The futility of tone chasing

[SoulReflection]

I told a paint store I needed a gallon in an exact match to a Pantone number. They laughed at me.

Great analogy there! The paint store would be correct in asking, "With whose eyes?". Just like a music store about tone would ask, "With whose ears?".

 

[TyBo]

If one needs some very particular set of electronics to sound like oneself, I would argue that one is more technician than musician

Beyond being audible and balanced in the ensemble, I have no idea what "tone" even means. No amount of signal chain gadgetry can make up for tasteful note choice with good articulation.

I've related here on other occasions Brian Setzer's description of playing Stevie Ray Vaughan's Strat, when they were on the same bill somewhere. Said it didn't make him sound like SRV, still mostly sounded like himself ...
HOWEVER, he went on to add that in order to really sound like "Brian Setzer" he needed his classic Gretch archtop, his early 60's Bassman amp and cab, and his Space Echo.
So, that stuff makes a difference, regardless of "all in the fingers"declarations. It all matters, that's all.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

Many of us are willing to go to great trouble and expense to find "that tone". Basses, amps, cabs, effects, strings - the list goes on. But how important is it really, and how realistic a goal is it?

I worked for a long time in the advertising and print industry, and I remember a repro guy who had been in the business for decades once telling me: "there's no such thing as accurate color reproduction". What he meant by that is that you can get in the ballpark, maybe even very close if you have total control of every aspect of the process, but that it was impossible to get it perfectly right every time, and there will always be variables that affect the result in various ways.

I've often reflected over the fact that bass playing is very similar. No matter how much we try to find the perfect tone, it really only gets us in the ballpark. As soon as we play live somewhere everything is pretty much out the window, because there are simply too many variables, and many of them are completely outside our control (this is of course a little different in a recording studio).

I actually don't mind too much. I'm quite happy if I can get my tone roughly where I want it to be, and I personally believe that the ability to get it 80-90% right in most settings is more important than chasing the last 10-20%, which I probably won't achieve anyway, and the audience won't care if I do. But I also realize that there are horses for courses here, and that YMM will, to some extent, V.

So is it crucial for you to have the tone exactly right, or do you adopt a more freewheeling attitude?

Chasing tone(s) is not futile if you find the tone(s) you are chasing. In my case, I knew the tone(s) I wanted to hear, I just didn't know how to achieve those tone(s). After playing for about 10 years, I started figuring out how to get closer to the tone(s) in certain rooms / locations. In a few more years I discovered I probably couldn't achieve some tones with the gear / instruments I owned but I could get very close to other tones. I finally ended up with a little more gear, a couple more basses, and A LOT of additional knowledge that gets me close in most situations.

Another thing that happens; a new unique tone comes along that requires something specific to achieve. If you want that tone, it usually requires that specific something. That's usually where I try to get reasonably close with the gear & ability I have and call it good enough. The upside to playing for a very long time is that I know how to get reasonably close…..

 

[Chickenwheels]

Sometimes using a particular instrument will help you get a better sound with any instrument. Gigging a Wal has altered my sound expectations and changed the way I dial in my other basses. Touch, placement and technique with hands is vital.

 

[Dincrest]

I used to chase after "the" tone in my youth (we hear our heroes and think, "THAT is what I wanna sound like!", but as I matured I stopped doing that and started working to improve "my" tone (through improving my playing technique). The way I curve my fingers, pluck the strings, my body physiology... someone else could replicate my gear exactly and not sound like me because they physically aren't me.

No matter what bass I pick up, I always sound like myself. And when someone else picks up one of my basses, they sound like them.

My bass playing is a reflection of me. I can't be anyone other than myself, but I can always work to be my best self.

 

[Kaplan]

The right tone inspires me and I play better. So it's essential for me.

 

[TyBo]

@JakobT

Plato, the philosopher of antiquity, is famous for exactly this reason. He proposed the so-called "theory of ideas", according to which there's the idea of a thing and there's the actual thing, which is a simulacrum of its idea. The actual thing will never reach the utter perfection of the corresponding idea. The maker of the existing thing can only try to get as close to the idea but will never get there. The more one becomes a philosopher (i.e. gets to know about things), the closer one will get to the ideas of things but even s/he will never reach them. Critics, like Friedrich Nietzsche, call this school of philosophy "dualism" because it introduces a division between two worlds: the world of eternal ideas and the mundane world of mortal existence, where the latter is doomed to forever strive to reach the former, which, alas, is a priori unattainable. The great drama, the tragedy I say, of western thought.

Ah, Plato. I remember him from my philosophy classes in school. His concept of the Idea vs. the thing in reality kind of coincides with some of my own experience with instruments. (I realize this is not quite exactly what Plato had in mind, but hey, " ... on a roll, just go with it ... " ) Part of my pursuit in that area has been with putting instruments together from various parts, trying to get particular sound and playing qualities.

So I have The Idea in mind, then the reality takes shape ... which often falls short. But not always. On a couple of occasions, the final result has exceeded my expectations, the original Idea ... and left me happy for days and days! And even still today. Another level achieved, Happiness! Yeah, it's worthwhile, imo.

 

[Nev375]

Since I have significant hearing loss in the upper frequencies and really bad tinnitus I have no idea what I sound like to other people anyway. Thank god I chose bass!

I just set my EQ mostly flat and roll off anything too boomy and focus on playing. I figure as long as the low end sounds clear and articulate, the high end should take care of itself.

 

[Liam Wald]

I think that it is fairly important although not critcal to the point of driving myself crazy about it.
Yes, it did take a lot of trying out various pieces of gear but I am now quite pleased with...
Lakland HB-30 or Modified Fender Mustang > Darkglass Harmonic Booster > Keeley Bassist > Broughton HPF/LPF > Mesa D-800 > two Schroeder 1x15's.
Pretty simple rig and gets really close to the tone I hear in my head.
I find it good enough and no longer chase sound.

 

[Celen]

Great topic. I think sometimes the danger is in the superlatives and the assumption that we can achieve them.

Accepting imperfection doesn't equal settling for mediocrity. We can strive to sound "great" or even "excellent", without chasing "perfect" or "best".

 

[Boundary Effect]

While I agree it is not good to get too caught up in minutiae, as a recording and mix engineer, I've observed that all the minutiae can add up across an entire production. In working on a weekly series for four years with similar demands and techniques from episode to episode, there were times a small technical change made a cascading difference through the chain. It's what is cool about performing. The next moment is formed in part by a reaction to the current moment, and so on, and so on.

 

[cataract]

aka GAS

 

[StereoPlayer]

Tone quest...it moves!

 

[bigjames]

Agreed, no matter what you set in your home practice or rehearsal space, it will always require adjustment in a live venue. Find what works for the situation and get into the "play" zone.

My experience anyway.

This. So often we read examples of people who dial in what they think is the perfect tone while sitting 3 feet from their amp with the volume at 3 (out of 10) in their bedrooms. They take their rig to the live venue and don't understand why it sounds like mud. Also, it is difficult (to near impossible) to dial in a great tone for space from the stage next to your amp. This is why good FOH engineers are so important.

Funny story. I was playing my Fbass AC6 at a live venue; ampless stage with individual monitor wedges...I was getting right into the song and had a perfect spot for a bass break. Crossed to the high C string (around 9th or 11th fret I think) for a descending lick...hit the note confidently, let it sing a little...and it sounded ATROCIOUS to me. Grating. Almost...brittle? I carried through the lick confidently despite what I thought was a horrendous start. Later I listened to the audio recording...the same signal that the audience heard. Waiting for my ear splitting riff...Boom. The note sounded absolutely majestic in the house. This moment completely reframed my perspective on FOH vs. stage and what bass tone is going to sound like up close to sound good in the room. They are seldom as aligned as one might think.

 

[chadds]

Agree with several comments in this thread.

Here's my log for the fire -- chasing great tone is futile because THERE ARE SO MANY GREAT TONES TO CHASE. For example...

1. Marcus Miller's hands + Sadowsky preamp
2. Will Lee on various Sadowky basses while on Letterman's CBS show
3. Jason Newsted on Garage Days Re-revisited
4. Geddy Lee with a Wal bass from Hold Your Fire
5. Justin Chancellor with a Wal bass from many Tool albums
6. Steve Harris with his Ps on just about anything
7. J.V. Collier with various basses on just about anything
8. Duck Dunn with his Ps on just about anything
9. Jaco's hands + his fretless
10. Eddie Jackson + Spector NS-2 on Operation:Mindcrime and Empire

I could keep going all day.

I'm the best at sounding like me. That has taken years of loving care and playing live a lot to do. I get better at it every time I play.

Coincidently I've been hired studio, stage, to join groups, by others who join me all based on me sounding like me.

No one has asked me to sound like anyone else. So I'm riding this horse into the sunset.

 

[logdrum]

So is it crucial for you to have the tone exactly right, or do you adopt a more freewheeling attitude?

I am the later

 

[Mike in MI]

I've spent a lot of time tone chasing - doing a lot of what has been discussed here already. Maybe it's just me, but I've gradually come to realize that if I'm getting in the ballpark of the tone I'm chasing, and I really bond with a particular bass/rig/pedal/mojo combination, the tone I'm getting gradually becomes the tone I've been pursuing. Maybe I'm just easy to please and I have low expectations.

 

[MrDinsdale]

When i first started id pick up any bass and didn't care what amp i was playing through. As my playing and technique developed so did my ear for tone.

I sound like me (for better or worse) what ever gear I'm playing but in my current band, if I don't have at least my Schecter J4 and EAE Longsword it's instantly noticeable something is missing to me and the rest of the band.

Theres more important things than tweaking gear but knowing what frequencies to push and what kind of drives help you get a specific sound is a great skill. It's less about expense and more about the right tool for the job.

 

[drumvsbass]

The only tone worth chasing, is the one in your own head.

 

[Isaac_James]

I'm the best at sounding like me. That has taken years of loving care and playing live a lot to do. I get better at it every time I play.

Coincidently I've been hired studio, stage, to join groups, by others who join me all based on me sounding like me.

No one has asked me to sound like anyone else. So I'm riding this horse into the sunset.

One of the best pieces of advice I've ever seen was given to someone who asked how they could be more like another person they admired. The response was that they should try being more like themselves, because nobody else in the world was as good at that as they are. Kind of corny but I like it.