Everyone read this post . Looking for forum wide feedback.

[JRA]

Sounds like a fantasy site for " tone-chasers "....

the way the instrument feels is just as important as any other factor.

for busy, gigging players: 'chasing a tone' lasts for 10-30 seconds before the FOH asks for an input signal through the DI/mic. for players, the question is never "is this my ideal tone?" but rather: "will this get me where i need to go?" but no matter: it would never be the same 'tone' as "the one i heard on my computer search."

OP: i read your post and i wish you luck on your quest! try some strings until you find what suits you...the best...for now!

edit: clarity

 

[MultiScaleMale]

One guy/gal with a P bass, J bass playing the same thing similar to the examples on Lakland's site would probably work best where just the strings change. But, I'm not willing to put that amount of work into a project like that. Just recording a single mp3 gets tons of criticism around here. I'll just try some different strings until I find what works for my playing style, my bass and my amp/cab.

 

[garp]

Just recording a single mp3 gets tons of criticism around here.

Which brings up yet another variable: audio format. A lossy MP3 file isn't really worth listening to, IMHO. HTML5/MPEG-DASH sucketh, too.

 

[AngelCrusher]

How do you demo other people's right hand? Just me personally, I can go from mellow vintage thud to near-slap and most in between just by changing where and how I attack.

I can appreciate the logic and it does seem like a potentially helpful tool. I just see too many folks ignoring the "rules" and running DAWs, racks, mic'd cabs and all kinds of other colors; not to mention one-off custom modded or diy stuff.

Exactly. I posted on a preamp shootout what my preference was and it ended up not being the preamp i use and prefer. But the poster played with a pick and a heavy right hand. For his style, i liked a different preamp than what i use.

It would be cool to hear all the contributions. I am not against it but buying pickups strings and gear that works for you will still come down to how it sounds when you play it.

 

[Shlabotnik]

I love the idea. Yes, everything sounds different depending on the bass and how the person plays… But if you get enough data points you can come to some sort of useful conclusion for yourself. I would gladly contribute.

 

[yodedude2]

I love the idea. Yes, everything sounds different depending on the bass and how the person plays… But if you get enough data points you can come to some sort of useful conclusion for yourself. I would gladly contribute.

this. it would not be for precision (pun intended) specific detail judgments, but rather broad generalizations. do flatwounds really sound different from roundwounds? what about half-rounds, & pressurewounds? coated strings & tapewounds? in a general sense, it could work.

 

[el murdoque]

I'd like it if someone with the appropriate experience could recommend a pair of headphones with flat enough response and approachable enough price point that there could be a ubiquitous recommendation in these situations.

Sennheiser HD25II


I agree on the audio format needing to be high quality and there would be the need of documentation of the signal chain, down to the DI box and sound card used.
The community could benefit from this if people are willing to document their journey and do multiple recordings. When someone has uploaded 20 sets of strings on a P bass and I know 2 of these and how they sound on my bass, I might get an Idea how the others sound. This would be more valuable than 40 different people with 40 soundfiles.

 

[JCW308]

Won't work.

 

[J_Bass]

I am going to be the the cinic and pass on contributing for a massive project and a website for a one week old member.

I still remember the "free jazz book, send me your sample exercises" fiasco.

If I am being unfair, then my apologies. But I will pass, thank you.

 

[rashrader]

There are dozens more variables for which the group would need to control. Recording interfaces, levels, mastering, etc.... It sounds fun, but, honestly, it wouldn’t amount to a consistent sample set.

 

[BobKos]

I think it is worth a try. Let's be honest - A Jazz Bass is a Jazz Bass or a P-Bass is a P-Bass. Super 55, Nordies, etc don't make THAT much of a difference. I think that if such a database were set up, it would be useful to see what EB Cobalt flats on a P-Bass sound like compared to Labella Deep Talking flats on a P-Bass, etc etc. It is acknowledged that the variables would be there, but the basic differences between the strings would be apparent. This could give a purchaser some direction to go when dropping $20 ~ $40 per set on experimental strings.

To the naysayers who say this will never work - you are forbidden from ever recommending strings on this site again for the reasons you state in this thread...

 

[Copperhead]

It has been tried,on greater or lesser levels. In can remember being enthused about some S-D attempts, just to hear the demonstrators fingernail heavy grind non every clip .

I remember another of some player trying to demonstrate the many sounds of a Peavey T-40 and I could hear little difference besides bassiness or trebleyness overpowered by the clank of his pick on every setting.

There are other examples, Ed Friedland used to do a great demos but ones of that caliber are few and far between .

Even players and teachers I have great respect for have very individualized sounds, with no disrespect intended, Scott Devine can make any bass on earth sound like it has rubber bands for strings in my view

Then the slappaholics and guys who dance around on half a dozen pedals to get their sound before they
even play a note
YMMV

All in a data base ?
Great idea in theory but way too many variables and to be real world, IMHO.

 

[PDGood]

I listen to youtubes frequently when considering new instruments or pedals. It's not a perfect way to compare things, but I just look at it as one part of the search.
Example: A friend had a pedal I liked. I checked it out online to see how the youtube videos compared to what I heard in person. Some good, some horrible, but the basic sound of the pedal was there. I've learned that the minute I hear a lot of room noise and know the audio is just the mic from a phone or a camcorder, I know that video isn't going to be helpful. After awhile you get to know who makes good ones. Pete Thorn does great guitar videos and Andertons does good ones although incredibly long etc.

What I'd really like is a way to put my own ratings on youtube videos so that I don't come back months later and listen to the same things again that weren't worth the time when I first saw them.

 

[Turbo Sparky]

Good idea, but too many variables to control.
One of the biggest hurdles, IMO, to overcome would be the inherent nature of a person NOT to emotionally detach themselves from the sampling. Another "tone wood" debate would ensue...
Just look at how many amp and or cabinet "reviews" end up in a slippity slap bling clang boom fest in order to exhibit the, "...tone shaping capabilities and benchmark of the all new, classicly inspired, turbo charged, vintage modernity, tubular lows and crispy highs of the peak of {Insert manufacturer} a name you can trust..."

Catastrophic floods, locusts, earthquakes, cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria.

I sort of like the hunt.

 

[JakobT]

Cool idea, but too many variables to be useful, IMHO.

 

[Gravel Gertie]

This is why I don't bother with gear review videos anymore. Nobody plays the way I do, so watching somebody else play their gear doesn't help me. I've bought way too much gear, based on video reviews, that I ended up hating. No more.

 

[Jscriv]

I think it's a great idea. I would include what amp your coming out of. If you had the ability to mic a cab too. It would be an amazing thing

 

[Sub-hoo-fer]

Where it can work is, again, where we strip away as many variables as possible. Same player, same room, same everything except for the object under test. That's part of why my review site worked--it didn't matter that nobody else had my same bass, strings, ears, fingers, etc. because I never changed any of those things, so the frame of reference was narrowed to a more useful comparator. And even that, to me, was barely adequate.

More than adequate! Yours is one of the best references out there!

The argument about controlling for variables is completely valid. I was going to make a joke about everyone sending me $10 and I’d procure the equipment and control for variables. But then I saw this post and recalled all the work bongomania did for the good of bass-kind. Took the air out of it a bit.

 

[neddyrow]

I'm just impressed at the stones of a week-old TBer who starts a post with,

"Everyone read this post . Looking for forum wide feedback"

I don't think I even posted on here for a year after I became a member.

 

[groooooove]

i think such a thing would be more useful for pickup comparisons than strings. for electric bass, strings really don't mean much aside from feel for me. obviously i hear/feel differences, but pickups make a bigger impact.

will the folks who think its "all in the fingers" have to upload specs on their fingers? length, weight, etc?