Same here, I get my sound on the amp and my eq pedal, but make sure I have plenty of wiggle room on my onboard in case I need to adjust anything.
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Why do people like complicated basses?
- Thread starter mittens89
- Start date
Same here, I get my sound on the amp and my eq pedal, but make sure I have plenty of wiggle room on my onboard in case I need to adjust anything.
Doesn't everyone give their favourite bass a woman's name? (Except Jamerson called his "The Funk Machine").
Bryan R. Tyler
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i have never named a bass in my life except for my upright, and only because i was put on the spot during a gig. so i came up with the stupidest name i could possibly think of within 3 seconds...li'l elvis. i thought naming it after the nickmane elvis gave his genitalia would end it, but apparently everyone loved it, so li'l elvis it is.
Only bass I ever named was Alembic, serial number 84. I called it "Orwell".
And, to stay on topic, it was complicated. Four knobs, three switches, and two input options.
And, to stay on topic, it was complicated. Four knobs, three switches, and two input options.
Yeah, geek basses.
It's actually very simple.
It's yet another manifestation of the two different personality types I encounter in music (and elsewhere), which I refer to as process-oriented and outcome-oriented.
Process-oriented people like the whole idea of baking the pie, finding different recipes, shopping for pie books and bakeware, getting totally into the pie thing, and may never even get around to baking it, the pie becoming some sort of grail quest not to be realized in this lifetime. Outcome-oriented people just want to get a pie somewhere and eat it, belch, and move on with life.
Process-oriented personalities aren't happy unless they have something to fiddle with. Process-oriented people are basically geeks. More knobs or strings or pickups or notes or laminations=better. They may love to mod and scratch-build stuff.
In recording, I've found that producers tend to be outcome-oriented and engineers tend to be process-oriented.
People tend to be more outcome-oriented as they get older.
In bands, bassists tend to be the process-oriented members. Remember, "If there's a geek in the band, it's usually the bass player"? Why, I don't know, but I've been watching it for forty-plus years.
While they have their place (in their compulsive fiddling they occasionally discover some really neat stuff), in general process-oriented people drive me crazy and I refuse to work with them.
If I see a guy with a bunch of complex equipment that's modded and self-produced I know we're never going to work out.
This^^^
I hate having to run back and forth to my amp if my band is playing a bunch of different styles and genres, which they do a lot of. If I can control my tone at a turn of a knob or flip of a switch all while staying focused on the song, I'm all for it. I also like a hotter signal from my pickups and an active preamp will give that to me. There's nothing worse than not having the tonal variety that you need in a loud, crowded venue with horrible acoustics. An onboard preamp will help you in those situations.
one time, i decided i needed a fancier electronics package in my bass, so i put emg's in it, separate tone and volume, pickup switch, coil splitters, and a phase switch. never touched any of it on a gig ever so i yanked it out, never to return. i grudgingly accept active basses, though i'm not a fan of the cheap pres they often use.
Call me a bass geek, The more knobs, switches and pickups the less I have to mess with my amp. I have all my controls at my fingers tips. Set the amp flat and let the bass do the talking......,
I liked the option to change sounds/tones on the fly no matter what I was plugged into, but hated having a battery in my bass, I never knew when to replace it. I played a bunch of basses before I bought my P and realized the more simple the better(for me) one tone and one volume? perfect. IMO when you have a sensitive pickup like a P style(or any simple passive p/u), the type of wood and density come more into play, string type(round/flat), and hardware seems to make more of a difference and technique is much more clearly represented. and I seem to get more out of my instrument, while I felt like I was fighting or pushing my midgrade active bass too hard sometimes and not getting back a satisfying return. again this is simply my own opinion compiled from years of my own playing and learning and is what works best for me. on the other hand, if I was gonna order a custom bass from say Carvin, I'd get ALL the bellz and whistles, piezo's included. lol. but the P bass does it for me, it might be the only bass I will ever need.
Man, in must be nice there in NJ. I've played most of the small clubs in this city (on the whole island for that matter) and I've never seen a small club provide backline, ever. In fact I've never seen a medium or large club supply backline. Usually only the large ones even supply a PA. The only gigs I've played that supplied a backline were festivals, large outdoor concerts, etc.
Given that 90% of my gigs are using my own amp with no PA support I like to have onboard EQ so I can adjust it on the fly. On those rare gigs where there is PA support I don't worry as much about the sound. I learned a long, long time ago that in those cases you are at the mercy of the soundman for FOH sound, and what you do at the bass or amp doesn't make much difference. They are going to EQ it the way they want it anyway, so I get the onstage sound as good as I can then leave it alone. I'm very picky about my sound, and it used to really bug me when I had no control over FOH, but I learned not to worry about things I can't control.
For me a three band is all I need in my ray and i can get whatever I need out of it , but as far as all basses go I prefer the P bass controls , guess I prefer simplicity
as some may have already mentioned it : "My amp head has an EQ and the mixer that it goes thru has another EQ , I just don't need another EQ on my amp"
as some may have already mentioned it : "My amp head has an EQ and the mixer that it goes thru has another EQ , I just don't need another EQ on my amp"
Yeah, geek basses.
It's actually very simple.
It's yet another manifestation of the two different personality types I encounter in music (and elsewhere), which I refer to as process-oriented and outcome-oriented.
Process-oriented people like the whole idea of baking the pie, finding different recipes, shopping for pie books and bakeware, getting totally into the pie thing, and may never even get around to baking it, the pie becoming some sort of grail quest not to be realized in this lifetime. Outcome-oriented people just want to get a pie somewhere and eat it, belch, and move on with life.
Process-oriented personalities aren't happy unless they have something to fiddle with. Process-oriented people are basically geeks. More knobs or strings or pickups or notes or laminations=better. They may love to mod and scratch-build stuff.
In recording, I've found that producers tend to be outcome-oriented and engineers tend to be process-oriented.
People tend to be more outcome-oriented as they get older.
In bands, bassists tend to be the process-oriented members. Remember, "If there's a geek in the band, it's usually the bass player"? Why, I don't know, but I've been watching it for forty-plus years.
While they have their place (in their compulsive fiddling they occasionally discover some really neat stuff), in general process-oriented people drive me crazy and I refuse to work with them.
If I see a guy with a bunch of complex equipment that's modded and self-produced I know we're never going to work out.
great post and I know EXACTLY what you mean.
*belch*
I love playing my passive J and P basses, but only have one gig suitable for those basses. Its not that I couldn't get away with using those 'simple basses' on my other weekly gigs so much as my active MM Sterling just does a better job of navigating thru hours of diverse material. The ability to be able to adjust on the fly is incredibly valuable to me. For example, on a tune that requires slap, I can quickly scoop the mids and boost highs and lows. On a tune like Rick James 'Give It To Me Baby' I can boost mids and really nail the tone of the original. It is really convenient for players that have to cover a wide range of tonal variances. That said, if I could land an old school funk gig that onky required a passive P or J all the time, well that would be pure bliss!
My basses tend to have a lot of knobs. Playing live, I don't usually adjust that much....maybe blend and cutting or adding bass and mids, maybe the same setting all the way through. For recording, I like to get different sounds. It's fun, and it's actually simpler to me than having 10 basses.
That thumb rest placement is BRILLIANT!
to the topic, though. Some people are fussier, so they like fussy instruments. I am not fussy, but ended up with a Jaguar anyway. What made me buy it, aside from it poking me on the shoulder and begging me to buy her, was a guy who explained the control set up to me at Willies in St. Paul: I knew the switches that turned the pickups off and on, but what sold me was his explanation of flick the third switch down and its a J-bass, flip it up, and its a p. I set and forget everything else fussy bass made simple
to the topic, though. Some people are fussier, so they like fussy instruments. I am not fussy, but ended up with a Jaguar anyway. What made me buy it, aside from it poking me on the shoulder and begging me to buy her, was a guy who explained the control set up to me at Willies in St. Paul: I knew the switches that turned the pickups off and on, but what sold me was his explanation of flick the third switch down and its a J-bass, flip it up, and its a p. I set and forget everything else fussy bass made simple
[/IMG]
I liked the option to change sounds/tones on the fly no matter what I was plugged into, but hated having a battery in my bass, I never knew when to replace it. I played a bunch of basses before I bought my P and realized the more simple the better(for me) one tone and one volume? perfect. IMO when you have a sensitive pickup like a P style(or any simple passive p/u), the type of wood and density come more into play, string type(round/flat), and hardware seems to make more of a difference and technique is much more clearly represented. and I seem to get more out of my instrument, while I felt like I was fighting or pushing my midgrade active bass too hard sometimes and not getting back a satisfying return. again this is simply my own opinion compiled from years of my own playing and learning and is what works best for me. on the other hand, if I was gonna order a custom bass from say Carvin, I'd get ALL the bellz and whistles, piezo's included. lol. but the P bass does it for me, it might be the only bass I will ever need.
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