Maybe ast him next time if he can help you with the EQ, if he is experienced, he may show you how to get sound you like out of what the 2 band can do, rather then just turning them here and there.
He may not be able to, or the bass may not be capable, but if it’s not, at least you will know for sure.
I do recall the EQ being one of the things that made the Cort that bass buzz tested be marked down, so maybe it is the EQ you don’t like.
I am a bit surprised you did not like the ESP. I love mine, but it is a jump up from the B-204, but I still like the 204.
I also start to trust the guy in the shop. It was like: “So… normal scale, 4 strings.” Thinks for a bit: “Okay, this is the best option in your price range.”
“Okay, I’ll try it.” after playing
“It’s not that I don’t believe you but I would still like a comparison. Something else?”
“Mhhh… I don’t… mhh. Are you from here, cologne? Because in Bochum we have much more to chose from. […] Ah. This might be an option!” gives me the ESP.
And I liked the ESP.
It’s just that in a direct comparison I liked the Cort better.
The reason I am starting to trust the guy is: It didn’t matter what other bass there I picked up in or under my price range. He was right with his statement. He makes the impression of being a man of few words but I think I can get along just fine with him.
The two basses he chose for me after I told him what I was looking for in what kind of price range were the only ones I liked.
Well I told him that I can’t really bring myself to like the EQ. I think he… shrugged Also what does a 2 band EQ do? In my mind it goes max lows/min highs ↔ min lows/max highs - is that about right?
Maybe it’s just in my mind. Any change I do with those EQ feels like a change I would choose to adjust at the amp.
That’s what I thought.
I would not have believed how much I like the low/hi mid controls on the Rumble and what a difference it makes compared to only a mid control. So not having a mid control at all is even worse.
Another thing I noticed with the Cort where I’m now not sure if it’s the setup or maybe string gauge or a combination of all including the bass: It was very “clangy” on the fretboard. One could hear every fretting with an audible click or clack. But even with that clacking I liked the feel of the neck and everything best compared to every bass I tried out.
Yes, I agree, a 3 Band is desired, but if the bass you like comes down to only 2 Band, you may see if he can, or someone could help, but just a thought, I have not really had that problem.
Yeah I’ve owned three 2-band EQ basses; they are fine, but one of the primary reasons I sold one of them was to upgrade to a three-band with active/passive switch
A two band EQ will have one knob for each of bass and treble, with frequencies probably a bit closer together than the bass and treble knobs of a three-band. They boost and cut in kind of a normal distribution around their frequency.
It’s not that I have a problem using an EQ to reach the sound I have in mind. Of course it’s still a lot of trial and error but if I have an idea of a sound I’m able to reach it more or less.
I think it’s honestly just some kind of internal blockage that in my mind I don’t want an EQ on my instrument. In my mind it’s just not the place where I would do EQ settings. Especially if I set it up once the way I like it and then rarely touch those again.
The guy in the shop and you guys convinced me that it would be a mistake to exclude the EQ basses entirely. I think I will need time and bass with EQ to actually change my mind.
I think this is looking at it slightly the wrong way, or rather, in the most confining possible sense of the term “EQ settings.”
Do you like having a Tone knob on your bass? Or do you always leave it wide open?
Think of the EQ on the bass as a slightly more sophisticated tone knob.
They are different (the tone knob is usually a low pass filter, while the EQ is… an EQ) but the role they play is similar.
Nothing at all wrong with either kind of bass. And passive basses are the most popular of course; more music has probably been made with the P-bass than any other bass.
I change it only when I want to get a different sound for a different song. Since it’s not an EQ there’s a difference to me using the tone knob on the bass and the high controls on the amp so I usually adjust both when changing something there.
If there wasn’t a difference I probably would keep my bass at noon and control it via amp.
I don’t want to be snippy in my answers - it is not meant like that - but at the same time I don’t want to say “yeah, sure” when it didn’t click with me.
This is exactly how you use an EQ on an active bass
I also should mention there are very valid reasons to not want a preamp on the bass or to have a way to turn it off. One of them is that every amp in your signal chain can add a little noise. Usually with few or no other preamps or boosts in the chain this is negligible (i.e. lost in the normal amp background noise) but it can and does add up when you have a few things like preamps, drives, and compressors on at once. Also, on inexpensive basses, the electronics shielding may not be stellar and this can lead to the preamp picking up noise kind of like pickups do, or amplifying RF interference with the pickups. So onboard EQ is not ALL advantages even if you were to like them.
If you like passive basses there’s lots and lots of great ones. No need to try and force yourself to like active ones either.
I understood that.
What I don’t understand is why I should do it on the bass and not on any other EQ in the chain. As said - the tone knob example doesn’t really click with me because I only use it because it does something else than the EQ.
I don’t change my settings on the fly.
Mh. Maybe that’s the problem. I have never gotten around to jamming or something. I can see that changing the sound with no/lower setup time directly at the instrument makes sense there.
With me here playing for myself I didn’t feel or see the need. I still think I won’t miss it even in a jamming environment.
which sounds like (at least for now) is not an issue for you at all, but that would be the difference.
Some tangible examples:
You are changing from a fingerstyle song to a slap song. For the slap song you want to scoop the mids a bit to make it sound better. So, you could go do it at the amp and then adjust the amp volume and so on, or you could just turn the mids down and volume slightly up on the bass.
You are playing a gig through a DI to the mixing board, controlled by the sound engineer, who has adjusted the EQ of the entire band to fit the room. You now have no amp EQ of your own. This is also why preamp/DI pedals are popular
You are recording through a DAI. There is now no amp (unless you’re running a DI out from your amp to the DAI, which then gives a less convenient EQ). So you need to EQ in the DAW, which is fine but less immediate and tactile than knobs on a bass or preamp pedal.
Anyway. Not trying to talk you in to anything here, and like I said - lots of awesome passive bass choices. I’m just leaving this here because these are super common questions
Did not get the impression.
I kept pestering you with questions you already answered in a way or another but now I’m glad that I did because now I feel like I have an answer that has reached me.
I remembered that you mentioned the effects. I think those won’t be a concern of mine for a long time.
Thanks for those examples that are relatable for me. Although I don’t have DAI yet I suspect it’s just a matter of time. You all have given me G.A.S. - what have you done?
Thanks for being patient and answering my questions until your answers have reached my thick skull
I have a flurry of active and passive basses - passive are more forgiving (no battery to worry about) and the ones i prefer are basic…G&L LB-100, or Fender P or the Yamaha’s.
I prefer the jazz nut (1.5") - i get “my tone” using a pedal or two plus a good solid amp/cab.
Dont forget to visit the Classifieds on Talkbass - you can buy a mint used one for great prices - and guys there, ship often - so its a normal thing. I have bought/sold numerous times there with success.
Also, i dont get caught up in the 21-24 fret thing - i know my play area, so thats not a deal breaker for me. Sounds like you like the thin Ibanez necks - front to back. (me too)
My first things i consider - weight, balance, tones. No particular order - i mention tone(S) because you dont want a bass that is limited or mostly unusable tones - ironically i love a P bass - and many feel theyre one trick ponies, just because theyre simple… meh…the thing with the P, the tone control works great and adding pedals etc, can give you many USEABLE tone - sure they dont have as many tones as others, but once dialed in, why worry about it.
Also, something i didnt see mentioned - STRINGS make an enormous difference in tones - flats, groundwound, rounds, nickels, stainless steel. The same bass can sound entirely different swapping strings. I prefer Rotosound SS rounds on my basses, and one P with GHS Pressurewound (semi flat) for the THUMP.
On the one hand I think that might be interesting on the other hand I really want to hold it in my hand before I buy it. It would be okay if I tested the model but otherwise I gotta say after trying out a few I feel the need to have physically touched it before buying.
As already mentioned I will keep in mind to also ask for B-ware/returns in the shop. For that purpose the bigger less personal store might be better. I think they got overall more throughput of instruments and a better working online shop so it would make sense for them to have more returned instruments.
About the weight - the Cort had a solid wood body. I don’t remember the type of wood. It made it heavier than I would have liked and at the same time it felt good and sturdy and looked amazing IMO. So not sure what to think about that.
About the balance - Hum. I never even considered this an issue. Thanks for bringing it up. I should bring my strap next time and test it that way. I played it while sitting down so my judgement about both weight and balance might be off here. I always play standing up with a strap at home.
Yes. I already decided that the number of frets will only be a deciding factor if I can’t decide between two models. I also noticed that the Cort Action I had in my hands was easier to play on the higher frets than my current bass. It was just easier to reach. And usually I play in the <12 fret range but I don’t want to limit myself to that with my choice of bass.
Maybe it has gone unnoticed with all the other stuff I have been talking about but a thing I would like opinions about is the “clacking” of the Cort Action I mentioned. With your experience with different basses: Are those clacking noises while fretting something that mainly depends on the action and strings or might the bass itself also play into that? The Action on it was pretty high compared to the setup I have at home.
I would say the clacking is setup - esp with a heavy right hand - odd that it was high and clacking - truss rod adjustment possibly…or similar to Stingrays - thats “their thing”.
I also agree - play as many as you can - then have a look around once you’ve nailed it down to a couple. I’ve sold more than i care to admit (lol) because of that exact reason - however ive been lucky and not lost much money doing so.
Well I don’t think my skill changed while I switched out the bass. The result from the amp also sounded good. It was just a very noticable difference compared to even the cheaper models so I started wondering about it.
Oh. Right hand. No - I am not talking about the right hand. Sorry - I should have made that clearer. The sound I hear from the strings and fretboard when putting the fingers of my left hand down to fret. This sound was louder than on the other basses. I thought it might be because of the high action but I am not sure. The sound the string creates when getting pushed down on the fret and touches the fret bar.
Also what does a 2 band EQ do? In my mind it goes max lows/min highs ↔ min lows/max highs - is that about right?
