What a bass sounds like.

[equill]

and I want mine to sound like being kicked in the head by a truck. Different strokes for different folks!

I know what you mean.
I like one of mine sounding like an angry piano, and another to sound like the diesel engine from an ocean liner, but I like my slide guitar to sound like it's stashed a switchblade in its case and the amp's on the verge of bursting into flames.

Apparently some of us are more into images than adjectives

 

[whero]

If I want woof and growl I'll buy a dog. If I want fart and burp I'll eat spicy food. If I want something that sounds like a bass, I'll play a bass.

 

[spatters]

I like your definitions, except for burpy.
Burpy = when you thumb-slap E string on your active jazz and you get get beautifull focused bouncy burp. Paired with tight index-finger snap equals perfect slap sound.

I agree! That's J-bass "growl," cut off so it sounds more like a burp.

Note that the stereotypical "clean" slap bass tone doesn't give you much burp, because it's got too many of the mids sucked out. You need the growl to get the burp!

It's also possible to get burp with a very low (but not open) note on a fretless, where "mwah" gives you a similar midrangey timbre to "burp."

 

[two fingers]

I prefer a globose yet pugnacious tone; irascible yet unctuous with conspicuous medial foci.

This reads like a review of a microbrew beer..... which is why I stick to "regular" beer.

 

[two fingers]

I like your definitions, except for burpy.
Burpy = when you thumb-slap E string on your active jazz and you get get beautifull focused bouncy burp. Paired with tight index-finger snap equals perfect slap sound.

I love how different we all are.

To me, "burpy" is a NEGATIVE description of tone. It's too much high mids and not enough bootie. It's Jaco's bridge pickup tone (which I despise).

 

[thabassmon]

I haven't been able to get the farty, woofy going either, but they are words I'd use to describe a blown speaker. I started with boxy as a beginner, got to burpy and growly. Then I got the hang of playing bass to sound like bass.

I generally try to go for smooth clarity, equally present in the low, middle and high registers. I am happy to use rounds or flats, I prefer flats. The only think I have found I don't like is Stainless Steel Round Wounds, those can just go on other people's instrument that like them (like my friend who will only use La Bella Super Steps).

Speaking of words used to describe bass sounds - Piano Tone

Has anyone here truly got a piano sound, like some manufacturers claim their products deliver. I use to practice sitting on a piano stool, using the piano music rack to hold the music. And I would switch between playing bass and playing piano when I was working on stuff, I did that for years.

I have yet to hear a bassplayer that has a piano tone, does anyone here truly have that tone or is it just a full range harmonic rich tone and not literally a piano tone.

And yes I have plucked the piano strings with my fingers so I do know that there is that factor to consider.

 

[thabassmon]

I love how different we all are.

To me, "burpy" is a NEGATIVE description of tone. It's too much high mids and not enough bootie. It's Jaco's bridge pickup tone (which I despise).

I also think of "burpy" as a negative, I figured how to get that sound when I was learning a bunch of Jaco about 20 years ago, because it was the sound of what I was learning. I had just found out that Jaco existed and being a young player at the time, I was impressed by the speed, upfront nature of the bass and I was inspired to learn how to play it. It was a good way to improve my playing, but I did grow tired of that sound.

Whenever I have read or watched a review since then that emphasizes that so and so bass is burpy, I think that's not what I want to a bass to sound like.

 

[Rib 13]

A lot of it is based on a perspective -- over the years on TB, the human element of perception makes a big difference on tone color adjectives: It depends where you like your pickups placed to contrast and compare

 

[NoiseNinja]

Sounds like an accident waiting to happen.

 

[NortyFiner]

Those are the sounds of your typical Charlie Brown teacher.

Or an envelope filter. YMMV.

 

[jmlee]

However my bass sounds, I am personally warm, full, fat, clean and well-defined.

 

[Gustopher]

I like different tones, but in the end when I am playing with my band the sound that works best is that tried and true P-Bass sound from the 70's. Warm, musical and just fills in all the empty frequencies perfectly. I can get that tone with more than a p-bass, but it's usually the sound I chase and the one most pleasant to my ears.

 

[boombloom]

They say "writing about music is like dancing about architecture". Who said it first? Interesting question. Writing About Music is Like Dancing About Architecture – Quote Investigator

 

[micahwc]

I’m pretty sure no one in the audiences I play in front of can hear me, but they can feel it if I’m not there’s.

 

[ardgedee]

Whoopee Cushion Pedal?

I'm interested.

source

 

[Turnaround]

Using words to describe sound is difficult. It's like using wire to explain hiccups.

 

[Chad Michael]

A bull fiddle sounds like 'thoom thoom thoom'

A BG with rounds sounds like 'brr brr brr'

There. That is all you need to know.

 

[PWRL]

Some of these common adjectives I get, but sometimes they leave me just as confused, like "round' or "boxy". I figure that there must be some element of synesthesia involved with interpreting those.

 

[spatters]

"Boxy" is similar to "woofy": obvious uncontrolled resonances, but higher pitched, and generally implying a lack of bass or treble frequencies. Think cheap speakers in a cheap boombox.