And THAT is the premise of the thread. The tone. Not the technique, not the note choice, not the thought patterns, not the phrasing or the style. The tone.
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How to get a tone like Jack Bruce (Cream)
- Thread starter Gearhead43
- Start date
And THAT is the premise of the thread. The tone. Not the technique, not the note choice, not the thought patterns, not the phrasing or the style. The tone.
Yes but how do you suppose they'll respond to my asking which one will make me sound like Marvin Gaye?
It really seems to be about degrees. Everybody concedes that gear affects tone and that technique also affects tone how much from each is what seems to be at issue.
Why don't you ask?
Do you think all microphones are the same? Do you think that if a great singer sang into... say a kick drum mic that the result would be as good as if they sang into a good vocal mic?
And the reason I'm not budging off of this is because the degree of how much the specific gear in question colors the tone producing the tone that we know as that Jack Bruce from Cream tone.
Can you think of anyone that has a similar tone to Jack Bruce?
Not someone who plays like Jack Bruce- has the same bass tone as Jack Bruce...
To each their own but I've given a number of examples above of bass player who dialed their sound without their gear.
I ask you again... Do you think that if a great singer sang into... say a kick drum mic that the result would be as good as if they sang into a good vocal mic?
No but I'm pretty sure that if they sang into a kick drum mic or a megaphone that they'd likely still sound better than me into the best microphone available. So I ask you - do you know of any microphone that will make my voice sound like James Brown or Steve Wonder or Ray Charles?
You didn't answer the questions.
What you gave examples of were players that you felt sounded like themselves on gear they weren't normally associated with- however you also claimed that "Sorry but to me all of those things are in separable" in relation to being able to separate the tone from the player. In that, you're in effect claiming there is no specific tonal characteristic to any instrument- in effect, claiming that a Jazz bass sounds the same as a P bass, which sounds the same as and EB-2 which sounds the same as a Longhorn, which sounds the same as an L-2000 which sounds the same as a Thunderbird which sounds the same as a Rickenbacker, which sounds the same as an SR-800 which sounds the same as any other bass- as long as the same player is playing it. And that is patently untrue.
The point is that there is gear that has a characteristic to it that defines what the instrument will sound like, regardless of who is playing it.
That isn't answering the question in terms of the tonal quality or what the microphone is reproducing.
What I will answer you with is that if you put a U47, a C12 and an SM57 in front of James Brown and ran a signal from the same source, you would have 3 distinctly different signals.
But they would all sound like James Brown!
And Pedro wouldn't, no matter how good the microphone.
This is so silly.
Yes. 3 signals of silence. But they'll all sound like James Brown resting in peace.
Yes, it is.
All this talk about something so elementarily simple.
Not only to argue something so simple, but the subtle attempts at ridicule.
I have to wonder if specifically JimmyM and pedro have used such a rig as an EB bass through a Marshall and a 4x12 and tried to get something other than a sound similar to the Jack Bruce in Cream sound.
I have.
On the right is a 1971 EB-0, in the back is a 1976/77 100w NMV Marshall on top of a 4x12 bass bottom. What speakers are in there?
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That amp was my bass rig from Dec of 1987 until fall of 1993. I stopped using the Marshall as a bass rig because it didn't have the low end response or the presence of a "modern" bass cab. But it makes a hella guitar cab with lots of thump, and I've used it as such since 1991. The EB-0 was my main bass from 1985 until Nov of 1988. Right now, it's becoming my bass of preference for my main gig in a Rolling Stones "tribute" band.
And pedro, if you're willing to make the trip to Milwaukee to see my band, I'd be more than happy to use that Marshall cab in conjunction with my 50w Marshall to see what kind of tones you can get out of it.
Again, I spent 20 years trying to get that bass to do something it was not meant to do- sound like a "Fender-y" sounding bass. I wanted the Rick to do that "Fender-y" sound but it didn't, when I got the Thunderbird, I wanted it to have that sound. It wasn't until I got the Jazz that I got the sound I wanted. I won't say that the Rick has as much of a significant "signature" sound as the EB-0, the EB-2 or the Thunderbird- but those 3 basses are/were made to do what they do, and not much else. Conversely, trying to get another bass to do the sound of an EB series bass (or a Thunderbird) is more often than not a lesson in futility and humility. I can get my G&L to do a "Jazz" type tone, the Jazz doesn't do the G&L tone too well, none of my basses sound like the EB-0. The EB-0 does what the EB-0 does.
So, have you guys used an EB into a Marshall? How did that work for getting "your" sound? (providing "your" sound wasn't an EB into a Marshall sound)
Used an EB-0 into a V4B/810 for a couple years. Loved it. Never tried to cop anyone else's tone but my own, though. Never saw the point in it, really.
You know, I think it's a pretty silly argument. Obviously your tone is going to be quite influenced by your gear. Everything from your instrument, your effects, to your amp color your sound. Hell, if it didn't, why choose what you choose?
It's just as obvious (to me) that your technique colors your tone. If you doubt it, play fingerstyle then switch to a pick or vice versa. Hell, pluck closer to the bridge then pluck by the neck. If you can't hear the difference, give up music now.
I don't think it's 50/50 on gear and style... I think it's 100/100. They both make up your tonal palate. If you change your gear, you will still sound like you playing... different equipment. Someone else playing your rig won't sound like you.
I also think the whole point of the original poster was lost in the debate anyway. He was asking how to cop Jack Bruce's tone. Telling him to play like Jack Bruce does a disservice. If he's got a gig this weekend, yeah I'm sure he can switch his playing style by then. I think we all know he was just asking what to add to his gear to come close to the tone.
Sorry for the longwindedness.
It's just as obvious (to me) that your technique colors your tone. If you doubt it, play fingerstyle then switch to a pick or vice versa. Hell, pluck closer to the bridge then pluck by the neck. If you can't hear the difference, give up music now.
I don't think it's 50/50 on gear and style... I think it's 100/100. They both make up your tonal palate. If you change your gear, you will still sound like you playing... different equipment. Someone else playing your rig won't sound like you.
I also think the whole point of the original poster was lost in the debate anyway. He was asking how to cop Jack Bruce's tone. Telling him to play like Jack Bruce does a disservice. If he's got a gig this weekend, yeah I'm sure he can switch his playing style by then. I think we all know he was just asking what to add to his gear to come close to the tone.
Sorry for the longwindedness.
Not quite the same thing, is it? Specifically the 8x10 vs the 4x12, eh?
Tell me, was your tone nearly identical to your setup now?
I'm not asking if you "sounded like you," or that your playing style changed or evolved," or that "anyone would know it's you playing..." Did the sound of that bass into that amp into that cabinet sound like your setup now?
Then what on Earth are you doing posting useless "advice" and opinion masquerading as fact in a thread about how to approximate someone else's tone?
To use that intArweb phrase that all the kids are using these days:
Fail.
Epic.
Actually I was talking about your building up straw men and constant nit-picking.
