maybe fodera?

Maybe it is in their fingers! Seriously, gear is not the answer.

Dan K.

 

+1

 

If Victor Wooten played a Rickenbacker, he would sound like Victor Wooten playing a Rickenbacker. The sound is in his fingers, and his head...

 

+1 on all of that... but to try to answer the question, the sound you hear live and on recording with Tommy and Victor has nothing to do with Ampeg. On recording, I know Tommy goes right into the board with his Fodera, and I assume Victor does also. Live, in the venues that they play, 90% of what you are hearing comes from their direct feed to the board and the house system.

That being said, Tommy and Victor's sound are very different, as are their Fodera's... with Victor typically using the old tone circuit and EMG pickups, and Tommy using the new tone circuit and Seymour Dual Coils in the unusual spacing, with the neck pickup very close to the bridge pickup.

Finally, per other's comments, I've heard Tommy live when he was a Yamaha endorser a few years back. Playing a Yamaha 5 string... Tommy sound like... Tommy!

 

Yeah, of the Little bit of DVD footage that I have of Victor in studio, you never once see an amp in the studio, and he is playing in the mixing area with the engineer... yes, I know his cab could be mic'd up somewhere else in the studio, but if it is, they don't show it. When they do show him playing through an amp (with Carter on drums explaining some stuff) he is playing through a b-15 I think?

 

I seriously doubt that many engineers would choose to use the lineout on an Ampeg head for their direct line...

 

Most of the time you don't bother going through the amp. Just use a DI box and add a hint of cab mic.

 

Les Claypool is known to play a Ric or jazz bass from time to time and he still sounds like Les.

 

I have heard guys playing on Peavey basses and they sounded great, because they were great players. Your bass is a tool, period. Tools are what we use to get the job done,and like every aspect in life, better tools make it easier to get that job done. I always had the philosophy that, I know that there are better players than me out there so i'm gonna get the best gear that I can afford, I need every advantage that I can get. It is easier to sound good on good sounding gear, but what i found is, the better I sound the more inspired I am to play better.

 

I would be inclined to think that their sounds are greatly affected by their pre-amps and pedals.

 

for sure, but you can only do so much with what you have, and some can just do more than others...

I would say if you want to get someone's tone, you could probably get pretty damn close by getting the same setup as them, but its the little nuances of each person's playing style that gives it the personal touch, and unfortunately no amount of gear gives you the sound of 30 odd years playing experience in your fingers.

 

Its amazing isn't it? You can give the same bass to me and another bass player being run through the exact same rig and we will sound different.

 

All I can add is that my playing sucks just as bad with my Fodera as it does with my Lotus.

 

Yes but you are sucking with class. And it is a more pleasing sound to the audience.

 

Admittedly, the notes I play which don't suck do sound really good!

 

Tom, That is exactly what I aspire to, as a bass player!

 

It is in his fingers, I agree. But, Tom Kennedy can not make a ric sound like a hondo, or a hondo sound like a ric. If he can I want to have his magical bass powers.

Tom K will sound like himself on anything, but it will not change the nature of the construction and electronics of the bass.

 

Technique certainly makes a difference in tone, but it doesn't make ALL the difference.

Regarding Vic Wooten playing a Hofner - the reason people would still recognize him would be due to *style* more than *tone*. Sure, technique is a big factor in tone, but every single one of us here are gonna tell the difference between a Hofner strung with flats and a Fodera strung with rounds, even when played by the same person.

I am definitely NOT trying to say that equivalent gear gives equivalent tone. But it can help! Back in the day, playing Rush's "Working Man" with my buddy's Ric 4001 sounded a LOT closer to Geddy than it did with my Fender P-bass.