Tips for dialing great bass tones

[cheopsnet]

Hey guys,

I have a great old Fender P-bass that sounds awesome acoustically..

However I always get disappointed in my attempts to dial in good bass tones on the Axe FX II. Not looking for distortion/weird sounds, but rather a focused, warm, compressed tone. As an example, I am going for something along the following:



Any specific you could suggest would help: Amp model, settings, eq, effect, effect settings...

Thanks!
Louis

 

[Brownmatthall]

Have you got a patch that shows where you're at? I find the ad200b model can get warmer than the sv and if I'm looking to compress naturally I'll use pedal comp 2 up front with a fast attack and release
Edit: your IR choice is super important too and I'd check out 3rd party offerings over the factory stuff. Even some stuff on axe change are really good

 

[Lionheart]

In this order on the grid line:

1) Amp block using the SV Bass.
2) Filter block set to high-pass around 50Hz.
3) Filter block set to low-pass around 4kHz+.
4) Compressor block in Studio mode. Fast release, medium attack, 2:1 ratio.
5) Another Compressor block in Studio mode. Fast release, fast attack 4:1 ratio.
6) PEQ Block. Notch out somewhere between 60 to 80Hz to let the your drummer's kick drum cut through. Keep an eye on the 160 to 200Hz, 250 to 500Hz, and 2kHz to 4kHz ranges. Look at possibly subduing these ranges with your EQ. Most of those ranges contribute to muddiness and then the higher range can get harsh with fret noise.

That's it. That should be a good foundation to build off of and experiment with. Hope this helps.

 

[Wolfenstein98k]

[...]
4) Compressor block in Studio mode. Fast release, medium attack, 2:1 ratio.
5) Another Compressor block in Studio mode. Fast release, fast attack 4:1 ratio.
[...]

Could you elaborate on using two compressors Lionheart, and why you don't use the in-Amp compressor?

 

[Lionheart]

Could you elaborate on using two compressors Lionheart, and why you don't use the in-Amp compressor?

I always use stacked compression for the bass guitar. I find that when you split the task, the tone you end up with will be more even sounding.

 

[Speculum Speculorum]

Could you elaborate on using two compressors Lionheart, and why you don't use the in-Amp compressor?

Just to add to it - one compressor is there to catch the peaks, and the other is there to even out the signal so the bass sits surgically into the mix.