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If tone really is in the fingers...
- Thread starter mbell75
- Start date
"The tone is in my hands" is a saying that is meant as more of a guide than a law of physics. It's meant to get you thinking and working on what can be achieved tonally by your physical approach to the bass. I don't think it's meant to discourage you from choosing a nice instrument.
David Gilmour just sold millions of dollars worth of vintage guitars because he finds the new guitars are just as good.
He has tone in his fingers that is awfully hard to recreate regardless of the equipment.
He has tone in his fingers that is awfully hard to recreate regardless of the equipment.
But would Gilmour sound the same playing an SG going thru a Boss Katana? Something tells me no.
Because the amount of money one pays for an instrument is often enough close to meaningless. One can either play and it doesn’t matter, or one cannot play and (guess what) it doesn’t matter.
And one can play extremely well and competently without being a virtuoso.
Tone is in the fingers of people who have put in the hours doing the hard work at all kinds of gigs in all kinds of weather to have the control to deliver a solid, consistent tone. No matter what you're playing you're sound is under your fingers and you can deliver the goods. ... Until you can achieve that, you'll always be on the outside looking in. ... After that it's finding an instrument that makes that job that much easier.
Good player > crappy player on a crap bass
Good player > crappy player on a good bass.
The point of the tone being in the fingers is more to move you from crappy to good. Get good at technique, don't obsess over the gear, then you will be able to maximize the gear you have / want to have.
Good player > crappy player on a good bass.
The point of the tone being in the fingers is more to move you from crappy to good. Get good at technique, don't obsess over the gear, then you will be able to maximize the gear you have / want to have.
Define "2nd tier instruments".
Most of late Mr. Tedesco's recordings in the 60s featured an early 60s Telecaster. He later moved on to various Ibanez jazz guitars. I don't necessarily see either as being a "second tier instrument", but YMMV.
He would sound close enough that you would recognize him.
I have friends that chase tone so hard; they think it’s out there, but they’re never satisfied. The nuance is in the hands.
More important than technique, is execution IME. Too many players are choppy and not fluid with their lines- makes them sound hack like.
I’m the kind of player who would rock out on a cheaper instrument just to prove I sound good regardless of the price point. However, I play brand new top Fender’s for credo; like some others said, show up with pro gear and that will go along way to promoting the proper image.
I think many mediocre players over compensate with great gear for lack of ability. IME, the best working players aren’t terribly hung up on gear and some don’t know much about it at all; they’re too busy to care.
I’ve always adhered to the philosophy that if you develop yourself as well as you can, you’ll always sound good wherever and whenever a situation arises. The perfect sound doesn’t exist; too many factors. But you can achieve a perfect bass line in a given situation.
More important than technique, is execution IME. Too many players are choppy and not fluid with their lines- makes them sound hack like.
I’m the kind of player who would rock out on a cheaper instrument just to prove I sound good regardless of the price point. However, I play brand new top Fender’s for credo; like some others said, show up with pro gear and that will go along way to promoting the proper image.
I think many mediocre players over compensate with great gear for lack of ability. IME, the best working players aren’t terribly hung up on gear and some don’t know much about it at all; they’re too busy to care.
I’ve always adhered to the philosophy that if you develop yourself as well as you can, you’ll always sound good wherever and whenever a situation arises. The perfect sound doesn’t exist; too many factors. But you can achieve a perfect bass line in a given situation.
Largely the tone is in the player because you always reach for the sound in your head, you find a way to extract it from any instrument more or less. The reason that most professionals use high end instruments is that they have that extra flexibility and they are reliable. A higher priced instrument typically has better pots, output jack, pickups and hardware etc. so you have fewer problems especially when touring.
Maybe not an sg. But gilmour would sound the same playing a 200$ squier strat.
Gilmour keeps it simple. Standard Strat, sawed off trem arm, a couple of common pedals, a decent tube amp, and he'll sound exactly like he does on the recordings. He once said in an interview he could walk into almost any decent consumer level music store and equip himself for the show. No need to spend truck loads of money.
That's my approach as well. Simple and frugal. It works.
Tone is in the fingers but a quality instrument guarantees consistency.
Best bass I ever played cost me $299 new in 1984. I still have it and its getting a restoration.
Well, I have a tort, but rounds. Does that mean my tone isn’t half bad?
These threads always remind me of a watershed moment from my youth.
I was at my neighbor's house. I was about 14. My neighbor had started to play drums and had a crappy set in the garage. When he played, it sounded like someone beating on trash cans. One day, a family friend came by to visit. He was a pro musician. He sat on that kit and somehow transformed it into John Bonham's kit! I was floored.
Lesson learned.
I was at my neighbor's house. I was about 14. My neighbor had started to play drums and had a crappy set in the garage. When he played, it sounded like someone beating on trash cans. One day, a family friend came by to visit. He was a pro musician. He sat on that kit and somehow transformed it into John Bonham's kit! I was floored.
Lesson learned.
