Good Tone Days / Bad Hair Days

[SBassman]

Do you ever have good and bad tone days? Even when most of the variables are the same?

Obviously, from room to room, and crowd to crowd, there are all kinds of variables affecting sound. But, what about wherever you practice. Variables there should be relatively consistent. Even inside the same room, do you find you have good tone days and bad tone days? Or am I just crazy?

I practice in my bedroom in a house, and I swear that, without changing things, tone is much better some days than others. Should I see a doctor?

[Basshole]

You're not crazy. Doctor not required. Welcome to the world as I know it. I'll just add one other thing: intonation.

Those who play fretless know what I mean. Some days, you have it, some days you don't.

Now, if I could have a good hair day, good tone day, and good intonation day all coincide...I'd be quite happy.

[SBassman]

I don't know if I have ever shared this here or not - I have - unfortunately - a bad memory.

One thing I have found affecting tone - in my head anyway - is - temperature and humidity. This is the time of year where air gets cool and crisp, and I found cool and crisp air yields best tone.

[ ...dialing psychiatrist... ]

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by Basshole

You're not crazy. Doctor not required. Welcome to the world as I know it. I'll just add one other thing: intonation.

Those who play fretless know what I mean. Some days, you have it, some days you don't.

Now, if I could have a good hair day, good tone day, and good intonation day all coincide...I'd be quite happy.

Being bald, I haven't had a good hair day in many years, so I can't hope for that one. But, I still enjoy a good tone day.

[Steve]

I had a house gig for a long time, 5 nights a week every week same bar same everything and we had that room dialed in as well as it could be.

Some night's you just couldn't buy a tone for love or money.

To me it seemed to be linked to the relative humidity. Good old Florida 92% relative humidity and it's like the air can't move.

[SBassman]

Originally Posted by bikertrash82

I had a house gig for a long time, 5 nights a week every week same bar same everything and we had that room dialed in as well as it could be.

Some night's you just couldn't buy a tone for love or money.

To me it seemed to be linked to the relative humidity. Good old Florida 92% relative humidity and it's like the air can't move.

I have found humidity or lack of it to significantly affect tone. I try not to utter it too often because some people think I'm crazy. So, I'm glad you said that. It's definitely true.

Humidity is a tone killer.

[spudmaster34]

I know what you mean, it happens to me too

[spudmaster34]

Random thought:

bad hair days are humidty related, bad tone days are humidity related. Therefore, all of humanitys problems must be humidity related!

[Basshole]

That doesn't explain intonation, though....

[spudmaster34]

Well, when my fingers are being kind of stiff, I put them under hot water (verry verry verry high humidity) so mabeye intonation is humidity related too