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Sound vs. Playability

H

Hawkguy

Oct 16, 2005
20
0
#1
Okay, so let's say you had to choose between a bass whose sound puts (insert favorite player) to shame, BUT makes a baseball bat with rubber bands seem like a step up,

OR

a bass that is so buttery, it practically plays itself, BUT whose sound lands between a McDonald's drive-thru speaker and Charlie Brown's teacher.

Which one would it be, and why? :confused:
 
#12
It depends upon the application. If I'm going to be thumping out basic 8th note rock, I'll take the tone. I can listen to the simplest bass lines all day if the tone is sweet enough.

If I'm going to play something more technical I'd rather have the playability & I can tweak the sound enough to make it fit.

Bah, send 'em both to me . . .
 
#13
Neck first, tone second. When I first try out a bass, I set EVERYTHING on the amp flat, vols on bass all the way up, and I then play a note and roll the tone back and forth as I pick to make sure I have a nice range. This tells me all I need to know about the electronics of the bass. The rest is dependant on the room as set by the amp settings.

Ps- I try and use Ampeg amps and cabs as I KNOW that tone for comparison's sake.
 
#14
Playability.

Its why I still love my '90 SR800. The fact that lots of folks seem to love its tone helps.

Although... I just got my first fretless, which is just a cheap SVM, and the tone is great to my ears, and playability is just as nice - better, actually, because the action is slightly lower.

The bongo is supposed to have great tone (according to a lot of ears here, anyways) but it feels and sounds mediocre to me. Just not my bag, I guess.
 
#15
khaspir said:
The bongo is supposed to have great tone (according to a lot of ears here, anyways) but it feels and sounds mediocre to me. Just not my bag, I guess.
Click to expand...

My first impression with the Bongo wasn't great, although it was a GC experience. Once I got more familiar with the EQ I found a few great tones in that bass. Especially when playing the the 2 mid controls. Ultimately, it was not the tone I wanted/needed, but they do sound good. They also play VERY well IMO.
 
#16
Thunder_Fingers said:
Pickups can be changed.. Playability wins.

dont give me the "but they are formed so there are no replacement pickups" I can buy custom pickups :p
Click to expand...

My sentiments exactly!

4Mal said:
this is what luthiers are made for ... why on earth settle for either. That's just stupid ...
Click to expand...

Heh, you get extremely good sound and extremely good playability. That's why they're worth the price!
 
#18
Hawkguy said:
Okay, so let's say you had to choose between a bass whose sound puts (insert favorite player) to shame, BUT makes a baseball bat with rubber bands seem like a step up,

OR

a bass that is so buttery, it practically plays itself, BUT whose sound lands between a McDonald's drive-thru speaker and Charlie Brown's teacher.

Which one would it be, and why? :confused:
Click to expand...

Please don't make me choose. :ninja: :rollno: :scowl:
 
#20
Both sound and playability are pretty flexible most of the time, so it kind of depends on exactly what the problems are. I'm willing to suffer a 13 pound bass to get a good tone (though the neck is ideal), and weight is hard to remove. I kinda doubt a $300 preamp will rescue a $75 bass. So, as it always is with questions like this, it all depends.
 

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