Looking for punch/presence/hair. Bassrig, DCX, Sansamp etc

ScottyBoy

ScottyBoy

Sep 27, 2004
351
68
4,946
Salt Lake City, Utah
#1
For those willing to read ahead thanks!

I grew up learning bass in early 90’s. My whole goal was to get glassy high end, clean bass tone as possible. I played through SWR’s, Eden, GK(without drive), and now mark bass and settled on Musicman for its clear preamp etc. I never played with P-basses, or tube amps or SVT’s etc and never used effects.
Now I am playing in rock covers bands(70s,80’s, 90’s) and loving it… but after all these years have finally realized - the musicman is so sterile, people tell me my sound needs some “hair”, I hear terms like harmonic saturation?? I can hear it where it lacks… it just needs ompphhhh and tighter punch. Sit in the mix better without being loud or crazy distortion.
I have been using a Darkglass Microtubes pedal to maybe help with this. It did add the hair but then I realized Im hearing what I had read, it its a cool sound but more modern than what Im looking for.

I am playing 4&5 string Ernieball Stingrays into Markbass amp and 2X12
Here are some options that came up in my research.
  • Origin effects DCX Bass (around $360)
  • Tech 21 Geddy Lee Shape Shifter - or other sansamp pedals (around $250)
  • Origin effects Bassrig pedals (around $500)
I think the later 2 are types of amp sims with the bassrig having a cab sim. The DCX being more just a drive/tone enhancer.
I dont have to have inbuilt DI which I know the cab sim on bassrig only works through XLR.
Would any of these work to fatten up/sit in mix etc? Or do I need a specific amp/cab sim pedal like the bassrig pedals?
I have watched a lot of YT videos, and I like the sound of all of them, Im more so looking to see if one would be better for my main goal.
Ps. I dont play with in ears, my rig on stage is my monitor and contributes to FOH and run DI from my markbass.
Thanks for all your help.
 
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#2
IME MM basses are different when looking to add some vintage hair, there is something about the original sound that is a bit off when adding any types of saturation. In all my collection the only 2 pedals that works to my ear is the JPTR Fx Jive that has 3 choices for grit or saturation and the Hjart Muller Overdrive from Moody Sound. I did spend some time crafting sounds on my Source Audio pedals but I seemed to go back to the 2 mentioned. YMMV.
 
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#5
The search for the right low-gain overdrive may never end. The deeper you plunge into it, the more sensitive you will become to the tiniest nuances of distortion. If you’re running into the front of your Markbass, you don’t necessarily need a full-featured preamp, an overdrive/distortion/fuzz pedal may give you what you need, and will typically be way less expensive. The possibilities are virtually endless, especially if you open yourself to the madness of stacking drives.

I won’t bore you with my current list of favourites; your needs and preferences may not intersect with mine at all. One of my favourite threads on Talkbass, on the other hand, is here, and will be entertaining at the very least.

All the best and my deepest sympathies :) .
 
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#7
I've been on a similar tone chase except I've never been able to bond with MM's and always gravitated back to P and/or J basses. I finally landed on a P bass into a Keeley Bassist>DCX in OD mode (as needed-for extra dirt)>OE BASSRIG 64' Black Panel (always on). This has been my main setup for a while now.

I use this for about 90% of my gigs and it gives me almost exactly what I hear in my head....The OE pedals aren't cheap but worth every penny.

However....every once in a while, I get an irrational itch, leave the pedals in the gig bag and go for my bass straight into my vintage V4B or Super Bassman, then blend a DI signal with a mic on either a 610 or 115. There are only a couple gigs I have where this set up is even considered but when I do work with those soundman/venues on a DI/Mic blend, it gets me to the 100% satisfaction mark every time.

So, my take away from all this is, if you want old-school tube saturation tone, it's really hard to beat plugging a Pbass straight into a tube amp and letting it rip!

Good luck with your hunt!
 
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#9
Greer Lightspeed. I've been through about 150 different dirt pedals over the years (No Joke) and had particular problems finding anything that would stay warm with my active Spectors. The Greer is completely transparent and allows you to dial in anything from clean boost to pretty grindy. I'm using mine to just add a little warm grind.
 
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#10
Punch and tightness... you may want to try a compressor. Nothing I've found comes close to slotting the bass in the mix better than a properly set compressor. I never play a gig without one now. There are many on the market, some are clean/uncolored, some have grit to them. Keeley Bassist is always a great starting point. The Fairfield accountant is a great "dirty" compressor to add a bit of color to your sound.
 
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#11
mcrawfordmusic said:
I think a Tech 21 SansAmp Bass Driver DI would be a good place to start. They are relatively inexpensive, available everywhere and are an industry standard.
Click to expand...
This, exactly. I’ve run the PBDDI to have three settings ranging from relatively clean to good and hairy. It’s rather easy to use and has never been an issue with FOH taking the DI. I’m not exactly sure how it does it (cab sim), but even at unity gain it makes any amp feel much punchier.
 
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#12
Which Darkglass are you running? Is it the B3K/B7K?

I have an older DG Vintage Microtubes deluxe with the Era control. Roll that back to about 9:00 o’clock and then into a Sushibox Finally DI (v2 with 12ax7). Killer rock tones.
 
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#15
Punch, presence, hair - all such vague terms. To me punch is an emphasis on the mid-bass region that hits you in the gut. I think most consider it an upper midrange boost that adds clarity.

Needless to say I'm not racking with what you're looking for.

I use a SansAmp ParaDriver DI and I really like it. With a bit of distortion (another loaded term that) on the signal I get more harmonic content making the notes sound a bit fuller. Not bright, like fuzz distortion on an electric guitar, but just a fuller sounding note. Fuller as in not all low muffled thump, not fuller as in more warmth.

You're using Musicman as in one of their amps or a Stingray? Single H or HH pickups? How are you setting your controls? BT maxed?
 
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#19
Thanks all for the ideas/replies/education! I got to be honest I even had to look up what "saturation" really is. So sorry about being vague in what I am looking for.
Some are asking about my gear and settings a bit more spelled out. So here it goes.
Musicman Stingray single H - 4 and 5, either EB slinky RW or Diadorao RW nickles.
Markbass seperate 2 X 112 driven by Markbass LM3.
My tone has always been extremely clear (which is always why I had these types of setups).. which I am now starting to feel sterile.

And ps, I know the stingrays aren't the best for what Im looking for but that is what I love to play.

I have a pretty light touch playing with my fingers.
I set my amp and bass pretty flat and adjust either a LITTLE eq depending on room mostly adding bass from MM or the amp.
The DG pedal is the vintage microtubes basic pedal. I just have it just starting to break up... it totally sounds like a MM still.

There are quite a few suggestions here...with a lot for me to go through, with more to come in I'm sure! I also did not miss the comment about the compressor.
 
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