brother hates my tone

[west*coast*bass]

Your tone should fit the music, period. To be contentious for the sake of not giving in to the guitarists suggestion is childish. Music needs to musical. Your tone recorded alone is nothing...your tone, recorded with your band is what's important.

 

[Demon_Hunter]

you can have the crappiest tone when played alone...all that matters is how it fits into the overall sound of the music.

I record with a horrible sounding tone but in the mix it sounds awesome....

not really sure why that works though...hmmm...now I am confused.

 

[ibateur]

Engineer hocus pocuses your tone?

iamchance, sounds ok to me. Not loud enough maybe.

 

[Johnny Crab]

you can have the crappiest tone when played alone...all that matters is how it fits into the overall sound of the music.

I record with a horrible sounding tone but in the mix it sounds awesome....

not really sure why that works though...hmmm...now I am confused.

Listen to isolated Geddy tracks on youtube and you'll understand....
Nice name.

OP: can you post a file of you playing in a band with your brother? Then we can advise.
IMO, if it fits the song or sound of the band, leave it alone. Perhaps your brother is trying to park you in "mud land" or "buried in the mix land".
Glad mine brother is not that way.

 

[genericusername]

Here's Jason's original, show it your bro, might shut him up:
Metallica - Enter Sandman BASS ONLY - YouTube

Your tone sounds quite nice, I must say. I'd put a little more overdrive on it, but that's just me.

 

[Dave Bassincus]

I definitely don't agree with a lot of posts that essentially say "%^&* him, it's your tone, don't cave....". He could have had a valid point, and I really don't like thin, trebly bass all that much.
But after listening to your mp3, I think your tone is full and nothing is overbearing.

 

[Dave Bassincus]

you can have the crappiest tone when played alone...all that matters is how it fits into the overall sound of the music.

I record with a horrible sounding tone but in the mix it sounds awesome....

not really sure why that works though...hmmm...now I am confused.

Because the cymbals and guitars knock out the raunchiest frequencies, and you're left hearing the best ones.
This is also why it makes little sense to mess with EQ too much before recording - until you hear everything together, you have little idea what frequencies are good or bad. And anything you cut can never (really) be put back.

 

[AdamR]

Unless your playing in a band with him this thread is pretty useless. Your tone isnt bad, It isnt amazing either.

 

[iamchance]

Unless your playing in a band with him this thread is pretty useless. Your tone isnt bad, It isnt amazing either.

anyway i can improve it? if it was your tone what would you adjust?

 

[AdamR]

I would buy a SansAmp Bass driver.

Is it that your brother doesnt like your tone or YOU dont like your tone ?

 

[Febs]

anyway i can improve it? if it was your tone what would you adjust?

It really doesn't matter how you sound by yourself. What matters is how you sound in the mix, and it's impossible to tell that from an mp3 of you playing alone.

That said, if you're in a band setting and you like your tone and your brother thinks it's too bright, one of the easiest things to try is to reposition your amp so that it points towards you and away from him.

 

[iamchance]

I would buy a SansAmp Bass driver.

Is it that your brother doesnt like your tone or YOU dont like your tone ?

im ok with my tone my brother hates it. we havent played with a audience so its only my ears and his ears giving opinions. i think it can be improved. $200 for the sanasamp is a little out of my range would you recommend a Boss ODB-3 bass overdrive?

 

[SBassman]

There's certainly some truth to the fact that, to really offer some judgement, we'd need to hear the tone Inside the music you are making. That tone is Perfect for some music, and not so much for other types of music.

Outside of being able to hear that, your tone is good.

 

[AdamR]

You can buy a used sansamp for $100 or try the behringer copy

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[SBassman]

He probably wants you to be quieter, less audible, so the world will focus on his guitard awesomeness.

Winning quote.

 

[Melodicgroove]

He's your brother, he's the most deceiving person you know. He's the reason you got in trouble instead of him when you were kids.

 

[darkstorm]

Does it sound good in a mix with his guitar? A fair amount of time the voice one likes solo isnt so good in the mix. In those cases, one needs to alter their voice to better work in the mix.

 

[Neener]

im ok with my tone my brother hates it.................. i think it can be improved.

Two things.

First, almost everyone thinks their tone can be improved, that particular chase rarely stops.

And second, you are the musician/artist making the sound, not your brother or anyone here for that matter.

Although for some reason, we here at TB are very good at telling people what they should or shouldn't like.

 

[conqr]

simple fact is that 'sounds good' is largely subjective - in this case your brother clearly prefers bass without much tonal character of it's own - he wants thump and girth under his guitars, nothing more.

Sounds like you're picking - I bet he'd be happier if you played fingerstyle.

 

[mbelue]

Couple of things.
First, was that clip recorded with a mike or DI? If that was recorded DI every comment on your tone is only applicable via your DI, what comes out of your speakers can be radically different.
Second, how do you feel about your brothers tone? You like? Then his comments carry more weight.
Third, has he pointed to a particular example of tone he likes, and do you agree? People who critique without specifics are no help to you.