Fact: It's not the bass

[jjmuckluckjr]

It's about time someone stated the obvious. Amen brother.

 

[RED J]

nah its all in your fingers!

Well I fell for that I tried three different sets of fingers and all my basses still sounded different. I give up.

 

[Baird6869]

It's all in the fingers.... the fingers of the talented luthiers that make the high end basses.

 

[kopio]

Amen....I'd say a very large part of it is in the fingers....VERY large....that being said....I never sounded better than when I picked up my MTD KZ5 the first time...the clouds parted....an angelic voice came down....and everything was right! But...my buddy can play it and it sounds totally different....so yes....it's in the hands....but a really good tool in really good hands is bliss!!

 

[jd56hawk]

Okay, so it's my opinion. But my opinion is that the thread title is, in fact, a fact.

I've heard too many basses played by a as many bassists, ranging from a Squier to a Fodera and everything in between, that sounded both fantastic and awful. It's the player, period.

The better the player, the more he or she will be able to draw the quality out of the higher end basses. But that same person will still be able to bring a subpar bass to life. Either will sound fantastic.

Anything in the hands of someone like myself will all sound pretty much the same. Yes, a turd.

Can I get an Amen!

A good bass helps...in other words a properly set-up bass with servicable pickups, electronics, neck, and strings...whether it's my Squier CV Jazz or my friend's '71 Rickenbacker 4001...but it still comes down to two hands and however many fingers you use (I use four or sometimes five...and a pick!) but there is something even more...I don't merely play the bass I become the bass!

 

[brianrost]

Settling in for a good long thread...

 

[zontar]

Settling in for a good long thread...

You know--that's all in the fingers too.

 

[pcake]

Finally an original thread.

maybe here. it appears on the acoustic guitar forum about once a month, only about acoustic guitars. and like i always say there, tommy emmanual's music may sound amazing playing a cheap guitar, but his music sounds even better when he plays a guitar with awesome tone.

 

[Flaked Beans]

It's all in the fingers.... the fingers of the talented luthiers that make the high end basses.

This! ^ ^

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Geddy Lee probably wouldn't sound much like Geddy Lee on a Hofner with flats

 

[Flaked Beans]

but i am selling my expensive basses anyway! anyone wants to buy my fodera emperor5 deluxe?

 

[progrmr]

Geddy Lee probably wouldn't sound much like Geddy Lee on a Hofner with flats

No but I bet he'd still sound good.

 

[Flaked Beans]

Geddy Lee probably wouldn't sound much like Geddy Lee on a Hofner with flats

Yep, he would sound exactly like geddy playing a hofner with flats.

 

[Muddslide]

Yeah the tone is in your fingers, now i will sell all my expensive basses and buy a nice indonesian sunburst squier jazz bass for $120 (used).

Well, no shame in that. For $120 these days a person can get a perfectly serviceable, giggable bass.

But there's also no shame if someone wants to buy a new luthier-built custom boutique bass for $4000 every month if that's what they want and they have the money.

maybe here. it appears on the acoustic guitar forum about once a month, only about acoustic guitars. and like i always say there, tommy emmanual's music may sound amazing playing a cheap guitar, but his music sounds even better when he plays a guitar with awesome tone.

I'd argue that acoustic instruments are a whole other world from electrics...especially solidbody electrics. You wouldn't compare upright basses with a solidbody electric in that context, right?

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Yep, he would sound exactly like geddy playing a hofner with flats.

WHOA...far out, man. That's DEEP

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

If you are saying that skill is more important than the quality of the bass guitar, i agree. If you are saying the quality of the bass guitar is not important at all, then i have to disagree.

 

[Flaked Beans]

yeah like victor wooten lost his monarch bass in norway a few years ago and brilliantly played the show on a stock japanese fender marcus miller j bass ( he didn't sound like marcus, i guess)

 

[pcake]

[QUOTE="Muddslide]I'd argue that acoustic instruments are a whole other world from electrics...especially solidbody electrics. You wouldn't compare upright basses with a solidbody electric in that context, right?[/QUOTE]

true, but while i love my squier short scale jaguar, it really isn't going to compare to a fodera or an ibanez SR1800e (among many others) tonewise when using the same amp. so no matter how well someone plays my jag, if they play the same thing on the same amp with a bass with really great pickups, their music is gonna sound better.

 

[KohanMike]

Just this week I took in my Gold Tone GT MicroBass because the A string just wasn't as loud as the other strings amplified. But after the repair guy did a few runs on it through his amp with all the strings sounding out equally, it became very obvious that it's my technique (or lack of) that's the problem. Not so surprising since I've only been playing about a year.

To address the gear discussion, I recently bought a $150 mini P-bass from SmallGuitars.com that I really liked. It's good sound was confirmed the other night when I brought it to a lesson and my teacher, Denny Croy played then praised it and even wants to sell them in his shop (McCabe's) for his younger players.

 

[Steve59]

It's all about the music.