What does "bad tone" sound like?

[Robroy]

Bad tone is that booming mud that happens when you are on a hollow stage in a room with low ceilings and concrete block walls and you just can't find a way to aim the amp and EQ the sound to get it to quit hooking up with the stage and bouncing around the room in a sonic version of the LaBrea Tar Pits.

That's bad tone.

On that note, I was in a church band one day where we had terrible acoustics. They kept telling my my bass was too loud. I finally turned it completely off but kept playing. They said it was still too loud.

I told them I was turned off and what they hearing was the rhythm guitar's 200 watt 8x12 stack.

 

[BrianVengeance]

If tone is all in the hands... I'd say it sounds like bad hands.

 

[Honch]

What does "bad tone" sound like?
Well, since you asked of personal opinion, and my preferences, well... bad. Sorry, I couldn't help myself, but it's bad by me.

Can't be put into words. I've tried numerous horrid basses that are set up poorly, and contains old strings, and hums, and whatnot, and more often than not, due to their bad setup I can't get a good tone out of them. Some basses are "tractors" sluggish and you have to really struggle to get ANY tone, bad or not. Then the net result is just bad tone. In or out of quotation marks. I even try to alter my style finger pick or do some ancient musical stuff of the 60s with the "muffler" sound that was on the j bass. No way, I just think it sounds like all of the bass has got "dead spots" although it isn't dead spots. It's the whole bass that's a one big large dead spot. Mostly was it eastern bloc cheap copies. And some early (very) japanese. But that's bad for me. If the bass hasn't got any obstacles in ergonomics, or intonation, set up, relief, action and pickups, and fairly fresh strings that keeps in tune, I don't mind it. Although Rickenbackers have their own tone and J or P basses have their own tone, I wouldn't state that any of them were particularly bad, since I can't stand playing Rics for ergonomic purposes. I e, just because someone ELSE can coax good tones out of a bass, It's not "bad tone" just because I can't play them.

 

[Nashrakh]

If tone is all in the hands... I'd say it sounds like bad hands.

So it's the bad touch?

 

[Rib 13]

"Bad Tone" is too subjective...there is, instead, "optimal tone" and the scope of that is far and wide depending on the feel, genre, and mood of each individual song (just as important is the quality of the tones generated by the rest of the band and how mine meshes with theirs). It certainly doesnt mean other tones won't work but I try and find the optimal one for the song...I am one of those fresh rounds piano wire clean tone guys that goes nuts when my strings start dying and I find that this tone works well on the bulk of what I play (as well as mesh with the band's tones)...however, im also a swiss army bass player: on some songs I switch pickup configurations and dial back settings to roll back harmonic structure to favor the fundamental.....I do this for "optimization" (as in which tone works best) and its a song-by-song process: as much as I like fresh rounds, stringy piano wire bass tone just doesnt sound right in certain genres like Motown....also, I find that there are many many cases that what works on an individual song's recording doesn't necessarily translate to a live atmosphere

 

[Wfrance3]

The thing I find is an easy trap to fal into is the he one where you want to update or re-vamp your tone. You find something you think you like, but, after a short honeymoon, discover it's actually pretty fatiguing to the ears, and end up back to, or close to back to, where you started.

Having said that, I find good, serviceable tone contains some range of mids. I save the smiley-face eq settings for the slap players.

 

[PullThePlug]

Quirky effects. I seriously hate this. I keep seeing avant-garde guys with so many auto-wahs, flangers, chorus effects, delays, and phasers layered over their 16th licks a proper, in-key pitch never sounds on the notes.

Thanks for sharing this, I agree 100%. It felt like that's all you could find in the mid to late 2000's in terms of popular indie and "rock" music.

 

[Obese Chess]

People clown on Fieldy - I used to, too - but if you think of his playing/tone in the context of him being a second percussionist rather than a bass guitarist, I think it works.

 

[LifeIsBass]

If it works it works. If it doesn't work or you can't hear it at all then I'd call it "bad".

Even though a particular tone might work in context doesn't mean I'm going to be thrilled about playing that tone. I like tones that are fairly aggressive and maybe even a bit obnoxious. Geddy, Steve Harris, Chris Squire, Les Claypool...those are some of my favorite tones. To play a real warm, round tone where all you hear is the fundamental may work for some songs, but I'd be bored to tears playing them.

 

[DiMarco]

There is no such thing as bad tone.
Bad players on the other hand are abundant.

 

[Fabaoguitar]

A good tone is the one that fits to the tune you are playing.
A super bass in a bad player hands can sound poopy and a cheap bass on a great player hands can sound awesome.
Usually, the tone is in your hands, it doesn't come with the brand.
Not just techinique, but talent and maturity can be the best for a great tone.

 

[Buszkock]

 

[Topkat13]

Bad.

 

[somebrains]

Kip Winger, wet farts on the subway, your parents knocking out the headboard, babies crying on a plane, a guy running scales badly, the sound of the mailman throwing packages at your door from 20', someone who thought they never had to tune their bass are all bad tones.

Otherwise if you technique and basic understanding of music is sound you can make complete garbage sound good, in context.

How many bass solos in the 90's were basically drum lines?

 

[Rickter]

Good tone vs bad tone is often times song/gig specific, then combined with technique (or lack thereof)
Jaco was brilliant, but he would have sounded wrong for Black Sabbath.
Steve Harris is brilliant, but he wouldn't have sounded good for Weather Report.
Fieldy works for Korn because of his eq'ing, but he wouldn't sound right in Metallica without changing that.
We could go on all day....

 

[Mike Sorr]

I know he doesn't get a lot of love here on Talkbass, but one player that I do admire, but think his tone sucks, is Michael Anthony of Van Halen, Sammy Hagar. I don't think he's the hack he's made out to be by some on TB, but if there is one tone that I would never want, it's his.

 

[Rib 13]

People clown on Fieldy - I used to, too - but if you think of his playing/tone in the context of him being a second percussionist rather than a bass guitarist, I think it works.

Fieldy works for Korn because of his eq'ing, but he wouldn't sound right in Metallica without changing that.
We could go on all day....

Im not a Korn fan and I cant stand Fieldy's klakkity klak tone...However, if I also played in a band with two guitarists that tune down to bass guitar ranges and play through 18" speakers live, I may be inclined to klakkity klak myself

 

[Axstar]

That's the tone I like... World is beautiful for its variety

It takes all sorts, eh! The precise tone I had in mind is this:



Sort of Jack Bruce farting in the low end and a shill, gritty unwavering treble in the highs. No doubt a generation of VHS degradation hasn't helped, but I can't help but feel that Rudy's bass there has the same plastic, lifeless tone that my Axstar bass had.

 

[Obese Chess]

Im not a Korn fan and I cant stand Fieldy's klakkity klak tone...However, if I also played in a band with two guitarists that tune down to bass guitar ranges and play through 18" speakers live, I may be inclined to klakkity klak myself

Speaking as someone who plays in a band like this, I love my high mids and grindy clanky noises like I love my own family.

 

[chadds]

Are you implying disrespect?

I could be. His tone was his. His whole expression was wonderful. His tone often not my taste. That doesn't disrespect him. He was no god. What was godlike was he reached and realized his potential. That's up to us how hard we hear the music. He was a great example of sublimating the theory to his will to bring the music.

To answer the OP bad tone is to me imbalanced gain staging, or over eqing or just playing without regard for how the speakers sound (fart). The group is doing an Eagles cover and the bassist sounds like Mel from GrandFunk.