what's more important in a bass (as in sound quality)??

[ekspain]

would you consider beauty of tone more important, or power.

Say for example, the bass has great beauty of tone, but less power-
would that be more desirable than great power, but lesser quality tone, or vice versa..?

I'm really tired, so forgive me if this makes little sense...

by the way, when I say power I mean loudness (basically)- I don't like the word loud, but lots of bassists tend to use this word alot...

[Wild Rice Chris]

Tone. I can always turn it up at the amp or step on my clean boost pedal for more volume.
(clarification in post #6 below)

[drurb]

This is one of those questions that's appropriately answered by, "It depends-- on your preferences, your style, the type of music you play, the venues in which you play it, and other factors." Let's see how many posts (pages) this generates.

[Bootzilla]

If power is the same as volume than there is no need for it in a bass as you can turn up the volume of your amp. If power has more to do with the punch and growl than that is also part of the tone.

Edit: didn't see it was DB cos I got in from the main page . If you play acoustically and are in demand for volume than it is of course important. It is a decision you have to make as we don't know in what situation you are going to be using your bass and how much volume you need.

[Uncletoad]

I assume since we are in the DB section you are talking about the acoustic properties of a Double Bass.

Power and Tone are subjective. They are not always mutually exclusive even in lesser expensive instruments. Pitting them against each other in an either/or scenario is irrelevant and counterproductive.

You can and should expect both great tone and adequate volume in a Double Bass however you define them. What you want in tone and Volume depends on the context you are using it in. What is called good tone and volume in an Orchestra is very different than good tone and volume in a Jazz Combo or Bluegrass Band or a Rock band for that matter.

Define your struggle a bit more and perhaps we could be more helpful.

[Wild Rice Chris]

I should clarify my post--the majority of my gigs are mic'd/amp'd, and I recently started using a pedalboard with a boost on it.

All three of my basses are about the same volume, but the smallest/oldest one has a tonal response (acoustically and amp'd) that helps me sound like me. It's easier to draw the sound I want.

If I were still playing orchestrally, I'd want a bass that blends well with the section.
For purely acoustic music, I'd probably be looking for volume (depending on the other players).

[Paul Warburton]

To quote Gary Karr on my mentor Red Mitchell's sound:
"I have always judged talent whether it is jazz or classical on the sound a person produces because the sound is your signature. I think Red's signature was sure genius".
Red played un-amped for years. He also played amped for years. That sound was always his signature.

[ekspain]

[quote=Uncletoad;8594670]I assume since we are in the DB section you are talking about the acoustic properties of a Double Bass.

Power and Tone are subjective. They are not always mutually exclusive even in lesser expensive instruments. Pitting them against each other in an either/or scenario is irrelevant and counterproductive.

You can and should expect both great tone and adequate volume in a Double Bass however you define them. What you want in tone and Volume depends on the context you are using it in. What is called good tone and volume in an Orchestra is very different than good tone and volume in a Jazz Combo or Bluegrass Band or a Rock band for that matter.

Define your struggle a bit more and perhaps we could be more



Well, The issue is that I have a bass that is considered beautiful sounding, but not "loud". Though, obviously the sound is big, it is not "loud". Some find this undesirable, and prefer a bass that is "oh my god" loud. But I personally find that less impressive. A sufficient volume level, and beautiful tone are preferable to me that a "ballsey" bass with a less beautiful tone.


I'm not pitting anything against anything, btw. Its clear that many have preferences, and it is not, by any means counterproductive
do discuss these preferences. furthermore, it is a rare combination, a bass that has a great sound, and a large sound. Of course, quality is a subjective thing. If your ears are used to crap, a mediocre instrument will sound like a strad.....if you have limited talent, you won't tell the difference between good and bad...

[PsychoScout]

It's just the combination of everything that matters, including strings, the room you are in, and most important: you.

You just check basses until you find the one that makes you say "yeah" out loud when you've hit the first string.

just my two cents....

ps: love your signature, ain't he the greatest, watching "the art of the bow" always makes me happy

[ekspain]

Originally Posted by PsychoScout

It's just the combination of everything that matters, including strings, the room you are in, and most important: you.

You just check basses until you find the one that makes you say "yeah" out loud when you've hit the first string.

just my two cents....

ps: love your signature, ain't he the greatest, watching "the art of the bow" always makes me happy

Hey you live in Brussels? know Miguel Mulders? I think he plays there.
I live in Europe too.

Yeah I hear ya. I'm actually in the market looking for a new bass. I'll be searching high and low for something kick ass..

[Uncletoad]

Thanks for clarifying your situation ekspain. You're opening comments were to general and were destined to start a fight. What you added helps reduce the potential for a big mess around here.

To respond better...

I have an orchestral bass that sounds very beautiful and is very loud. I have a plywood bass that sounds very good, for what it is, but it is not very loud. I can't use that ply bass in as many situations without amplification because it's not loud enough to blend as it should on it's own.

If you are playing in a situation where you sound good but it can't be heard properly for the context you'll have to do something to fix that. If you sound fine and blend as the context requires who cares if someone else's bass is louder.

In this case great sound is more important than volume until the point where the volume is to low for anyone to notice the great sound.

[Bass]

Originally Posted by ekspain

would you consider beauty of tone more important, or power...

Yes, tone is more important than volume.

[Jason Sypher]

It depends on the situation. If you're playing bluegrass for instance i think volume might trump tone as long as the tone of the bass isn't 'bad'. Those players love to feel that thump underneath them. Romanian/Hungarian music is pretty much the same deal and I'd rather be felt than considered beautiful. But to those guys that volume and feeling IS tone. There's nothing worse than a bass that sounds great at home and invisible on the gig. Of course, it's about balance and the general use of the instrument. Lot's of folks have more than one bass for just such a reason. Basses tend to do one thing best. If you're only going to have one it needs to fall somewhere in the middle and do most things to your satisfaction.

[cnltb]

Originally Posted by ekspain

would you consider beauty of tone more important, or power.

Say for example, the bass has great beauty of tone, but less power-
would that be more desirable than great power, but lesser quality tone, or vice versa..?

I'm really tired, so forgive me if this makes little sense...

by the way, when I say power I mean loudness (basically)- I don't like the word loud, but lots of bassists tend to use this word alot...

For me it's tone .

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by Jason Sypher

It depends on the situation. If you're playing bluegrass for instance i think volume might trump tone as long as the tone of the bass isn't 'bad'. Those players love to feel that thump underneath them. Romanian/Hungarian music is pretty much the same deal and I'd rather be felt than considered beautiful. But to those guys that volume and feeling IS tone. There's nothing worse than a bass that sounds great at home and invisible on the gig. Of course, it's about balance and the general use of the instrument. Lot's of folks have more than one bass for just such a reason. Basses tend to do one thing best. If you're only going to have one it needs to fall somewhere in the middle and do most things to your satisfaction.

Exactly what I was trying to get at.

Depends on what you are doing.

[ekspain]

I was thinking mainly classical, but its interesting to hear the other view points as well.

[Jason Sypher]

Ok well then there's the question of "localized volume" or "back of the hall volume". Localized is more seductive but the opposite can be more useful.

[LeslieD]

Originally Posted by Jason Sypher

It depends on the situation. If you're playing bluegrass for instance i think volume might trump tone as long as the tone of the bass isn't 'bad'. Those players love to feel that thump underneath them. Romanian/Hungarian music is pretty much the same deal and I'd rather be felt than considered beautiful. But to those guys that volume and feeling IS tone. There's nothing worse than a bass that sounds great at home and invisible on the gig. Of course, it's about balance and the general use of the instrument. Lot's of folks have more than one bass for just such a reason. Basses tend to do one thing best. If you're only going to have one it needs to fall somewhere in the middle and do most things to your satisfaction.

+1 for everything Jason wrote. I've got 4 basses, and each one has its strengths. I'm still looking for the one bass that I can use for bluegrass/classical/recording/and any other genre I'm exploring for the moment. I thought I'd finally settled on using a hybrid for my bluegrass gigs since it was the the "happy medium" between my carved bass & my plywood basses. I like the sound better, but it's just a bit anemic for the gigs...so I might end up back where I started (using the plys for the bluegrass). "Happy medium" (for me) falls short of complete satisfaction. I guess that's okay, since on one level the hunt for the PERFECT bass can be a lot of fun.

[Dr. Jake]

Originally Posted by Uncletoad

I have a plywood bass that sounds very good, for what it is, but it is not very loud.

The Cleveland isn't very loud? Disappointing to hear, but good to know...

[Uncletoad]

Originally Posted by Dr. Jake

The Cleveland isn't very loud? Disappointing to hear, but good to know...

Not by my standards. Not many ply basses are. The Hybrid LaScala seemed louder to me but neither has the power of a really well made carved bass like the Queen.