By Steven Swift

The audio example for this lesson can be found HERE

Changing your bass tone can come from a number of things. It can be done via software plug-ins, EQ, on-board EQ, Amplifier combinations (bass head and cabinet), changing your technique, changing pickups, playing further up the neck or towards the bridge.

You have so many options when recording to tweak your tone and settings till you’re happy but performing live, you don’t really get much chance to switch or change your amplifier EQ or pedals (especially if you don’t know the settings off my heart and need to do ‘trial and error’ by playing).

The one thing you have access to all through the gig is your on-board EQ on your bass. This can differ drastically if you have a 2 band EQ or 3 band EQ and whether you have a passive or active circuit to your pickups.

Regardless of what you have below your fingertips, it can still create some change in your tone. I haven’t seen many bass players take advantage of this during gigs as it only takes a slight twist and you have a different tone instantly (which is perfect between songs if using active pickups and on-board EQ).

Granted you probably don’t want to mess around with it too much but some movement can definitely help when going from a funk track to a reggae track or from a finger style track to a slap and pop track. 

 Blend bass and treble together, roll off bass slightly to add more high-end sparkle. Crisp tone with depth.

 Roll off treble and a little mid, possibly boost the bass if your bottom end isn’t already powerful enough.

Roll off mid and create a swooped tone with treble and bass. 

It’s only slight variation in tone but it will enhance whatever style you need to play next and doesn’t take much movement or time (which is more important).  The same thing can be achieved by playing around the bass. By this, I mean playing closer to the neck, on the neck, in the middle of the pickups and towards the bridge.  

This has a gradual tonal sequence:

On the neck – Double bass kind of hollowness with plenty of bass

Near the neck – Reggae kind of bass, less mid and treble but not hollow

Middle of the body – Balanced mix of bass, middle and treble. Great for cutting through, just think a pop/rock style since all frequencies are balanced (as balanced as they can be).

Bridge – Jaco Pastorius - Loads of bite with a dominant treble, mid sound. Great for harmonics, chord voicings and soloing.

Changing technique or pickup will alter your tone as well:

Neck Pickup – Bass orientated tone, mellow and deep

Bridge Pickup – Treble orientated tone, bright and sparkle

Both Pickups – Balanced depth with treble and bass elements

Finger Style – Round, smooth tone with a little more bass than plectrum style playing

Plectrum Style – More edge, bite with treble, mid twang

Slap Bass – Bright and treble dominated. Works well for swooped (cut mid) tone.

Thumb – Down stroking with your thumb. Smooth, calm bass orientated tone.

Palm Muting – Muted style with a muffled bass kind of tone.

To demonstrate, I’m going to play the same bass line but tweak my on-board EQ, change pickups, play around the bass (neck, middle, bridge, on the neck) and alter my technique to show how subtle things can cause a major effect overall.

Here is the bassline in Standard notation and Tab:

To help identify what’s going on in the recording I have looped the bass line so each one lasts four bars before changing tone .

Recording breakdown;-  

      Passive mode, finger style in middle of body, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ

      Active mode, finger style in middle of body, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ

      Neck pickup only, active mode, finger style in middle of body, no EQ

      Bridge pickup only in Humbucker, active mode, finger style in middle of body, no EQ

      Treble full Bass cut EQ, both neck and bridge pickups, finger style in middle of body

      Bass full Treble cut EQ, both neck and bridge pickups, finger style in middle of body

      Both neck and bridge pickups with bridge pickup in humbucker, finger style in middle of body, no EQ

      Both neck and bridge pickups with bridge pickup in single coil, finger style in middle of body, no EQ

      Bridge pickup only in single coil, finger style in middle of body, no EQ

      Thumb style in middle of body, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ

      Plectrum style in middle of body, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ,

      Slap style, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ,

      Palm muted style, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ

      Finger style on the neck, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ

      Finger style near the bridge, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ

      Finger style near the neck, both neck and bridge pickups, no EQ

      Full Bass Treble cut EQ, slap style, both neck and bridge pickups

      Full Treble Bass cut EQ, plectrum style in middle of body, both pickups, no EQ

Hopefully the audio speaks for itself and doesn’t need any further explanation. There are a great deal of methods to change your tone as I’ve just demonstrated above (just look at the list of variations), so experiment with your tone next time you’re rehearsing or recording to get the perfect tone for the track.

I hope you enjoyed the tenth and final lesson of the series and if you have any feedback please don’t hesitate to get in touch!! Thank you for checking out my ten lesson series. I hope you learnt something interesting and new.

Please also share/like/subscribe and comment on any of my social media accounts, thanks!!!

Steven Swift