Bass guitar sound in live situations

[Keregioz]

Hey guys,

I know some stuff about handling bass guitar while mixing but I've no idea how to get it to sound good in live situations or band rehearsals.
I play in a band right now where the bassist is pretty clueless about getting a good bass guitar sound. Also, his technique isn't anything special but he's trying at least. Right now he plays straight to the amp with a cheap zoom bass pedal in front which I don't even know what is supposed to do, it has some amp sims but there are not any spectacular differences whether he uses it or not (he thinks there are).

Do you have any tips on how to treat a bass guitar or how to improve the sound?

 

[amitzwar]

plug the bass , eq the amp and balance the bass with the other instruments

gg

 

[AllanD]

Get a BDDI, or a compressor if you're into clean.

 

[nwright]

IMO the tonal goals and mix goals are the same as they are for any instrument. Find a voicing that accents or supports the feel or vibe of the band and make it sound consistent with the rest of the band in terms of volume.

My first question would be what bass and amp is he using? What do you tune to? What style of music is it?

 

[Keregioz]

My first question would be what bass and amp is he using? What do you tune to? What style of music is it?

He uses the amps that are available at the rehearsal rooms of the studio we go, I've no idea what brand the are, probably nothing special. He plays a schecter 5 string stiletto extreme (we use 7 string guitars) and tunes half a step lower. The style is regular melodic heavy metal, I'm not sure how to describe it. It has a nevermore vibe I guess but more straightforward and melodic.

For a compressor what would you guys recommend? Nothing fancy, just something that does a decent job.

 

[AllanD]

My friend uses this

http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend...ffects-Pedal?sku=528003&ZYXSEM=0&src=3AGGWXX2

Really nice with the distortion feature, and especially the mix knob.

 

[fade_2_black]

Sansamp!