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Who do you think has the perfect tone?

#83
I wouldn't say perfect tone but I like Casiopea Bassist Yashiro Naruse's tone on his 8/10 string Tune Basses. Check out the song Chain Reaction. Eccentric Games and Through the Highway.
 
#86
smcfarland1337 said:
John Entwistle.
Click to expand...
Which of the half century of recorded music did he have perfect tone? It evolved as he went, fairly radically from passive Fenders to active boutiques with heavy processing.

I think his Live at Leeds tone is godlike, but I can't give him credit for having an entire career worth of perfect tone.

As for my own answer:

I think that Flea had inspiring tone on BSSM. I still want a Wal because of that album.

For a more traditional style tone, I think that Bruce Thomas of Elvis Costello and the Attractions really sets my standard for perfect. It's all the contradictions without any of the excess.
 
#88
I love all these answers. For me, the ideal bass tone I hear in my head is what Willie Weeks gets on this 1972 live Donny Hathaway track:

http://youtu.be/YLUh70zp0LE

Great record, and it's being reissued:

http://www.notreble.com/buzz/2012/07/21/donny-hathaways-live-and-in-performance-reissued/

Round, punchy, low, deep, articulate... just about all my favorite bass tone adjectives can describe Willie's tone here. This track is also a great study in phrasing; note how Weeks paces himself and lays it out little by little. Such a great bass player.

--Steve
 
#90
Unrepresented said:
Which of the half century of recorded music did he have perfect tone? It evolved as he went, fairly radically from passive Fenders to active boutiques with heavy processing.

I think his Live at Leeds tone is godlike, but I can't give him credit for having an entire career worth of perfect tone.

As for my own answer:

I think that Flea had inspiring tone on BSSM. I still want a Wal because of that album.

For a more traditional style tone, I think that Bruce Thomas of Elvis Costello and the Attractions really sets my standard for perfect. It's all the contradictions without any of the excess.
Click to expand...

I'm biased so I would say his entire career.
But trying to be a little less bias, I like the raw sound on Leeds, I like the bass sound as opposed to high treble on Quadrophenia.
Also, if you get a chance to get the Deluxe Edition of The Who Sell Out (my favorite), listen to his bass on some of those demos / roughs. That tone is to die for.
 
#95
I don't think there's a "perfect" tone. However, I do have some favorite tones. John Entwistle on Live at Leeds, Geezer Butler on Master of Reality and especially on Live Evil (though in both cases it's the way the bass and guitar sounds meld that I really enjoy so much), Aaron Reiseburg (whose name I've probably misspelled quite badly) on Yob's Atma (especially the song "Before We Dreamed of Two"), Cliff Burton's tone on Ride the Lightning and his live tones from '84 to '86, Jason Newsted's and Al Cisneros' tones with his various projects are some that I like quite a bit.
 
#96
I second John Deacon. His P-Bass tone is unreal! He also sounds great on a Stingray (Another One Bites The Dust) but it's his P-bass that just kills it for me. I don't think there is a Queen recording, to me, where he had a bad sound coming from his bass.

I'll Also add Dee Murray to the list. What a brilliant player he was... :(

If I can add one for a particular song, I'll also add Mike Rutherford's tone on No Reply At All...
 

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