Anybody else really not care anymore?

[David Sutkin]

Live performance volume is also something to be considered ... One of the bands I play in is a VERY LOUD alt rock project and even though I'm playing out of an 800 Watt Mesa head and a 6x10 rig, I have that baby pushed to it's limits.

I've found that when the volumes are WAY UP there and there's a wall of sound going on ... it's difficult if not almost impossible to discern the subtleties of the different basses I use. I agree with the previous comments about the amp being the better determining factor for tonal variations rather then the instrument.

When I am home and recording in my humble home studio, that's when I can hear all the tonal characteristics of my different basses but when I'm playing on "11" and the rest of the band is as well, all I really hear is "the bottom / the low end".

In a live setting playing at "11" you couldn't tell if I was playing a $5000 Fodera or a $500 Ibanez.

 

[discreet]

In a live setting playing at "11" you couldn't tell if I was playing a $5000 Fodera or a $500 Ibanez.

I surely wouldn't be able to tell, as I wouldn't be in the room at those sound pressure levels.

 

[Steadfast]

Sorry--listen to great piano players on the same studio piano--they don't sound the same. The human touch, mind and soul are powerful things.

 

[Bad azz tone]

My point exactly, they use 1 piano!

 

[steve_rolfeca]

You can get one particular tone out of one particular bass. That's why so people have more than one.

...I can't make a framing hammer out of a screw driver.

If you tend to confuse your basses with construction tools, I think I know why you're getting such a limited tonal range out of them!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

I just finished playing all of my instruments (two guitars & two basses), something I hope to do every day.
It occurred to me that while I'm playing them, even though the price & quality disparity is pretty big, I don't notice a difference.

OTOH, both guitars are made by LTD & both basses are made by Ibanez, with the same neck profiles, scale length, bridge spacing, & body shape.

Add: sure the sound is different, but I'm thinking of playability

 

[Bad azz tone]

Question? Why don' we play tools?

 

[discreet]

Question? Why don' we play tools?

They make my fingers saw.

 

[Passinwind]

I think you’d care more if you could only afford 1 bass.

Which gets back to my First World Problem comment, I think. Not caring is a luxury.

 

[hushnel]

Question? Why don' we play tools?

We do.

 

[Bad azz tone]

I just finished playing all of my instruments (two guitars & two basses), something I hope to do every day.
It occurred to me that while I'm playing them, even though the price & quality disparity is pretty big, I don't notice a difference.

OTOH, both guitars are made by LTD & both basses are made by Ibanez, with the same neck profiles, scale length, bridge spacing, & body shape.

 

[Bad azz tone]

Were you suprised at all by the results of your unexpected experiment?

 

[David Sutkin]

I surely wouldn't be able to tell, as I wouldn't be in the room at those sound pressure levels.

To each his own my friend!

 

[Killed_by_Death]

Not all, since they're so similar, but they do sound different.

 

[socialleper]

If you tend to confuse your basses with construction tools, I think I know why you're getting such a limited tonal range out of them!

analogy
[uh-nal-uh-jee]
noun, plural a·nal·o·gies.

a similarity between like features of two things, on which a comparison may be based: the analogy between the heart and a pump.

 

[ghostinthemach]

We do.

I saw it and still can’t believe what I saw.

 

[David Sutkin]

Add: sure the sound is different, but I'm thinking of playability

That's a great point ....

I can't remember every post on this thread so I apologize if the topic of "playability" has come up already but (IMO) that alone could warrant having multiple basses.

Most of my basses "FEEL" very different and so even if my basses did sound alike or similar, the option of having variety in feel and playability is a nice luxury.

 

[Rickter]

One day to the next the exact same setup can sound entirely different to my ears. Can be something as simple as my strings being a little more "broken in" versus being new and crispy. Some instruments seem to suffer from this less than others, but some are definitely at the other end of the spectrum.

To me the instrument is a tool, but some tools work better for some jobs than others. My P5 seems to do what I need every time, so I'm sticking with it. I've "gotten to know it" and have learned how to wring certain tones out of it via different approaches and techniques. Some basses are not that "vocal".

This last weekend, I was a bit nervous going to practice for my metal band because my Rotosound 66 Nickels were getting a bit old and were losing their zing. They still sounded great for other genres but I wasn't sure that they were going to do the trick for a metal sound. Oddly enough, they took on an almost flatwound tone in the mix. They weren't supposed to do that, and I thought they might sound terrible, but instead they sounded better than I had hoped for. Now I'm thinking about flatwounds again.... Grrrr.... Thought I was over that flatwound phase....

So, day to day, enviro to enviro, you never know what you're gonna get. It's not just a job, it's an adventure!

 

[mobdirt]

I like 2 single coils and a skinny neck 4 so i have 3 i like a lot of basses but not to own

 

[mobdirt]

..and yeah i hardly ever listen to anybody regarding gear