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Confessions of a tone Philistine

#41
I've also been playing for 25+ years and am currently in a band, playing a P bass. Most of that time I played my ol' trusty Peavey Patriot. I too have a hard time distinguishing between rosewood and maple boards, ash and alder, expensive cables and cheap ones, differences in bridges, and since I leave the tone control almost closed anyway, I can't even always tell the difference between old rounds and flat wound strings. There, I said it! My fingers can tell of course, but not always my ears.

I can however tell the differences in pickups, and Jazz pickup placement, and even two otherwise identical P basses can sound different to me, but the differences are honestly minute... I guess if you're spending the cash, you want whatever edge you think you're going to get with the gear you're buying.

But then the truth is that most non-bass players can't tell at all, and if they can, they don't care.

I think most of the discussion concerning tonewoods really applies to guitars - I suspect that any tonal differences in woods is lost on a bass due to the low frequencies, but then again my tone control is almost always turned down to almost off, so like I said any differences would likely be lost on me anyway.
 
#42
In a full-volume mix, the tonal 'subtleties' of wood are mostly in one's head.

I find the main tonal difference in basses center around STRINGS: roundwound, flatwound, or coated.

IMHO, the bass itself is largely about balance, ergonomics, and sustain: it's either solidly made and easy to handle or it's not.

There are far too many electrical and electronic factors that totally overwhelm any tone inherent in the wood. The wood in a solid-body instrument just has to accept finishes, adhesives and fasteners well. Any tone in the wood comes out in the wash when you power up.

Individual basses DO have personalities, however, that are impossible to predict. That's an entirely different thing (and possibly the most important thing to recognize).
 
#43
I can tell a difference between the sound of basses. For example, there is a big difference between my BTB Prestige and my G&L Tribute. The Ibby is very warm with a full range tone. The G&L is punchy with a deep snarl to it. I can get one to sound close to the other by working the EQs and switches, but there is always the same character.

The type of wood, bolt on or neck through, nut type...I can't tell a difference. I can tell the difference between pickups. A J or P just have that "sound". A big MM style humbucker has that "sound". Soapbars have a "sound".

I think the biggest change you can make tonally to your bass is the pickups and the strings. I can tell a big difference between strings.
 
#44
We won't even find two IDENTICAL sounding basses if they were cut from the same tree, built by the same person on the same day of the week in the same factory. Using RW vs Maple as an example, unless a tone expert worked in a factory for a week and tried dozens of instruments while blindfolded and was able to tell with reasonable accuracy the fingerboards used in each, then to me, his/her opinions are as valid as some random person's in GC.

Aside from broad generalizations and obvious differences between types (say a P and a Ray), tone obsession, especially in the context of bass as rhythm instrument, is silly to me. I'ts either simply bassier or treblier and I just EQ as necessary.
 
#45
syciprider said:
We won't even find two IDENTICAL sounding basses if they were cut from the same tree, built by the same person on the same day of the week in the same factory.
Click to expand...

+1000

Drives me crazy when people say things like "my neck has rosewood stringers intended to soften the tone of the maple fingerboard". And I suppose they can hear that difference because they have audiophile-grade 24k gold power sockets installed in their house.
 
#47
In my experiences, the most expensive, most well designed, or highest quality basses aren't always the best.

Having preconceptions about how wood sounds, hardware effects tone or a brand name sounds (:D) would be a mistake.
 
#48
Once again, the feedback loop between the player and the bass is multi-level, both physical sensation and audio input.

If it sounds good and looks nice...BUT had mile-high action, I doubt you'd find that 100% acceptable.
 
#49
Fuzzbass said:
+1000

Drives me crazy when people say things like "my neck has rosewood stringers intended to soften the tone of the maple fingerboard". And I suppose they can hear that difference because they have audiophile-grade 24k gold power sockets installed in their house.
Click to expand...

This is truly one of the most over-thought topics EVER...and we aren't one inch closer to world peace. You'd think it's THAT important.
 
#56
Differences I can usually hear:

-Round or Flat strings,
-Single or Humbucker,
-Neck, Middle or Bridge position soloed,
-Active or Passive (provided its not an active set to sound like a passive)

Not a chance in hell:

-Fingerboard or body wood,
-Bolt-on or Neck-through,
-Nut or Bridge material or type,
-String-through or Top-load.

Unless it's pickups, electronics or strings its basically no different for me soundwise. If I had super high end recording gear and could sit down and A/B a bunch of basses? Maybe. I doubt I'll ever be in that situation, though, so it's a moot point for me.

This is also why I've moved into full-on Amplifier Worship. For every show I'll ever play, the sound coming out of the Amp is way more important to me.
 
#57
Fingerboard wood, pick-up type and placement, body wood, string type, pre-amp...all of these things make a difference, but most of those tonal subtleties are not universal and are not inherent. The variable that isn't being considered is the biggest variable of all- the player. One guy might get a clean, crisp sound on a passive P with RW board, another guy gets a similar tone on an active bass with exotic woods and 3-band preamp. Some of that might be psychological on the players' parts, but it is very real. I'm sure we've all played instruments at one point or another that we wrestled with, where it felt like it took an inordinate amount of effort to get a decent sound. With other instruments its just effortless. Not every player will have the same experience with the same bass.
 
#60
Whether practicing or playing in a band, about the only difference I can hear of all the things the OP posted is: rounds vs. flats.

At times I think I can hear a difference between short and long scale, but it depends on the bass - not the scale length.

In short, I've been able to get every bass I own to sound like I want it to sound. When they sound different from each other, that's the reason to have more than one bass. You don't want all your basses to sound the same, or you would only need one.

I think the obsessing about maple vs. rosewood, solid body vs. laminate, Badass vs. bent metal vs. 2-point vs. 3-point bridge, are all essentially a waste of time.
 

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