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Thunderbird Club

#290,621
TBird1958 said:
I do pay attention to what the original bass tone of the song and within some reason I do try to do that too. I just try to keep it simple, once we sound check I do not touch my amp at all, any variation in tone is going to come from using/not using a pick or my fingers, or backing one of the pickups off to favor the other one. I.E. Billy Idol "White Wedding" is all with a pick and the neck pickup, Duran Duran "Hungry like the Wolf" All fingers and the neck pickup backed off slightly so as to favor the bridge and get that tight, slightly nasal JT tone.
Does anyone notice? Most of the time I don't think so, my bandmates don't, with the possible exception of our drummer.
It is like all those bad memes that you see, nobody even kind of understands what I do, and even when I stop they still don't really get it.

9lSa25n.jpg
Click to expand...
Is that your rig, Trace and SWR?
 
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#290,623
TBird1958 said:
I do pay attention to what the original bass tone of the song and within some reason I do try to do that too. I just try to keep it simple, once we sound check I do not touch my amp at all, any variation in tone is going to come from using/not using a pick or my fingers, or backing one of the pickups off to favor the other one. I.E. Billy Idol "White Wedding" is all with a pick and the neck pickup, Duran Duran "Hungry like the Wolf" All fingers and the neck pickup backed off slightly so as to favor the bridge and get that tight, slightly nasal JT tone.
Does anyone notice? Most of the time I don't think so, my bandmates don't, with the possible exception of our drummer.
It is like all those bad memes that you see, nobody even kind of understands what I do, and even when I stop they still don't really get it.

9lSa25n.jpg
Click to expand...
Start playing an upright an everyone notice the tone. I suppose they hear with their eyes a bit.
 
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#290,624
Gaolee said:
A Jazz can sound good. I'll happily admit that. I also find that they can be about the worst sounding bass possible at times as well. There are some nasal, whiny, murky light green pond scum sounds that come out of a Jazz that I just can't stand. When a Jazz tries to be midrangy, it fails miserably. A Jazz can be great at barking and being scooped. I think a Thunderbird does both of those better, but that's probably normal around here.

And it's why I don't have a Jazz and never will. That's one (or a dozen) more for other people who can put them to good use.
Click to expand...
 
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#290,625
Thumper said:
I've played on and off with my current band for 25 years, played over 30 basses. I've asked about basses I've bought, the answer always is you always sound like you.
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I have been told to "get that thing under control" a few times. New stainless rounds and a bit of enthusiasm can get pretty aggressive. Well, gosh. I was just having fun.
 
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#290,628
Ringhammer said:
As my guitarist occasionally remind me, “no one listens to the bass”

I have throughout my life tried to get people the put a little effort into following the bass line when listening to music, (mostly referring to hard rock and metal), since in most cases, the drums guitar and vox are always up in the mix, you can’t “not” hear those, but bass sometimes requires a little effort to pull out of the mix. Once you’ve tuned into the bass, then you are hearing everything.
Click to expand...

Here's a song where the bass is doing very cool and necessary parts (non-groove oriented) that unless you listen for it, it just provides what it needs to do rather stealthily but effectively. Granted it was the theme-song for the British TV show The Prisoner, but follow the bass - it does some really cool stuff. This is not the TV show recording - but by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra which makes the (electric) bass more clear. It's actually a great version as the TV show one is pretty muddy sounding.

 
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#290,634
DJ Bebop said:
Is that your rig, Trace and SWR?
Click to expand...

Yup! I love it! The Trace Elliott is only 250 watts, love its tone and how it EQs, the SWR cab is voiced so nice and I find it easy to move, better than either an 8x10 or 4x10.
 
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#290,637
TBird1958 said:
I do pay attention to what the original bass tone of the song and within some reason I do try to do that too. I just try to keep it simple, once we sound check I do not touch my amp at all, any variation in tone is going to come from using/not using a pick or my fingers, or backing one of the pickups off to favor the other one. I.E. Billy Idol "White Wedding" is all with a pick and the neck pickup, Duran Duran "Hungry like the Wolf" All fingers and the neck pickup backed off slightly so as to favor the bridge and get that tight, slightly nasal JT tone.
Does anyone notice? Most of the time I don't think so, my bandmates don't, with the possible exception of our drummer.
It is like all those bad memes that you see, nobody even kind of understands what I do, and even when I stop they still don't really get it.

9lSa25n.jpg
Click to expand...
In the late 90s/early 00s I was playing a dance gig for an older(roughly my age-and up-now)crowd. A man said to me "I know that's not a guitar, but what exactly do you do?" I asked where he was sitting; he showed me, and I told him "I'll catch your eye and I'll stop playing for a few seconds, then start again"(I told the other guys what I was gonna do). I laid out for ~6 beats on a rhumba. The look on the man's face told me he 'got it'.

I think we should strive for the tone we want to put forth, but not be obsessive about it 'cos, as you say, most people don't notice it. Unless you screw up. And even then, it'd have to be pretty obvious for most people to notice. And they generally wouldn't be able to say what was wrong.

I pretty much go by Donnie's expression: BASS-the original "surround sound". I aim to be felt as much as heard.
 
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