yeah, I posted a mea culpa to the poster. Right now I’m munching on some serious crow.
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An ode to 'one trick pony basses'
- Thread starter Doctor Intrepid
- Start date
yeah, I posted a mea culpa to the poster. Right now I’m munching on some serious crow.
It was Tony Levin, not a great movie. The ending was kinda dumb, but it sure is fun watching such awesome musicians, like Levin and Steve Gadd in their prime. And whoever said Art was the better singer never saw Paul singing smooth as butter in that film.
Wait... what are we talking about?
Wait... what are we talking about?
To me, it's always been about what a bass CAN'T do. And basses with one pickup will never be able to do what multiple pickup basses can do. They just can't. Outside agents (ie., EQ, effects) can make up for those limitations, though.
But, this argument of (one trick) P bass versus the world goes on, and on, and on,..............................
But, this argument of (one trick) P bass versus the world goes on, and on, and on,..............................
Guess i'm one of the few... but i hear a very distinct bass tone in all the OP's examples. Hof's have "that" sound to me, no matter who is playing. I tend to listen to the tone of a bass, not the playing. The recording engineer in me 
Only having one pickup doesn't mean you can only get one sound out of a bass, and that's where your logic fails. I can get a multitude of different sounds out of a bass just by the way I play...play lightly by the neck for dark tones, closer to the bridge and a little harder for brighter tones, slapping, using a pick, etc. Now do most of my basses have two pickups? Yes they do
But the vast majority of time, only the neck pickup is on because I rarely need more than that.
Are... are you talking about me? I’ve been trying to practice, I swear!
Only having one pickup doesn't mean you can only get one sound out of a bass, and that's where your logic fails. I can get a multitude of different sounds out of a bass just by the way I play...play lightly by the neck for dark tones, closer to the bridge and a little harder for brighter tones, slapping, using a pick, etc. Now do most of my basses have two pickups? Yes they do
Yeah, I know all that, maybe some don't. I move my plucking hand around from bridge to neck many times within one song sometimes. Did it this morning in both services at church on one tune. That wasn't my point. I was addressing the limitations of so called "one trick pony" basses and not technique. My "logic" succeeds on multitudes of recordings going way back, so no "failure" there. Whatever, folks, this is a never ending argument on this forum. Oh, look! My bus is here! Bye, bye!
I've seen more single pickup basses like the Precision and Stingray called one trick ponies, at least it's a good trick not a handful of mediocre tricks.
To quote Paul Simon "He's got one trick to last a lifetime, but that's all the pony needs"
To quote Paul Simon "He's got one trick to last a lifetime, but that's all the pony needs"
Agreed...but it may take more than turning a knob or 2, which is the case with my Epi Newport (mudbucker) and lets never leave out adjusting the pickup height no matter what the factory settings may suggest...ran into that with a G&L Legacy guitar, couldnt get the pickups to clean up, so down they went...way down then slowly raise them.
Yea, pickup choices, especially on P basses, is often splitting hairs lol!
All of those noodles and not enough sauce.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
Great playing and versatility shown here. Thanks.As far as one trick ponies go, I'll quote myself here: "Learn how to use your gear." The problem is that so many people have a preconceived notion of what an instrument can do (i.e. it's signature sound) and think that means it isn't capable of anything else. Fender Telecaster guitars actually have neck pickups that work but you'd never know it by listening to almost everybody who plays one. Same for a Ric. More there than clank.
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As a wider point, calling a bass a 'one tricky pony' is a way to put it down but in my experience, it all depends how good the trick is!
To expand on that, I'd rather have a bass that does one thing really well over a bass that does a handful of things to a reasonable standard. The key is specificity as to what you desire. From my basses, I mostly need a really great fingerstyle tone from the bridge pickup. The neck pickup is essentially superfluous to me, but that isn't the case for everyone.
To expand on that, I'd rather have a bass that does one thing really well over a bass that does a handful of things to a reasonable standard. The key is specificity as to what you desire. From my basses, I mostly need a really great fingerstyle tone from the bridge pickup. The neck pickup is essentially superfluous to me, but that isn't the case for everyone.
To be fair, OP didn't refer to Pbasses but the Hofner 500/1.
Which also is not a one trick pony!
Perhaps one of the most ubiquitous "one trick pony bass", because he WANTED it that way: the Carvin Timothy B. Schmit signature model. All he wanted was a volume control...
If anyone tells you a P bass is a one trick pony, ask them if that's the James Jamerson trick or JJ Burnell trick, or maybe the Dee Dee Ramone trick or the Sean Hurley or even Wilton Felder or Nate Mendel trick.
Ok....I get it
You can alter the sound of the mudbucker by surgery.
But I still contend that post-op its a 2 trick pony. Tone up, and tone down.
But thanks for giving me a good tip for improving the sound of my currently-being refurbished Epi Newport!
Isn't this why they put tone knobs on amps and make EQ pedals?
Congrats on your Newport re-furb! You'll be surprised how powerful the 'mudbucker' is with the polepieces all the way down (and they will go way down, its a thick pickup) let alone lowering the pickup as well...every time i see a neck 'mudbucker' PU its with the polepieces even with the cover...the cover is separate from the pickup...its like a very powerful humbucker in a guitar with the pickup too close to the strings, it does turn into a 'one trick pony' unless you lower the magnetic field from the strings.Ok....I get it
You can alter the sound of the mudbucker by surgery.
But I still contend that post-op its a 2 trick pony. Tone up, and tone down.
But thanks for giving me a good tip for improving the sound of my currently-being refurbished Epi Newport!
