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Quick question on tone

volerium

volerium

Guest
May 21, 2012
292
315
43
Wichita, KS
#1
I have two basses and prefer the feel of one but the sound of the other. And I'm not talking about pickups or amps or any of that. Just playing both of them right now unplugged I very clearly prefer one over the other.

Is that sound just the strings? The only other factor I could think of was wood..

The one bass has year old Ernie ball power slinkies 110 - 55

and the other bass has newish Dean Markley Blue steel 105 -50.

Anyways, I wanted to make them sound alike so would changing strings be the way to go or are two different basses just going to sound different no matter what.
 
#2
Well, there's going to be a huge difference between a new set of strings and an old set of strings. Some basses will sound similar but simply changing the strings won't make two basses sound exactly identical, particularly if they're two different models.
 
#3
I use Power Slinkys religiously, but they're a regular must-change if you're gigging. I change mine once every month if I'm rehearsing a lot. They're one of the quicker strings to exhaust but they have the best tone I've found for the C tuning range. You take the good with the bad.

I wouldn't touch Dean Markley's with a 10 foot pole, but I would not be surprised to hear you say they're on the better sounding bass. Those year-old Ernies probably don't sound much better than rubber bands by this point.

If you're not plugged in you're really only hearing the strings. If you lay your head to the instrument though you'll hear the tone of the wood.
 
#4
Strings make up for a lot of the sound, but acoustic properties of the bass (wood, construction) also play a great roll, especially when you are playing it unplugged.
Making the two basses sound identical is not very realistic. The only variables you have to play with are the strings (the bass being unplugged).
 
#6
Ok. I just wanted some answers if anyone else thought a string change would get me close. The basses are a ric with the dean markleys on it and a p bass copy with the old power slinkys. I didn't want to say what the basses were initially because I just wanted to focus on the string idea as far as tone.
The thing is that I really love the sound and feel of the old dead power slinkys. The bass is set up in D and even unplugged it has a real big sound to it, perfect for a doom or whatever. Hard to describe but it's a real thick sound that can't be missed. Whereas what I'm getting out of the ric tuned in E is almost like a guitar.

I've told several people how I prefer the sound of old strings and they had mentioned I try flats.

Keep in mind I am not talking about either of these basses plugged in. I know exactly what to expect from them at that point, difference in pickups and so on.
 
#7
i can see that, and the new strings on the Ric are surely playing a part in the "guitar" sound, it would change also with more dead strings. It does sound like you prefer a flat type sound, but that is a difficult area as well and takes some experimentation to find a flat you like. Run the dead strings on it as long as you can before intonation and just plain ole crappy sound take over. Flats will, I believe, stay on longer than rounds, but there are cats out there playing extremely old rounds successfully. Also consider some of the inbetween strings when and if you have to change them out, like Ken Smith Compressors or GHS Pressure wounds. They are kinda a meet in the middle of the road type sound. Good luck
 
#8
So, so, so many variables. You could certainly focus on experimenting with strings, but I think you'll find that a P-bass (or a P-bass copy) and a Ric are very different animals, even with the same strings on them. They're both very cool animals, but it's unlikely you'll ever get them to sound or feel similar to each other.
 
#12
All good points.

This all started with my buying a bass at a pawn shop. That's how it started and I've had it for a few years now and I love everything about it. It's an Abilene P bass, light colored wood, no pick guard. Doesn't look special but the tone is killer. But everyone's always riding me about how it's a starter bass, no name bass blah blah blah. So I tried a few more... eventually bought a ric sight unseen and now I get all sorts of people ooohing and awwing over it- not even kidding, when I took it to the guitar shop two people commented on it like wow! when I took it out of the case- but I'm really in love with the tone of that Abilene. Guy I was taking lessons from said it was just because it was my first bass and I don't know what a nice bass should really be like.

The ric is certainly a looker and feels about as nice as anything could. I was just wanting to give it the same kind of boomy thump I hear out of my old bass. But having different tones in different basses is certainly a plus rather than a hindrance so I'm not complaining.
 
#13
volerium said:
All good points.

This all started with my buying a bass at a pawn shop. That's how it started and I've had it for a few years now and I love everything about it. It's an Abilene P bass, light colored wood, no pick guard. Doesn't look special but the tone is killer. But everyone's always riding me about how it's a starter bass, no name bass blah blah blah. So I tried a few more... eventually bought a ric sight unseen and now I get all sorts of people ooohing and awwing over it- not even kidding, when I took it to the guitar shop two people commented on it like wow! when I took it out of the case- but I'm really in love with the tone of that Abilene. Guy I was taking lessons from said it was just because it was my first bass and I don't know what a nice bass should really be like.

The ric is certainly a looker and feels about as nice as anything could. I was just wanting to give it the same kind of boomy thump I hear out of my old bass. But having different tones in different basses is certainly a plus rather than a hindrance so I'm not complaining.
Click to expand...

Dunno about the "first bass" thing. I didn't like my first bass at all - a '65 P bass.
 

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