What is tone?

[Iristone]

There are two different definitions of 'tone' in music:
(1) the quality or timbre of sound;
(2) the pitch of the sound, as in tonal, tonic, etc..
To differentiate between them (and to avoid all the consumerist propaganda around 'tone'), I call the first definition 'sound quality', and the second one 'pitch'.

 

[mambo4]

For some time now I have been of the opinion that this fosters a widespread culture of intellectual laziness among music makers, in which lowest common denominator catch phrases serve as definitions.

See also “groove”

 

[5StringBlues]

 

[Tim Schnautz]

IMO, "tone" is a mystical, musical shape of the sound of a note in what all players seek but very few achieve to their satisfaction.

 

[Chrisk-K]

Tone = fundamental + harmonics

 

[legalbass]

See also “groove”

Don't forget "chops"

 

[Rolling Thunder]

Tone is...

1. ...the sum of all the elements of what you play and how you play it; whether you use your fingers or a pick, whether you pluck the strings toward the bridge or the neck, what strings you use, what pickups you have, any active electronics in the bass, where the knobs are set, the wood the bass is made of, whether the neck is through the body or bolt on, the fretboard material, whether it's fretless or not, any effects pedals, what sequence they're in and where the knobs are set, which preamp/amp you have and where the knobs are set, the cabinet you have, including the speaker choice, cab dimensions and whether it's sealed or ported, the room you're in, how big it is, what shape it is, where in the room you're set up... change any one of these things and it affects your tone in some way.
   
   
2. ...why you can give the exact same bass, amp and cabinet to ten different people, ask them to play the same simple passage, and they'll all sound different.
   
   
3. ...a magical unicorn that you will spend your life (and most of your money) chasing, and no matter how close you get, it is always just out of reach.

I really wish I would have downloaded a sunday comic style cartoon I saw ages ago on the interwebs. It showed a hobo saying to a social worker "I had a house, a wife, and a job. Then one day I felt I could hear tonal differences in high end audio gear".

 

[P. Aaron]

Gonna play Devils advocate. What if you’re a solo musician?

If you're solo, who's gonna care?

 

[Jeremy Crockett]

I did not see this posted:



It's when he gets to the zero tonewood bit that I found pretty informative.

 

[mongo2]

I did not see this posted:



It's when he gets to the zero tonewood bit that I found pretty informative.

The "tonewood" is the benches the bridge and headstock the strings are attached to.