Are bassists now too obsessed by tone and gadgetry?

[Fassa Albrecht]

This is a serious question and I've tried asking this in a few different forums, with not much of an answer.

Anyway, it seems to be that modern bassists are completely and wrongly obsessed with the techy side of things, and just forget to play the damn bass!

I mean, tone IS important but it is NOT going to save you if your basslines are substandard/your technique is skewed.

Anyone else care to agree/disagree?

[JSK5String]

Agree, to a degree. While you do need a tone appropriate to the style of music you play, you are 100% correct that you'd also better have the minimum chops required to cover the style music you play. If you don't, your band won't be getting many repeat gigs...

[jojobean39]

I think there has to be a balance. Great bass playing and crappy tone is a sad thing to see. Crappy bass playing and great tone is also a sad thing to see. I think there is a balance. I have heard several people say that if you put Victor Wooten's bass into Stu Hamm's hands, it will sound like Stu Hamm. Much of a bass player's sound comes from their hands and soul, not just the equipment. Having high dollar gear doesn't make your notes any more accurate. It might make them sound better, but it won't make them sound right. A crappy note on a Fodera is a crappy note.

[Fassa Albrecht]

I'm saying this partially out of frustration. When I was looking for my band's guitarist, there were a lot of people with few actual creative ideas and a lot of equipment, and even then they couldn't use it.

[quale213]

I agree with you to a point as well Fassa. I love the technical side of bass, I build pickups, but I play much much much more than I do tinkering. Some people enjoy different facets of music and music production.
I actually realy enjoy the technical talk that TB provides, and I have learned quite a bit from this site. I understand how others can become so involved in tone and all the implicatures in dealing with that element of music, but I, much like you, would rather work on the craft of performing and playing.

To each their own in this case, good question though

[NickyBass]

I don't think that they are related. One doesn't cancel out the other. A bassist can, and should, have chops and tone. I think that most musicians should have a basic understanding of how a studio operates (both tape and digital) and also some general knowledge about about electronics.

[baba]

On this board, yes.

[dmusic148]

Originally Posted by jojobean39

Great bass playing and crappy tone is a sad thing to see.

I've yet to experience this.

[jgroh]

In my case, I played for over 20 years before I got more into the "tech/gadgetry" side of it. Alot of it for me was because I didnt have the money to buy lots of stuff. I could play fairly well and thats what I concentrated on, but couldnt tell you the difference between a tube amp and a solid state amp. I would go to music shops and talk to the people there, totally clueless about the gear and they would look at me like I was some noob. Then I would plug in and play and their tone would change. Since I found this site, Ive come up to speed on alot of stuff, but you are right, just play (even though I think its fun to play with the newest coolest toy

[tycobb73]

I get a tone I like in general and leave it. I don't obsess over it. If I sit and like the tone, it will change when I stand. If I stand ion spot x on stage my tone will move when I stand in spot y. And I have no idea what the soundman is doing to my tone. so why obsess over it?

[Fassa Albrecht]

Originally Posted by quale213

I agree with you to a point as well Fassa. I love the technical side of bass, I build pickups, but I play much much much more than I do tinkering. Some people enjoy different facets of music and music production.
I actually realy enjoy the technical talk that TB provides, and I have learned quite a bit from this site. I understand how others can become so involved in tone and all the implicatures in dealing with that element of music, but I, much like you, would rather work on the craft of performing and playing.

To each their own in this case, good question though

At the end of the day the grand majority of the audience aren't going to care whether you're using solid-state or tube amps, or whether you're playing a carbon bass or a wood bass.

Originally Posted by NickyBass

I don't think that they are related. One doesn't cancel out the other. A bassist can, and should, have chops and tone. I think that most musicians should have a basic understanding of how a studio operates (both tape and digital) and also some general knowledge about about electronics.

Trut.

[kenlacam]

TOTALLY AGREE! If the notes and rythm aren't right, what the hell is "good tone" going to do? nada. nothing. It's like putting a bunch of distortion and special effects on a guitar to cover up sloppy playing. Just find a tone already and get on with playing, already!!!!

[Fassa Albrecht]

Originally Posted by kenlacam

TOTALLY AGREE! If the notes and rythm aren't right, what the hell is "good tone" going to do? nada. nothing. It's like putting a bunch of distortion and special effects on a guitar to cover up sloppy playing. Just find a tone already and get on with playing, already!!!!

Exactly.

[Ric5]

Good tone is the foundation for your bass playing and for any live performance. You can play awesome but if your tone is bad then it still sucks. I remember years ago I was in guitar center and a kid picked up a bass and played. He knew very little but he had been taught how to do a couple basic things and he had good tone. So what he did sounded good.

I was auditioning for a band years ago and the guitarist had terrible tone. I couldn't join the band because his tone sucked.

Bands sound better today than they did years ago because the pa systems are better and when properly eq'ed a band can have good tone.

[monsterthompson]

in many cases, tone and gadgetry will change your basslines and change your chops. if you want to limit the paradigm of what a "bassist" is to the sounds and styles that have been done before, then any shift from that is a bad thing. however, if the quest is to make new/different/ground-breaking sounds and music, then gadgets are a key element as they provide an easy way to deviate from the existing standard. if the end result is an enjoyable and/or important creation, then the bassist has expanded his role in the world of important musicians. if your "style" of music doesn't allow for that expansion, then it is a meaningless "advance" for you (you wouldn't care about cool, cutting-edge iPhone apps if you are on a Blackberry).

my band has some tradition-rooted rock elements; our most recent recording shows that, and it contains very little of the effects that i use live. now, when we bring our show live and the guitarist breaks off into a solo and the album version has a rhythm guitar with some fuzz chugging away, the solo has a certain sound that doesn't always translate live with just the one guitarist. my solution - stomp on my fuzz box and run a parallel signal out of and into a boss LS-2 so i can blend a clean and a fuzz tone that keeps the bottom together and still fills up some of the fuzz range missing from the lack of rhythm.

in addition to that, i make some wild sounds for song intro/outro sections. they don't change the bassline and structure of the song, but it does create a different sonic experience for the listener. it also allows me to express myself in ways that convey the fun i'm having on stage that create a different experience from listening to the album. i've yet to receive a negative comment from anyone at the live shows regarding my tone or my indulgence of gadgetry; i have received compliments on how crushing and wild my sounds can get and how much energy i push out on the stage (and i get fuel from the sounds i hear in my head coming out of my amp).



as always - ymmv

[rosstanium]

Both are a part of a well-rounded and necessary skill set to be a "complete" player (if you'll pardon the word "complete"...used for a lack of better word at the moment).

Gotta have good ears at the end of the day...

[two fingers]

You said "modern" bassists. It's been going on forever. I bought my 2nd, 3rd, AND 4th basses and rigs off of the same guy. Why? Because he kept buying newer and "better" gear rather than taking the time to learn how to play the freakin bass. Every time he got ready to buy something different, he would call me. I would get an upgrade for a fraction of the price. I DO, however, think that there are styles of music that require lots of (in your words) gadgetry (effects and whatnot) to get the job done. But for those of us just looking for our main working tone, yes, it can get a bit out of hand for some folks.


Edit to add: P.S. I'll go you one better than that. I ALSO think that there are a lot of bassist that who have seemingly simple rigs who will spend a great deal of time, energy, and money on things that they think will improve their sound. You will hear guys jumping all over each other on the very forum about how the finish, tuners, material that the nut is made of, etc. will GREATLY affect their tone. I would challenge most of them to a blind test to see if the tuners really make a difference in tone. So it's not just the "techy" or gadget end of things that gets too much attention in my opinion. That being said, I don't think any of them are stupid. I just think they really care about things that don't make my priority list. I would rather they obsess over their bass tone than obsess over how to get a bomb in Central Park. ;-)

[NS2A]

A famous bassist once said: 'Dial in your sound. Then shut up and play.'

[Stingray_EB]

Not at all. I would much rather be known as a bassist who cares about his tone and how to get the best out of his instrument than be known as the guy who plays along with the guitard yet nobody can tell if he is playing a B or an F.

[BigOldHarry]

Originally Posted by NS2A

A famous bassist once said: 'Dial in your sound. Then shut up and play.'

+1000

I get the sense that most of the bassists who obsess on these things don't gig all that much.