Is it me or...

[addylewis]

...does it seem like lots of players turn down the tone completely to kill "click" rather than working on bettering their technique?

I used to fiddle the tone a little, but had it no less than 7 and have discovered the beauty of cutting your nails to get rid of that picking sound whilst playing with fingers, so I try to leave the treble up full to better my technique...but I know a few players (I admit, not all of them bassists...) who kill the treble 100% to get a real thumpy sound whilst either playing with a pick or fingers (which I reckon is most probably to try and mask bad technique)...


I'm not knocking people who do - what works for them is fine - but I find it a bit annoying that lots of people do this rather than work on their actual playing...has anyone else encountered this and (like me) gets slightly annoyed about it?

[Figjam]

To each his own. Sometimes click isnt a bad thing,especially in a band setting. It can add a little something something to your sound.

[Basscotti]

Originally Posted by Figjam

To each his own. Sometimes click isnt a bad thing,especially in a band setting. It can add a little something something to your sound.

But you shouldn't let it happen if you don't intend it. Technique is about being in full control of your playing and tone. So if tou have a clicky tone and can't control it (even though it fits the music), it is a problem.

[Matthew Bryson]

I don't worry about click... I just figure that in the mix, the drummer will take the blame for all that clicking...

[jwl]

Originally Posted by Basscotti

But you shouldn't let it happen if you don't intend it. Technique is about being in full control of your playing and tone. So if tou have a clicky tone and can't control it (even though it fits the music), it is a problem.

it could also be a problem with a bass's set up. this goes a long way in defining technique. peace, jeff

[FrigginChris]

Originally Posted by jwl

it could also be a problem with a bass's set up. this goes a long way in defining technique. peace, jeff

+1

an example of this would be giving a heavy handed player a bass with low action, click city.

[machine gewehr]

That click helps with getting better in the tech. If your only one is a cheapo and has that click all over the neck and no way to get rid of it,you start to work on a lighter touch,sometimes a hard attack,whatever you need.You start to get control of your fingers,I have less click now than I used to.

[pauljacksonfan]

I really hate the clicky sound, especially on a P-bass. However this only holds true when playing with my fingers or thumb mute style. When I'm playing with a pick I turn the tone knob up about half way. Just enough to get that click that cuts through in the mix. Of course, you've got to have it for slapping as well.
I don't believe that players turn off the tone because of lack of technique, I believe they do so because they don't desire the ugly click. And as I see it, the tone knob is in many cases our only means of changing our sound. It's all about tone and not about technique. Take a player like Pino Palladino for instance. His playing on D'angelo's Voodoo is dynamic, exciting, interesting and very click-less. I don't believe that this is because of flawless technique. It's about choice. Cause if you'd turn his tone knob up all the way on that record, his playing would still be awesome but the sound would be different.

Many of us use the tone knob more like a part of the instrument. For example; turning it up in certain parts of a song to cut through or rolling it off to get a better support sound. Way too many bass players seem to choose a sound, be it thumpy or clicky, and stick with it for the rest of the night (or the rest of their lives). No other instrumentalists do this. Guitarist always fiddle wtih their tone and volume knobs, keyboard players often change their sound from soung to song. So why shouldn't we? Many bass players have lost their gigs cause they insist that the Jaco sound is ideal for every playing situation etc. My point is that we should addapt to our surroundings and not expect it to be the other way around.

Now I've been ranting for far too long. So, I'll probably see you guys around, right?