Are you a tone snob?

[dlargent]

In a separate thread about a year ago, someone accused me of being a tone snob because i wanted to keep the eq's flat on my Thunderfunk amp, because I like that tone.

Still think about that from time to time, not sure what the guy meant about that.

I guess 'snob' means that you always try to have a superior tone, and you are willing to spend a ton of money on it?

 

[skychief]

Tone snob extraordinairre and lovin it.

 

[Marty Forrer]

I am a tone snob. If I go to listen to another band, the first thing I listen for is good bass tone. If it aint happening, I'm outa there. Tone comes first, then time, then taste. The three Ts.

 

[Duckwater]

I'm a lazy tone snob. A P-Bass with dead roundwounds through an Ampeg is my heaven.

 

[SactoBass]

I see a lot of threads about downsizing and changing rigs and going for lighter rigs and lighter basses... Just wondering how willing you are to compromise convenience for tone. I've found my awesome tone in a big rig & will ride it 'till the wheels fall off & my bass isn't super light either. If I do find my awesome tone in something smaller, so be it... I've tried and I haven't.

My sentiment (and my experience) matches yours.

I have tried so many rigs over the years that I would be embarrassed to list them all. And I tried very very very hard to come up with a rig that had "the tone" but it just didn't happen until I acquired a big, heavy, all-tube, US Ampeg SVT-VR amp head. Tonewise, it's the bomb.

I'm 55 years old, and I love the idea of lightweight gear, but when it comes to the real deal for tone, there is only one way to get it IMHO.

 

[fokof]

Yes I am tone snob. I would even qualify as a tone Diva.

That's why I practiced so hard all these years to have a good sound out of my DI.
I would love to buy other fingers to have another sound but eh , if I'm not satisfied with my sound , I just need to practice harder !

 

[Munjibunga]

I've shed my big Eden and Glockenklang rigs in favor of the Class D/Neodymium gestalt, and I have no complaints about the tone I'm getting. However, I'm going to keep my big ol' Aguilar rig (DB750/GS410) just in case.

 

[Mystic Michael]

Tone snob. It's such a silly expression...

If it refers to a person who claims some sort of secret, special, superior tone - then lords it over other people, then well and fine: it would seem to have significance.

But if it's just a backhand slap at musicians who care deeply about how they sound (and what good musician wouldn't?) - usually dished up by those who can't be bothered - or who don't even know the difference - then the phrase is no better than the people who use it...

MM

 

[iridiumrocks]

"Tone" is a meaningless word to me. You either like the sound or you don't. To me, there's no need to dress it up as "tone".

Personally - I don't care much what amp and speaker I'm playing through; I just play with it a bit until I get a sound I like. If that's quite different from the sound of my own gear, that's no problem. I use Genz-Benz gear because it sounds great to me and is extremely light and easy to transport.

If it sounds good, it is good. IMO a pursuit of the same "tone" all the time is futile and a waste of time. Just make it sound good.

I agree. My amp has never been part of my tone. Your tone comes from your instrument, your effects, your hands, and playing style. An "amp" is nothing more than an amplifier. I use in-ear monitors and run direct into the board. My on-stage amp is only a stage monitor and gives the IEM's some thump. The PA is providing all my sound to the audience.

 

[dgravesweiner]

A good amp will allow all the above to shine! I'm sorry but a bad amp will render all that effort useless! Not saying the amp is everything but it is a vessel and therefore an important consideration.

 

[Jon Moody]

After playing in a wide variety of places and venues over 20+ years, my quest for "my sound" has ultimately been something that I can use in a large number of settings. As mentioned, a lot of the bigger rigs I used in my rock band days have absolutely no place in my current theatre gigging situations, and wouldn't even be used at my church gig.

So for me, it's been about finding something that I can use across the board for now, and will hold up to any future situations that may come my way. It's resulted in me having two completely different amp setups and a killer DI, but it works well. And more importantly, the sound is consistent from gig to gig.

 

[6jase5]

I like MY tone and I like when bands have tones that compliment one another. A bad guitar tone that doesn't fit in the mix (even trying to be quirky) is just annoying. I like being experimental personally.

For me playing larger shows, my svt and berg is tone perfection....it's just what I like. But, I can also tweak my $50, 15w Fender practice amp with some fuzz to get a mean recorded tone. I'm doubletracking a song with that little guy tonight.

$$ is not a part of the tone equation unless I'm recording vocals.

 

[zachoff]

I agree. My amp has never been part of my tone. Your tone comes from your instrument, your effects, your hands, and playing style. An "amp" is nothing more than an amplifier. I use in-ear monitors and run direct into the board. My on-stage amp is only a stage monitor and gives the IEM's some thump. The PA is providing all my sound to the audience.

Tone comes from everything, dude... including your amp. I guarantee that if you plugged a 70s Peavey and a brand new MarkBass into the same cab they'd sound different no matter who was playing and what bass was being played.

 

[Derek Balonek]

Eh, I'm not too picky about my tone. As long as it's not terrible, I'm cool. Of course, there are some sounds I'd willingly lug a few hundred pounds of gear for....

 

[bassbrad]

I like to act like I am not a tone snob but I really am, I am sort of a "closet" snob because i don't make a big deal of it for me it's all in the preparation. Especially when recording I get very particular. This is really telling when i am the engineer or producer, being very particular about tones and such, one guitar player calls me the "Tone Czar" all he brings is a guitar and leaves it to me to do the rest of the magic.

 

[TripleDouble]

I am, but as a listener I'd take a mediocre version of a stylistically appropriate tone that is sitting properly in a mix over a too loud or inappropriate "great" bass sound. And lets not even get into the notes that are played and how they are played. I think just about any well played P or J bass and a whole lot of peaveys generally sound great, as do the fancy Foderzonowskys..

 

[Electricblue]

My entire rig + bass costs 450 pounds, I'm happy with it. Tone is a myth

 

[mongo2]

A lot of thing conribute to the final tone. One of the biggest contributors is the room itself. I twiddle knobs until I get a tone that works in the room I'm playing, that's what they're for.

 

[fullrangebass]

Snob is the acronym for Sine Nobilis (Latin) meaning without nobility. I am of no noble descent, but when it comes to tone I feel that my tone is a big part of who I am as a player and I definitely consider myself as an elitist when it comes to it.

Having said that, no person is a single faceted being. I'd not treat my friend the way I'd treat my father ; both will be treated with utmost respect but in a different way. Same goes for the tone (sound) of the bass player related to the tune performed.

So I am an elitist (sound-related), yet I do not consider myself a Snob

YMMV etc etc

 

[thumpbass1]

I'm a tone geek, as far as I like to get the right sound to fit the needs of the musical situation I'm in at a given moment. I don't consider that snobbery.