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Marcus Miller's tone....secret revealed?

#63
woody357 said:
I am not putting anyone down, and I understand how a young player would want to copy a major star, but I would think a seasoned player would want his or her own sound!
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I liked Marcus's tone so much it made me want to play bass, I even bought a MM Sig , Im not even at it a year , but I think my bass has his tone , now me trying to play along to his music is another story .
 
#69
I was actually copping his tone unintentionally. I think because I used to listen to him ALOT and it began to seep into my playing. I had to stop for a while to try to stay true to my own sound...whatever THAT is LOL. I know Kevin Walker used to always tell me at jams "You got that Marcus down". I was part :hyper: part :hmm:.
 
#71
JAUQO III-X said:
I have to be honest if some one told me that tone sounded like one of the legends or any other bassist I would be offended.

I can respect and like their tone but it's never been my thing to try and cop some one else's sound/tone.
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If somebody said, "You sound just like .... ....", I can feel you. If somebody said, "You sounded just like .... .... On that tune", I would take it as a compliment, especially if that was the sound I was going after.
 
#72
If and when I hear someone getting that MM tone, I just think ok here we go a MM clone. I'd rather see someone emulate his feel, or his phrasing or even steal a few of is licks without trying to sound just like him. That's his thing, get your own. The thing about all the greats is that they all have their unqiue signature sound. This comes from years of hard work, dedication, study, will power, and some luck or fate. Same thing with Jaco. get off his jock and get your own sound. Bunny Brunel, Alain Caron, and Gary Willis come to mind. They are all great fretless players and you can hear some Jaco influences but they still have their own thing going on and their own sound.
 
#73
ThatCoolBassist said:
many, many, of us bassist long for that unexplainable tone best known as Marcus Miller's.

a recent comment started me thinking...

of course its the maple fret board! as ignorant as it may sound it...strangely seems true.

exhibit A.
Marcus Miller - Run for cover Cover slap bass - YouTube
exhibit B.
Marcus Miller - Scoop Bass Cover - YouTube
exhibit C.
Marcus Miller - Frankenstein [Bass Cover] - YouTube

tell me what ya think!
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Getting rid of most midrange too, seems to be part of it.
and loads of comression, I guess.
 
#74
gimmeagig said:
Not true,after I heard him play I bought one of those hats and I swear I only sounded 1.5% better than before.
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You have got to wear the hat and sweat in the hat for months on end and beleive me.... The funk will come. I often wondered about how many hats he has, cause I know when I play, I sweat. Can you imagine wearing the same hat for a tour or two? Man no wonder he brings the funk from another place :-) so there you have it. keep wearing the hat and eventaully things will happen for you or to you.
 
#75
No offense to any Marcus Miller tone lovers.... But I personally cannot stand his tone (same with Jaco). He has amazing chops, is a great bassist.... but his solo tone is way too trebly for me.

It has gotten to the point where I have to be in the mood to listen to him.

::Flame away::
:hiding:

Edit: For the record I play active/pasive basses with Chromes.... I run my EQ pretty much flat with slight bass/mid boost when needed for the room.
 
#78
domestique said:
No offense to any Marcus Miller tone lovers.... But I personally cannot stand his tone (same with Jaco). He has amazing chops, is a great bassist.... but his solo tone is way too trebly for me.

It has gotten to the point where I have to be in the mood to listen to him.

::Flame away::
:hiding:

Edit: For the record I play active/pasive basses with Chromes.... I run my EQ pretty much flat with slight bass/mid boost when needed for the room.
Click to expand...

Hey, you dig what you dig. I think his tone, aside from Anthony Wellington IMO, is the thickest slap tone out there. To me ppl like Clairon, King and others dont have as full a tone as them.

Maybe it IS the hat.
 
#79
77 StingRayBass said:
Agreed. Now with that being said, can that "Marcus Tone" work in a R&B-Funk-70's dance group???:confused:
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IMHO, no, maybe on a few songs, but back then there was a lot more thump, and low end in the music, so IMO the tone he plays with is a more late 90s- now sound. Remember back then, the amps were Ampeg, Acoustic, Sunn, Fender, the new kids were Peavey, not a Hi-Fi sound, heck I still own a Acoustic 370, with the 301 cabinet(don't use it). You may also want to take in account, round wound strings were a new thing in the 70s, aka Roto Sounds, most of us played with flats, and changed, as slap became the thing to do, thanks in part to Louis Johnson, and Musicman basses. MM's tone works for what he does, but for me it only works when I slap, and I was doing it when it first came out "Larry Grahm" playing a (Jazz, with flats). I don't slap as much as I did when I was younger, but it still is a crowd pleaser. As I stated before I am not knocking anyone for wanting to sound like that, but for me it would not work 24/7.
 
#80
It's surprising how much of the sound is in the artist's technique and not so much in the instrument. I was at a clinic with Stanley Clarke, and of course he had his Alembic with him. But he grabbed a stock Fender Jazz bass that was hanging on the wall and damn if it didn't sound like an Alembic! He didn't even tweak any of tone knobs.
 

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