After this post, I may well have to get my coat......

Absolute Beginner

Absolute Beginner

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Right... My lovely Streamer LX (and it is lovely): I can't get it to sound 'right' for Country/50's, 60's Rock 'n' Roll for love nor money.....:(

I've tried playing passive off the neck pup; plucking close to the neck; playing active with the treble down and bass up- everything I can think of...

I've tried diddling with my Littlemark III (VLE especially), although I'm not 100% sure of the best settings on this yet.

I know I'm using 'rounds' right now (and new ones, too), but I'm a million miles away from the warm, woody, deep, embracing tones that characterise and define this genre of music.

This is not at all easy for me to describe (as I'm struggling to find musical adjectives in light of my inexperience) but notes played on my E string sound deep alright, but either 'tinny' and acoustic or over-produced, manufactured and synthetic. Just about everything on the three other strings is clear, sharp, well defined and terrifyingly bright: much too high and bright and 'lead-esque' to pull Kenny Rogers off (not literally, of course).

I know it's not a 'P' bass and it will never sound like one, but I've surely got to be missing something here, right..??
 
you are using fresh steel strings, right? ;)

Play them a little longer, after 1-2 weeks they'll lose their sharp shound - if still not to your taste: Nickle!
if it's still not enough: Flatwounds.

You'd have a problem if you had a bass with only deep woody output and you were looking for some hi-fi sounds, but getting rid of too much frequencies never seemed a problem for me.
 
Yeah, try flats and try to find a way to lower the sustain for example dampen the strings with cotton wool or something like that. Boost low mids, cut highs and lows. Solo the neck pickup and pluck close to neck. If those don't work, maybe try some other pickups because MECs are very sterile.
 
The flats will help, I think, make it easier to find the sounds that, I am sure, are in your LX somewhere. From your description I wonder if the pickups might need some adjusting on their height too. Nothing that a screwdriver and a bit of patience can't sort out!
 
I'll echo the flats as well. They will give you that dull thud you're looking for.
 
I'ma gonna agree with these fellas... lol!

But they are right about using flats, since rounds started in use around The Who Era with Rotosound, and every bass player had fatter and twangier tones. I might suggest trying to get that fat tube tone by cranking the gain up and leaving the EQ flat on the amp. And if that isn't fat enough just add a little Bass to it.

Oh! And add some foam or something right under the strings by the bridge. Foam Mutes give off a more twangy tone. Me personally, I use my Rickenbacker cleaning rag for that.
 
Personally, I perfer a really bright sound, that I'm sure many on this forum would consider too tinny for their tastes. When I play country, and god knows Ive played more country then I ever wanted to ... lol, I tend to play it with a pick and heavy palm mute and it sounds great.

That's part of learning to play bass A/B. Not only do you need to learn how to play your instrument, you have to learn how to achieve the sound you are after, and unfortunately, the later can be so much harder than just learning your scales. As you get more experienced, you will learn different techniques will give you totally different sounds, just as the way you setup your amp can. It's just a matter of experimenting with things till you find what your after. While its true your equipment will have some impact on your sound, a good bass player can alter his sound purely by the way he plays his instrument; through his technique. I read a post by Geddy Lee's former bass tech, russ ryan, and he was talking about Geddy's sound and explaining that for the most part, Geddy's sound comes from Geddy's technique and that Geddy could pick up any bass plugged into any amp and still sound like Geddy.

From what I have read, you have good equipment and should be able to achieve the sound your after with it. Changing to flatround strings, I have already said I thought would be a good choice for you right now and they could well help make finding the sound you're after easier, but you really don't need to change your bass or amp, its just a matter of getting a little experience and figuring it out. That's also the great thing about being able to ask people on this forum, many of them have already gone through this and can help you with suggestions on how to setup your amp or bass, but the bottom line is, just because that works for them, doesn't mean it will work for you, as I said, it comes down to how you play your instrument. So whiletrying things people suggest is a great thing to do and should help you greatly in your search, remember, its about how you play. The reason I say that, is don't follow someones suggestion that say you need a specific brand or model bass or amp to achieve a certain sound... because that is nonsense!

Another thing to think about, is just because your into a certain sound or stlye now, doesn't mean six months from now you won't want to be able to expand that sound base. Right now, you have equipment that is very versitlie in it's ability to achieve many different sounds. If you were to take a step back and get into equipment that was far more limiting in their sonic ability, that would be like painting yourself into a corner and leave yourself little or no options for growth. Since Country is a genre you are into, just listen to the difference in the sound between an older Hank Williams Sr. or Kenny Rodgers tune compared to a newer artist like Big & Rich or Trace Atkins.

Sorry to say it my Friend, but its all a part of the learning process and when it comes to "your" sound, it's all about experimenting. Both with your setup and your technique and being able to mix the two to get the sound you're after. One tip I would give, and again, this is just what works for me, I try and get a general sound (my main sound) on my amp and bass that I like. From then, any changes to that sound from song to song, I try and achieve through my technique alone. I don't want to have to fiddle with my amp all night long after each song.
 
Hey Ian, if you remember, I did tell you that the LX is a modern/ sinthetic (usually my words) sounding bass.

However, please consider this.

- Learning to make a good bass sound is trickier than learning to play bass. Believe me, the sound on the front of the house has almost nothing to do with the sound you make on the backline. I will give myself as an example.
This was a guy recording me at a soundcheck: [video=youtube;ISeXZW_pZdk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISeXZW_pZdk[/video]
So that's the sound I am making on the backline. You hear it has a lot of mids/ treble.

Well, in the mix, my sound is often described as FAT, DEEP, BIG, but articulated.

It is a long story how the sound changes, but please, you need to take my word...

Now while a usual Fender Bass without coreections will almost 100% have a boomy and lifeless sound in the mix, even if you like it's sound on the backline, the streamer LX will just fine :-)

Usually for a specific sound, you need to have a much brighter sound on the backline... as a general rule. A fat sound on a backline is death! (of course if you send the sound post EQ, so the FOH guy starts from your pre shaped sound)

My personal opinion is that you have a great bass, that can serve you well. That "thinness" that you hear it translates into - tightness in the mix. The Streamer LX does have an unusual fat sound in the mix.

For your sound I would change my strings to nickels. Or flats. Elixirs were my choice of strings when playing the streamer LX.

So I'd say - just play and enjoy your bass, and leave your friend's comments away, because 99% of the time the comments come from ignorance, envy, or simply bad intention.

My two cents, I hope I have not said something wrong.
 
Flats are the way to go, but honestly Florin is really spot on with his description. You wouldn't believe the amount of hi mids I have to add to my fender jazz to have a tight and good sound that is heard and fat in the mix.
 
Everyone's points taken on board, thank you.

The reason I went for the Streamer over a 'P' or 'J' in the first place was that it sounded so clear and sharp and tight and articulate: tight in the sound and tight to play. I love that about it. The Fenders just felt 'lose' and 'sloppy'; no where near as precise. This LX really is a joy to play (and own).

I never appreciated the difference between what I hear in my practise room and what an audience might hear, having not yet played to one.

Does anyone know how to set the Piezzo tweeter switch on my Markbass cab please? The factory setting is at 12 o'clock (where it says '-db'). I think that's maybe '4', because on the left (turning counter-clockwise) it goes to '16', whereas if I were to turn it clockwise, it goes from '3' down to '1'.

Flo- you're much more handsome than on your photo: did you have some 'work' done....?? :)
 
Well, I am glad you noticed. I do some push ups and stuff... See my pecs?
 
i don't know about mark bass cabs but i hate the way the tweeters in all of my basss cabs sound i always switch them offas for strings i can't remember the brand but they are flat tape wound strings hey have a deep sound with no zing the strings are black in color a guy i know had them on his bass and i tried it out
 
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Might they be the La Bella Black Nylon Tape Wound 760 N's John..?? (* he says, trying to sound like the musician and pretending he knows what he's talking about *).

Oh, the switch/knob on the side of my Markbass cab doesn't seem to do anything, incidentally. It must be broken, because the sound doesn't alter no matter where I set it...
 
Absolute Beginner said:
Oh, the switch/knob on the side of my Markbass cab doesn't seem to do anything, incidentally. It must be broken, because the sound doesn't alter no matter where I set it...
Click to expand...

I thought that once with my cab. Because you play and stop to adjust the tweeter and play again you might not notice the difference, but if you had some one adjut it whilst you play you should hear the sound changing.
 
you could try turning the treble up to make the tweeter stand out more but it could be blown.i have had it happen replaced the tweeter then shut it off i know i could have left the dead tweeter and it would have been the same thing but knowing it was blown bothered me for some reson and i had to fix it even if i wasn't going to use it.and the strings might have been la bella that sounds right but it was a long time ago.
 
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