Hi there,
I’he bougth a Marcus Miller JB about a year ago and wondered if I missed something. It seems to me that it misses the “growl” effect , or may be I just don’t know to get it.
I’m very satisfied with the instrument, the finition, the neck …but the sound misses the dirty down to earth growl effect I’ve heard on other bass and was sure to find one day or another on that bass (you know, due to versatility and all that).
So I wandered, Should I change the pickup. Is any of you who done so on a Marcus Miller V3 ? I 'm afraid I would loss the benefit of the pre amp which had been made for those pickups . Would it be an issue ? Should I change the preamp too ?
I love to mod, do it all the time. I would not recommend it in your case, because you haven’t said what tones you are going after. Without a goal, it’s hard for us to recommend a solution, it would be random chance. There’s a lot of choices out there, and I would hate for you to mod and dislike the result too.
I think the V3 is a superb mod platform, so, what are you looking for?
Ok, thank you for your answer, my be I just need more ear practice and simple pluck in knowledge to obtain this on mine.
It’s just that I found my tone very linear, either full on bass or mute , it lacks some “substance”, I don’t know how the obtain the best of that middle boost. perhaps I should have bougth something else . (Before haters serve me well, I’ll say it first, perhaps I should stop playing bass) .
That’s not going to happen here. Everyone here tends to be super supportive (and welcome to the forum!) Unlike a certain other bass forum that shall remain nameless. And no you shouldn’t quit playing bass, absolutely not!
If you have the kit your best bet would be to record a short video so we can hear what your bass is sounding like. Then I’m sure some of the knowledge folk here could make some recommendations for you.
Depending on the exact tone you’re after, try playing with your preamp settings. For example, start with all knobs in the middle position (often referred to as the 12 o’clock position; usually there is a detent setting you can feel when you get there). Pluck a few strings and listen carefully to the bass’s tone with those preamp settings. Next, try cranking your treble knob up all the way (turn it clockwise until it stops). Pluck some strings again and listen carefully to note the difference between the all-at-12 o’clock position and full on treble position.
Repeat this process with each preamp knob: treble, mids, bass. Try them each turned up fully. After you’re done, try preamp knob combinations. For example, turn up your treble and bass a bit and note the tone difference. Then start turning up your mids knob, starting with a bit and listening; then some more, etc.
This is experimenting with your preamp’s capabilities. It’s a lot of fun to play around with different knob settings and combinations to see the variety of tones you can create.
Here is a video of the great Marcus Miller. While it is devoted to introducing the Sire Signature V8 model, the section where Marcus plays with the preamp’s tone settings is worth paying attention to. It demonstrates how the tone can be changed according to what the player wants to hear.
As @HighlandBass said, ain’t nobody gonna do that here! We are all here for the same thing, the love of bass and a supportive community, which this absolutely is!
I have a fearless V7. I’ve played around a lot with the tone knobs, trying to get a tone I like. The thing I have found is that a tone that sound good in isolation can sometimes sounds rubbish ‘in the mix’, ie when playing the bass line for a specific song. I was practicing a bunch of songs today, for one I rolled off the treble and mids completely and just used the neck pick up, giving me a super deep, resonant tone. Sounded great on its own, but completely lost, when playing along with the song, so I had to add in a bit of mid and about 30% of the bridge pickup. Sounded far better.
I think the thing is to keep playing around, plus accept what sound good for one song, might not work for the next.
Thank to all of you for your support. I Guess I’ll be givin’ a try again. I usually do start with knobs at 12 but never tried with the trebble totally off.
Individually, try every knob set to all the way rolled up, all the way rolled down, and at every position in between. Listen to differences each knob setting makes. Try this on all knobs. You’ll discover your V3 can create a whole lotta sounds.
