My favorite one trick pony, and its ode. YMMV
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An ode to 'one trick pony basses'
- Thread starter Doctor Intrepid
- Start date
In my experience, in 99% of all cases it's not the bass but the user that's the one trick pony.
One trick pony is often used as negative way to describe a bass with a versatile tone.
One-trick pony?
Tone knob proves otherwise.
Tone knob proves otherwise.
I sound equally terrible/plackey/uneven/empty on all basses. So does that mean all basses are one trick ponies? Not no, but heck no.....
I gigged with Rickenbackers back in the 80's and sorta into the 90's, back when everyone hated the 4001/3 (as well as Fender) and were desperate to get rid of them for a Schector or B.C. Rich or a boutique something or other like that. It had the reputation as a one trick pony back then and still sometimes today.
So I like to post this video of the great Italian bassist Frederico Malaman playing one, when that topic comes up
Notice he's even got the pickup switch on both PUs, which is typically the hardest setting to get this kind of tone out of a Rickenbacker with:
L
I gigged with Rickenbackers back in the 80's and sorta into the 90's, back when everyone hated the 4001/3 (as well as Fender) and were desperate to get rid of them for a Schector or B.C. Rich or a boutique something or other like that. It had the reputation as a one trick pony back then and still sometimes today.
So I like to post this video of the great Italian bassist Frederico Malaman playing one, when that topic comes up
Notice he's even got the pickup switch on both PUs, which is typically the hardest setting to get this kind of tone out of a Rickenbacker with:L
I sound equally terrible/plackey/uneven/empty on all basses. So does that mean all basses are one trick ponies? Not no, but heck no.....
I gigged with Rickenbackers back in the 80's and sorta into the 90's, back when everyone hated the 4001/3 (as well as Fender) and were desperate to get rid of them for a Schector or B.C. Rich or a boutique something or other like that. It had the reputation as a one trick pony back then and still sometimes today.
So I like to post this video of the great Italian bassist Frederico Malaman playing one, when that topic comes up
L
Skill over gear!
I just think it's funny... Because for years and years I tried to get a tone similar to this in the video on my Rickenbackers. I.e. the clean semi-Jaco staccato sound with little to no clink and clank, etc.
I thought it was the 4003 bass and it was just hopeless. I even switched to the fretless in the approx. 2000 timeframe when I got my L2k to try to achieve it. Got rid of all my fretted basses (except I always had a 4003 around because I kind of "grew up" on a 4003) and went all FL.
Then, 20 years later I started listening to recordings and realized, hrm. I still sound the same, no clean staccato jaco. Just the same old uneven, empty clank....
I'm kind of slow like that; took me that long to realize it was my playing and not the bass. I've changed my technique since then and I'm a little better, but not like Frederico Malaman obviously.
As for the one trick pony thing, nowadays I don't think there is actually such a thing among basses. Obviously, the more simple basses with, say one passive pickup, like the precision bass and others like it, don't have as wide a variety of tones. But you can get all kinds of different sounds out one PU passive basses just by your playing style.
L
I sound equally terrible/plackey/uneven/empty on all basses. So does that mean all basses are one trick ponies? Not no, but heck no.....
I gigged with Rickenbackers back in the 80's and sorta into the 90's, back when everyone hated the 4001/3 (as well as Fender) and were desperate to get rid of them for a Schector or B.C. Rich or a boutique something or other like that. It had the reputation as a one trick pony back then and still sometimes today.
So I like to post this video of the great Italian bassist Frederico Malaman playing one, when that topic comes up
L
I love my 4003, but I can't remember the last time I used the neck pickup. He sounds great, though.
"One trick pony" to me just meant finding only one really useable setting on a bass. It's rare but they are out there.
I was gonna say this. Everyone should know that there isn't a bass that literally has one sound. That being said even a bass with one good sound can be just what you need for a song so don't count them out completely!
I used the bridge PU soloed on my 4001/3 about 99.9999964% of the time also, when I was gigging. My plucking was so bad I was desperate to get clean notes so that was the only way I was able to do it. And it still sounded pretty bad. My bands didn't really complain but I think they kind of didn't really care because we weren't getting paid more than about $25....
My best attempt on the 4003 is plucking right over the bridge PU, again soloing just that PU.
I've only played a 4003 a handful of times since switching to floating thumb during my 5 and 6 string period, so I don't remember if that technique change sounded any better.
And now that my 99%-er bass has suddenly become my Tony Franklin, I'm plucking over the neck split-P PU approaching about 90% of the time, and my tone has totally changed around since I got my TF's. I'm thinking about going into session/recording work, so I'm getting into the P bass kind of heavy lately....
All that's just a round robin way of saying if knew then what I know now, I probably would sound better on a 4003 if I still had one which I don't at the moment.....
L
I'm pretty sure that was Tony Levin on bass.
Sorry... Just practicing my dad jokes. I've still a long ways to go!
joe
Sorry... Just practicing my dad jokes. I've still a long ways to go!
joe
Your right...but
Some only have two.
The mighty mudbucker for instance.... muddy....and muddier
If you can coax more than that out of an EB-O, I'll shake your hand.
P bass=1TP
Who cares, still one of the best tricks in town.
Who cares, still one of the best tricks in town.
I like P basses and I do think of them as something of a one-trick pony, but you are correct in saying they are one of the best tricks in town.
I tend to think of the Gibson Thunderbird as a one trick pony, but just like the P Bass its trick is absolutely wonderful.
This is awesome. I agree. Why can't you play blues with a T Bird? Why can't you play metal with J? Or even more, why can't you play jazz with a P?
Preston Hubbard was in the Thunderbirds and he didn't play with a Thunderbird. Stick it to the Man!
Preston Hubbard was in the Thunderbirds and he didn't play with a Thunderbird. Stick it to the Man!
