Tone or Style?

[Deleted member 365158]

I like my tone to have some style,
I like my style to have good tone.

 

[Rabidhamster]

which is more important? is there a difference?

i have been grappling with this question since i first started playing music. is the word "tone" what we use when we really want to describe a player's "style"? interested in others thoughts since i never really cared too much about "tone" when i played guitar. i just tried to get things sounding "like they should" and then worked on how i played the instrument. but when i started really getting into bass this word tone is thrown around here like there's no tomorrow. i feel like i'm actually just working on how i play the bass and technique and the "tone" finds itself. or really, i just know when it sounds like crap to me and i need to change something. anyone feelin me on this??

If you didn’t care about tone on guitar then why start now.


But here’s an example of tone vs style:

Listen to early live SRV recordings before he hooked up with Cesar Diaz. Then listen to his live recordings after.
He keeps the very same style but his tone improves drastically.

 

[Rib 13]

I vote carrots: Its hard to focus on one without impacting the other

 

[bassdude51]

I was frequently told "Don't use that tone with me" so I guess that leaves style.

"Don't use that tone with me"

My mom used to say that to me...............now, my wife does.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

They are both things I am constantly working on

 

[drumvsbass]

 

[JRA]

this word tone is thrown around here like there's no tomorrow. i feel like i'm actually just working on how i play the bass and technique and the "tone" finds itself. or really, i just know when it sounds like crap to me and i need to change something. anyone feelin me on this??

I think style and tone lend themselves to each other, but are two entirely different things.

Tone is what you get when you play a note, IMO. Style is what you get when you play more than one.

Bad tone is a whole lot easier to clean up than bad style.

per the OP: i feel you --- tone chasers seem to want a sound/tone (e.g., like someone else on some recording) instead of putting in the work to actually play with a "style" (e.g., like someone else on some recording)...it's as if: "finding his/her tone will make me a better player --- i'm sure of it! --- help me find that tone!" IME: free your chops (style) and the tone will follow. who can't get a useful tone out of their instrument(s)? it's an EB for gawdsakes --- they're all tone monsters!

I believe experienced bassists are probably in pursuit of a specific tone or a “better” tone. Less experienced bassists might be more focused on how they play the instrument and might not be as focused on tone.

with respect: it's been my experience that newbies go for 'the tone thing' because it's a useful avoidance of practicing in a meaningful way. newbies don't always get that "playing like jaco" has nothing to do with 'the right bridge pickup' on a J.

 

[dkelley]

Why should anyone have to choose between style or tone?

;-)

 

[fretlessman71]

This is turning out to be a 24 carrot thread.

 

[mrcbass]

IMO tone is a combination of your plucking style and your electronic signal chain.

Tone is part of your style. Style is the collective of your general approach: line construction, dynamics, busy-ness, interaction with other musicians, timing, tone, etc. If you are a well rounded player, you have many styles - or can adjust yours to properly fit the situation.

 

[drumvsbass]

Why have only ONE tone? or only ONE style for that matter. The super Justin Chancellor Tool tone won't work sonically or stylistically in a reggae band. The reverse as well, I haven't seen Bill Laswell subbing for the RHCP. Knowing how to wield many different tones is a better advantage, much like you would want to be able to play many styles. This argument seems to stem from an idea that there is an actual perfect bass tone and that somehow a bassist to be a complete musician should be able to exist in all musical situations with this perfect abstract tone. And further to that with this perfect tone should allow the player to shred like a jerk when 1/4 notes will do and not only get away with it, but be celebrated for it, have a signature bass made in their honor, statues erected in their likeness, put on the cover of the rolling stone. Ultimately, the only tone or style you really will find is your own, no matter how much of your favorite bassists gear you own, or how many of their different live recordings you can play from memory as a comparison, all of that is still filtered through your ears and your brain before it ever gets to your hands. Trust your ears, and taste, and style and tone will take care of itself if you are self critical enough. This mini rant was brought to you by nitro infused cold brew.

 

[Tim Schnautz]

The way I hear it, Pino Palladino's P-Bass one is remarkably homogenous - a lot of players have that dark, murky "flatwounds with the tone knob rolled off" tone. An astute listener knows right away when it's him on a track - not because of the tone, but because of his note choices, taste, harmonic and melodic approach, phrasing, rhythmic variety, and where he places his playing in the beat. None of that has to do with tone.

Then again, I might be missing someething, but Im sure he'd never sound like a cheap transistor radio with a tear in the speaker. None of that hast to to with style.

 

[richntiff]

Mutually exclusive. Both need a lot of attention.