10 Tips For Superior Bass Tone

These ten bass tone tips will help you elevate your sound to pro levels!


10 Bass Tone Tips

  1. Bass setup - learn how to tweak the truss rod and bridge for optimal playing
  2. Bass pickups - Do you know your single coil and humbucker from your split coil?
  3. Dark to bright bass tone - choose the right tone for the song
  4. Changing tone with your hands
  5. Plectrum & slap add colour to your tone toolbox
  6. Gain structure is essential live and in the studio
  7. Tube saturation works great on bass
  8. Compression & EQ. The bass player's best signal processing friends
  9. Don't play too hard - you'll get tired and you'll choke your sound
  10. The main common bass effects - octave, overdrive/distortion/fuzz, filter.

Here are more bass tone videos:

Some of the greatest bass playing of all time uses simple notes, with simple techniques, played with impeccable timing, taste, and tone. The latter is something you can really take control of so I hope this video helps you!


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  • Wonderful advice Dan, bang on the money with tone, fully agree— “one bass twelve tones”. With all the effect pedals, built in electronics, multi effect boards, and electronic modelling amps, plus various hand techniques it’s— “one bass and as many tones as you can afford ”
    I’ve mainly done my playing in rock covers bands, with a Jazz bass, gave me versatility as you so rightly pointed out. A lot of young up and coming bass players just about too start out on their musical journey, thanks to your good self, are getting the chance to tap into high level teaching, Rock solid techniques and top level advice. I only have one regret, I wish your channel was around when I was starting out back in the seventies.
    Thank you Dan. Have a great day, and keep playing

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