Can't hear my bass!

[geddeeee]

A big +1 for tennis_nick.

Too loud probably, but a judicious use of proper eq 'territory' usuually sorts the men from the boys.
Try asking the guitarist too tame some of his bass frequencies. If not, then buy an Ampeg and melt his face off!!!! LOL!

[silverjet89]

I'll throw something else in here. My guess is that it is probably the room more than the amp. If the room isn't treated with some sort of bass trapping the low end is going to be muddy and undefined. Adding mids and cutting lows will help but may not be enough. I had to make several bass traps and low/mid absorbers to get my rehearsal room to not sound like ****.
Search for more info here: http://www.ethanwiner.com/acoustics.html

[bob_atherton]

Ive been playing bass for more years than I care to think about and from time to time I've found the bass just getting lost or falling out of the mix. My vote along with many here is to bring out as much mid from the instrument as you can, dial in more mids on the amp, cut the low bass a bit and turn it up a bit. If all this fails tell the other guys to turn it down a touch! Good luck.

FWIW I would have thought that old TI flats should be still fine. After all it worked for James Jamerson ...

[blueflamerick]

Treat that amp like freedom rock and turn it up man!

[johnallg]

do you still have the .0047 capacitor in there? that thing will rip the balls out of your bass.

Also try getting your pickups closer to the strings.

Jeff, you beat me to it. Try shunting a wire across the .0047uF cap from the switch to the treble volume pot. Wrap it tight to just try it, then either put in a switch/pot from RIC or solder the wire in place if it is what you want. You will get a deeper tone and more volume out of the pickup. I put the switch in my 75/76 4001.

Also, just a half turn of the screws to raise the bridge pup will make a big difference. Again if you like the sound, raise it until the strings just hit the pole screws, then back it down a tad. This will emphasize the treble content and lessen (unbalance) the bassiness of the neck pup. With the cap out, it is less of an effect.

[After reading the rest of the thread, this all becomes redundant!]

[walrus]

John,
I already have the bypass. Someday I may add the switch, but from what I understand, it's a little too deep for the cavity on these 70's basses. I will try adjusting the height of the treble pickup.

[gshadoan]

If your bass sounds good to you at home,(its probably ok) then I would suggest going to the practice room, say 10 mins early, before everyone starts bashing and making noise, and tweek (eq/gain/headroom/room) whatever setup you happen to be playing through, and get it as close to the sound you have at home. Leave yourslef a little headroom, so when the maylay ensues, you have a little nudge to get through the mix. Oh, yeah, do this clean and sobar. Both drink and smoke will alter your preception in a negitive manner. This is my opinion. YMMV.

Or just bring your home rig in, that you know already is doing what you want it to do. You could always use whatever in the room as a slave for more air movement if nessacary.
Just curious, what amp do you have at home, that sounds the way you like? Is there a wild climate change difference to your house and the practice room?

[johnallg]

Bob, the pot/switch I bought from the RIC Boutique a couple months ago fit my mid 70s 4001 just fine.

[walrus]

Good to know. Maybe the soldering gun will be getting some action soon.

[4stringnosing]

> I could probably also use a new set of strings. How long do most of you leave the flats on for?

Flats stay on for me until they break. My experience has been flats, like a fine wine, sound BETTER the longer they age. I change my groundwounds no less than once a month but my flats are there for the duration. Remember that James Jamerson, arguably the greatest session bassist of all time, never changed (nor cleaned) the flatwounds ONCE on his P-Bass over his entire career!

[johnallg]

I have a set of Black Diamond black nylon wound flats on an old beater Kay bass that were the strings I used 36 years ago. When I put them on the Kay a couple years ago, I just used soap and water to clean the hand grime off them and they were good to go. Still sound great too.

[walrus]

UPDATE:
I played last night in the same rehearsal hall that has the Eden head and 2 4x10 SWR cabinets. I had raised the horseshoe pickup closer to the strings and tweaked the amp by turning up the MIDs and volume a bit. The bass came alive and I could heard it in the mix. The TI flats are staying on until they die. Thanks for all the suggestions.