Is it timbre or tone?

[BottomFeederJax]

Not trying to be a smartass, I'm just curious; is what most people call their "tone", or what they achieve with EQing or having a certain bass actually timbre? Like, could I call boosting bass and cutting treble changing my basses timbre? Just a thought blurb thing.

[jenderfazz]

i feel like timbre represents the instrument's general character/voice/range, influenced by scale length. for example, a bass doesn't sound like a baritone or regular guitar, or a piccolo bass. and tone is just eq-ing, whether it's voluntary or just a consequence of pickup placement, pickup type, tonewood, etc. that's just my guess, but there might be overlap between the terms.

[BottomFeederJax]

Originally Posted by jenderfazz

i feel like timbre represents the instrument's general character/voice/range, influenced by scale length. for example, a bass doesn't sound like a baritone or regular guitar

That makes sense

[G00D+~VIBES]

I typically associate timbre more with the acoustic voicing of the instrument.

[Zombbg4]

Hmm, good question. I think of the tone as something variable on an instrument, but the timbre is fixed. An example is a trombone can sound dark or bright, but it can't sound exactly like a trumpet or euphonium. Like it has been said design is pretty much what determines timbre.

[BottomFeederJax]

Right on, thanks guys!

[iamlowsound]

I think of timber this way. A low E played on the B string sounds nothing like an open E, even though they are both the same note.

lowsound

[LarryO]

I thought tone was a combination of electronics and wood. Timber is what the lumberjack yells when he cuts the wood

[LarryO]

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