Tone you want

[AntLockyer]

Apologies if this has been done before. Very rarely do I listen to a recording and think "I want to sound like that" from a tone/playing perspective. However when I do it's usually very compelling and I can't stop thinking about it.

I heard this last year and play it every couple of days dreaming of having the chops and rig to recreate it (not just learn to play it like this, having the skill to do it naturally).

[url="http://www.youtube.com/embed/boXcU9o0v3g"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boXcU9o0v3g[/url]

Have you got something you aspire too/dream off?

[scalpy]

Duck Dunn or Tommy Cogbill. But bigger!

[EssentialTension]

[quote name='AntLockyer' timestamp='1348672380' post='1816769']
Apologies if this has been done before. Very rarely do I listen to a recording and think "I want to sound like that" from a tone/playing perspective. However when I do it's usually very compelling and I can't stop thinking about it.

I heard this last year and play it every couple of days dreaming of having the chops and rig to recreate it (not just learn to play it like this, having the skill to do it naturally).

[url="http://www.youtube.com/embed/boXcU9o0v3g"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boXcU9o0v3g[/url]

Have you got something you aspire too/dream off?
[/quote]
I don't bother with the aspiration any more, I just plug in my Precision with flatwounds.

However, I did see Ben L'Oncle Soul last year and they were great

[BassTractor]

Very [b]often[/b] do I listen to a recording and think "I want to sound like that" from a tone/playing perspective.

Had this for more than 4 decades: "If I can only sound like this, I won't need another sound."
Though not very realistic, it did express the enthusiasm I've had for certain sounds and ways of playing.

However, finally picking up the bass myself, I soon found that even as a noob I can have very different sounds - even on one bass and without effects. Bliss!

best,
bert

[KingBollock]

I quite often manage to get exactly the sound I want. The trouble is that the next time I play through the same rig, with the same Bass, in the same place, playing the same tunes, absolutely nothing different, it's no longer the sound I am after and I have to start again. I've been doing this for over 20 years, I just can't settle on one sound. I do know what sounds I don't like, which is a start.

[xilddx]

It all depends on what you hear in your head. But it's all context. The bands I play in demand certain approaches and you have to taylor your sounds to requirements of the music. If you do that effectively you can dig almost any sound. Personally for that clip, I'd have added deep and cut high end. It sounded a bit thin to me, but that might be the recording.

Edited September 26, 2012 by silddx

[shizznit]

I have two 'go to' tones. I like a modern, scooped clear tone with plenty of sparkle and high-mids which loads of players out there do too, so not really influenced by a specific player. But, I am a huge Bernard Edwards fan and I also use the same kind of tight, warm, bouncy tone that he used.

Edited September 27, 2012 by shizznit

[thumperbob 2002]

Yeah- agree with Silddx- whilst his tone is very defined I think it is a little scooped- bit more low mid and its there. A lot better than the normal muddy tone you hear though.

Blame the soundmen methinks- was at the Garmisch festival with BMW Motorrad this year and at the after gig party there was a band playing and whilst their sound was powerful it was simply too bassy for the covers they were playing. On asking the soundman to boost the low mids and reduce the lows he just looked at me as though I was daft.

Youngsters eh??

[AntLockyer]

I'm really pleased with the tone I get on my p bass, it's a real woody sound and flatters my playing. When I switch to the Aria is cries out for a different style, one that escapes me currently.

Do you feel influenced to play differently depending on your instrument?

[Lozz196]

Somewhat yes, I had a couple of Stingrays for a while, and I certainly felt that I was attempting a style which was different. Now that could be a good thing, but ultimately, i felt I was losing more of what i was good at, than gaining what i wasn`t, if that makes sense.

So back to the trusty P-Basses - know where i am with those.

[krysh]

I'm absolutey happy with the tones I'm able to deliver. I found amps much less important for this than having the bass/string combination you absolutely love. and even no matter what bass I play, I still sound like me.
I believe the secret really hides in yourself and how you form your tone. the more you like what and how you play, the more you will like your tone. and if you have a tone you want to achieve, try different playing techniques first.
gear only helps to make you loud.

[dincz]

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1348735100' post='1817407']
Blame the soundmen methinks- was at the [b]Garmisch[/b] festival with BMW Motorrad this year and at the after gig party there was a band playing and whilst their sound was powerful it was simply too bassy for the covers they were playing. On asking the soundman to boost the low mids and reduce the lows he just looked at me as though I was daft.[/quote]

Raised on oompah?

[bremen]

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1348735100' post='1817407']
On asking the soundman to boost the low mids and reduce the lows he just looked at me as though I was daft.

[/quote]

[stereotype alert] Sound guys tend not to take constructive criticism well. It's like criticising someone's driving.

[thumperbob 2002]

Good ones always will listen to the bands ideas of what they should sound like- really dislike anyone not being prepared to have an open mind. I think that is what got me so mad with this guy.

[lojo]

A few gigs back I was enjoying the first handful of songs really digging my tone , then I went forward of the singers fold back, and had my ears hear the out front sound, and my tone was dreadful, really spoilt the rest of the gig for me