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If tone really is in the fingers...
- Thread starter mbell75
- Start date
50% in your hands (especially slap) - the angle, the amount of force you hit with. Then strings and setup (string height, strings type and size), type of wood, pickup, preamp.
Also old engineered amps like ampeg, are eating your tone, that's why I prefer to plug in DI -> straight to the PU board. With my Atelier Z EQ I really do not need any of external preamp/EQ... and even more; I really hate them all except of Aguilar Tone Hummer!
Also old engineered amps like ampeg, are eating your tone, that's why I prefer to plug in DI -> straight to the PU board. With my Atelier Z EQ I really do not need any of external preamp/EQ... and even more; I really hate them all except of Aguilar Tone Hummer!
I have the best tone with my bass because I never change the strings or wash my hands. Therefor I have more mojo than anyone else.
Why does a rich person buy a Ferrari when an Accord will get him/her from point A to point B?
Because they want to, and they can.
Put a $300 Squier in one of those pro's hands (set up to their taste/style), close your eyes, and you won't know the difference, even though it's a worse bass. You will hear the musical choices the player makes, not the bass.
People buy nice things because they want nice things...not because they need nice things to make a good musical product.
I sure know that ever since I finally started making a fair living, I have gravitated toward nicer instruments...and I'm not even a full time pro – only occasionally. Why? Because I want to, and I can. That's it. I was the same player on my old $160 short scale Squier Jaguar that I am on my $2,000 American Vintage '58 P. I just have a nicer bass now, because I have more money now, and I wanted it. It's really that simple.
Because they want to, and they can.
Put a $300 Squier in one of those pro's hands (set up to their taste/style), close your eyes, and you won't know the difference, even though it's a worse bass. You will hear the musical choices the player makes, not the bass.
People buy nice things because they want nice things...not because they need nice things to make a good musical product.
I sure know that ever since I finally started making a fair living, I have gravitated toward nicer instruments...and I'm not even a full time pro – only occasionally. Why? Because I want to, and I can. That's it. I was the same player on my old $160 short scale Squier Jaguar that I am on my $2,000 American Vintage '58 P. I just have a nicer bass now, because I have more money now, and I wanted it. It's really that simple.
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I do believe 100% that tone is in the fingers. But...since I chopped off my left (fretting) index finger, my tone has gotten much better.
Go figure that one out!!!
Go figure that one out!!!
When we were updating the bathroom, my wife scored a heated towel rail on a super discount (allegedly). I was not real keen on this luxury to start with. I've never had a problem getting dry with a room temperature towel. But there is no way I am going back to a plain old towel rail now that I know how good it is to have nice warm towels when I get out of the shower. If I'd never had the heated rail, I'd never have realised I was missing out.
I've never played a US Fender, let alone a Sadowsky or Fodera. I can only assume that there is a simple luxury to those instruments that mean you can't go back to enjoying playing a Squire once you've experience the extra quality. I don't think it has much to do with "tone".
I go to a regular jam were the guy running it plays a $5k Taylor acoustic guitar. It doesn't sound that much better than any other guitar, but as soon as you hold it you know it is niiicce. I don't know enough to know why, but it is just better.
I've never played a US Fender, let alone a Sadowsky or Fodera. I can only assume that there is a simple luxury to those instruments that mean you can't go back to enjoying playing a Squire once you've experience the extra quality. I don't think it has much to do with "tone".
I go to a regular jam were the guy running it plays a $5k Taylor acoustic guitar. It doesn't sound that much better than any other guitar, but as soon as you hold it you know it is niiicce. I don't know enough to know why, but it is just better.
hi nostatic 
You forgot the most important.
"To tone or not to tone, that is the question"
- William Shakespeare
and of course
"The tone is strong with this one"
- Darth Vader
may the tone be with you
Wise(b)ass
You forgot the most important.
"To tone or not to tone, that is the question"
- William Shakespeare
and of course
"The tone is strong with this one"
- Darth Vader
may the tone be with you
Wise(b)ass
I'm not sure tone is in the fingers, but tone suck can result from poor finger technique.
When practicing, play a few long single notes and pay attention to:
Did you thwack it too hard, or at the wrong angle, and get fret noise? (especially with low string height)?
Did you get any fingernail noise? (you may or may not want it, but practice until you have control of it)
Do you trim and file your fingernails to be exactly the same every day? You can't perfect your technique if your fingertips are different every day.
Did you get other strings sounding because they weren't properly muted by your hands?
Did you oops kill a note's sustain by accidentally touching the string while it's still vibrating?
and pay attention to other things you may notice.
B string (for me) is especially tricky for right hand technique. I think it's because my fingers don't have another string above it to land on. Makes it harder to reset to the right position for the next pluck.
Just as great sports players spend endless hours on fundamentals, we need to do the same.
Don't be one of the legions who say "watch me play YYZ!" and then they turn around and can't play "Ain't No Sunshine" properly.
Oh yeah, also some of tone is in "microtiming". You can be in the pocket just fine, and then still play a little behind the trebly parts of the drum kit (cymbals, snare, hi-hat) allowing them to provide the attack of that note in the song, or you can get a little ahead of them and let your fingers provide the attack.
Other obvious sources of tone are knobs on your gear, speaker placement, effects, pickups, string type, where on the string you pluck, and other stuff we all commonly think about.
As far as gear, I have a habit of buying cheap-to-midrange basses and getting the fretwork re-done and dropping my choice of high-end electronics in them. They play and sound great. Not sure whether I'm saving money in the long run, but I'm getting exactly the bass I have in mind.
When practicing, play a few long single notes and pay attention to:
Did you thwack it too hard, or at the wrong angle, and get fret noise? (especially with low string height)?
Did you get any fingernail noise? (you may or may not want it, but practice until you have control of it)
Do you trim and file your fingernails to be exactly the same every day? You can't perfect your technique if your fingertips are different every day.
Did you get other strings sounding because they weren't properly muted by your hands?
Did you oops kill a note's sustain by accidentally touching the string while it's still vibrating?
and pay attention to other things you may notice.
B string (for me) is especially tricky for right hand technique. I think it's because my fingers don't have another string above it to land on. Makes it harder to reset to the right position for the next pluck.
Just as great sports players spend endless hours on fundamentals, we need to do the same.
Don't be one of the legions who say "watch me play YYZ!" and then they turn around and can't play "Ain't No Sunshine" properly.
Oh yeah, also some of tone is in "microtiming". You can be in the pocket just fine, and then still play a little behind the trebly parts of the drum kit (cymbals, snare, hi-hat) allowing them to provide the attack of that note in the song, or you can get a little ahead of them and let your fingers provide the attack.
Other obvious sources of tone are knobs on your gear, speaker placement, effects, pickups, string type, where on the string you pluck, and other stuff we all commonly think about.
As far as gear, I have a habit of buying cheap-to-midrange basses and getting the fretwork re-done and dropping my choice of high-end electronics in them. They play and sound great. Not sure whether I'm saving money in the long run, but I'm getting exactly the bass I have in mind.
It does in my book. That price was completely accurate for the time period and the condition of the instrument.
Back in the day, a '72 jazz wasn't a unicorn, it was just a plain ole, off-the-rack "jazz".
A dime a dozen instrument - this one was definitely a real pawnshop prize. It came "complete" with no case, and a cigarette burn on the neck.
He went on to become a bass legend with it and still calls it his number one to this day. So yeah... there's that.
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Doesn't this amount to the same thing?
CreativeBass
Commercial User
- Mar 8, 2012
- 12
- 7
- Disclosures
- George Urbaszek - Creator/Owner/Operator of Bass Lessons Online
We, professional or not, have essentially the same sound no matter which bass we play. So, the way I see it, the more expensive instruments have better and long-lasting hardware (from wood types, pickups, tone controls, wiring quality, shielding etc), usually feel better due to factors such as the neck finish, sometimes weight and balance, and occasionally more subtle things such as rounded fret edges. (Have you ever scraped your fingers on rough fret edges - ouch!) So why wouldn't you invest in a well-constructed instrument?
Yes, there is a micro economy for music gear based on the idea that if we play pro level gear, we are pros. And many are. There are gray areas. But I learned a long time ago just because I play the same bass as McCartney or Entwistle doesn't mean I am in the same profession they are. I also learned audience members don't know or care if you play a $2000 Hofner made in Germany or a $250 Hofner made in Asia. More importantly, I learned I don't care about the difference. Tone may be in the fingers, but it is also in the perspective.
I think you are supposed to install the severed finger under the pickup to get the tone out of it!
It goes under the strings near the bridge.I think you are supposed to install the severed finger under the pickup to get the tone out of it!
Or Damn the tone! Four bells. Captain Squire, go ahead!
- Admiral David Farragut.
i don't think fingers have a tone, more of a style. if i switch from a P to a J the tone doesn't stay the same because i use the same fingers. however it will sound like me playing a J instead of me playing a P.
They have some tone. My index sounds like a pick, my middle gives a softer, puffy tone.
Edit for expansion.
My fingers always sound very different. It's something I've been fighting from the start.
If I'm wanting a pick like attack (I despise picks) I'll use a bit of super glue on my finger tips. Makes for a sharper, brighter note and makes my fingers sound more even.
Something I've just started doing recently is filing down the callous on my index and applying lotion. This gives a very warm, round tone with a softer attack. Having very uneven sounding fingers is something I notice a lot in people's videos. The give away is when the index finger sounds brighter, than the fingers playing closer to the bridge.
These 2 things make enough difference to be noticed by others. I suppose both could be considered style though.
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