Nobody cares about your tone....

[Baird6869]

I'm getting one of those for each of my basses. I'll be sounding sooooooo good.

I would strongly advise you to get two per bass. It'll sound twice as more gooder.

 

[TRichardsbass]

Did Jaco invent his tone? Did nobody get that tone out of jazz bass before him? That would seem impossible now that "every jazz guy" can get his tone. Just replying to your post coincidentally, anyone can answer.

Tonemachine, I am sure that Jaco probably wasn't the first to find that tone, however he was the first to distinctly use it recording, and, it is clearly his sound on his solo albums for sure. And there have been many semi-scholarly discussions of his influence and how bass playing and sound changed post Jaco, including the influence and use of fretless electric bass.

And, yes, you can emulate his "tone" with a similar Jazz bass and rig. Because a lot of it is mechanical and electrical, from a sound stand point. You will not hear exactly Jaco, but you will hear Jaco in it.

And I offer as proof, this clip:



Here Sting is playing a fretless bass. Its a P as well. Note no Jaco-esque tone, period. Even though its a fretless.

It is always easy to tell the "real thing" from the imitators. However, some of the imitators, no matter what musically, can sound really close. As Robin Thicke and Pharrell just found out....

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Thank you for he link. I'll watch that interview over and over.

 

[Muddslide]

I would strongly advise you to get two per bass. It'll sound twice as more gooder.

Or one-quarter as less unbad?

 

[GregC]

Here is a definite recording with the Rickenbacker. Maybe has a touch of Rick growl in it.



This one is clearly the Fender P bass.

Simonon has a distinct "style", but not tone.

But not the "Jaco sound." Just for comparison.

I'm pretty sure Norman Watt-Roy played the bass part on Magnificent Seven.

 

[Baird6869]

Or one-quarter as less unbad?

Don't you go and be all technical and stuff!

 

[Abull78]

If you are talking about pickup coils you must mean VAC, but I don't see how that could either be true or useful. From this chart

http://www.minicircuits.com/pages/pdfs/dg03-110.pdf

8V is +31dB. Possibly I am mistaken, butI don't see how a pickup could generate a 31dB signal or what you could do with it.

 

[Abull78]

If you are talking about pickup coils you must mean VAC, but I don't see how that could either be true or useful. From this chart

http://www.minicircuits.com/pages/pdfs/dg03-110.pdf

8V is +31dB. Possibly I am mistaken, butI don't see how a pickup could generate a 31dB signal or what you could do with it.

Its a non active pickup that generates almost as much out put as a 9vdc powered pickup.

 

[ggunn]

Its a non active pickup that generates almost as much out put as a 9vdc powered pickup.

Well, OK, but even so, my 18V powered active bass doesn't put out a signal remotely near +31dB. Also there is a point of diminishing returns in overwinding pickups to produce more voltage/volume. For one thing, high frequency content starts to fall off. But experimenting is fun. Good luck and good hunting.

 

[Sonicfrog]

You can fuss all you want over your tone. Then you get to a gig and the sound guy plops down a DI and you lose everything.

I did a gig a couple of years ago where I got a lot of compliments on the sound of my bass. Thing is, I wasn't plugged in. The sound was terrible and rumbly without the bass. Anything I could do as the bassist would only add to the problem. So I just made like I was playing. Had a great time playing random notes, but looking kool. Apparently the audience liked the tone of the kick drum.

I took the compliments with a warm "thank you". Nice to be appreciated for your kool.

Ha!

But yes, once you go through the DI, any tone you hear from the amp will be gone. And even if you go through the amp into the board, many line outs on amps bypass the EQ and other tone sweetening effects built in to the amp.

There is a general tone i go for, and it's evolved over the years. It used to be a lot heavier, more bassey. But I realized it probably sounded muddy out there in audience land, so now I back off the low end EQ more than I used to, but not so much that it sounds thin.

Works for me.

 

[StinkFoot]

A jazz bass, bridge pickup driven semi-farty sound.

Yup. Never quite got that. Why ruin great playing with a sound like that?

 

[StinkFoot]

I think the sound works.

Your sound works. But a different sound could work better, IMO. How about this sound:
Paul McCartney & Wings ~ Lady Madonna

 

[joebar]

wow this thread has serious legs
as you were

 

[StinkFoot]

Maybe it's because we're a power trio, but all of us notice when something is off.

Sometimes they notice. I can think of some power trios (hint - the first BIG NAME power trio....) where I don't think the lead guitarist noticed the bass much when he was soloing...
But I agree, in a trio setting, your chances are better.

 

[Bassamatic]

I have thought a lot about this issue, and about this thread all day. I REALLY do believe that 95% of the audience couldn't care less about your tone, as long as there is some bottom to balance the sound.

I play a different bass nearly every gig and no one has ever commented on the sound (including band members), except for a pro guitar player friend that really like the sound of my SR-400.

I feel that there are just 3 major bass sound classes that MAY be discernible by the masses -

• Upright bass sound
• P-Bass Sound - that upper bass, low-mid bass sound.
• J-Bass Sound - Brighter or more thuddy than the P bass.

All basses are just subtle variations on the above major groups. Only us bassists or skilled musicians can really tell or appreciate the difference within each group.

My take on it all - - play for yourself, but don't expect the audience to know or care what you are playing.

 

[M.R. Ogle]

Can I guess?
Grand Funk Railroad?

 

[bucephylus]

Your sound works. But a different sound could work better, IMO. How about this sound:
Paul McCartney & Wings ~ Lady Madonna

One of my favorite tunes.

OK, so you prefer P basses. Got it. Bigger broader sound, not as focused. I like them too; even played several for quite a while.

 

[StinkFoot]

I love that tune too and that bassline - which is pretty much the same as the Beatles version I think. One of Macca's best - a wicked rocker.

It's not necessarily the P bass - I just like bass to sound like BASS - thick and heavy on the bottom - I'm old, and old school...

 

[hawk92]

wow where to start...first a lot of your tone comes from your hands regardless of the equipment two of us on the same equipment won't sound the same so to not care about your tone would be to not care about how you played
second-we are all as musicians trying to find our voice on the instrument if you are just parroting parts you hear you have so far to go on learning that you might think somehing foollish like "who cares about my tone" but if you are truly trying to find your voice... you know the part you hear in your head that you are trying to get your hands to create then of course you would care about your tone.
third...just for respecting the music! it would be like in baseball not bothering to run to first on a ground ball because your going to be out anyway.
I could go on and on but I hope that should be enough....

 

[chris_b]

As I said before, there are many people who have an opinion about the sound of the bass, and like to hear good bass.

Don't assume that because they're not saying anything they don't care.

Maybe they don't mention it because you sound good. If you didn't I bet you'd get some comments.

I've been gigging for over 40 years on the strength of what people think about my playing and sound.

The right people do care.