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Good bassist, bad tone

#121
I love Flea's tone on Stadium Arcadium but not so much live. I'm not big on Geddy Lee's tone or Jack Bruce's. But I actually hate Jaco's the most. It's very annoying to listen to and gives a bad name to all jazz basses. I can best describe it as "prickly". It's like the fretboard is the rough bark on a tree.
 
#123
Ha, that's a fun question, interesting to see what some people consider "bad tone," for instance I'm not a huge Rush fan but jeez, I couldn't disagree more with criticism of his tone, or Duff's. Not arguing, I just think it's amazing how different tastes can be.
I'd have to go with a couple oldies for my "good player bad tone": Noel Redding and Jack Bruce. Listening now it sounds like Noel was a good player... When I was a kid I couldn't get over the muddy mess, I kinda thought he just sucked but my ears have developed to the point where now I can hear the notes he played, not too bad :) Billy Cox was certainly a tighter player, but those recordings don't have the charm of the earlier recordings.
Jack Bruce was a huge influence on me as a kid, but I never liked his fuzzy tone. I loved his creativity, still do, and now I kinda think there might not be a better tone for that band, although a buzzy, glassy Tool growl might have sounded nice. These guys didn't exactly have Class D Amps and 10" speakers to work with, who knows what these guys would have sounded like with modern gear, maybe pretty boring :)
 
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#129
James Jamerson? Seriously? To me (and a few million other people) that is THE tone for R&B. Jaco, agree. Great player and I like his tone when he's laying down the groove, but his solos, while technically outstanding, the tone is just brittle to me and WAY too much modulation effect. Agree about most slap tone, but Marcus Miller's tone to me is perfect for slapping. He manages to cut through and still have a deep punch as well. My favorite of the SMV trio to listen to by far, though Vic has better chops.
 
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#130
I thought peter steele used the Ds-1 to suck some bass out of his signal so it wouldn't interfere with his vocals so much...:bassist: I'm trying to think of a tune he didn't sing the bassline to...

Jaco had the best 80s pornography tone of anyone.
 
#131
southpaw723 said:
I actually hate Jaco's the most. It's very annoying to listen to and gives a bad name to all jazz basses.
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:rollno::rollno::rollno:
Yeah, that must be why every fretless player in the world still tries to cop his tone... or the fact that many Jazz bass pickups are advertised as "giving you that Jaco tone".

"Bad name to Jazz basses"? Jaco has caused more Jazz basses to be sold than anyone else ever.
 
#132
I def agree with Jack Bruce... I love his playing so much, but I cannot figure out how he made a Warwick Thumb sound so bad...

I sort-of agree about Geddy... I think, by itself, his tone is horrid. That being said, when played through the mix (the only time that really matters IMO) I think it's perfect.

But the tops for me in this category has to be Jeff Berlin... He's probably the best bassist I have ever heard, but his tone kills me a little more every time I hear it.
 
#133
truckin88 said:
I will say the new metallica bassist is tight, probably a better bassist, but I think newsteads tone was way better
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I think Trujillo's tone is far superior to Newstead's! Although it defitnitely seems worse with Metallica. Some of my favorite bass tones include the crazy ones he conjured up with Infectious Grooves and his fretless tone on "Asleep at the Wheel" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juaM1Zrq9iE

I remember when Newstead joined Ozzy they did a set in a small room with Zakk Wylde, and Newstead's pick attack sounded awful and inappropriate, especially when he was playing Geezer Butler's melodic lines. On the other hand, I really like the lines that Jason writes for himself.

Most players I feel like their tone and playing work well together. Yes, Stanley Clarke is very trebly. Yes, Victor Wooten's thumb attack is sometimes percussive and choppy where we might want to hear smoothness, but their attack is part of their sound. You can change Stanley's tone pots all you want, he's still pulling those strings with the strength of an upright player.

As for Les Claypool, his tone is dialed for clarity - you can hear his notes live and that's what he wants. The only time I really want to hear better tone from him is on the muddiest self-produced albums, like the Brown Album or that EP with the Meters tune.
 

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