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Who believes that its all about the tone?

E

ericmknight1906

Nov 22, 2006
231
14
daytona beach, florida
#1
I'm not a great player, not even remotely close. However, I've found from personal experience that I play more confidently when My bass tone is awesome. It also seems that when I have great tone, I don't have to play as hard or as technical.

Great tone IMHO, can also give the audience the impression that I'm a better player than I really am. Of course this only applies when I'm playing in the pocket along with other instruments. Soloing is another beast and way beyond my skill level.

For now I will stick to good tone and pocket playing. Input anyone?

Oh, and My personal preference for good tone is an activish tube amp sound with plenty of head room, low growl and crisp highs. I run active DC40 emg pups (emg preamp) through 4x10 cab and hartke amp head.
 
#5
IMHO, note selection, phrasing, tone - in that order.
Choose the right notes with pleasing phrasing and unless your tone outright sucks, you'll sound good.
btw, John McVie is a major influence on the way I play.
 
#6
ericmknight1906 said:
I'm not a great player, not even remotely close. However, I've found from personal experience that I play more confidently when My bass tone is awesome. It also seems that when I have great tone, I don't have to play as hard or as technical.

Great tone IMHO, can also give the audience the impression that I'm a better player than I really am. Of course this only applies when I'm playing in the pocket along with other instruments. Soloing is another beast and way beyond my skill level.

For now I will stick to good tone and pocket playing. Input anyone?

Oh, and My personal preference for good tone is an activish tube amp sound with plenty of head room, low growl and crisp highs. I run active DC40 emg pups (emg preamp) through 4x10 cab and hartke amp head.
Click to expand...

i do agree somewhat about the tone..i do play better cause i am more relaxed if my bass sounds good..getting a good balance with the bass drum can also help.
 
#7
If you have new or good fresh strings and your intonation is set tuned and you have done your HOME WORK and then you play it from the heart and not the mind you will be amazed at the feeling that comes out of your instument. Scotte said that.
 
#8
Let's take this a little further. While a good tone is important, it's even more important that it sits good in the mix. You know that "scooped" sound we like so much when we practice alone at home? Chances are that live IME that your band and you will sound like dirt (assuming that you'll even be able to here any bass,) because the highs are drown out by cymbals, the top 3 guitar strings, and possibly a whiney lead singer. The lows are being filled by the bass drum and maybe synths.What's always worked for me was a relatively flat eq with a bit of top end "grind" (I play metal.) Just remember that what you consider a good tone at home or even in your band's practice room might not sound very good live. The best tone in the world is no good if it can't hold it's own within the context of a band.:bassist:
 
#13
Scotte_4U said:
If you have new or good fresh strings and your intonation is set tuned and you have done your HOME WORK and then you play it from the heart and not the mind you will be amazed at the feeling that comes out of your instument. Scotte said that.
Click to expand...

+1. I think so often we can get so into gear and all the details, that we can forget that just getting in the pocket with a great tone we love can be EXACTLY what we need and the audience needs. I personally love many types of music and have seen a lot great bands and players over the past 20+ years, but I think the best fun you can have as a player or audience member is with the blues and a band who is tight and can pump the most basic 12 bars out, but do it with a fat tone and feeling. IMO, nothing compares.
BTW, my vote for great tone taking you to the top is Mike Mills of R.E.M. Mike's Ric tone on Murmur and Reckoning is superb. While he does venture outside the pocket regularly, he is always ready to jump back in at the right moment and has been doing just that for 30 years. Check out "Living Well Is The Best Revenge" for a good recent example of this. I aspire to play rock bass in that spirit. BTW, he says John McVie is a key influence.
All this to say that I think good tone is crucial. After all, tone is why we buy the gear we do and is very likely what got us into playing in the first place, i.e we HEARD something that changed us, moved us. I know for me that those early R.E.M, The Jam (Bruce Foxton) and Joy Division (Peter Hook) records spoke to me and that I feel a connection to them when playing my Ric. In fact, I couldn't believe how much more feeling I played with when I got my Ric. I was always that stock still bass player and with the Ric, I started moving, dancing and smiling and it was because of that Ric growl and bite that was now coming out of my amp as opposed to my speakers! What I felt became what I heard.
While tone may not be everything, it is the MAIN thing.

LEL
 
#14
I'd say that locking in, playing in the pocket, and drivin' that bus is the thing that keeps everyone jumpin' out there. Great tone makes for multiple bonus points, but if you're not nailing the 1 and maybe the 3 with some feel, the tune won't have any heartbeat and portions of the crowd will hit the bar, the restroom, or the exit.

Tone that helps you hear yourself in a good mix is a great thing - I can play almost unconsciously when I have that going on. I've also played a strong show in a room that was so bad acoustically that I had to watch my drummer's right foot pretty much all night. It was an echo chamber and neither of us could hear each other.

When the ladies are on the floor and shakin' it, that's when it's all about simply keeping them there, right? Maybe the tone makes that happen, but sometimes it's just gotta have more cowbell.
 
#16
Tone is way down on the list, IMO. Mostly because nobody in the audience is going to A) know, or B) care. Oh, except for the 2 guys at the back with their arms folded, looking down their noses in disapproval of everything, but there's no tone (or anything else) that's going to please them anyway, so why bother trying to please them?

Not to mention, whatever tone I meticulously dial in to please myself is going to come out completely different out in the FOH once the sound man & the room get ahold of it.

If I can hear every note, every fret, on every string, I'm happy. Beyond that, "getting the right tone" is a waste of time. I've got bigger fish to fry.
 
#17
TimmyP said:
If tone was the main thing, there would not be nearly so many Pastorius fans.
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lol! i agree...loved his playing, hated his tones. however, he loved them and i'm sure it helped him get into what he was doing. tone isn't the be all and end all, but getting into what you're doing and giving it your all is. so if good tone helps you with that, it's all good.
 
#18
Harsh opinion

Only newbie self-centered idiots forget to hear the tone in a spectrum band mix from mid room.

Takes a long time to pull our heads out of our "tone" posterior to realize that we're a foundation part of a band.

A pro lets the sound guy (who ever it is) set the levels.

Tim
 

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