TriAxis - bass and band context

[Jackie]

The TriAxis has been quite a journey so far. I've had it for about almost a year and a half together with the 2:90 and what I've noticed is the classic alone vs. band issue.

What I meant was, Deep engaged and Bass on 3 sounded great but in a band it always sounded like a "neck pickup" tone! A few months ago I posted about turning off the Deep mode for good on my main rhythm tones, and I thought I was OK. After using my Mesa rig more frequently at band practice I noticed that even after my bandmate and I moved cabs so we could hear ourselves and the other guy better, I still had trouble hearing myself.
My bandmate has a really bassy, dark, compressed tone with his ENGL powerball and my Marshall had no trouble cutting through, but my Mesa is a bit more prominent in the low mids and it mixed with his tone too much.

So after some tweaking I ended up using Bass on 1. Gloriously tight, rich and very defined, while still retaining those huge Mesa lows.

Morale of the story - you don't need as much bass as you might think.

This is something a lot of people read but I wanted to share my first hand experience of just how true this is.

 

[bluestometal]

The 2:90 may sound very bassy and scooped, less Mark-ish and this leads the Tri user to shape a bit unusual eq (more mids-high oriented). Of course this also depends by what guitar/pups you're using and, assuming you're on a Explorer all mahogany type of guitar, it's easy you go too heavy on the low side. The "alone vs. band issue" it's a real pain in the ass, often I tweak a tone that sounds amazing in my home studio (alone) and then, in the band context, sounds different (usually too soft), specially on the solo sounds (a lot of nuance I pay attention when alone go completely lost in the mix 'cause, simply, it's like small pixels in a hi-res big image and, when alone, you can't really quantify the "sound pressure" you'll get with the rest of the band). Post some clips when you can

 

[ando]

Jackie, there is also another factor which may be coming into play here. The louder you turn up your amp, the more bass it will develop. I'm assuming that you are playing louder with the band than when you test your sound solo. With band instruments the frequencies can stack up quickly in the bottom end and the overall sound can be very boomy. Another factor is that the human ear picks up bass much stronger at high volumes. So the louder things get, the more dominant bass becomes relative to the mids and highs. You often have to roll bass off in high volume situations. Bass is definitely the hardest thing to manage in a band context. I think the process you have gone through is very important and will serve you well in future band projects. Less is more!

 

[Jackie]

bluestometal - nope, my Explorer is a maple neck+body and rosewood fretboard EMG loaded snarling beast so I can get away with quite some "darkness" on my amp Even so, I like to make my tone as open, clear and thumping as possible.

Well, you asked for clips... actually I'm lucky that I can show you both my previous settings.
This clip was recorded using my Explorer and my old Deep+Bass=3 tone. Pretty boomy now that I listen to it. This was recorded with Deep off, but bass on 3.5, for a user here on the forum who wanted to know how similar the Lead 2 Modes are. It was recorded using my Yamaha SG2000 which is a mahogany neck+body and ebony fretboard, with lower output kind of dark PUs. Still a bit low heavy.

ando - I always tweak my stage tones at the level that we rehearse or even at stage level. So that factor is out.
Relevant advice though.

 

[dbone]

This was my experience as well, I found the deep did not jive well for me with the Mark Lead tones ( high gain rhythm ) on the Triaxis 2:90. It can get boomy and non musical real quick.
I leave it off and my bass is very low like 2 or less even none!
Deep can be cool for the LD1 Recto If you have that version or for some clean tones.
Within in the band context it can take some work. Sometimes ya just need to take a good look at what both guitarists are playing in the music and switch it up a bit so that they're not stepping on each other. Division of parts and such, if the other guy is laying down gutter deep rhythm then you might want to play a higher part that compliments it and vice versa.
Sometimes it's just noodles and fills but if it serves the music mission accomplished.
An albeit older but great example of this is Blackout by the scorpions.