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Too Many Knobs vs. Not Enough Knobs
- Thread starter ebozzz
- Start date
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I always found it interesting that electric bass players are so much more likely to want onboard electronics than our 6-string brethren.
I like having lots of tonal control on my bass, and at the same time, I like finding the tonal variations available with a passive Precision bass by using the controls and varying finger plucking location, using a pick or slapping, using muting , etc.
It’s all fun to me.
Aaaand, sadly, I think most of our onboard knob twisting is totally
Lost on the public except at the extremes. This is especially true at gigs and even more so with a PA. Still, when I’m playing, and if I don’t like my sound, I adjust it on the fly so that I like the sound better. It helps me play better I believe.
IMHO & YMMV etc.
I like having lots of tonal control on my bass, and at the same time, I like finding the tonal variations available with a passive Precision bass by using the controls and varying finger plucking location, using a pick or slapping, using muting , etc.
It’s all fun to me.
Aaaand, sadly, I think most of our onboard knob twisting is totally
Lost on the public except at the extremes. This is especially true at gigs and even more so with a PA. Still, when I’m playing, and if I don’t like my sound, I adjust it on the fly so that I like the sound better. It helps me play better I believe.
IMHO & YMMV etc.
Several bass players I know are confused by more than one pickup. They don't know what the 2 knobs do on a P bass or what the 3 J bass knobs do. But they know how to play the music so they're actively gigging.
Even if you explain that the 5 knobs on an active bass are volume, blend, bass, mid, treble, they don't have the tech understanding to know what those terms mean or how to apply them.
I do have the knowledge and yet I prefer fewer knobs. Go figure. Except on my fretless where the sweepable mid is really useful.
Even if you explain that the 5 knobs on an active bass are volume, blend, bass, mid, treble, they don't have the tech understanding to know what those terms mean or how to apply them.
I do have the knowledge and yet I prefer fewer knobs. Go figure. Except on my fretless where the sweepable mid is really useful.
I respect that but my starting this thread was about why people seem to want to ____ on another person’s choice. Me? I don’t care how many controls someone else’s bass has! It’s THEIR bass! My personal basses are diverse. Some have few controls and some have more. I didn’t buy or keep either of them simply based on what controls they have…
P-basses don't have enough knobs. There, I said it.
The whole format of TalkBass is built around discussion. So people are going to express their opinions. Expression of different opinions doesn't bother me, as long as people are civil. Sometimes I learn from them, or at least appreciate that there are different perspectives/approaches.
My basses range from 1 knob (Rob Allen) to 4 knobs. I tend to be a "set it and forget it" kind of guy, rarely tweaking my tone settings after getting them where I want, and happy if I get my tone in the general ballpark of what I'm shooting for. I had a couple of Sire basses with active electronics and 8 controls (5 knobs, two of which were concentric and one which was push/pull for a total of 8 parameters to monkey with). I found that many knobular options to be counterproductive for my modus operandi.
My basses range from 1 knob (Rob Allen) to 4 knobs. I tend to be a "set it and forget it" kind of guy, rarely tweaking my tone settings after getting them where I want, and happy if I get my tone in the general ballpark of what I'm shooting for. I had a couple of Sire basses with active electronics and 8 controls (5 knobs, two of which were concentric and one which was push/pull for a total of 8 parameters to monkey with). I found that many knobular options to be counterproductive for my modus operandi.
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I played a Marleaux bass in a shop once. That one was approaching Greatful Dead levels of knob complexity because it had, along with dual humbuckers, a piezo pickup setup that somehow ran with a separate EQ or its own preamp.
I played it for fifteen minutes and could not figure out what some of the knobs actually did.
That was the only electric bass I ever touched which triggered the result of "nope, too many knobs for me".
I played it for fifteen minutes and could not figure out what some of the knobs actually did.
That was the only electric bass I ever touched which triggered the result of "nope, too many knobs for me".
I’ve come to like MV/Blend/MT. It’s simple, intuitive, and just works well for 2 pup basses. My G&L L2K has (3) knobs and (2) switches, which some people consider “too complicated”. I never found it to be too complex, but I guess it is compared to a P Bass. Anything beyond that seems like overkill though, and tends to result in a bunch of options that rarely, if ever, get used. I played an Alembic with something like 5 knobs and three switches, and it was definitely approaching the Silly Zone. The apogee of Silly is probably the Alembic Phil Lesh bass, there’s a video of him on YT where he can’t remember what all the knobs do. I would submit that at that point, you have achieved Knob-Itis.
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This a forum for people to express and discuss their opinions, thats why people do it. there will disagreements and agreements
Have you SEEN the pedal board of those "Too many knobs for me" people? The number of controls multiplies like rabbits in heat exponentially, moving knobs from the bass and then some, to a plethora of pedals, so they can "get their sound". 
My whole life of gigging, i'm much more comfortable when the amp has just basic tone knobs and no sliding eq's. Thus, the fewer the better for me, pedals included. In all the threads discussing sounds, i'm in the "get a good bass sound and play" mode. I'm also only playing original rock, not chasing another tone for particular covers etc.... I just like a good rounded bass tone that does what it needs to, make me happy lol
I think it's a part of the "less is more" approach, and I am like that too. I run my guitars and basses though the least gear possible, with the fewest knobs possible, because it helps me focus on creating rather than fiddling.
I used to post a Guitar Pic of the Day thread on another forum. "Too many knobs" was the most common response. Same as it ever was.
Probably because those of us who think “too few knobs” are busy adjusting all the knobs on our active basses.
But my bass tone is the same. Room sound is for the FOH.
No-one listens to the bass tone anyways.
No one SEES the bass player.
The same reason why when when Person-A talks about a style of music or band they like, a bunch of people here clown on it or say, "who?!?!" It's like, why are you even poking your nose into this conversation if it's not something you're into or know about? To me, that just feels d-baggy.
One time I posted a thread with a photo of Alex Skolnick playing with a bassist and a singer and asked if anyone knew who they were. I got a helpful answer, but I also got a bunch of "I don't know who Alex Skolnick is" and "who?!?!" responses. Sorry, but if you have nothing helpful to say, then why are you responding with useless junk like that? Do you enjoy hearing yourself talk that much that you need to stick your nose into every conversation?
Maybe I just answered my own question- people like to hear themselves talk so much that they need to put their two cents into every conversation.
(And I think the only time I've seen someone clown on a bass for too few knobs was when Frank Bello had that sig bass with Charvel and it only had volume controls for each pickup and no passive tone control).
Or the exemplification of a knob in human form.
I’m awaiting a new breakthrough in onboard bass tone shaping:
Onboard Preamp with onboard power amp.
I mean : only half joking!
Break the components down and put it in an Gibson RD instead of the Moog, power it with a couple batteries , onboard.
Plug into a cabinet, and you’re ready to RAWK.
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