what do you do if your bassist uses too much distortion?

[arcadesonfire]

the bassist in my new band, which happens to be the most exciting band i've ever been in, well, he's really really good, but he does use his distortion pedal very often. I got away with telling him to turn down the gain, but i'm afraid that asking him to not use it so often would crush his spirits.

 

Anyone else ever had such a problem?

[melx]

mate, I used to play with a bass player who used a dod grunge all the time, think yourself lucky.

[Optimus Prime]

Using too much distortion on bass is just bad, and that's coming from a bassist. But a little overdrive never hurt anyone. Just get everyone else in the band on board and tell him to tone it down or turn it off.

[Collapse]

Make him buy a B:assmaster or a good Muff.

[therhodeo]

If you're in a band where people arent cool with the truth then thats not any band I want to be in.

[CicadaSilence]

mate, I used to play with a bass player who used a dod grunge all the time, think yourself lucky.

 

Being 50% bassist, and having owned the DOD Grunge at one (very brief) point, I can vouch for this. Fart-in-a-tin-can tone? No thanks.

[TheHarakiriEnd]

 

If you're in a band where people arent cool with the truth then thats not any band I want to be in.

 

 

+1

[slight-return]

Bring in a recorder - say

"I'd like to work on some aspects of our sound and see what we can do"

 

play a tune "baseline" (as you normally do)

 

then say "I'd like to try that tune with less distortion on the bass"

 

play again (you are, of course, recording this stuff)

 

now (and this is an important one)

, say "OK, what would you like altered in the guitar sound?"

 

play again

 

there may be stuff abt the guitar sound that is making others cringe!

 

Thigs I find advantageous in this approach

1) people are working as a team to hone the sound

2) it puts negative focus on the workpiece "the bassline is too..." as opposed to the person "you are using too..."

[i mean it sounds like that's your issue anyway, the specific sound on the bass, not the player himself]

 

and it gives others the same opportunity to talk to you as well!

[orangesix]

well,....i'd start off by asking what kind of band you play in?

if you're in Lighting Bolt or something, well then....

Effects on bass can sound great if used probably. It might mean that your bass player wants distortion thru the whole song. Bands like Radiohead and Muse do it, and manage to remain tasteful. so what it comes down to is a matter of taste. and honesty is a big part of songwriting and building chemistry. you must be open to give/recieve critism. but keep in mind that there's a slight chance you might be wrong on this one...

[MuffFuzz]

Tell him to get a russian Muff and have him turn the gain down. That should smoothen out the harshness in his tone.

[moosapotamus]

+1 to slight-return.

You may also want to try turning the discussion to focus on the overall tone. There are so many flavors of OD/disto/fuzz available out there. Having some grind to the overall sound is cool, but ultimately it's all about the overall sound... how everything sounds together in the mix. As a bass player, myself, I can attest to the fact that getting a good disto sound that mixes well with the guitars is challenging. But, the playpack don't lie.

 

~ Charlie

[zepolant]

Or you could just take the direct approach, tell him to turn the {censored} off, or to not use it for every song. It's pretty simple. There is nothing worse than being in a band where someone is using something that just completely sucks the life out of what you're doing.

 

I would hope that if I was over using some effect that someone in the band to tell me to tone it down a bit. You don't have to be rude about it, just do it in a constructive manner.

[Northstar]

Have him switch places with the drummer.

[slight-return]

Or you could just take the direct approach

 

 

That's the thing, I mean it can be a direct approach either way, but the scope and definition of the problem differs

 

like if the problem is "i don't like the bass disto" -- well, it's certainly a problem, but there could be some underlying causes...maybe aesthetic differences, maybe the bass player is trying to cover what he feels is a spectral hole (that could be covered other ways - like maybe with different arrangements, different guitar tone, etc), even monitor situation*

 

Or the problem could be "I dont like the way the disto bass affects the sound of the whole construction" -- in which case maybe taking a look at the overall would be real helpful for all involved

 

 

Q: hows the monitor situation?

could it be a way of getting a "more me" mix?

[freeridstylee]

B ass w/o distortion. I will not hear of it. Tell him to crank the gain.

 

No but telling your bandmates what to do tonewise just pisses them off. I threatened to leave the band if my guitarist bought a line 6 amp (an old one at that). Well he did, now I have to live with horrible tone. Ear plugs are a mans best friend. Now I just make my bass tone sound like crap at most practices, I may buy a grunge now thanks for the recommendation. Either way be delicate with the situation.

[yanos]

 

the bassist in my new band, which happens to be the most exciting band i've ever been in, well, he's really really good, but he does use his distortion pedal very often. I got away with telling him to turn down the gain, but i'm afraid that asking him to not use it so often would crush his spirits. Anyone else ever had such a problem?

 

 

Let him use it ... whats the big deal ? Are you lost in the mix?

 

Maybe when you write a song tell him it sounds better to use gain on only the chorus or bridge or to use it for dynamics. Then again it maybe just a a thing he is going through and he will get over it.

Turn up your mids, roll back your gain a touch and prepared to be heard!!

[slight-return]

 

Now I just make my bass tone sound like crap at most practices, I may buy a grunge now thanks for the recommendation. Either way be delicate with the situation.

 

 

 

run it through a rocktek distorion and a Lo-Fi pedal and put tons of reverb n it

[Stspider]

The problem is you don't like the sound or it gets too loud?

 

If it's the first, you have to accept it.

 

If it's the second, you tell him. That's what I do with mine: he has 3 (THREE!!!) dist boxes, along with autowah, a bass sinth, a volume pedal and a bass crybaby. Go figure the character...

 

We periodically have to tell him that he gets too much presence when he engages some distortion, and the lowers the volume.

 

It's enough to be polite usually. If it's not, piss on his bass.

[cdawzrd]

What pedal is he using? Distorted bass all the time CAN sound good (Muse, Ben Folds, etc)... but only if the tone is good.

[missfortune]

Play a Tele through a cranked Twin.

Loud and clean on the high end.

Might even out the mud on the low end....

[spentron]

Maybe the distortion just sucks. I recommend a 50 watt Bassman for crunch ... although admittedly high power rigs are way better for low end.

[moosapotamus]

Well, OTOH... mind your own {censored}ing business. Playing the bass is his job, not yours. Stick to what you actually know something about... playing the guitar.

[Clorox]

 

what do you do if your bassist uses too much distortion?

 

 

Kick him square in the nuts.

[ultar]

make him switch to guitar.

[WayTooApe]

um............shoot im

 

 

 

yes, thats my contribution to this conversation.