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How Much do Audio Clips Influence Your Purchases?

Dr. Cheese

Dr. Cheese

Supporting Member
Mar 3, 2004
57,355
120,784
Metro St. Louis
#1
The more I listen to audio clips, the less they mean to me. For some basses, an audio may be useful because it clearly lets you know what kind of tone the bass has, for example a clip of a Cirrus or MTD shows their distinctiveness. I feel, however, that many clips for Fender style basses don't give me enough info to let me decide if those basses are different enough for me to spend my money. If, I hear a clip of someone getting down on a boutique Jazz or P, it just sounds like a good Jazz or Precision to me in most instances.
 
#2
I don't exactly "trust" clips. So much depends on how they were recorded, what strings were on the bass, what amp and cab they went through if not recorded direct. Plus, unless you are playing the clips through a very good sound system, you aren't hearing the real potential of the bass.

These clips on YouTube are usually recorded through mediocre video cam microphones, often in pretty poor acoustical conditions, and even a great bass can sound pretty bad in that case.

So, basically, I never have used audio clips to make any decisions on basses.
 
#3
For basses, not much. If you listen to all the Ed Friedland reviews on YouTube, I've found that almost every bass he plays sounds the same. Ed is a great player, I have lots of respect for him, but his reviews do little to motivate to buy any bass unless I already wanted to buy it anyways.

Now, for amps, I think audio clips can do a lot to show versatility. And, for effects, audio clips can almost make or break a decision to buy a pedal. But, for basses, I prefer to hold the instrument in my hands and play it rather than rely on an audio clip.
 
#4
It really depends on the bass but the less traditional the bass the greater the impact sound clips have on me. I've bought most of the basses I've owned basses on some sound clip or another, be it a demo here on TB or a professional recording sound clips are the greatest tool, at least for me, in determining whether I will buy a bass or not. The only case where this wouldn't really apply is if I had played the bass before I listened to the clip.

I played a Roscoe SKB3005 over the weekend and I dug everything about the bass, and while the clips I heard after trying out the bass only reinforced my GAS, they alone couldn't compare with actually playing it. Usually, I do the opposite though. I search for clips then if I find one that gets close to the tone I want then I'll either try and get one or find one to try out.

I just the whole "preamp set flat" thing wasn't such a standard. I'm one of those guys that will always mess with my preamp on the bass and amp before I settle on something. In most cases I'd prefer to hear a tone that was in someway affected by the preamp so that it would best fit whatever music the demonstrator is playing.
 
#6
Dr. Cheese said:
The more I listen to audio clips, the less they mean to me. For some basses, an audio may be useful because it clearly lets you know what kind of tone the bass has, for example a clip of a Cirrus or MTD shows their distinctiveness. I feel, however, that many clips for Fender style basses don't give me enough info to let me decide if those basses are different enough for me to spend my money. If, I hear a clip of someone getting down on a boutique Jazz or P, it just sounds like a good Jazz or Precision to me in most instances.
Click to expand...

Sound versus playability, fit and finish, and quality are two different things. If I hear a 'boutique' J that actually sounds like a J, that is a HUGE thing for me, since most of them don't. Since, after all the years of playing MTD's and Fodera's, I have a VERY hard time dealing with off the rack Fenders (love the sound, hate the quality, playability... well, virtually everything but the tone), if you told me I could get a bass that plays and feels like a Fodera or MTD, and sounds relatively close to a classic Fender instrument... guess what I'd do:smug::D

That being said, in general, I agree with you. Most clips (Youtube in particular) are useless.
 
#7
Kwesi said:
I played a Roscoe SKB3005 over the weekend and I dug everything about the bass, and while the clips I heard after trying out the bass only reinforced my GAS, they alone couldn't compare with actually playing it. Usually, I do the opposite though. I search for clips then if I find one that gets close to the tone I want then I'll either try and get one or find one to try out.
Click to expand...

I'm kind of in the same boat as Kwesi - if I find a really great sounding recording of a certain bass or tone I'm after, I'll research as much as possible as many tone clips & vids as I can to see if the law of averages applies. If the clips & vids all possess the same fundamentals in the inherent tone of the instrument, then I take it to the next level which is actively seeking to try an instrument out. I use a decent pair of studio monitors as my pc speakers, so I can generally trust that I'm getting a fairly accurate tone representation from the source material. :cool:
 
#9
I'd say they're pretty important for me if I don't have access to the bass in person. If you can get a good tone out of the bass DI'd, I'll likely be happy with the purchase.

However, reviews, looks, and specs are really the selling point. I may love the sound, fit, finish, price, and reviews of your Warwick, but if the neck is half of a sequoia, I'm not wasting my time.
 
#10
None. I don't trust them. Technique, EQ, amp, recording equipment/method, processing and audio compression will have an effect even if the people making the clips are trying to honestly represent the tone of the bass. And you can't be sure that they always are; they might be just trying to make it sound as good as possible to sell the bass.
 
#11
KJung said:
Sound versus playability, fit and finish, and quality are two different things. If I hear a 'boutique' J that actually sounds like a J, that is a HUGE thing for me, since most of them don't. Since, after all the years of playing MTD's and Fodera's, I have a VERY hard time dealing with off the rack Fenders (love the sound, hate the quality, playability... well, virtually everything but the tone), if you told me I could get a bass that plays and feels like a Fodera or MTD, and sounds relatively close to a classic Fender instrument... guess what I'd do:smug::D

That being said, in general, I agree with you. Most clips (Youtube in particular) are useless.
Click to expand...

Ken I understand exactly what you mean about playability, fit & finish, etc. It's just that I have seen dozens of clips where folks are going on over the tone, and I just say to myself that it sounds like Fender.:cool:
 
#12
I generally appreciate them for a very rough baseline comparison from one instrument to another. However, they're no substitute IMO to sitting down with the instruments, playing them through a known-likeable rig, and just exploring to find what works and what doesn't. Heck, forget sound clips - I've heard basses that sound like magic when other guys play 'em, and then when I touch 'em....woof. :)

I generally choose instruments on three criteria, and I try to stick to this order:

1. Sound.
2. Playability. (Weight, balance, neck, fret work, yada yada.)
3. Appearance.

When I've wavered from that order (i.e. my old Ken Smith) I've always ended up parting ways with the instrument shortly thereafter.

So - sound clips...on their own, not much value. As a subset of a much larger decision making process...they definitely have merit. While you're serving, I'll take a slab of Lincoln Goines and Richard Bona on Fodera, please. :D
 
#14
Dr. Cheese said:
Ken I understand exactly what you mean about playability, fit & finish, etc. It's just that I have seen dozens of clips where folks are going on over the tone, and I just say to myself that it sounds like Fender.:cool:
Click to expand...

Umm, that's my point:hiding:. For example, that Fodera NYC clip that you dug a few days ago sounds NOTHING like a Fender J to me. And, that clip really represented the tone of that bass well, based on all the ones I've played. It was a great tone which I didn't dig at all.

IMO, there are VERY few (using your example) boutique J's that sound like a Fender, and it's nice to have help knowing which one's they are (or which one's they are not, since some guys love the LOOK of a Fender, but really want a more 'modern' tone and voicing. So, it's also cool to hear the LEJ's, the Sadowsky's, the Fodera NYC's, etc. to gauge the general tone prior to potentially ordering one up.

Again, using the boutique J thing as an example, since that was what you are talking about in your OP, I agree with you, if your budget is tight, and/or you don't really care about fit and finish and 'high end feel and precision', dead spots, etc., etc., listening to clips of high end basses you would never buy would probably be kind of a waste of time.

Since virtually no one can try before buying (these upper end basses have very low, or no distribution), clips might be the only cue the buyer will have regarding a high end instrument. I have only played one bass prior to purchase in the last 10 years. It's just impossible for most to do, unless you live close to Bass Northwest, or something.

Now, of course, if the clips suck, or if you are listening to them through some crappy little speaker(s), then they go from being 'possibly useful' to 'totally useless'.

That all being said, I've never bought a bass based on sound clips. However, I've eliminated quite a few from consideration and saved myself some grief and money based on hearing stuff I really didn't like on clips from a known, respected source.
 
#16
I like hearing sound clips (and if possible, watching demo videos) but in no way would I base my purchasing decision on that alone. They are a nice addendum to reviews that are susceptible to hyperbole, IMO. When I add "reviews" of any the basses I own, I tend to throw in a few sound clips to give an idea of what I'm talking about. If people like it, fantastic, if not, oh well :smug:
 
#18
Very little.

This is mainly due to the fact that I don't go for a specific tone. I enjoy each bass on it's own terms as long I like playing it and it's comfortable.

Also, an audio clip played through my computer is never going to sound accurate.
 
#20
I'm surprised that sound clips influences so many, so little. For me, when they're available, are the #2 determining factor when I'm considering a purchase. The only thing that beats them is, naturally, playing the bass itself. What else is there to go on? And apparently contrary the experience of many, I find youtube clips to often be faithful representations of the sound I should expect from my bass. Of course that is heavily dependent on the recording method (cam mic v. true mic, Audio interface v. mic, etc.) but you can always tell if the recording itself is good by the quality and IME the higher the quality of the recording, the more faithful the tone coming out of my speakers/headphones is to the actual thing.
 

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