compressor/limiter pedal

[Elwood]

I'll admit that the real problem is almost certainly myself, since I've only been playing a few months, but I find that some notes are noticeably louder than others. For example, C on the third fret is much quieter than G right below it or an open A or D string, even though I don't vary how I strike the string (that I'm aware of). I took my bass to the store to see if it needed adjusting, and when the sales guy tried playing it, he had uniform volume everywhere. So the problem is apparently me. To help counteract whatever I was doing wrong, I bought a Boss CS-3 limiter/compressor pedal. Regardless of how I adjusted it, I couldn't get it to make much difference. The instructions said to turn the Sustain knob one way to work as a limiter, the other way to act as a compressor--turning up the sustain held notes longer alright, but as the gain increased the strings picked up all kinds of other noises that shouldn't be there. FWIW, I have a Fender Highway One Jazz bass and Fender Rumble 60 amp, although the volume difference is much less through headphones plugged into my Mbox-2. Ideally, I'd like to be able to play softly at times, but louder (and uniformly so) at other times, so a limiter makes more sense to me than a compressor. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

[Rocky McDougall]

Elwood, as you stated, the problem probably lies in your plucking style. Are you using a pick, two fingers?

This is a common problem with new players. I would not suggest that you get any electronic aids, in fact you are better off without anything until you correct what you are doing. Just spend time trying to adjust your touch, on the strings. You may need to start excecising your fingers, all of them.

Rocky

[Elwood]

I suppose I should add that I do get a more uniform volume when I have the bass's tone turned up, volume up on both pickups, and the lower frequencies turned down on the amp's EQ (I suspect much of the volume difference may just be a perception because of the stronger rumble factor on the lower notes). The downside of this is that I get a punchier, coarser tone. What I really would like is a soft, Beatles-like tone to fill in the bottom end without calling attention to myself. Maybe I just picked the wrong bass, wrong amp, or both. Maybe this is why people sometimes replace their pickups...

[Elwood]

Rocky, thanks. Since I only play in church I do mostly whole or half notes, sometimes sustaining over a couple of measures, so I use only one finger. This week, however, we're doing a livelier song that allows me to use two fingers (and I'm loving it), and the volume difference isn't as noticeable. Too bad the two suspected problems apparently multiply, rather than cancel each other.

 

BTW, I am getting to the point in life where I realize how much I don't know. :-)

[SteveC]

The Boss pedal is crap. They have good ones, but that isn't on eof them. I like a little compression. I don't necessarily think it's an excuse for technique. Anyway,I like the PreSonus BlueMax. Th epreset fo rbass is great.

 

For pdeals, try the Demeter Compulator of maybe an Aphex Punch Factory. They are a little cheaper.

[Gruuve]

Elwood...things that immediately come to mind for me is how you have your EQ set, and the amp. First off, if you use any extreme EQ settings, it becomes easy to get some notes that are louder than others. You might want to try setting everything flat and see if you still have the issue.

 

Now, I'm not trying to criticize your gear, but I have to admit that I was not even anything remotely resembling impressed with the Fender Rumble amps. No offense, but my personal opinion is that they are just crap. That amp could also be the source of volume differences across pitches me thinks. I think your bass should be fine...take it to a store and play through a few different and better rigs and see if the volume differences disappear. I'd almost make a bet they will. Combine this amp with anything less than very minor EQ, and I just can't see it sounding good.

 

HTH,

Dave

 

[rizzo9247]

Elwood, to grab that Beatles tone you have to turn the tone down, almost all the way to scratch out some of those punchy highs. If you have the bridge pickup up all the way, your going to get that brighter sound, and the mid pickup (I don't believe the fender jazz basses have traditional neck PUs) is where you want to get your tone from, so turn that one up to get your sound a little darker.

 

Either that or get yourself some flatwound strings for that mellower sound when you play. McCartney used Rotosound Tru Bass 88(Black Nylon Flatwound)on Abbey Road if that's the sound your into.

 

You could probably spend months trying to find the right EQ for the sound you want, so as Dave mentioned set it all to flat on the amp, fiddle around with your bass eq until you like the sound, then go to the amp to tweak it as desired.

 

And if nothing seems right after that, I'll gladly take the bass off your hands if you want another one Good luck.

 

[TimR]

I think you probably should have gone for the LMB-3.

 

Remember the only real difference between a limiter and a compressor is that a compressor adds gain to the whole signal after processing it so it appears to make it more even by making the quiet sounds loud and the louder sounds 'less loud'. Whereas a limiter stops the loud sounds being too loud. In a studio they will be the same unit but with more knobs. (there is more to it but that's it in essence)

 

Inexpensive compact pedals are exactly what they are. I've used the Boss GEB-7 Equalizer and the CEB-3 Chorus, my guitarist just bought an acoustic simulator. They are all good for live situations, bomb proof, but don't expect all singing all dancing solutions.

[Elwood]

Thanks for the advice, everybody. And Rizzo, I'm definitely gonna look for some of those strings you mentioned.

 

You know, the amp sounded fine at the store...

 

The bass sounds fine through headphones...

 

This morning I took the amp in to church (I guess sometimes ya gotta go with the gear ya got) with EQ set flat and listened closely for differences in volume with everything set up in the dining hall, and it sounded fine (though I had to keep it down due to the main service going on upstairs). During our praise band service, I got to turn it up and was very pleased to find all notes still strong and clear.

 

So maybe the office area I practice in has really lousy acoustics, at least with the amp where it is (on the floor against a half-wall, pointed under a desk). I'm sure many of the other factors brought up come into play to some extent, but I'd never have guessed that room acoustics would have that effect, and to the extent that it apparently does. Next time the wife is out for a while (loud bass hurts her sinuses or something) I'll have to experiment with different locations and angles for the amp. Or just get used to practicing more with headphones, which the neighbors would no doubt appreciate.

 

Thanks, everybody, for the excellent advice!

[slowfinger]

...a soft, Beatles-like tone ...

The old fart covers band that this duffer plays in does a few Bea'les songs - I turn the mid-low and mid-hi up a bit, and the bass and treble down quite a bit and pluck up the neck a bit - maybe around the 17th-18th fret (just guessing). This gives me a sweet, soft tone that quite suits the songs. Also. on a couple of songs I play an octave higher than the traditional bass line suggests, which sort of brings out the melodic nature of Macca's basslines.

 

 

[Mike Bear]

I normally don't get down on gear with authority, but I second that the Boss pedal sucks. I do like Boss products, but I'm convinced that pedal is geared towards making noise.

[Michele C.]

What I really would like is a soft, Beatles-like tone to fill in the bottom end without calling attention to myself. Maybe I just picked the wrong bass, wrong amp, or both. Maybe this is why people sometimes replace their pickups...

 

If you want that tone, you might get better uniformity plucking between the neck and the neck pickup with your arm resting on the side of the bass and the neck pickup wide open, the bridge pickup slightly blended in or turned off and tone wide open.

Plucking where the string is softer should help you refine your technique. Resting your forearm helps keep the hand floating.

Keep your right hand in the same shape floating across the strings, as described here by Adam Nitti.

Practice watching the vumeters recording yourself with some program like Audacity.

Don't be afraid to turn down the low frequencies: some rooms need it.