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Tone or Technique : most important for you?

Tone or technique ?

  • Tone

    Votes: 136 50.4%
  • Technique

    Votes: 134 49.6%

  • Total voters
    270
Salut all

Another silly poll, we all like them

Most important factor for you, bass players : a GREAT TONE or an IMPRESSIVE TECHNIQUE ?

We speak about what can make you like another bass player, or what you work the most, etc

I know the tone is linked to technique and technique linked to tone , but be serious!

Myself I appreciate better a player with super tone, than super technique.
I am also more proud of my tone than my technique and put more effort into it.
As an example :
I prefer spending time and effort crafting a tone through pedals and researchs and way of playing than spending time learning how to noodle as super fast slapitislapito pop or horse run at 180 bpm


And you ?

EDIT :
YES we all know that someone who plays super great in terms of skills can achieve a great tone.
But I can tell you that a lot of people that plays with a good level can sound like s*** and can have a random tone that no one cares.


For me , the tone option means : working your tone, choosing your gear ( pickups preamp pedals strings amp etc ) , searching for a specific tone, working on that and not just some random " plug and play"
For me the technique option means : working on your skill, knowing super secret ninja fingers tricks, be quick to play, having a super groove , showing your death playing


So the question is more :
What interests you more between both ?
What makes you say "wow"
What are you the most proud of?

Do you prefer a basic player who KNOWS how to play but has an identifiable killer tone or a show-off player that kills everything but sounds like everybody random tone ?


C'mon guys not just the basic answer " One leads to the other " because it is not the point and also it is not always true
Voted for Tone:bassist:
 
Oh, these tortured explanations and divisions and how many bass players can groove on the head of a pin!!!

Good technique makes grooving and achieving good tone, and making good note choices, and everything else exponentially easier. The whole point of good technique is to make it easier to play so you can concentrate on making good music, not on how to play a passage or achieve good tone. Good technique puts the mechanics of playing on auto pilot so you have one less thing to think about. Why would anyone want to make it harder on themselves???
YES we all know that someone who plays super great in terms of skills can achieve a great tone.
But I can tell you that a lot of people that plays with a good level can sound like s*** and can have a random tone that no one cares.
Sorry, but I don't believe this at all. A LOT???? You know that A LOT of people that have good technique and sound like s***????? I know you are trying to make a point, but please keep it real.
 
Last edited:
As an example
I prefer spending time and effort crafting a tone through pedals and researchs and way of playing than spending time learning how to noodle as super fast slapitislapito pop or horse run as 180 bpm
Ah, the fallacy of either-or. If you believe that “tone” is in the equipment you buy (or, sometimes, build) and that “technique” is about speed and that one can be more important than the other then you are one among the millions who keep the factories humming with new stuff to show at NAMM.

Equipment and speed are parts of the whole but not the be-all and end-all. Nor should anyone spend time ranking them in a hierarchy of “importance.” What’s genuinely important to work on is the elements of music you don’t yet do well or even know about. You will rarely stand out or be an interesting player by doing what nearly everyone else is doing.

Music is a journey, not a destination.
 
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Ah, the fallacy of either-or. If you believe that “tone” is in the equipment you buy (or, sometimes, build) and that “technique” is about speed and that one can be more important than the other then you are one among the millions who keep the factories humming with new stuff to show at NAMM.

Equipment and speed are parts of the whole but not the be-all and end-all. Nor should anyone spend time ranking them in a hierarchy of “importance.” What’s genuinely important to work on is the elements of music you don’t yet do well or even know about. You will rarely stand out or be an interesting player by doing what nearly everyone else is doing.

Music is a journey, not a destination.

Well about gear I can affirm that yes I need gear to have the tube amp + rick tone I like and I want but I see the point
 
I think a more important question would be- Groove, or Technique.
A great simple groove beats a handful of notes with no soul.
Respectfully, this is also a false dichotomy. I rarely see a player with a great groove that has bad technique and I rarely see a player with bad technique that has any groove. No one is saying you have to have a Master's Degree in performance from Julliard, but it is just a fact having the ability to put your playing on auto pilot improves your musicality. If you want to be a well rounded player you should have good technique, good tone, good groove and good knowledge of theory. There is no need to settle for less.
 
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Technique begets tone? I tend to agree, but the OP's description of technique (and yes, I voted technique) isn't what I'm after. For me groove, then note choice in context of the song, is more important than flash, the newest blazing technique or slap/pop/double thump/pop, etc.

That said, I'd rather be in the groove as a player and propel a song with mediocre tone, then the obverse. Good technique begets good tone? IMHO, yes.

...

Likewise. I think the OP is confusing technique for speed and flash. Both of these things can be faked or learned parrot fashion. Or they can the result of consistent practice of good technique, as you discovered. I bet after all that practice you did playing rests you can play a whole 10BPM faster without even trying...
 
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Well I prefer being a B+ player with a great tone, worked with love and pain to find the perfect alchemy between hands, gear, personality, than being a A+ player ( who can play things considered as harder to play ) with a random OK tone

This is how I see the answers of this poll
Putting more effort into how we sound vs how we play
Well kind of
Hard To explain

You understand
Maybe
 
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Technique before tone for me and it rarely has to do with 180 BPM or flashy slapping. Some of the best players I've seen show up to live gigs with mediocre gear, leave the slapping at home and do their job just fine. Sure, when both come together it's great but the best sounding gear in the hands of a buffoon will still be un-enjoyable.
 
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