Newbie chasing tone. Am I crazy?

[Bassic Needs]

I am new to bass and so my knowledge is limited in most aspects, especially when it comes to gear. Right now I am playing a Sire V7 into a Focusrite Scarlett. It’s perfect in that I can put on headphones and practice without disturbing anyone and I can practices or play along with songs on the Internet. (I tend to stay in passive-mode when I play, if that matters)

I understand that there are a ton of factors that contribute to your tone/sound, from the instrument perspective, and that it can be the woods used in the body, neck, fretboard, the pickups, the strings, your technique, etc. But after that…it’s everything else I really have yet to grasp and that is the rest of the gear to get your tone.

I am reading about DI’s, Preamps, Preamps/DI’s in one box, Tube vs SS amps, speaker reviews, pedals, etc. The more I read the more I get confused at what I need right now and what I might need/want in the future.

I currently don’t feel the need to get an amp and cab since I have no intentions of playing gigs or being in a band; I just want to learn how to play the bass and enjoy it.

What I would like to do is to find a way to shape my tone. I have lost many-a-night to YouTube videos on sounds and instruments and I think I have a good idea of what sounds I like…but I have no clue achieve them.

Here are a couple of videos so there is context into what sounds I find appealing.

The first 2 are running into an Avalon U5 and then into an Aguilar DB-750 with a Bergantino cab. I love the warmth of the sound here.



The Kinga Glyk sound is just perfection to my ears but I have no idea if she is using anything to shape the tone. This is punchier and if I could get only one sound, I think I would learn towards this.



These MusicForce videos also sound great but I guess they would be considered a more modern sound?





I understand that I will need different basses to get different sounds (J bass, P bass, etc) but for the gear, is it possible to have one set of gear that would cover most of the sounds I like?

Or am I just crazy to be chasing after tone so early in my journey? Help!

 

[buldog5151bass]

Lots of things go into tone - pickups, strings, amps, hand position, etc. You are looking at a variety of different tones. Nothing wrong with chasing, but you aren't going to find a single system to give you everything. If only it were that easy.

 

[Reedt2000]

Well, you're not crazy and this is a giant can of worms you're looking to open. Before we talk about compression and preamps and tubes and all that, I think it's important to cite two things.

First, and most importantly great tone comes from great technique. There is nothing you can invest that will improve your tone more than practice. Time, discipline, and patience will make you sound better than any pedal, preamp, or processing.

The second thing is tone doesn't happen in a vacuum. Work with what you've got in context, in the mix, that's where it counts. Unless you're gonna embark on a Davie504-esque YouTube campaign, solo tone means very little.

I hope I haven't been too condescending, your passion for the topic is great, keep at it and post some demos here

 

[Bassic Needs]

Lots of things go into tone - pickups, strings, amps, hand position, etc. You are looking at a variety of different tones. Nothing wrong with chasing tones, but you aren't going to find a single system to give you everything. If only it were that easy.

Nothing seems easy. lol. I just appreciate all of the sounds and was hoping that I could at least narrow my research if I had context into what I like and then ask the fine folks on TB since there are so many knowledgeable people here.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Best thing to do is experiment with what you have. Even moving your right hand slightly toward or away from the bridge makes a huge difference. Give it time.

 

[RyanOh]

My two cents. Explore technique and gear you already have, spend nothing to achieve "tone".

 

[Bassic Needs]

Well, you're not crazy and this is a giant can of worms you're looking to open. Before we talk about compression and preamps and tubes and all that, I think it's important to cite two things.

First, and most importantly great tone comes from great technique. There is nothing you can invest that will improve your tone more than practice. Time, discipline, and patience will make you sound better than any pedal, preamp, or processing.

The second thing is tone doesn't happen in a vacuum. Work with what you've got in context, in the mix, that's where it counts. Unless you're gonna embark on a Davie504-esque YouTube campaign, solo tone means very little.

I hope I haven't been too condescending, your passion for the topic is great, keep at it and post some demos here

I don't find it condescending at all. I asked for advice because I don't want to start spending money on things that won't get me where I am trying to go. I understand that a lot of it will rely on my technique and so I am focusing on that right now but I also understand that you need the right tools for the right job.

My immediate focus is working on my playing but if I knew what gear I needed as well, I could begin to start buying things piece by piece until I had everything.

Maybe I'm a bit naive in thinking it would be even remotely easy.

 

[Artman]

Learn to play first. Spend at least a year or two woodshedding on the one bass and the gear that you presently own before you start spending bucks on other instruments and gear. Practice, practice, jam, practice practice, jam. After you know what you are playing and why you are playing it, then consider building a gear collection. You will then be more capable of fully exploring that new equipment, a lot happier about the time and money spent, and a whole lot happier with your results.

 

[roller]

+1 on what others have said. Practice, play with others, read everything you can, go to music stores and pawn shops and play all kinds of gear.

Don't believe everything every single person tells you, especially on this site -- you'll only drive yourself batty. Form your own opinions and think for yourself.

Make mental notes... let is all simmer... and before long, you'll have your own little knowledge pile.

Oh yeah -- listen to as many different genres and players as you possibly can.

 

[jamro217]

I'd concentrate on your fingerstyle technique. That has the most immediate and noticeable effect on your overall tone. The clips you posted all have a relatively clean tone and are primarily fingerstyle. There is a bit of slapping going on in one. That means that if you set the volume reasonably and use the tone controls you should be able to get something close to what you're looking for. In the future you may decide to get more gear, but for now just practice using different parts of your fingers to pluck the strings with and try changing the positioning (nearer the end of the neck or nearer the bridge). Plucking closer to the bridge will render a brighter sound than near the neck, which is a bassier tone. The quest for great tone never stops whether you picked up the bass for the first time today or have been playing for fifty years. Hope this helps.

 

[BarfanyShart]

+1 on what others have said. Practice, play with others, read everything you can, go to music stores and pawn shops and play all kinds of gear.

Don't believe everything every single person tells you, especially on this site -- you'll only drive yourself batty. Form your own opinions and think for yourself.

Make mental notes... let is all simmer... and before long, you'll have your own little knowledge pile.

Oh yeah -- listen to as many different genres and players as you possibly can.

This is perfect. I would only add that make sure a good bit of what you listen to is contemporary. There are “trending” tones that you should have in your head, because that’s what most other people will think sounds “good.” Work really hard at tone with your hands and knobs first, THEN evaluate what your rig might be lacking.

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

Seeing that you are not planning to play live and you are running di with your scarlett interface you should look into plugins and effects in the box meaning computer programs. You can find almost all of those tone shaping tools from speaker cabinet impulse response, eq compression reverb and delays in there. There are tons of good free ones online and some are very good even compared to the expensive options out there imho.

 

[monsterthompson]

Keep in mind that any recording you’re trying to use as a reference tone is likely going to be layered with studio compression and EQ. You might be surprised at how much studio editing can can change the sound of an instrument, in order to work within a mix. I do think that you can get reasonably close to the sound in your head with reasonably priced commercially available hardware or plugins.

If you’re playing direct, I’d suggest looking at something like Guitar Rig where you can use virtual gear to create sounds. It’ll be cheaper than buying equipment. Guitar Rig isn’t my favorite, but it’s not bad. Waves plugins are incredible but it’s overwhelming for a new player to try to understand all their software. Fortunately Waves has extensive tutorials on selecting plugins for your goals. They also regularly do deep discount sales. I think you could use something like a Scheps Channel Strip to get a variety of sounds for a reasonable price. The challenge is that you’ll need to experiment to find what you’re after. You aren’t going to just plug in and find the magic setting.

If you’ve got no plans to play live, I think learning about vst plugins might be a good way to go.

 

[Musti-koira]

I think we are assuming that you're using the bass in active mode, passive bass directly in to soundcard can sound a little thin. Unless you're, like most people here, James Jamerson. For a clean, nice sound youre looking for, I don't think you need much more equipment-wise.

The Kinga Glyk sound is just perfection to my ears but I have no idea if she is using anything to shape the tone. This is punchier and if I could get only one sound, I think I would learn towards this.

I don't think there's nothing too special about the actual bass tone there. It's just clean and nice. In my humble opinion the punch you refer to is much about her great touch, just the right technique and force used to make the low notes ring nicely . Also lot of ghost notes thrown in to make low notes extra punchy, when she wants to.

 

[Ghook]

So.. if playing for your own enjoyment I think doing some home recording is a fun add-on and a way to experiment on getting the tone in your head. Mixcraft is an inexpensive Windows based DAW. Lots of tone shaping, cheaper than a Rumble 40.

As to basses. I agree that practice and more practice is pretty needed,, obviously , but if you can afford more than one bass, go for it. Fact is new stuff can keep us motivated. I don't buy high end .... Squire CV level is fine and cheap....under $500. Other than that, strings!!! I love Tapewounds or Flats ( all they had when I was a kid ) great tone ( subjectivly) and so easy on the fingers. So have fun and have at it.

 

[dax21]

Just wanted to say that you shouldn't underestimate the amount of post-production that goes into these fancy review videos.

Talkbass answer: P-bass, EMG geezer pup, tort, flats. Tone is in the fingers.

 

[JRA]

Newbie chasing tone. Am I crazy?
if you look/listen to the videos you posted = all those cats can play: their tone is mostly a function of being able to play. the actual equipment they are using is secondary to their abilities. also: most experienced cats just use their tone knobs.

technique/chops + tone knob(s) = tone. fine-tune with pickups, strings. etc. unless you can play like those cats: trying to arrive at the tones you're hearing is really just putting the cart before the horse.

i voted "yes" because you want to have those sounds/"tones" without having those chops --- when they're actually the same thing.


practice, practice, practice. good luck!

 

[Bassic Needs]

Thanks for all of the advice. I am glad to hear everyone’s thoughts on this because now I can relax a bit and just focus on developing my skills. If my tonal goal is mostly achieved by me then I can stop drooling over Aguilar, Bergantino, Arkham, Tonecraft, Ampeg portaflex, and Jules Monique dovecages.

Not to mention Fodera, F-bass, Sadowsky, and more.

You’ve saved me from myself...at least for now.

 

[lomo]

Chasing tone is a bottomless pit of money and time that essentially no one but you will care much about......so have at it if you can afford to spend those commodities on something you enjoy. Having said that, be aware that your tonal preferences will likely change.......perhaps continually, and that time spent chasing tone could be allocated elsewhere

 

[4stringfarley]

Going direct into an interface with head phones isn't going to give you much tone at all. Depending on the headphones you're using they're going to add coloration to the sound, and the interface is just going to produce a dry thin signal. There's tons of good free VSTs out there along with inexpensive DAWs. Try Audacity with a few free VSTs, learn EQing, amp sim, compression, etc and play with that. As others have stated all those videos you posted have had tons of post work done to them.