added a 1X15 speaker?
should i be using an EQ?

Any tips or tricks on making the low end sound as cutting as at the same time having it cut through when i play high would be very much appreciated!!

 

[two fingers]

An octaver seems like the simplest solution.

 

[camrope]

An octaver seems like the simplest solution.

Any one in particular?

 

[joel406]

I'm currently playing a USA Fender Jazz through a Orange Tiny Terror 500 watt head and a Orange 4x10 cab.. using a Darkglass vintage ultra pedal.

I'm playing post punk / rock and roll, so im getting a great heavy sound from my gear but the low end doesn't seam to cut through as much as when i play up high...
is this a common occurrence with a fender jazz?
would it help if i added a 1X15 speaker?
should i be using an EQ?

Any tips or tricks on making the low end sound as cutting as at the same time having it cut through when i play high would be very much appreciated!!

I haven't used Orange amplification but I have use GK and Mesa and I do currently use 410 cabs. Usually 410 cabs excel in the low end department. And I'm having no trouble there regardless of which of my 410 cabs I use. When I use both I usually have to dial the low end back.

For the record I'm also using an American Standard Jazz bass circa 2013 so it has the CS60 pickups.

Your rig sounds like it should have plenty of low end. Maybe different strings? Different eq settings? Maybe Orange isn't everything I thought it was.

Hard to say.

I do know that as a rule I stay away from tube amps. I know the TB 500 is a hybrid but still.

Very confusing problem.

Maybe you need a second 410. But I wouldn't mix a 115 in there.

 

[two fingers]

Any one in particular?

My apologies. I don't use one so I am unfamiliar with them. It just seemed like one would fix you up sonically.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

Low end does not cut through as well as higher "ends."
It's just in the nature of how we hear.
You need significantly more power to get lower frequencies to sound as loud as higher ones.
Elephants and whales may hear it just fine, but not people.

Trying to get more low end by boosting the bass and backing off on the treble will just make matters worse.
The power from your amp is all being diverted to the part of the audio spectrum that is harder for us to hear.
It ends up just making things sound muddy, which isn't what you want.

You really want to be accenting the mid ranges. The fundamental frequencies like 41 Hz are not what we hear so much when you pluck an open E string. Rather you are hearing the harmonics of the string. That's what you really need to focus on to cut through.

 

[camrope]

so should i be cranking the low mids and turning down the high mids?
I don't know if your familiar with the darglass vintage ultra but it has an eq on it with switches to change the Hz in the mid sections... can you recommend a Hz frequency i could use to give me more low end?

 

[mc900ftj]

This is a stretch, but you may want to check your pickup height adjustment. May not be your issue, but make sure they are adjusted to insure the volume from all strings is equal. Do all strings when played at the same fret sound equally "loud"?

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

so should i be cranking the low mids and turning down the high mids?
I don't know if your familiar with the darglass vintage ultra but it has an eq on it with switches to change the Hz in the mid sections... can you recommend a Hz frequency i could use to give me more low end?

That's really hard to say.
The space where you play, who you play with, where you stand in relation to your speakers can all have an affect on what you hear. And then the audience may hear something entirely different. If you are playing through some sort of a house system, that can make you sound different out front when compared to what you hear on the stage.

I don't automatically assume that since you are new to TB, (and welcome BTW, and forgive me for neglecting that in my first post) that you are new to playing bass. But just in case you are, a rookie mistake is to think you need to crank the low end and cut the mids and highs. A lot of inexperienced sound guys make the same mistake when mixing the bass player. That's why I mentioned it.

You will need to adjust your EQ to best fit your situation. But cranking the lows and backing off on the mids and highs usually gets one into much more mud, and less cutting through.

Hopefully someone with the Darkglass gear can more directly address your specific questions.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I'm currently playing a USA Fender Jazz through a Orange Tiny Terror 500 watt head and a Orange 4x10 cab.. using a Darkglass vintage ultra pedal.

I'm playing post punk / rock and roll, so im getting a great heavy sound from my gear but the low end doesn't seam to cut through as much as when i play up high...
is this a common occurrence with a fender jazz?
would it help if i added a 1X15 speaker?
should i be using an EQ?

Any tips or tricks on making the low end sound as cutting as at the same time having it cut through when i play high would be very much appreciated!!

Speaker diameter alone is not a very good determination of how a cab will perform on the low end.
That may have been the case back in the early days when a lot of the science of building speaker cabs was still in it's infancy. Today though, cabinet design and speaker configuration plays a much greater roll in low end response than does the speaker diameter. There are 2x10 cabs out there these days with better low end than some 15s.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

This is a stretch, but you may want to check your pickup height adjustment. May not be your issue, but make sure they are adjusted to insure the volume from all strings is equal. Do all strings when played at the same fret sound equally "loud"?

I think this is a really important thing you will want to check.

If you are not familiar with how to properly set up your bass, you may want to have a pro go through it for you.

While discussing strings, what type are you using? That can make a huge difference.
Also playing style... fingers or pick, can have a dramatic affect.

You really need to consider every physical and electrical component in your setup from your fingers through to the environment where you play, including your ears. Sometimes it can get right down to the cable you are using between your bass and amp. Not likely in your case, but not out if the rehlm of possibility for some.

 

[camrope]

That's really hard to say.
The space where you play, who you play with, where you stand in relation to your speakers can all have an affect on what you hear. And then the audience may hear something entirely different. If you are playing through some sort of a house system, that can make you sound different out front when compared to what you hear on the stage.

I don't automatically assume that since you are new to TB, (and welcome BTW, and forgive me for neglecting that in my first post) that you are new to playing bass. But just in case you are, a rookie mistake is to think you need to crank the low end and cut the mids and highs. A lot of inexperienced sound guys make the same mistake when mixing the bass player. That's why I mentioned it.

You will need to adjust your EQ to best fit your situation. But cranking the lows and backing off on the mids and highs usually gets one into much more mud, and less cutting through.

Hopefully someone with the Darkglass gear can more directly address your specific questions.

I have been playing bass for years..its only in the last year that i have started to really delve in to gear and messing around with tones and trying to find my own sound... the whole process is so foreign to me..
i like to think i have a good ear from years of playing and being a fan of music in general.. but I'm a total novice when it comes to tweaking gear.

The gear I'm using is great and i have a really heavy full sound that I'm after... I'm just being a little pedantic... but thanks for your input!!!

 

[camrope]

I just got the my bass set up, he did a really good job.. im using Ernie Ball Power Slinky strings and i play with a pick, all down strokes... raw and hard, lots of energy...

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I have been playing bass for years..its only in the last year that i have started to really delve in to gear and messing around with tones and trying to find my own sound... the whole process is so foreign to me..
i like to think i have a good ear from years of playing and being a fan of music in general.. but I'm a total novice when it comes to tweaking gear.

The gear I'm using is great and i have a really heavy full sound that I'm after... I'm just being a little pedantic... but thanks for your input!!!

You are delving into an area that can take a lifetime to master and yet leave you knowing there is still more to learn.
How one little change can affect your sound is as much art as it is science.
Enjoy the ride.

 

[camrope]

This is a stretch, but you may want to check your pickup height adjustment. May not be your issue, but make sure they are adjusted to insure the volume from all strings is equal. Do all strings when played at the same fret sound equally "loud"?

Yeah there all the same volume wise... i don't think it has anything to do with the pick up height... i got my bass set up last week and was chatting with the guy in the shop about it.. he didn't seem to think it was that either..

 

[camrope]

You are delving into an area that can take a lifetime to master and yet leave you knowing there is still more to learn.
How one little change can affect your sound is as much art as it is science.
Enjoy the ride.

ahh.... i already hate it! hahaha..

 

[AshInAmsterdam]

My amp has a 4-band EQ - 40, 360, 800 and 10k Hz.

The best results I've had have had the 40 turned down a lot, and the main boost is in the 360Hz control. I get a lovely rumble from a solid state amp and a210 and 115 cabs.

More importantly for me is to build a sound with the rhythm guitarist so that when you're following the same line it sounds huge. Ours tends to boost his treble and mids, and cut his bass.

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

I just got the my bass set up, he did a really good job.. im using Ernie Ball Power Slinky strings and i play with a pick, all down strokes... raw and hard, lots of energy...

Round wounds and a pick. Lot of high-end energy in that combination I'd think.
You should really be able to cut through the mix with that.
Ever try flats or use your fingers? Or even a felt pick?

 

[camrope]

Round wounds and a pick. Lot of high-end energy in that combination I'd think.
You should really be able to cut through the mix with that.
Ever try flats or use your fingers? Or even a felt pick?

yeah its cuts through great! but the low end stuff seams to blend in a little... this is my problem..

 

[Old Garage-Bander]

yeah its cuts through great! but the low end stuff seams to blend in a little... this is my problem..

Do you run any compression or AGC?
I'm wondering, with all of the heavy, bright attack going on, if it is causing the lower end to get lost in the audio processing?