Is it just me...

[MisterMagician]

... or do you find that you sound the same no matter what rig you play through?

I get practically the same general tone with a P-Bass and an SVT, than I get with a J-Bass and a Bassman. Even a Stingray through a LMII, a 55-94 though a DB751, and a Decade through a M9 Carbine gets a very similar (albeit much, much louder) tone.


Of course there are differences in sound "quirks" (the P is muddier, the J is smoother, the Ray is very "sharp", the 55-94 is very "boomy", and the Decade sounds like it is about to kill someone), but I still get that same woolly/muffled growl with metallic overtones (like a clogged chainsaw overcome with rust) no matter what I play.



And because the general "feel" and "body" of the tone is in the fingers (so to speak), I feel that it is best to find the gear that compliments your "inborn" sound rather than compliments your "desired" sound.

What are your thoughts on that?

 

[Oren Hudson]

I pretty much agree, particularly with all of the EQing possibilities on amps. Still some differences between basses, of course.

 

[Joetheschmoe]

No, I don't personally.

I catch my self trying to get that P-bass through SVT tone on everything I play. That may be your problem. You almost have to make your self sound different, through different rigs.

It doesn't matter what you play, or play through if you, lets say, play with flats at the neck with the tone rolled off.

 

[kevin newsham]

Every different bass and amp will have it's individual character, but I always sound like me. My attack and phrasing is always the same, my sustain and vibrato are always there. Only change in my sound is between fretted and fretless, and then my fretless sound is there.

 

[stoolpigeon]

Tone is primarily in the fingers...not the equipment.

 

[electracoyote]

I have found that if I have a bass that does not require a lot of EQ or sound processing, and I can set the various amps something close to flat, yes, the bass sounds relatively the same through several different amps. I call this the ideal situation; your bass and your fingers are dictating the tone, not your amp and sound processing gear.

 

[iamlowsound]

I sound almost the same with everything I play. But I just set eq flat, both pickups on full and play.

lowsound

 

[Aaroneous]

Tone is primarily in the fingers...not the equipment.

This.

 

[lowend1]

Tone is an equation - fingers, bass, amp etc. I usually adapt my style to whatever rig I'm using. My "signature sound" is a two-pickup bass (Jazz T-Bird, P/J) with roundwounds through an older Ampeg. Give me an EB-0 with flats and a Peavey amp - I'll find something usable in there somewhere.

 

[bass12]

Here we go again...

 

[J-Building]

I think that when play new bass, I'm mostly looking for good feel more than anything. I really think I sound the same fundamentally when playing a different bass.

 

[Gus Borden]

Mostly agree. I find that I can tweak and noodle any bass on any amp and get a fairly consistent sound/tone. I say mostly b/c some amps simply sound sweeter than others.

But it's a funny thing, if a buddy shows up at one of my gigs and sits in for a song or three; without changing a thing on the bass or the amp? Well what can I say? It sounds like him, not me!!

This particular phenomenon has driven me (as of late) to find the different tones/sweet spots that my basses and amps have to offer.

 

[Grissle]

It depends on the type of tone you have. If you have a unique tone setup i.e., G Lee, Entwistle or C Squire then your tone will "sound" different on a straight up rig with flat settings. Of course your unique style will still be there. If you've ever had the chance to hear the recording of Billy Sheehan filling in for Geddy on a soundcheck with Rush, Billy's "tone" playing Geds rig sounds exactly like Geddy, but the playing style was 100% Sheehan. I think the less complicated your rig is the less difference you'll here moving from one to another. IMHO

 

[~ignited~wings~]

The rig, maybe. But the bass will change the tone unless it's set up exactly the same. If the bass is set up differently (Which it almost always is), I'll sound different for sure.

 

[Thrillhouse]

I definitely wouldn't say I sound exactly the same, but I definitely also manage to find "my sound" no matter what I'm playing or playing through. I think, as do many others apparently, that tone has so much more to do with one's particular playing style as opposed to what one plays with.

 

[lookiel]

I find many tonal differences between gear when playing solo/practicing and I'm paying attention to them.
Most of that disappears in the context of a full band mix.
I doubt the other musicians would notice anything short of a major EQ problem.

 

[WildTrkey]

Yes. The amp does just that: amplifies. I play through a very mild sounding amp as far as coloration goes, an SWR350 w/Son Of Bertha 115. I use a VTBass as a pre-amp through the effects return along with a Keeley compressor. It masks my crappy technique to a degree but at the end of the day, my ability is what comes through no matter what I put in front of it.

 

[trunkshope6]

yeah agreed the tone is int the fingers

 

[jmattbassplaya]

I basically always sound the same no matter what rig I`m using in the SS realm. Put tubes in the equation and I still sound like myself... just with a little more hair on top

 

[ImMoreBetter]

Considering that every instrument I've ever picked up sounded like a train wreck, I have to agree.