Is it the Bass, or the Player...

[Bassliner]

Agree with the main thoughts here. 9/10 it's the player. It's the certain licks/notes you play that end up defining your style.

My best example is drummers; A great drummer will retain every little bit of his sound and style on nearly every 'backline' drumset given. I am fortunate enough to be playing with mostly those sort of drummers. But I also know guys that have a bad sound on every kit; regardless of how well they can actually play.

edit: I actually did this little fun guessing game with something like your question in the back of my head;

5 basses.. ranging from $200-$2500.. Honestly, tell me you can hear what money I spent on which bass.. (or which is which for that matter)

 

[Brad Johnson]

Are people actually saying that the instrument is irrelevant? I see people responding as if they read that sentiment, somehow I missed it.

 

[edfriedland]

Interesting thread. Nice to see nobody is throwing molotovs yet...

In the case of the Genz demos... my goal is to show how the amp allows each bass to sound it's own way. I feel it's a relatively neutral palette. I like the way my basses sound... when I want character from the amp... I know where to find that too.

Anyway, I think it's probably not possible to come up with a percentage of one factor or another when answering the original question. A lot of it depends on the intent. In my case... what you see publicly in my videos is to showcase the axe... if I can get something out that's cool... great. But even some of the nicest sounding basses I demo are not totally comfortable for me to play (excluding my own instruments). That definitely effects how I play. I'm glad people like what I do, but I mostly hear the stuff I DON'T like coming through because the bass wasn't comfy.

If I were wearing my "artist" hat, then my intent might be to sound like ME no matter what I play. But as a craftsman... my intent is usually to adapt to the circumstances as perfectly as possible. I play every bass differently - to different degrees.

It's an interesting topic, but I don't think there is one answer.

 

[spade2you]

It's an interesting topic, but I don't think there is one answer.

If there were, we might know what the best bass for metal is.

 

[lucas vigor]

I see a lot of holes in this, maybe I should just leave it at that.

Of course you do. Then I suppose I should just invest in a $129 dollar bass instead of one of yours, since the instrument does not matter, only the player? Is that what you are saying? I may not be an instrument maker like you, but I have 35 years bass playing experience that says that different basses sound different...and that better quality basses sound and feel better then bargain brand basses.
You won't convince me otherwise.

 

[mongo2]

I have 35 years bass playing experience that says that different basses sound different

My 40+ years of playing and repairing/building experience agrees with you.

...and that better quality basses sound and feel better then bargain brand basses.

My 40+ years of playing and repairing/building experience strongly disagrees with you. IME tone depends on the individual instrument. Also IME, any reasonably manufactured bass can be made to "feel" good.

You won't convince me otherwise.

Couldn't care less.

 

[AudioDwebe]

Agree with the main thoughts here. 9/10 it's the player. It's the certain licks/notes you play that end up defining your style.

My best example is drummers; A great drummer will retain every little bit of his sound and style on nearly every 'backline' drumset given. I am fortunate enough to be playing with mostly those sort of drummers. But I also know guys that have a bad sound on every kit; regardless of how well they can actually play.

edit: I actually did this little fun guessing game with something like your question in the back of my head;

5 basses.. ranging from $200-$2500.. Honestly, tell me you can hear what money I spent on which bass.. (or which is which for that matter)

Very cool.

Listened to it a few times, and i think I enjoy the sound of second bass best, followed closely by the third.

The first bass came next, followed by five, then finally four.

The second bass sounded more articulate than the first, with the notes cutting off a bit more abruptly.

The third bass sounded mellow, with a slight overhang of the notes. Liked it, but it sounded a bit lost in the mix.

The first bass had a mellow sound, with notes that lingered, but didn't seem quite as articulate as number two.

The fourth bass seemed too midrangy for my tastes.

And the fifth was a bit lost in the mix.

Care to share the basses, and their order?

PM me if you want with the answers.

Thanks.

Mamoru

 

[Brad Johnson]

Of course you do. Then I suppose I should just invest in a $129 dollar bass instead of one of yours, since the instrument does not matter, only the player? Is that what you are saying? I may not be an instrument maker like you, but I have 35 years bass playing experience that says that different basses sound different...and that better quality basses sound and feel better then bargain brand basses.
You won't convince me otherwise.

No, that's not what I'm saying. Is that what you'd like to think I'm saying?


I'm saying that the statement you made that I quoted had a bunch of holes in it. Not that I disagreed with everything, there were just way too many logical stumbles IMO.

I'm way past trying to convince anyone of anything here. Just enjoying the show. I will state that I've played some "better quality" instruments that I personally found boring. IOW not always better. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't. Clearly you haven't. Cool.


BTW I'm not an instrument maker. I don't know why you'd think that either.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Mario would drive the wheels off that Gremlin as only Mario can, setting a new street car lap record, the mac and cheese would be the best you ever had, and the piece of cardboard would be worth millions.
:-D

Agreed... it's possible. These things just don't fit into the neat little box so many folks are trying to cram them into.

 

[iJazz]

Mario would drive the wheels off that Gremlin as only Mario can, setting a new street car lap record,
:-D

While off-topic (sorry), I can vouch for that statement. Many years ago I was schooled by the late great Al Holbert Jr. on the fine art of the four-wheel drift. I happened to have the great fortune of being at a long-gone go-kart track in Elkhart Lake, WI on the weekend when Al was racing in the old Road America Pabst 500 in his AWESOME Lowenbrau Special Porsche 962. He had brought his son to the kart track and we were in the same group on track several times together. He drove that $100 piece of crap like it was his million dollar baby. His four-wheel drift caused him to pick up a good 2 lengths on me in a single corner.

Imagine Jaco on YOUR bass. Just think about it.

iJazz

 

[Clef_de_fa]

Are people actually saying that the instrument is irrelevant? I see people responding as if they read that sentiment, somehow I missed it.

This is what I was trying to make people realise ! Otherwise we won't hear a P bass tone, J bass tone or the signature Stingray tone ( all those tone impossible to get with other type of bass nor to get a Stingray sound like a P bass ... ).

 

[Clef_de_fa]

Agree with the main thoughts here. 9/10 it's the player. It's the certain licks/notes you play that end up defining your style.

My best example is drummers; A great drummer will retain every little bit of his sound and style on nearly every 'backline' drumset given. I am fortunate enough to be playing with mostly those sort of drummers. But I also know guys that have a bad sound on every kit; regardless of how well they can actually play.

edit: I actually did this little fun guessing game with something like your question in the back of my head;

5 basses.. ranging from $200-$2500.. Honestly, tell me you can hear what money I spent on which bass.. (or which is which for that matter)

I agree that it is more what you play that make your recognizable than the tone of your bass. In your exemples i couldn't hear your unique tone, but the tone deffitively change from one bass to another.In the exemple I really did love the 4th the most, then the 5th and 1,2,3 sounded so close but the 3rd had a decay that fited the song best.

 

[Brad Johnson]

This is what I was trying to make people realise ! Otherwise we won't hear a P bass tone, J bass tone or the signature Stingray tone ( all those tone impossible to get with other type of bass nor to get a Stingray sound like a P bass ... ).

The only problem being it's not true.

 

[lucas vigor]

yes. it is true. A P bass does not sound like a stingray, and vice versa. The pickups are different. One is active, one is not. If you have proof that they have the exact same tone, let's hear it.

 

[Brad Johnson]

yes. it is true. A P bass does not sound like a stingray, and vice versa. The pickups are different. One is active, one is not. If you have proof that they have the exact same tone, let's hear it.

Keep swinging... you'll get it one of these days.

If you read what I quoted (I know... at this point that's crazy talk) you might've noticed this part:

"all those tone impossible to get with other type of bass nor to get a Stingray sound like a P bass ...".

If you need to believe this is true, cool. In the meantime, I doubt most people don't realize that you can get a P, J or Musicman vibe from basses that don't even remotely look like them, let alone the copies.



So do you still seriously think it's impossible or is this about something else? And no, I'm not going to offer you proof. That should be insulting to someone with your experience.