The compromise - or dichotomy - between comfort / playability and performance / tone is the secret of every good bass player. It's the hardest thing to do.
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Do you seek resistance with your basses?
- Thread starter Low_NF
- Start date
Do you seek resistance with your basses?
No, I would rather have her just accept the fact that I'm going to buy like one a year.
No, I would rather have her just accept the fact that I'm going to buy like one a year.
What? I'm sorry but give us some examples because I'm also on Strat Talk & TDPRI. I have yet to see a "Ugh, my guitar is just too playable" post.
Sounds like a terminology issue.
“Too playable” invokes thoughts of a bass that plays so easy to play, a bassist could doze off during a song, or you could just set the bass on a stand and go to the bathroom while the bass continued playing with the band.
“Seek Resistance” sounds like the bass would have a single adjustment knob that increased or decreased the string tension like those adjustable hand grip exercisers.
I’ve set up my bass before gigs, only to discover later on stage that I set the action too low and when the adrenalin started pumping, my bass sounded like I was playing a baritone kazoo.
I’ve also set up a bass, or took one out of a case that hadn’t been played in a while, and it played too stiff, but I had to carry on because I didn’t have the time or tools to fix it.
My answer is; I like my basses to feel / play how I like them to feel / play, in my Goldilocks zone…
“Too playable” invokes thoughts of a bass that plays so easy to play, a bassist could doze off during a song, or you could just set the bass on a stand and go to the bathroom while the bass continued playing with the band.
“Seek Resistance” sounds like the bass would have a single adjustment knob that increased or decreased the string tension like those adjustable hand grip exercisers.
I’ve set up my bass before gigs, only to discover later on stage that I set the action too low and when the adrenalin started pumping, my bass sounded like I was playing a baritone kazoo.
I’ve also set up a bass, or took one out of a case that hadn’t been played in a while, and it played too stiff, but I had to carry on because I didn’t have the time or tools to fix it.
My answer is; I like my basses to feel / play how I like them to feel / play, in my Goldilocks zone…
I often play with my eyes closed and been told it looks like I'm napping while playing.
I've never met a bass that was too easy to play.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
Take that perfect bass guitar and set the action a little higher. It's hard to get yourself to do that after seeking low action and finally finding it. Most often, if I'm playing a bass with higher action, it's because a few of the frets aren't perfect and I had to raise it to keep a couple notes from buzzing. However, it's likely that I will then choose that bass over the perfect basses because of how the rest of the notes are sounding.
Learning a difficult song, sure, that makes sense, but I can't imagine any bassist who would want to make it more difficult to actually play a bass.
Like some people pointed out, my wording was terrible. I didn't mean literally bowing your neck to make it unplayable, I was going for more of making your setup stiffer on purpose/thicker neck profiles to avoid overplaying (See post #31). Theoretically, you could play those notes "easier" on "shreddy" basses if you have self-control but certain basses already limits you due to how their built.
As for guitar related example, I guess SRV would be an example that people often try to replicate. His guitar tech mentioned that he played hard enough that he drew blood and it didn't bother him, I would consider that fighting the guitar regardless if he said that he liked it that way. (Interview: Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar tech Rene Martinez)
Sure this is an extreme example, but I have definitely seen people that try to replicate this in a less intense version. There is a couple threads on The Gear Page that talked about this, it's not a popular opinion but it is not something that is unheard of.
1. Do you like to "fight" with your guitar?
2. Do Strat guys say "you gotta fight with a Strat " to pump themselves up?
As for guitar related example, I guess SRV would be an example that people often try to replicate. His guitar tech mentioned that he played hard enough that he drew blood and it didn't bother him, I would consider that fighting the guitar regardless if he said that he liked it that way. (Interview: Stevie Ray Vaughan's guitar tech Rene Martinez)
Sure this is an extreme example, but I have definitely seen people that try to replicate this in a less intense version. There is a couple threads on The Gear Page that talked about this, it's not a popular opinion but it is not something that is unheard of.
1. Do you like to "fight" with your guitar?
2. Do Strat guys say "you gotta fight with a Strat " to pump themselves up?
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My 34" inch full scale Jazzes fight me on default. I can manage it, but it is physically demanding. So I set up my basses with low action that can both sound clean played lightly and deliver enough "sizzle" played a little heavier. I even recently opted for lighter string set 40-100, string choice makes whole lot of difference to me too. So I guess it is not for me, I like my instruments to almost play itself.
There's always somebody who goes against the grain or is into something unpopular. I sand the lacquer on the back of my guitar necks to be silky smooth and polish frets, so I guess I'm not into that "culture". It reminds me of people who say "Ya know I heard that in California [insert weird isolated event here] happens all the time".
I'm a big guy who has weird proportions. I have a long torso, but average length arms. I have extra large hands with extra medium fingers. On top of all that, I play lefty. Finding a bass that's a perfect fit both ergonomically and financially is literally impossible. Finding something close enough is still a challenge.
Starting out on a flipped right handed instrument, sometimes it felt like I was fighting it more than playing it. My first couple of cheap lefty basses were an improvement, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I finally found an instrument that really fit properly. A couple years ago I bought a new Kiesel, which hangs a little better on me, but doesn't have quite as perfect a neck profile; still a minor improvement.
Having gone from one end of the spectrum to the other in playability, I will never go back the other way. The less I fight the instrument, the better I play, with no exceptions.
Starting out on a flipped right handed instrument, sometimes it felt like I was fighting it more than playing it. My first couple of cheap lefty basses were an improvement, but it wasn't until a few years ago that I finally found an instrument that really fit properly. A couple years ago I bought a new Kiesel, which hangs a little better on me, but doesn't have quite as perfect a neck profile; still a minor improvement.
Having gone from one end of the spectrum to the other in playability, I will never go back the other way. The less I fight the instrument, the better I play, with no exceptions.
Yea for sure. My Lakland 55-02 is long scale (35”), so bigger fret distances, wide string spacing (19mm), 5 string. It’s theoretically a giant honker of an instrument but I love that neck feel. I have SPACE to maneuver. The 35” scale makes the strings stiffer, so literally more RESISTANCE haha.
My G&L L-1000 is a chunkier p bass style instrument. Higher action, and jumbo fret wire makes it noticeably harder to “shred” and go super fast on her. But the MFD pickup sounds so fat, you almost wouldn’t want to go fast. It’s a “take your time and lay down the bass line machine”!
My G&L L-1000 is a chunkier p bass style instrument. Higher action, and jumbo fret wire makes it noticeably harder to “shred” and go super fast on her. But the MFD pickup sounds so fat, you almost wouldn’t want to go fast. It’s a “take your time and lay down the bass line machine”!
I'm not a fan of basses with too low of an action. I like to dig in and attack the strings at times and I cannot do that with a bass thats setup with too low of an action.
It is a fine line though. Too high of an action and there are some things I cannot do.
Yeah... Once I was that person who seeked a chalenge from his instrument.
But then show happened. Everything was much louder, lights were clicking all the time, crowd was loud, in my monitor I could hear whole band, not just me, as I got used. And it was very hard to play that instrument. Hatd to control it. And the sound was bad.
Then I realised - I need an instrument that will be physically active to me, but alot more playable. It has to have ability to pick up dinamics of playing, but also as buttery as it can be.
Because, when you're on stage or in studio, you need some challenge, but also your best permormace is required. With an instrument that is too heavy/complicated to play, or with the instrument that is too easy to play - you lose a song.
I don't know. Hope I wrote something understadable.
But then show happened. Everything was much louder, lights were clicking all the time, crowd was loud, in my monitor I could hear whole band, not just me, as I got used. And it was very hard to play that instrument. Hatd to control it. And the sound was bad.
Then I realised - I need an instrument that will be physically active to me, but alot more playable. It has to have ability to pick up dinamics of playing, but also as buttery as it can be.
Because, when you're on stage or in studio, you need some challenge, but also your best permormace is required. With an instrument that is too heavy/complicated to play, or with the instrument that is too easy to play - you lose a song.
I don't know. Hope I wrote something understadable.
