That "Perfect" Sound

Sound.  The eternal quest for sono perfectus.  If ever there were a journey whose destination was not an actual place I could arrive at this would be it.  For me this experience has been frustrating and rewarding all at the same time.  The constant evolution of my sound has reflected my own understanding (or lack!) of what my sound should be.  Full disclosure means that this will be an ongoing topic and I hope the reader will chime and share their experience of their pursuit of tone.

The biggest component of having a good sound has been understanding how all of the frequencies interact not just as it directly relates to bass but for the group as a whole.  In the earlier years I thought the bass tone control was made just for me - so I would crank that sucker for all I could get out of it.  Knobs for mids and treble?  Those were for guitarists and should not have been put on a bass amp in the first place.  The results?  Mud.  No clarity.  No definition.  It took me years to understand and accept that cutting the low frequencies and boosting the mids and treble in my signal chain actually made my bass ring out clearer in the mix.

Getting the clarity was crucial but was not the sole aspect to getting a better sound.  It took getting my ego under control to take the next step which was to accept that the FOH needed a very basic, relatively clean signal to work with.  Once I was able to do this my FOH sound improved multitudinously and so did the overall sound for the whole band as a result.  An interesting side benefit was that once sound men figured out that I wanted to provide them as close to an ideal signal as possible they were suddenly amiable to working with me to achieve an even better signal overall.  As an added benefit I have been very fortunate to receive constructive feedback and suggestions from sound men.

Being able to separate my signal into two components has really helped me to achieve a better FOH and stage sound.  My return to using a pedal board allows me to send a very simple signal to the FOH and to my amp on stage.  The FOH can then do what they want/need with my simple signal and I can dial in my stage signal to suit the elements of whatever particular stage we are on.  The amazing thing to me is that once I simplified my signal and simplified it to the point where the sound man was happy with what he was getting that same signal turned out to be very close to what I wanted to hear on stage.  Funny how those things happen.

Sending a simple signal does not necessarily mean that I don't use effects - I have just learned to use them at lower amounts.  I find that with a simple signal a little effects go a long way.  I no longer run obscene amounts of chorus or distortion.  Rather, I use them as seasoning to give my bass sound a hint of flavor here and there.  Aside from my Mesa/Boogie Subway Bass DI at this point the only effects I am using are and MXR M87 Bass Compressor, a Boss Bass Chorus CEB-3, and a Way Huge Pork & Pickle.  The compressor is an always on pedal while the chorus and Way Huge are used sparingly.  The results?  Clarity. Precision. No mud.  And the best sound I have had to date.