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One Trick Pony

#41
Funk 'N' Stein said:
1) The gentleman is not raving...he articulates his point of view very well

2)I would argue that there has never been a bass invented which can produce a bass tone which records better than a P bass (im not a P player BTW). As a listener and player of 25 yrs + exp I am struggling to think of an instrument which produces a tone which could be classed as being "far beyond" that of a P bass.
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Well Mr. Subjective...

And I do think that there are basses which are one trick ponies. For example a Warwick, although you CAN get many tones out of it, you're not escaping the overall warwick tone. I own a warwick. I love it. But it's always going to have that warwick growl. The one trick, so to say, its the one warwick tone that you're getting. It can have alot of bass, or alot of treble, but no matter what, it's always going to have alot of growl.
 
#42
Munjibunga said:
Weak. A typical apologist's point of view. Your ravings imply that the P-bass tone is the only tone worth having and that basses with the capability to produce tones far beyond that are adding something "not meaningful" to the mix. The fact is that Jazz basses are used on stage and in the studio much more often than P-basses, and I've never heard anyone refer to a J bass as an OTP.
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Well, if you thought that I "implied" that the P-bass tone is the only one worth having then you have misunderstood my post. You read(I stated) that I DO NOT EVEN OWN A P-BASS, yet found no implications from that statement, although I could understand how you may have thought my ravings an expression of P-GAS. I've never been a multi-bass kind of guy and a P just isn't flexible enough for what I need.
My main goal was to get across my opinion that what limits a P-bass is also what makes it ideal for many situations, this seemed relevant as we were discussing the limitations of such basses. I never stated that a P-bass was MORE FREQUENTLY recorded or used than any other instruments, just that P's see alot of action and have been now for some time, but we all know that.
Perhaps you felt that you could better make your point by quoting and/or debating my statements, I'll take that as a positive as perhaps I am adding meaningfull information to the discussion(right OR wrong) but I don't think what I said was "WEAK" and I don't consider myself an "APOLOGIST".
 
#43
Funk 'N' Stein said:
1) The gentleman is not raving...he articulates his point of view very well

2)I would argue that there has never been a bass invented which can produce a bass tone which records better than a P bass (im not a P player BTW). As a listener and player of 25 yrs + exp I am struggling to think of an instrument which produces a tone which could be classed as being "far beyond" that of a P bass.

3) I would say that 90% of tunes ever cut with electric bass have been cut with a P Bass.
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Well, arguing #2 with you would be pointless, but to my ears, there are lots of bass tones that I prefer to a P. And #2 and #3 have nothing to do with whether it's a one-trick pony or not. I don't think P's are one-trick ponies, but I do think there are more versatile and better sounding basses out there (again, to my ears). I would guess that when most people think of what a bass guitar sounds like, they think of the Precision tone. But common isn't necessarily the same as best, and I think that other basses can approximate that tone in a mix anyway. I also don't think versatility has to be a trade-off to having a really good tone.

jmho, etc.,
Marshall
 
#44
i'm still lost - why would anyone want an instrument that didn't have an underlying timbral personality? isn't that sort of what makes an instrument good? call me a luddite, but i'd rather have a distinctively voiced instrument (whether fender, ric, gibson, etc etc) than all the bass modelers (i'm looking at you, variax) or ultra versatile onboard pre's in the world.
 
#45
narcopolo said:
i'm still lost - why would anyone want an instrument that didn't have an underlying timbral personality? isn't that sort of what makes an instrument good? call me a luddite, but i'd rather have a distinctively voiced instrument (whether fender, ric, gibson, etc etc) than all the bass modelers (i'm looking at you, variax) or ultra versatile onboard pre's in the world.
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Why would you think that having say a second pickup and an onboard eq translates to not having a "personality"? I sure don't think that...Foderas, Laklands, G&Ls, EBMMs, Ritters, Alembics, Wals, etc. all have personality to me. That's not to say I don't like Fenders, Rics, and Gibsons (well Tbirds anyway). Basses, like bassplayers can have a "sound" or a "personality". I have no experience with modelers so I can't comment on that.

Extra pickups/active eq/pickup switching does not equal bad tone or lack of personality...why are some people making that leap? You can have a P bass that sounds bad just like you can have a bass with tons of bells and whistles that sounds bad.

Marshall
 
#47
When I want a Rick sound, I use a Rick. When I want a 12 string bass sound I use a 12 string bass. What's wrong with that? I don't want a Rick that sounds like a 12 string, or a Fender that sounds like a Thunderbird. Makes no sense to me!! Just buy all the basses you need that get the sound you want!!
 
#49
Blackbird said:
One sound that works is better than 15 sounds that don't.

I've often wondered how much bass tweaking these multi-trick pony basses have to do...
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Yeah, it's kind of a dangerous thing for me to have something with too much versatility. I'll be endlessly tweaking things thinking to myself "well, what if I use more of the neck pickup, just a smidge of the piezo, a little treble boost... oh wait, make that more BRIDGE pickup, and no piezo... wait, less mids... no wait, more bass, less neck pickup..." I'm a chronic tweaker though, others obviously find it easier to zoom in on a particular sound and just stick with it for better or worse. ;)

But it's never bothered me if a bass guitar has "one" sound. A piano has "one" sound. An acoustic guitar has "one" sound.
 
#51
Funk 'N' Stein said:
No...its only an opinion based on prior experience and conversations had with pro bassists. I never mentioned that it was factual.

BTW...you cant 'make up' facts; they either are...or they are'nt. enjoy your day
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An unfounded, anecdotal opinion, at that.

Contrariwise, made-up facts are a valid argumentative tool, provided they appear to be credible. Your made-up fact, unfortunately, is not credible, and therefore invalid.
 
#54
I can't believe this topic is constantly discussed over and over again. the average public listener can't tell the difference between a p, j or MM. Its time to be realistic, all this talk of tone is irrelevent to the majority of the public that listen to music. What i mean is do you care if the electrician uses a bosch or a makita power drill? you couldn't care less as long as he/she gets the job done. Same thing with bass, its only the musicians that give damn usually... so stop arguing about moot points and start makin' some grooves that people like listening to... :bassist: :)
 
#56
Personally, I like to be able to get as many tones from one bass as I can, as long as they're all what I would call 'usable'. It's one of the reasons I love the variax bass so much, cause it has a whooole lot of tones, and it actually does them pretty well.

That said, it's no substitute for the 'real deal'. If you want that Rick growl, it's best to use a Rick rather than trying to duplicate it.

I think the thing is that 'one trick pony' doesn't mean the same thin to everybody. I'd call a jazz bass a one trick pony, because it'll always sound like a jazz. No matter how you alter your tone, whether with your hands or equipment, it's still gonna have the defining characteristics of a jazz.

So is a 'one trick pony' a bad thing? Nope, not unless that one trick doesn't suit you.
 
#57
A bass is a piece of wood with some strings, pickups and other inanimate objects. If no one picks up that bass, plugs it into an amp and attempts to play something, that piece of wood just sits there and does NOTHING. It has no personality, no tone, and it most definitely cannot do tricks. Therefore, it cannot be an OTP.
Being a P-bass owner and player (my favorite bass) I can assure you that you can get all kinds of different tones from it depending on knob settings, picking/plucking style and or location, strings, effects, amp, room acoustics, whatever.
 
#58
ras1983 said:
I can't believe this topic is constantly discussed over and over again. the average public listener can't tell the difference between a p, j or MM. Its time to be realistic, all this talk of tone is irrelevent to the majority of the public that listen to music. What i mean is do you care if the electrician uses a bosch or a makita power drill? you couldn't care less as long as he/she gets the job done. Same thing with bass, its only the musicians that give damn usually... so stop arguing about moot points and start makin' some grooves that people like listening to... :bassist: :)
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++1
 
#59
Blackbird said:
Good to know.

I'm in SF. Let me know when's your next gig.:)
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Off topic, but I quit my band and just had my last gig with them on Labor Day weekend. We were gigging regularly but I wasn't that into it musically, wasn't having fun with the other people, and have some important things on the horizon for myself and my household...

But there should be a North California GTG sometime!

the no-trick player,
Marshall :)
 

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