Bassists face many challenges in their line of work but the most significant one has to be how to use bass amp overdrive without losing the low end. An overdriven or dirty bass tone has the unique ability to liven up a band’s mix as well as fattening up the overall sound. The last thing any bassist would want to do is compromising on holding down the low end. Most overdrive pedals have different degrees of low-end bass even the ones designed for bass. This may be a hindrance for a majority of players especially the ones who are keen on an overdriven bass sound. Luckily, there are techniques by which to enhance bass tone using overdrive but without losing low end.  

Why Overdrive Leads To Low-end Loss

When a bassist runs bass via an overdrive pedal, the signal is compressed and clipped. It is this compression that causes an apparent drop in low-end response or volume in comparison to a clean bass signal. The clipping creates harmonics depending on the method used to achieve it as well as how it is filtered. There are several tricks and tips that can be used to make overdrive work these include the following:  

Adjusting Amp settings

The low-end loss is a serious problem, particularly when switching overdrive on and off in the course of a song. The EQ controls the amplifier should always be used when utilizing overdrive pedals as always-on components of your tone. This assists in the further tweaking of the sound to your preference.  

Pedals Should Always Be Set At Unity

Application of fuzz, distortion or overdrive on bass makes one easily perceive the prominence of the mids and highs. This is what causes you to believe that the pedal is much louder than it is in reality. Usually, the unity gain on an overdrive pedal will sound louder than the clean signal. It is advisable to raise the volume of the overdrive pedal if the low end fails to cut through. This tends to provide a solution that is both easy and quick to implement.  

Clean Blend

A clean blend enables one to mix the distortion pedal of choice with a clean tone while maintaining the low end and punch. It is a design that is commonly utilized in numerous bass overdrive pedals for its high efficacy. Independent clean blend pedals can greatly increase the usability of all dirty pedals. If there is a guitar distortion that a player likes but losses low end, he/she should run it via a clean blend pedal.  

Less Drive

If the low-end punch of a signal is just dropping out, attempt using very little gain for a sound that is slightly overdriven. This is guaranteed to maintain most of the clean signal while adding a bit of grit that works best for dense mixes. In fact, most popular bass recordings are characterized by a slightly overdriven bass instead of a full-blown distortion.  

Final Thoughts ...

The above insightful information clearly provides bass players with useful tips on how to play while using overdrive on their amps without losing their low-end definition.    

Your Turn to Sound Off!

What are some other great live bass playing tips?

Let us know in the comment section below!

   

Other Stories You Might Like ...

[caption id="attachment_7797" align="alignleft" width="150"]active and passive guitar and bass pickups explained Active And Passive Guitar And Bass Pickups Explained[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7533" align="alignleft" width="150"]ba-112 ampeg amp bass Ampeg BA-112 Combo Bass Amp Review[/caption] [caption id="attachment_7108" align="alignleft" width="150"]Genzler Bass Amps Brand Spotlight Brand Spotlight: Genzler Bass Amps[/caption]