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BAREFACED BASS BUT THIS GOES TO 11... But This Goes to 11… About The Author Welcome to the world of bass rigs. C. ALEXANDER CLABER Ears Distort Too! bass tone in particular will be the treble. Mid-range tweakery Alex rst picked up a bass A couple of months ago we more de ned) due to the lower is a lot more complicated – when studying engineering at looked at how the frequency distortion from your ears. Yes, rather than twisting knobs on university, and his quest for sonic response of our ears changes they’re expensive, but if you’re the amp (or with active EQ on perfection led him to found with increasing SPL, but one in a loud band you’ll struggle the instrument) I’d focus on Barefaced Audio, while also thing we didn’t cover was how to nd any other piece of gear getting the ngers and pickups leading The Reluctant, an alt-ska/ our ears start to su­ er from that can improve the clarity you doing this. Plucking near the funk out t. distortion when you push them hear onstage to such a degree, neck shifts the balance to the too hard, just as microphones regardless of what you spend. low mids, nearer the bridge or loudspeakers do (all three shifts the balance to the high IN ASSOCIATION WITH rely on moving membranes to The Risks Of EQ mids. Likewise, panning to the convert sound into data or vice Last month we started bridge or neck pickups does versa). So far there hasn’t been investigating how the the same. However, note that much conclusive research on component frequencies of the having both pickups full up (or this (exactly how do you tell if notes we play often collide with panned equally, depending someone’s ears are distorting?), the frequencies produced by on whether you’re a vol/vol or This column is brought to you in but if you’ve ever been in one other instruments in the band. vol/pan person) doesn’t give association with Barefaced Ltd of those loud environments One of the perils of starting to you a halfway-house tone, it who manufacture high-output speaker cabs for the gigging where everything starts to talk about frequencies is that it’s actually cuts the mid range. You bassist. Barefaced have recently sound rather harsh yet muddy easy to make the mistake that get some of the top from the launched their new Big Baby and and mu ed, that’s your ears tone is all about how you tweak bridge pickup and some of the Big Twin cabs, the most accurate getting overloaded. Once your EQ, and that couldn’t be bottom from the neck pickup, and extended range bass cabs things reach this point, not only further from the truth. In fact, if but completely di­ erent (and ever made. An archive of previous are you hearing with much less you venture onto those Internet more subdued) mids. articles plus a glossary of terms can clarity but your brain is having forums you’ll doubtless be able be found at to work harder to process the to spot a beginner asking ‘how Deeper Tweakery www.barefacedbass.com sound (a bit like when a CD can I EQ my amp to sound like Many amps have some cool- player is dealing with a dirty xxx?’ Sorry, you can’t. sounding knob (aural enhancer, CD, it’s repeatedly sampling contour, VPF etc) that is actually the data and processing it to Keep It Simple a simultaneous mid-range cut try to play the music without So here’s how I’d recommend and bass and treble boost. This glitching), and thus you su­ er approaching EQ – and note it has two main purposes – rstly, mental fatigue as well as is there to be used! Being able for making your tone nicer at hearing damage. For a long to run your amp ‘ at’ neither bedroom levels (as it works time I’ve been an advocate makes you a better bassist very much like a loudness of musicians’ earplugs – they nor makes your rig a better contour, counteracting the really are one of the best choice than one which takes Fletcher-Munson curve of investments a musician can some tweaking. If things don’t our ears), and secondly, for make. Unlike normal earplugs, sound fat or deep enough and completely losing you in the which merely stop you going plucking closer to the neck mix if you’re at your rst gig deaf, proper musicians’ earplugs doesn’t do the job, then turn up and forget what notes to play have near at frequency the bass knob. If they sound too … It can actually be useful at attenuation, which means the boomy and plucking closer to gigs but it needs to be used music still sounds great. And the bridge doesn’t sort it, then very judiciously – and it can be even better than that, if you’re turn down the bass knob. If it rather e­ ective if tweaked so it usually playing in properly loud doesn’t sound bright or clear interacts with the other EQ. For environments, then the music enough then boost the treble; if instance, if you want to boost will sound better (and your it’s too sharp or harsh then cut the lower lows so things get One of the perils of starting to talk about frequencies is that it’s easy to make the mistake that tone is all about how you tweak your EQ, and that couldn’t be further from the truth. 68 BASS GUITAR MAGAZINE Barefaced Bass_1nw.indd 1 06/04/2011 10:55 BAREFACED BASS BUT THIS GOES TO 11... but the rewards are worth “For a long time I’ve been an the e­ ort. The simplest advocate of musicians’ earplugs approach is traditional palm-muting, which can - they really are one of the best be paired with a pick (which should not be seen investments you can make. as a Lilliputian cause for division but as another tool deeper but not boomy, nger tip – so I have two in our tonal armoury) or sometimes cutting the choices instantly available with the new-found old- bass EQ while also turning without changing from school thumb. You can also the contour knob up will the standard two- nger mute with your unused hit that spot (you may then right-hand technique fretting-hand ngers need to cut the treble a (and unless you’re playing (check out Rocco Prestia) bit, but handily there’s a seriously fast, a single when playing conventional knob for that). Be warned digit should be able to ngerstyle, or you can take that doing super cially handle straight 8ths). a hybrid approach of using contrary things with your We also have the thumb, both left hand and right EQ may result in dismissive the original bass guitar palm along with thumb glances from armchair digit (look where the and nger plucking à la experts, but you know the nger rest is on the rst Gary Willis. Muting allows truth. Multiple mid-range Precisions – and check you to control both the knobs also open up a out Monk Montgomery treble content and the world of possibilities, as do who was the rst notable decay of the note – one of sweepable mids. However, bass guitarist, thanks to the joys of getting good leave all this complicated Lionel Hampton digging at this is that you can add experimental tweaking for the instrument’s loud mid-range growl without the rehearsal room when punchy fatness compared adding treble brightness. the rest of the band is to upright bass). It may Experiment! running late. You can do feel weird if you’ve never some experimentation used it but the thumb is Do We Have A Name at home but you’ll need awesome – because it’s For A ‘Curve Ball’? to turn things up pretty larger and softer than Maybe it’s a googly? loud, and small rooms do your ngertips it gives a Anyway, another thing that annoying things with bass more mellow attack to the many bassists overlook is due to the standing waves note. This means that you that although most of the that occur. When you nd can have a sound that is time we only play single some cool settings that do simultaneously soft yet notes, there is nothing things which will be useful clear, as the harsh edges of to stop us playing more on the gig, remember the attack are damped but than one to change the them and then you can the full harmonic range of tone and character of the pull them out of your the note can swell and ring bassline. Just adding a aural toolbag if you hit out. With practice you can simple octave in a certain some acoustic nightmare do tons of things with the part of a song can make a scenario. thumb, plucking up and huge di­ erence (hopefully down, combining it with in a good way!) to the Attack, Attack! the ngers and so on. It vibe, or picking another Now we’re getting into also positions your hand harmonically appropriate the cool stu­ . Forget the very handily for palm- note as a double stop. The knob twisting, this is about muting … almighty rock power chord your hands. The harder (root, fth, octave) can the item that strikes the Power Is Nothing sound particularly huge string, the more percussive Without Control when strummed (big ol’ treble attack you get and One thing that EQ can downsweep with the face the greater the treble never do is control the of your ngernails) on a harmonic content in the tone of your note as it bass.

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