Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?

"Kalle L." wrote in message
om...
Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?

Seymor Duncan's would be an improvement! And mabye some Dean Markley
BlueSteel 50-105's
break them in a bit and go direct (via mackie-no eq) and ...manipulate in
software if you have to (doh).
Your strings may be too new (brite/twangy) for your liking as well....(or
too old) like dead mudd.
Alcohol pads/whipes work for a quickie cleaning or if yer flat broke...boil
the strings.
No way to mic a cabinet as well?

I don't know how the budget model sounds....mabye it will need the pod
too...I don't know...I never needed a pod.

Mike

"Kalle L." wrote in message
om...

recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20

Is there a reason you're going into the Mackie 1202? You should be able to
connect the Pod to the Layla directly. About the only good thing about the
1202 is the mic preamps (which you are not using - the EQ is practically
useless IMO) so if you don't use it all I would think it would be better.

(Kalle L.) wrote in message


My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here,......

The weakest link is usually the source. In the case of Bass it's often
a guitar player trying to play bass...... (I'm not sayin' that's the
case here 'cause I don't know. Do you play Bass regularly at gigs and
in the Studio?)

But to get a really good tone you need a good Bass and a strong
player. A weakly played bass will condemn your mixes to a muddy death.

Better Pickups will definately help though. I have EMGs on my fender.

J_West

A correction:

recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20

I do NOT use the Mackie for recording bass... that's for my vocal
chain. What was I thinking when I was writing my post..maybe the pair
of Sennheiser MD421's that I just ordered

So my signal chain for bass guitar is actually:

bass - Bass Pod Pro - Direct Out to mono track 1
- wet out to mono track 2

Then I'll pan both at the center, and try to keep away from Phasing
problems (actually there is a inner function in Pod against that).

Me not being a full-time bassist is definitely a minus in my sound, I
know that. Then again, I don't think that my touch is especially
weak... I'll keep working on it.


Best regards, Kalle

"Kalle L." wrote in message
om...
Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?

change the player (not the bass), The result can be very educational.

jim eppard (Stuart Spector Design, e&e audio)

"Kalle L." wrote in message
om...
A correction:

recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20

I do NOT use the Mackie for recording bass... that's for my vocal
chain. What was I thinking when I was writing my post..maybe the pair
of Sennheiser MD421's that I just ordered

So my signal chain for bass guitar is actually:

bass - Bass Pod Pro - Direct Out to mono track 1
- wet out to mono track 2

I think one problem might well be that last phrase. Doing anything that
involves "wetness" on a bass will lead you straight to mudville.

Suggestion: No eq, no reverb, no chorus. Get all the processing off the
Pod patch you're using. Work with your fingers at different points on the
strings with both pickups on and full up (volume) and all the way bright
(tone) until you can get something you like. A *little* compression can
make the process a little happier.

Better pickups can be helpful. Bartolini's are nice.

'Course, if it were me, I'd get a Precision and ditch the JB, but that's
your call.

Who would you like to sound like?

Myles


Then I'll pan both at the center, and try to keep away from Phasing
problems (actually there is a inner function in Pod against that).

Me not being a full-time bassist is definitely a minus in my sound, I
know that. Then again, I don't think that my touch is especially
weak... I'll keep working on it.


Best regards, Kalle

"Kalle L." wrote in message
om...
Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?


I know this isn't what you asked, but you might take the pod out of the
chain and put a Direct Box in there instead - get a box with two outs so you
can still monitor through your pod. You might find it easier to get a good
sound out of the bass that way, though I'd suggest upgrading the pickups as
that is the primary difference between the cheap Fenders and the expensive
ones (Duncans are fine unless you hear something you like better).

jb

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?

Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?

I play a 96 American Fender Precision Deluxe. I've tried various
methods of recording to Sonar through a Echo Gina 24. At one point I
had a Mackie 1202VLZ, but it failed to sound decent on anything, let
alone bass guitar. Lately I've been recording bass direct through a
Grace 101 preamp. This works OK
for most stuff, but not everything. I've also tried running my Peavey
TB Raxx
pre into a power amp, then into a small 8" two way speaker. I then
mike the speaker with a Studio Projects C-1 connected to the Grace.
This works great at low volume, but again, not for every song I'm
working on. Room acoustics seriously affect the sound quality using
this method.

Some time ago, I played an American Jazz bass through a Bass pod at my
local GC.
Listening with headphones, I thought it sounded pretty good. I didn't
buy the Pod, but it seems to me that it would work OK going direct
into a sound card.

I've tried other methods in other people's studios with various
degrees of success. One of the best sounds I ever got was my bass
through a Grace 101, Samson Servo 120 power amp, an Ampeg 15" Classic
cabinet, miked with a Neumann
TLM 103 in a good room, into a True Systems preamp, into a Paris
system, with an engineer who knew his stuff. You can break out your
calculator and figure out what all this gear costs. Moreover, I'm a
guitar player trying to play bass. Compared to a seasoned player, I
suck. I'm getting better, but I've got a long way to go. A lot of it
is in the hands.

This point I'm trying to make here is there isn't a laundry list of
how to make bass work. You have to try a lot of different setups
until you find what you're looking for. Think of it as a quest.

Good luck,

DaveT

I have a Jazz bass I've played through all kinds of amps; you should be able to
use it anywhere. I don't know about the newer ones, but the Fender tone is very
hard to kill (at least from my '71), but if there is a way, DI's probably it.
You should probably start with an amp and see how good you can make it sound in
the room, then try to go direct.

Both pickups up full is a great place to start; that's all I ever use (tone
variations come from technique). And lose all the effects.

Is your tone control turned all the way clockwise (treble)? I unwired mine. It
has only one useful position: full up.

Also remember that the bass may sound bright to your ears played alone but keeps
its depth when recorded that way, while the brightness just blends right into
the mix.


Kalle L. wrote:

Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?

There are about a gabillion variables: One is that the resonance of
the strings can be muted a little or a lot by picking-hand technique
(heel of palm if using a pick, or finger technique if not).

I sometimes record with a J-Station as a direct box on top of mic'ing
a cab. When I use my Jazz 5 String, I crank all the pots wide open. In
part that is because the pick ups are single coil and doing this acts
as a hum-bucker.

Since you are ordering two 421's, you will have very good mic's to use
on a cab. I position my bass cab mic on-axis and (generally) the
brighter tones come from the center of the cone, a bit darker at the
edge. So move the mic to taste and you can combine the mic'd signal
with the D.I.

"Johnston West" wrote in message
om...

The weakest link is usually the source. In the case of Bass it's often
a guitar player trying to play bass...... (I'm not sayin' that's the
case here 'cause I don't know. Do you play Bass regularly at gigs and
in the Studio?)


That is so true. One thing I do if it's not a strong bass player is turn the
bass down in the mix during tracking so they have to play harder to hear
themselves. This usually ends up giving a much for stable track than someone
who's afraid to pluck the strings.

Most of this has been said by other posters, but:

1) Mixing the dry and wet outputs of the Pod is probably a bad idea on bass.
Even a little delay induced by the FX side could throw the phase coherence of
the insrtument to the moon. If you want to use compression in the recording,
that's almost always good, but try to come up with a good sound out of a single
output. Add other FX in your mix if you like.

2) The Jazz bass can be very tricky to get a good solid tone from. It tends to
be a mixture of highs and lows rather than a solid, mid-heavy tone like a
Precision. I think for a marginal player (as you seem to describe yourself) the
Precision is a much better choice. I'd seriously consider trading for one. I
bought a cheapie American Precision several months ago ($950 at discount) and
I'm amazed at how good it sounds. It also seems remarkably well made.

Skilled, pro players can certainly make a Jazz Bass sound great, but IMHO it's
a much more difficult instrument to get a good, solid tone that will work in a
mix from.

3) Bass is a surprisingly difficult instrument for an inexpert player (I'm one
of those as well) to produce good tone on. Practice, practice, practice. Bass
tone is all about "touch" - the right amount of muscle in each hand. Too weak
and it will sound muddy and diffuse, too strong and it will make too many
overtones of various, inconsistent kinds.

So to summarize:

1) Cut dry or with comp only, in mono
2) Consider getting a Precision
3) Practice your "touch"


Ted Spencer, NYC

"No amount of classical training will ever teach you what's so cool about
"Tighten Up" by Archie Bell And The Drells" -author unknown

Assuming that you have a good player and a good bass a good DI is all
you need. The BSS works quite well and is cheaper than an Avalon or
anything of that ilk.

(Ted Spencer) wrote in message ...

3) Bass is a surprisingly difficult instrument for an inexpert player (I'm one
of those as well) to produce good tone on. Practice, practice, practice. Bass
tone is all about "touch" - the right amount of muscle in each hand. Too weak
and it will sound muddy and diffuse, too strong and it will make too many
overtones of various, inconsistent kinds.


This is a really good point--the way you pluck that string really does
make a huge difference. Experiment with plucking at different
points along the string. I tend to feel that the tone is richer up by
the neck, but sometimes I prefer the staccato sound you get closer to
the bridge.

Also take a look at the 'action' of the bass (the height that the
strings are set to). A lot of people tend to set the strings to a
very low 'action' on bass guitars, particularly if bass isn't their
main instrument. By setting the strings low, there's a little less
string tension, so it's easier to play. Unfortunately, there can be a
trade-off in tone and I think a lot of bassists are unaware of the
difference. With a higher string tension, your fingers need to work
a little harder to pull the string back, but you may well get a fuller
tone.

I'd also suggest you look into getting a real bass amp of some sort
(it doesn't have to be big). Personally, I'm never satisfied using
just the DI track when I record. I usually mic it and mix that with
the DI.

If you are in a situation where you CAN'T make noise, you might
consider running the output of a bass amp into a DI (but read up on
this technique before trying it--you can fry your gear if you don't
set this up properly). I've gotten some surprisingly good results
with this technique.

And as some has mentioned, compression is also worth
investigating--particularly if your playing isn't as consistent as
you'd like (but remember that it's really easy to over-do). Of
course, the quality of the effect makes a big difference. Cheap
digital effects will inevitably add a 'cheap digital effect' sound to
your tone.

IRA

Hey,

I'm a bass player working on some recordings with friends on mine and for me
the difference was getting away from all the DI's and PODs and using quality
amplifiers. I find that the amplifier/preamp you're using affects the tone
more than the bass itself. I'm an ampeg preacher myself, and when recording,
i use the direct out of my SVT-classic (9 tubes in that bad boy) and i never
have to do anything else to the track after. It compresses, it warms, the eq
is great, and there's only 6 damn knobs on the thing. Unfortunately the SVT
isn't an ideal piece of studio equipment for most because of it's weight,
and the fact that you can't run an all-tube amp without the speakers on.

(amplifer). So i'd take a look at something like the SVP-Pro (preamp), or
the SVT-3Pro

Also just a quick note on technique, avoid playing right up at the neck or
over the neck pickup. Gives you a full sound, but it doesn't stick out at
all. Try plucking solidly right between the neck and bridge pickups (or even
a little closer to the bridge pickup) and have the volumes at either
100%neck/100%bridge or something like 100%neck/75%bridge.

Hope this helps.

mike

"Kalle L." wrote in message
om...
Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?

Paul Gitlitz wrote:

Assuming that you have a good player and a good bass a good DI is all
you need. The BSS works quite well and is cheaper than an Avalon or
anything of that ilk.

They ain't cheap, nor easy to find, but sometimes the Evil Twin does
scary good at bass DI.

--
ha

(Kalle L.) wrote in message . com...
Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?


Jazz basses have this weird interaction thing with the pickups, my
recommendation is to run the neck pickup wide open, then turn the
bridge pickup full up, and then crack it back about 10%.

Kind of weird but you actually get MORE high end with the bridge
pickup turned down a crack than up fully....the pickups interact.

then use the tone control to get how much treble you want in the tone.

I like more high end so I run the treble all the way up, but that's
me.

In general with any passive device though, you get the best tone by
playing with everything full up, use further processing (ONLY if
needed) to change the tone further downstream....I'm sure a lot of
people will disagree with me, but that's how I'd do it.

Also I think if you use a real bass preamp instead of a POD you'll get
a better, more organic tone.

I really like the Ampeg SVP Pro, but lately I've been digging a
Sansamp RBI that I bought as well. You also can't go wrong with the
Alembic FX-1 bass preamp either.

Combine a good bass pre with a power amp and a cab and you've got a
good live rig as well.

Analogeezer

In article ,
(Ted Spencer) wrote:

1) Cut dry or with comp only, in mono
2) Consider getting a Precision
3) Practice your "touch"





What Ted said. And as far as #3 I can recommend turning the signal waaay up and
playing with a very light tough, even for aggresive tunes.



Recording, I only use Jazz basses for tamer stuff. Try a Precision. No muss,
no fuss.

--
Raindances always worked because they didn't stop dancing until it rained.



To reply, please remove the 555 from the return address

Hi,

Thanks to everyone who replied to my post. There were some great comments
there, just what I needed. I tried, and by trying to play with my right hand
touching the strings more closely to the bridge does a lot to clarify the
sound. Somehow I wasn't not comfortable to do that before, cause it sounded
too thing solo, but it can actually make the bass's sound come out through
the mix more clearly that way.

I've decided to get some good pickups for my Jazz bass first, and then
consider getting a Precision if I don't get the sound that I want. In my
case/level the POD seems still to be a good option...it has a good D.I., but
often I prefer the wet output from it. So I believe I have not expored its
full possibilites yet. Of course this is money issue too, that's why I'll
try the new pickups first.

Thanks again guys & happy thanksgiving to all!

Kalle



"Analogeezer" wrote in message
om...
(Kalle L.) wrote in message
. com...
Dear ppl

I wonder if there are some bassists here... my guess is there is So
if you have time, here's one for you:

I've been trying to get a solid, distinctive bass guitar sound for my
recordings by using a signal chain Fender Jazz Bass (American
traditional-the cheapo series) - Bass Pod Pro - Mackie 1202 - Layla
20, but I cannot seem to find it. Instead I've found out that I don't
understand heck about them Jazz Bass pickups and how to get a good
sound out of them. So I was wondering if anyone could tell me about of
those two pickups, and how the volume pots should work in order to
bring up certain characteristics in sound. It seems that I only get my
bass guitar sound muddy or an un-clear in the final mix. Believe
me, I've turned the knobs back and forth, and tried to find some
clarity and punchiness in the sound, but it only comes out flat and
muddy.

My logic tells me that in general, the neck pickup would provide more
softer, full sound (perhaps more suitable for slower songs) while neck
pickup gives a more honky soundy (which unfortunately seems to lack
lower frequencies). What "settings" do you guys for use for your
particular sound?

My songs are mainly pop-rock with country influences with many ballads
in there, and I play bass without a pick.

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on how to get a more solid sound
out of my existing pickups & other gear, I'm grateful for all the
comments.


Regards,
Kalle

ps. Since my bass is a budget model Fender, I was thinking that maybe
the pickups are the weak link here, and do not provide sound powerful
enough for it to be a distinctive in the mix. Maybe some Seymour
Duncans could improve the situation if that was the case...(?) What do
you guys recommend?


Jazz basses have this weird interaction thing with the pickups, my
recommendation is to run the neck pickup wide open, then turn the
bridge pickup full up, and then crack it back about 10%.

Kind of weird but you actually get MORE high end with the bridge
pickup turned down a crack than up fully....the pickups interact.

then use the tone control to get how much treble you want in the tone.

I like more high end so I run the treble all the way up, but that's
me.

In general with any passive device though, you get the best tone by
playing with everything full up, use further processing (ONLY if
needed) to change the tone further downstream....I'm sure a lot of
people will disagree with me, but that's how I'd do it.

Also I think if you use a real bass preamp instead of a POD you'll get
a better, more organic tone.

I really like the Ampeg SVP Pro, but lately I've been digging a
Sansamp RBI that I bought as well. You also can't go wrong with the
Alembic FX-1 bass preamp either.

Combine a good bass pre with a power amp and a cab and you've got a
good live rig as well.

Analogeezer

Find a used Ampeg B-15 Portaflex amp. Mic the amp and run a direct.
Work on bass playing technique. Many bassists I've worked with had to
adjust for playing in the studio, especially when direct.