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Not Impressed with wooten's tone

#2
He plays VERY light strings. And with all of the chords and melodic stuff he does, I'm sure a traditional bass tone would sound pretty bad. No flames. Just making an observation. I couldn't work with a tone like his either, but I went to his camp and spent a week with him. If you walked up to him and told him you didn't like his tone, he would probably say "That's great. I WANT you to find your OWN voice on your instrument." Just an awesome guy. And he really doesn't want a bunch of Victor wannabees running around. He would probably dig hearing you play bass as much as most people dig him.
 
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#6
two fingers said:
He plays VERY light strings. And with all of the chords and melodic stuff he does, I'm sure a traditional bass tone would sound pretty bad. No flames. Just making an observation. I couldn't work with a tone like his either, but I went to his camp and spent a week with him. If you walked up to him and told him you didn't like his tone, he would probably say "That's great. I WANT you to find your OWN voice on your instrument." Just an awesome guy. And he really doesn't want a bunch of Victor wannabees running around. He would probably dig hearing you play bass as much as most people dig him.
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That's the nicest thing I've read in a while. I hope Victor sees it.
 
#10
I've seen these guys like Wooten in the past.These guys are really coming from somewhere ele. Maybe another planet or other dimension.

I wonder how stable he is mentally. Most guys that are as talented as he is are usually missing a few screws.
 
#11
Sorry...gotta agree with the OP, his tone isn't necessarily something to write home about.

But I will say that discussing tone can be like men discussing their taste in women. Most of us find similar things attractive, and other things most of us will generally consider unattractive. However, when it boils down to it, it's about what the beholder sees beauty as. Most artists on Victor's level probably want a "signature" tone so that you can tell its them just by listening. Sorta like you can tell it's Marcus Miller playing on "Thighs High" with Tom Browne.
 
#12
bluewine said:
I've seen these guys like Wooten in the past.These guys are really coming from somewhere ele. Maybe another planet or other dimension.

I wonder how stable he is mentally. Most guys that are as talented as he is are usually missing a few screws.
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Actually, he and his family are among the most down to earth people I have ever met. Great wife and kids. His mother is one of the coolest ladies I ever had the pleasure to meet. He and all of his brothers are nice to fans, and each other. They seem like the kind of people you would want as neighbors.
 
#14
In general, I don't like the thin, quasi-trombone-like tone of a lot of soloing bassists. Copping this kind of tone facilitates this type of playing and better communicates its more melodic nature, but give me a fat supportive tone any day. Of course, with guys like Victor, I"m simply an admirer of his very original voice but have absolutely NO desire to play like him or sound like him.
 
#17
bluewine said:
I've seen these guys like Wooten in the past.These guys are really coming from somewhere ele. Maybe another planet or other dimension.

I wonder how stable he is mentally. Most guys that are as talented as he is are usually missing a few screws.
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Seriously? :rollno:

It's fine not to dig his tone, it's even fine not to dig his playing or music. But do you really have to go talking about the mental health of a guy you've never met, based on the fact that he plays a certain way and you don't dig his tone (to say nothing of the fact that he's widely considered to be one of the most humble, down to earth guys you're bound to meet)?

:hmm:
 
#19
7StringBassist said:
Great Bassist Horrible tone. It sounded as if there was no balls to his sound when I heard his live material Id hate to be a flamer but, I seriously had to get this off my chest.

Stated before, he is a amazing player not to be a nay sayer on his talent but just his tone and I'm very unimpressed coming from a 5K bass :hiding:[/QUOTE

Whilst I am no fan of VW and don't particularly like his tone either , I would never in the world have started a thread about it, as it has no relevance for me whatsoever.

His tone however doesn't have to appeal to everyone.
He seems to like it and for what he does it works, I think.:)

As to the comments made by bluewine...quite useless really, no?

A bit like burn threads in general IMO
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#20
7StringBassist said:
Great Bassist Horrible tone. It sounded as if there was no balls to his sound when I heard his live material Id hate to be a flamer but, I seriously had to get this off my chest.

Stated before, he is a amazing player not to be a nay sayer on his talent but just his tone and I'm very unimpressed coming from a 5K bass :hiding:
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How dare you have a personal preference? Don't you understand that you need to conform to the rest of our expectations and opinions? Now let's all tell you what a bad opinion you have and what a naughty thing you've done.

:rolleyes::eyebrow: This is why Talkbass went down the drain.
 

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