Bass DI Shootout

[Soundlurker]

Here it is, as promised in this thread:

Warwick Streamer
Fender (Mexican)
Ibanez BTB555
Yamaha RBX374
MusicMan Sabre

Try to match them to the samples:
Bass 1
Bass 2
Bass 3
Bass 4
Bass 5

All of the samples are recorded direct into an audio interface. Have in mind ,however, that the sound varies a lot with different players, strings and pickups.

 

[nwright]

hmmm, my guesses:

bass 1 - Wick
Bass 2 - MM
bass 3 - Fender
bass 4 - Ibanez
bass 5 - Yamaha

I really have no clue, but I like bass 2 the best, and bass 3 sounds like most of the Fender style basses I hear around here. I'd be more interested to hear which ones were active p/ups, passive p/ups, or passive p/ups with on-board active preamps.

 

[Seizure.]

i'm with nwright, not particulary sure about the last 3 but i'm pretty sure the first 2 are the warwick and the musicman, but hey.. could be wrong hhe

 

[Soundlurker]

Not going to reveal them yet. As for the p/ups I believe all of them are standard for the respective model.

2x Bartolini MK1 / Vari-Mid III II 3-Band-EQ

for the Ibanez; The Warwick has

MEC 2 Band Active Electronics, MEC Large Pole Passive Humbuckers with Coil Switching(Series/Parallel/Single Coil)

There should be info about the other guitars as well. The MusicMan seems to be from the 70's/80's btw.

 

[Radd]

nwright's response looks pretty good. I'll go with that.

 

[Soundlurker]

Sooo... any other suggestions before I reveal the correct order?

 

[nwright]

I really don't know...Our bass player owns MM's, Warwicks, ESP's, custom BC Rich's, Fenders, and I've tracked just about all of them save for Yammy's and I hear traces of tonal footprints, but it's hard to tell.

Most Warwicks I've heard have a pretty trademark sound (our bass player has a deal with Warwick but has since switched), but I don't hear it here like I have before. Also, the big Humbucker sized p/up of the MM's give it a distinct sound, depending on the electronics...But, I've heard the same p/up in custom ESP's and BC Riches of our bass player and they sound similar.

The only one that REALLY sounds like what I've seen and heard is Bass 3...It sounds like a MIM Fender bass to the bone. But, any passive, cheap bass could sound that way, haha.

 

[Soundlurker]

Well, actually, the only thing you got wrong is the Warwick and the Ibanez. Well done, you know your stuff!

How about a personal Top 5 now?

The MusicMan is a beast or as a friend said, its sound is poetry. Next is the Ibanez, then the Warwick, closely followed by the Yamaha and finally the Fender, which I don't like at all.