Richard Bona doesn't care about his tone?

bassdoubler · #1 05-07-2011, 11:09 AM

I meant to post about this a while ago but it totally slipped my mind until somebody brought it up today. So a few weeks ago I was doing this monthly gig I have at a club in the village here in NYC. When I woke up that morning, there was a voicemail on my phone saying Richard Bona was going to be going on before me with one of the other acts in the show and he wants to know if he can use my bass rig. Obviously, I was not going to say no to RICHARD BONA. We had met a few times before in NYC and he's always been a super nice guy, and this time was no different. He even let me play his olive top Fodera Imperial and explained to me how his Fodera DOESN'T have the Fodera/Pope circuit, but is closer to Anthony Jackson's bass with only a volume knob (which is covered by a huge silver skull knob haha) one or two other knobs (Richard made it seem like he wasn't sure what they did? Or maybe he just doesn't use them ever), and two switches. One to turn on and off the battery, and one to completely mute the bass. I started asking him about the bass and he kept laughing and responding with things like "oh man, I don't know, they just build them for me and I play them." when I asked about his strings he pretty much said the same thing. "oh, whatever they send me and someone puts on my bass." I was quite shocked to hear this from one of the greatest bass players in the world. I guess I just assumed that because I'm obsessed with gear and finding my tone that I hear in my head, that someone like Richard would be the same way since his tone is so in demand these days.

Now it was time for him to go on. He asked me to show him how to quickly use the amp. I was using an EA IAmp Pro through an EA VL-210B. These days I only boost the EQ of the preamp on my AC and leave the amp running completely flat with the EQ bypassed and all filters off. When I pushed the mute button off, he played three notes and asked me to turn it down a little and that was it! He never touched the knobs on his bass, he never even LOOKED at my amp let alone touched it, and to be quite honest, he didn't sound that good. Obviously he played incredibly and just has that vibe when he's playing that screams "I'M A FAMOUS BASS PLAYER!" but his tone just sounded so thin and nasally several people leaned over and asked me if it's supposed to sound like that. I began to get the impression that Richard Bona might not actually care that much about his tone....not sure if that would be a curse or a blessing? haha....as soon as he was done playing he just froze there on stage and started waving to me in the audience I guess to come rescue him and push the mute button so he could unplug his bass even though I showed him where it was like 4 times. I said "you're not really an amp guy guy are you Richard?" and he just laughed and said "Is it that obvious?"

Got me thinking now that maybe I put too much emphasis on the gear I'm using and not enough on my playing. NOt that i feel like I'm lacking or anything at the moment, but if Richard Bona can do what he does and doesn't give his equipment a second thought, maybe he's on to something....

SteveC · #2 05-07-2011, 11:21 AM

Got me thinking now that maybe I put too much emphasis on the gear I'm using and not enough on my playing. NOt that i feel like I'm lacking or anything at the moment, but if Richard Bona can do what he does and doesn't give his equipment a second thought, maybe he's on to something...

Almost all of us are guilty for this......

austentaciousC · #3 05-07-2011, 11:29 AM

Great story, ive also come across an incredible player or two who somehow missed the class on "what that knob does"

TN WOODMAN · #4 05-07-2011, 11:32 AM

I too have noticed when talking with several of my musical heroes over the years that they aren't really that gear conscious. Some really are, but overall most don't really seem too concerned as long as it works when they hit the stage.

I guess really talented players can make anything sound like themselves.

I've always said that I want the best equipment I can afford so at least I can't blame it on the gear with I sound like poo.

bongomania · #5 05-07-2011, 11:52 AM

It's a gray scale, a continuum: some people are gear experts and can't play a lick (that's me BTW); some people are master players but clueless about gear; most people fall somewhere in between, but can certainly lean more to the gear knowledge side, or more toward the playing side.

Just as it's unfortunate that some people focus all their attention on the gear, IMO it is equally unfortunate when a bassist obstinately refuses to learn how their gear works. An electric bass makes very little sound on its own--so the gear is a critical part of the "whole instrument". Just knowing how to hit the right notes in the right way at the right time is great, but what is it worth if it sounds crappy?

The bass itself is only one part of the instrument.

Spencer! · #6 05-07-2011, 12:07 PM

Great story, makes you think about what your priorities are. What club was it at?

cire113 · #7 05-07-2011, 12:12 PM

Ive heard janek say alot he has no idea what anything does lol...

zombywoof5050 · #8 05-07-2011, 01:31 PM

I know some people that just act like that because they don't want to come across as 'gear nerds', but they actually know more than they're letting on. I don't mean to imply that's what RB's doing, just saying. Maybe Richard just didn't want to mess with your amp settings out of respect for another persons gear.

markjazzbassist · #9 05-07-2011, 04:17 PM

he didn't care cause he was probably playing a short set at some club opening with some act for some cash. it wasn't HIS gig, so he just showed up, plugged in, didn't mess with the EQ to piss you off since he's borrowing (unsaid rule about gear sharing, don't mess with the knobs unless told you can), and collected a paycheck.

if it was his gig with his name, he probably would have cared. but instead he was just there to collect a paycheck, and the less he did, he still collected the same check. they weren't there to see him, they were there to see the artist/band/act.

ElMon · #10 05-07-2011, 05:36 PM

Wait.....didn't you say his tone wasn't really happenin that evening? Seems like the lesson is that you SHOULD pay attention to your gear, but of course not obsess over it. After all it's possible to sound bad on a Fodera thru some awesome EA gear if you're not careful!

Dr. Cheese · #11 05-07-2011, 07:06 PM

I can easily see Bona not being a gearhead, but he also may not have wanted to tell the secret to his tone either.

bassdoubler · #12 05-07-2011, 11:35 PM

it was at the bowery poetry club in NYC. It wasn't a super long set and I highly doubt he even got paid since his girlfriend was the band leader! the drummer was Marcus Farrar from antibalas who is also a SUPER cool dude btw....and I DID tell him to feel free to play around with any of the knobs and his words were "nah, that's ok"! The funniest part is, even though people kept asking me if that's how he's supposed to sound, as if they KNEW it didn't sound good, everyone was still super impressed because every 7 seconds someone would say "Richard Bona everybody! One of the greatest bassists in the world!"....definitely like a mind over matter kind of thing haha....and then I had to go on immediately after! Talk about pressure....haha

Dr. Cheese · #13 05-07-2011, 11:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassdoubler

it was at the bowery poetry club in NYC. It wasn't a super long set and I highly doubt he even got paid since his girlfriend was the band leader! the drummer was Marcus Farrar from antibalas who is also a SUPER cool dude btw....and I DID tell him to feel free to play around with any of the knobs and his words were "nah, that's ok"! The funniest part is, even though people kept asking me if that's how he's supposed to sound, as if they KNEW it didn't sound good, everyone was still super impressed because every 7 seconds someone would say "Richard Bona everybody! One of the greatest bassists in the world!"....definitely like a mind over matter kind of thing haha....and then I had to go on immediately after! Talk about pressure....haha

You're on the bill with Bona, I'm sure you're pretty good.

Roy Vogt · #14 05-07-2011, 11:54 PM

Interesting story. Richard is so musical on everything he does (bass, vocals, guitar, whatever) that maybe he doesn't deal with this sort of thing or maybe he's got his rig in his combination with his bass where he can "set it and forget it".
Then again, Jaco always said the sound was in his hands (but of course his hands were on that '62 fretless Jazz with Rotosounds through that big Acoustic 360).

bassdoubler · #15 05-08-2011, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dr. Cheese

You're on the bill with Bona, I'm sure you're pretty good.

Well I'd certainly like to think so!

bassdoubler · #16 05-08-2011, 01:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roy Vogt

Interesting story. Richard is so musical on everything he does (bass, vocals, guitar, whatever) that maybe he doesn't deal with this sort of thing or maybe he's got his rig in his combination with his bass where he can "set it and forget it".
Then again, Jaco always said the sound was in his hands (but of course his hands were on that '62 fretless Jazz with Rotosounds through that big Acoustic 360).

It also appears that Richard uses LOTS of different amps when on tour....almost as if it doesn't matter (!!??)

and Jaco had one of the biggest egos of all time....obviously there are way more factors involved in your tone when you play an electric bass but it's easy to say "yeah it's just my hands" when you want people to think you're a badass

Roy Vogt · #17 05-08-2011, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassdoubler

It also appears that Richard uses LOTS of different amps when on tour....almost as if it doesn't matter (!!??)

and Jaco had one of the biggest egos of all time....obviously there are way more factors involved in your tone when you play an electric bass but it's easy to say "yeah it's just my hands" when you want people to think you're a badass

In that way, Richard is like a lot of the Jazz (not Fusion) guitarists I've known, particularly Old School Players like Herb Ellis, Barney Kessell, Joe Pass and Lenny Breau. They were so into the notes that they just got that standard Wes Montgomery style tone and went for it (or in the case of Lenny, got the right tone to do all of his chimes, etc.) A lot of those guys were so NOT about the equipment, etc. when I'd run into them. It's sort of like a Jazz Upright player who defines a perfect amp as one that absolutely doesn't color his URB.
An interesting side bar for "the tone is in my hands" was one of the first times I sat in with the Wooten Brothers in early 1993. Victor Wooten came in and sat in after me using my Carvin LB-76 plugged into Keith Horne's SWR rig. He totally got his tone and touch out of foreign gear. Granted, I don't think he would have gotten that out of my bass had it been a P-Bass with Labella flats, but still interesting to me.....
FWIW, the most anal about tone I've ever seen from players fall into two categories:
1. Studio bassists (with very good reason and particularly Nashville Cats)
2. Aspiring bass students who want to buy their careers in a Box or Bass and not work on their Craft:
"Did you practice that stuff?"
"No I didn't, but check out this cool Sadowsky preamp I got! It's just like so-and-so used to cut such-and-such...."

thepontif · #18 05-08-2011, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bassdoubler

He even let me play his olive top Fodera Imperial and explained to me how his Fodera DOESN'T have the Fodera/Pope circuit, but is closer to Anthony Jackson's bass with only a volume knob (which is covered by a huge silver skull knob haha) one or two other knobs (Richard made it seem like he wasn't sure what they did? Or maybe he just doesn't use them ever), and two switches. One to turn on and off the battery, and one to completely mute the bass.....

I'm not sure this is entirely accurate. I don't pay much attention to what bass Richard uses when and which circuits he uses when, but I do know that there are at least two of his Foderas that do, in fact, have the Fodera/Pope preamp in them. They are modified versions of the previous generation, so they don't have EQ controls on the outside. They are basically permanently set flat, but the preamp is still in the circuit for cable drive and whatever he likes it to "do" to the sound. I believe at least one has MIDI capability as well. Not like Anthony's bass AT ALL from an electronic standpoint.

I'm sure Jason can clarify this further.

bassdoubler · #19 05-08-2011, 11:45 PM

sorry I should have been clearer about this....that's ME comparing it to an AJ model with no pre....Richard didn't say that....he DID however say that his bass did NOT have the Fodera/Pope pre in it....he def could have meant what you're describing, I just know it didn't have the usual 3 EQ knobs that the Pope circuit has....this was the bass with the midi pickup and midi out on the side

maturanesa · #20 05-09-2011, 12:13 AM

I dont think he dont care about tone... His bass is just simple, no preamp, a piezo, and sounds ok with all knobs at full, and thats reasonable because he got to sing and play and dont need to be touching the knobs to get another sound from it.
In that case i would like a bass to plug and play too.