Tone

[Dr Zee]

tone is relative. Everyone's is different. Everybody's tone goals are different. Tone is a combination of everything between your fingers and coming back to your ears. Everything. I'm happy to announce that after a long time of searching, I finally am producing the tone I've always heard in my head.

Yes, that's it, tone is relative
Imagine twin Bass players, one goes into outer space at relativistic speeds. He returns to earth and for him only 5 years have gone by and he really wasn't that diligent about practicing. His twin has be practicing for 40 years and now he can play rings around the his brother like he was Saturn.

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

Tone is in my home.

 

[Michedelic]

that's sad, mine is beyond stupendous

Smug much?

 

[Bass V]

Smug much?

you tell me, you didn't leave much to relate to by disagreeing with an opinion I enjoy daily

 

[JW56789]

Tone comes from you. You can buy basses till the cows come home, have a garage full of amps, these strings, those effects, colored gig socks . . . . . . . . . . and even though, sure, you'll hear some difference from axe to axe or amp to amp, it . . . . still . . . . sounds . . . . like . . . . you. As inescapable as the sun coming up in the AM.

It's your sonic fingerprint. And like fingerprints or snowflakes, each one is similar but always unique, a one of one.

 

[Greycode]

This guy?View attachment 4082845 H

Has shorter fingers on his right hand!

 

[Hypercaffium]

Tone is just an abbreviation for "tort".

 

[madjazzbass]

There is not one tone, but many tones; choose your tone(s) wisely.

 

[madjazzbass]

OR, maybe just two types of tone; tone rolled all the way off, or tone knob wide open; use both with fingers, pick, slap, palm mute etc.

 

[Polfuste]

After many years of playing ( and I mean many years of playing) I have come to believe it is in your hands, when the smoke clears the mirrors are all broken you= your tone. Don't believe this, record yourself playing clean, with chorus, with distortion or whatever you want and guess what you will still hear you in it. So learn to love what has been gifted to you because you are unique. I should write that down..........oh wait I just did

Tone comes from you. You can buy basses till the cows come home, have a garage full of amps, these strings, those effects, colored gig socks . . . . . . . . . . and even though, sure, you'll hear some difference from axe to axe or amp to amp, it . . . . still . . . . sounds . . . . like . . . . you. As inescapable as the sun coming up in the AM.

It's your sonic fingerprint. And like fingerprints or snowflakes, each one is similar but always unique, a one of one.

This and that.
I feel two things:
- Tone is the finger/soulprint from the player part
- Sound is the gear part
You can play with different sounds, basses, amp, effects, strings etc. But you can only play with one tone: yours. And that makes all of us unique. Even if the difference is not obvious, and not easy to feel. I think it's for that reason great players are immediately identifiable whatever gear they are using. When you listen too Richard Bona on different years, whatever he uses his fodera, or a jazz, or his last Markbass bass, with differents amps following time and backline, he always has the same "tone".

 

[baileyboy]

This is Tone...

 

[lfmn16]

EVERYTHING affects tone. It's just a matter of how much.

 

[Richard Martin]

A good player can make a crappy bass sound good but no amount of money will ever make a crappy player sound good. As evidence of this I submit the following video.

 

[Drucifer]

Counterpoint: It's a mystical amalgam of fingers, wood, tort, flats, HPF, weight, and carrots.

Don't forget nut width.

 

[GretschWretch]

“If I could save tone in a bottle...”

But you can: acetone.