Pickup location vs equalizer

[Doner Designs]

Say you have a bass with three or four pickups. I'm curious how close you can get to emulating all the possible sounds using good multiband equalizer. In other words, can you make a P bass sound like a J bass or a Stingray by fussing with an 8 to 12 band equalizer?

I think the answer is that for all practical purposes you can. Of course that doesn't stop me from building basses with three or four pickups.

Thoughts?

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Okay, I'll bite... here's my "seat-of-the-pants" junk science reply.

If you selected ONE note on one fret of the bass, say a 3rd fret "G" on the E-string, using any selected pickup, you should be able to go at it with a good equalizer and a different bass pretty much "match" that sound, that note.

But, if you then slid up to the 8th or 9th fret, shortening the string and changing the "envelope" so to speak, I'm not sure your equalizer would properly "compensate" for that new note. Probably not.

There's too many string/harmonic dynamics at play as you move around the fretboard, and an equalizer is not equipped to actively move to match those dynamics.

 

[GreyBeard]

That reminds me of a DAW recording plug-in you can use to make any recording mic sound like any recording mic. (supposedly). Imagine a pedal or pre-amp that you select the input bass like say P-BASS and the output bass like RICK. I'm surprised now has marketed such a device.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Variax Bass. Now discontinued, I believe.

 

[GreyBeard]

Variax Bass. Now discontinued, I believe.

Yes, pretty cool instrument. The bass is a trigger to an internal modeling computer.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Variax is a great idea, but I wonder what people do who own those when the processor fails

 

[Dr. Cheese]

I think sliding pickups with good eq is the simplest way to get a lot of different sounds.

 

[GreyBeard]

Variax is a great idea, but I wonder what people do who own those when the processor fails

Pretty boat anchor. Has anyone ever owned or played one of these?

 

[Doner Designs]

Variax is a great idea, but I wonder what people do who own those when the processor fails

I would definitely want it as an outboard box/pedal to plug a traditional bass into.

 

[Doner Designs]

That reminds me of a DAW recording plug-in you can use to make any recording mic sound like any recording mic. (supposedly). Imagine a pedal or pre-amp that you select the input bass like say P-BASS and the output bass like RICK. I'm surprised now has marketed such a device.

That's a cool idea. Some pedals have amp emulators. Why not bass emulators.

 

[Doner Designs]

Okay, I'll bite... here's my "seat-of-the-pants" junk science reply.

If you selected ONE note on one fret of the bass, say a 3rd fret "G" on the E-string, using any selected pickup, you should be able to go at it with a good equalizer and a different bass pretty much "match" that sound, that note.

But, if you then slid up to the 8th or 9th fret, shortening the string and changing the "envelope" so to speak, I'm not sure your equalizer would properly "compensate" for that new note. Probably not.

There's too many string/harmonic dynamics at play as you move around the fretboard, and an equalizer is not equipped to actively move to match those dynamics.

True or not, it's definitely a very logical and interesting thought.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I've tried out the Variax guitar & the new versions can even do alternate tunings on the fly. I was "this" close to buying the Floyd Rose version, until I realized I'd need to buy $200 worth of cables to get it hooked up to my computer.
Never seen the bass version IRL.

 

[GreyBeard]

That's a cool idea. Some pedals have amp emulators. Why not bass emulators.

I think it has been sort of tried with an add on pup/trigger run through a processor to trigger a synth. But, like all things digital, sooner or later the sound just gets on your nerves.

 

[lz4005]

I'm curious how close you can get to emulating all the possible sounds using good multiband equalizer.

If you have a good multiband parametric EQ, good ears and the ability to change your right hand placement and attack you can get close enough that it won't matter in a recorded mix.
Provided, that is, that you're going for a traditional clean DI kind of sound in a 3+ piece band.

Where it breaks down is when you start playing harmonics and chords and doing solo bass recordings.
EQ can't create frequencies that aren't there from the source, so some harmonics (for example) just won't be there without a pickup in the right location to begin with.

The worst thing is putting a bunch of random pickups in places you think look cool. That's just cake decorator BS. People need to put down the routers until they have a specific sound they're going for.

 

[UNICORN BASS]

Very impressive bass but i bet that that player and equipment could get most of the same tones (not the effect driven ones of course) with a decent T40 eh?

 

[rtslinger]

I was going to say before the Variax the T40 (thanks Unicorn Bass) was able to do all of that.

 

[Systolic]

Variax is a great idea, but I wonder what people do who own those when the processor fails

The boards can still be purchased as a repair part, but they're certainly on the way out as old stock dwindles.

 

[Wfrance3]

Super Quad Pickup

 

[DavC]

kinda reminds me of trying to get a steel strung electric guitar eq'd to sound like a nylon/classical gtr ...

you might get kinda close enough to fool the masses . .. !? but the basic sound starts with a different harmonic structure ... at least with keyboard synths , we get to pick a Waveform to work with first ... !! would that be like the sound at different spots along the string .. ??

can you tell i play keys , bass & gtr ( & trumpet , vocals , etc )

 

[Badwater]

EQ has a purpose of adjusting the frequencies. Pickups can have a unique sound all to themselves. And, they are adjustable with volume level and in some cases the ability to cut and boost frequency. Thus, pickups can be adjusted to vary tone and sound kind of like the EQ. Add in the factoid of the picking hand and how the strings are attacked give the EQ and pickups even more dynamic range of sound and tone. Add in the factor of strings, and you have even more variety of sound to choose from.