what are some bass guitars with distinct tone?

[bholder]

12 string basses sound different from anything else on the planet.

 

[spaz21387]

Rics and stingrays...

 

[Mark_70]

- frets vs none

Good call.
I'd say that's the most obvious distinction to me..

Regards
Mark

 

[Diddywah]

The Steinberger L2 I played for three decades had its very own voice....

 

[Canadian APII]

I've tried so many bass guitars and most sound the same if not alike, even the ones that cost $200 in comparison with pricier bass guitars.

I do find the Ashbory bass having a distinct tone. Is it the fretlessness of it or the strings or the pickups that give bass guitars their tone?

The Aria Pro II SB1000 has a distinctly nasal or middy tone and was a staple for many eighties bands.

 

[gidbass]

I've tried so many bass guitars and most sound the same if not alike, even the ones that cost $200 in comparison with pricier bass guitars.

I do find the Ashbory bass having a distinct tone. Is it the fretlessness of it or the strings or the pickups that give bass guitars their tone?

only geddy lee has made me wonder what he's playing (jazz vs ric). otherwise a Ric has a tone like no other.

Good Luck!

 

[Maynjo]

Spectors definitely have a unique tone. I tried putting an EMG p and j into an ibanez to make it sound like a Spector with the playability of an ibanez. It doesn't sound anything like a Spector.

 

[Pug the Pig]

Mark Sandman's bass tone was rather distinctive... Though you may need to get busy with a hammer and hacksaw....

 

[Five String]

what are some bass guitars with distinct tone?
All of them.

 

[Clef_de_fa]

Fender P
Fender J
Warwick Thumb
EBMM Stingray
Rickenbacker 4001
Fretless
Acoustic
Putting flat
Synth keyboard

Everything else is just a variation of the same thing and I do think that every bass can do the job and very well but the music world is very traditionnal and can't accept change very easily

 

[Five String]

Actually, I played a Lightwave at Music Go Round recently. They have optical, not magnetic pickups. That bass had a distinct tone.

 

[wes stephenson]

I've tried so many bass guitars and most sound the same if not alike, even the ones that cost $200 in comparison with pricier bass guitars.

I do find the Ashbory bass having a distinct tone. Is it the fretlessness of it or the strings or the pickups that give bass guitars their tone?

I don't mean this to sound condescending but if you can't hear a difference between the sound of a Fender Jazz bass and something like a MTD with soapbar pups then there's not much else to talk about.

 

[Five String]

I don't mean this to sound condescending but if you can't hear a difference between the sound of a Fender Jazz bass and something like a MTD with soapbar pups then there's not much else to talk about.

This.

 

[Two-Spirit]

Stepping into bass after 10 years of casual guitar playing, I find basses to have more tonal personality and variance based on design than guitars. It's easier to add something that's not there on guitar than bass IMO. But I also have tin ears so...?

I really only need a neck pickup on base whereas you can't fit enough pickups on electric.

 

[Danthedude]

Just me maybe but I think right hand assuming of course that you're right handed has as much or more to do with tone than the guitar

 

[Gaolee]

Stepping into bass after 10 years of casual guitar playing, I find basses to have more tonal personality and variance based on design than guitars. It's easier to add something that's not there on guitar than bass IMO. But I also have tin ears so...?

It's just proof that everything wants to grow up to be a bass one day. Everything else is just embryonic and kinda similar and needs enhancement. That's all.

 

[bushy]

So it's technically electric since it uses a cable to go to the amp? I wonder if it's similar to an Ashbory in that it uses a piezo and rubber strings.

There's both solid and semi acoustic body uke basses. Whether or not it's fretless has no bearing. You don't see a pickup because, on the one in the picture, there's a piezo rod pickup in the bridge. So it's not a magnetic pickup. It's more like a microphone the way it works. The advantage is your strings don't have to be magnetic (i.e. nickel or steel) to be heard. Bronze, nylon and rubber strings will also work.

 

[Zant]

So it's technically electric since it uses a cable to go to the amp? I wonder if it's similar to an Ashbory in that it uses a piezo and rubber strings.

So as one gentelman said every bass has it's own voice I have 10 basses and no two sound alike

 

[bushy]

I wonder why some basses made by the same company that made the Lightwave (Willcox Guitars) sells a combo with the Roland GR-55 guitar synth pedal, for their basses? Can a guitar synth pedal like the Roland GR-55 actually be used for basses as well (or any stringed instrument if one was to experiment)?

Actually, I played a Lightwave at Music Go Round recently. They have optical, not magnetic pickups. That bass had a distinct tone.

 

[xnewyorka]

Fender P
Fender J
Warwick Thumb
EBMM Stingray
Rickenbacker 4001
Fretless
Acoustic
Putting flat
Synth keyboard

Everything else is just a variation of the same thing and I do think that every bass can do the job and very well but the music world is very traditionnal and can't accept change very easily

What about:
Dingwall
Wal
Fodera
Marleaux
Rob Allen
Hofner

None of these strike me as a variation on any of those in your list.