The pursuit of the perfect tone

[Muzz]

I tend to sound like myself no matter which bass I'm playing, or which room. Or even which amp, really. Whether that's a good thing or not is entirely subjective

I don't have a single tone - I have tones I like personally, and tones which work in the particular song. When it comes to playing live, though, there's so many factors affecting tone/sound everywhere from right at the amp to out front of house that I don't sweat if I don't hear my bestest tone/sound as long as the band sounds the best it can in the circumstances.

It's all a bit of a compromise, really: I don't think perfection is ever really achievable anywhere outside a recording studio, and even then I've done that and it's not been perfect.

[LewisK1975]

At the moment I'm getting a good consistent tone I'm very happy with.

How? I'm using a DI at the end of my pedal board and in-ears. No amp on stage.

What's been said above is true, the same Bass & Amp will sound different from venue to venue, so it'll have you grinning from ear to ear one night and pulling your hair out the next night.

[dmccombe7]

I've found over the years that FOH sound is nearly always better than sound i have on stage no matter what bass rig i use so i tend not to worry too much about it.
At one point i had no backline and DI'd every gig within a Trio and was able to hear myself thru monitors quite easily. Doesn't work with every band i've been in as you always get the one guy who gradually turns himself up usually because he hasn't positioned his own amp to allow himself to hear it properly but that's another thread i reckon.

Best sound i've had recently was an od classic Orange AD200b with an 8x10 Hartke cab. It just had so much warmth, depth but still retained clarity thru the range with my Jazz bass. Don't fancy carrying an 8x10 cab about tho.

Dave

[bassjim]

Because I've pretty much got the tone I'm after using my gear I know its all doable. There are only conditions I cant do anything about that prevent it coming through.

The constant change from gig to gig like the sound of the room and stage area. Some places I look forward to playing again whilst other places I dread. The rehearsal room we use is ok but not perfect. I can fiddle all I like with the EQ but the room acoustics wont allow it to happen. I get close enough though.

When i have a gig and the drummer is brain dead and has no respect for the music, volume,feel or tempo, or any band member for that matter, it can drain all my enthusiasm and mojo. When this musical scribbling happens my tone may as well count for nothing as its either getting drowned out or I cant play the parts I want to, how I want to.

Also I think the temperature has its part to play as well. Like too hot and humid to freezing cold all put the boot in as well.

I have come to accept sometimes I have great tone (as far as I'm personally concerned in this pursuit anyway ) and all is well on Earth and sometimes I just dont.

The best tone I get with complete satisfaction with the best consistency is when I'm working at home through a sh*tty little £15.00 off ebay practice amp, at low volume. Be it twiddling or working out new material for gigs playing along to youtube ect its always very good. But then all the other conditions that effect tone at gigs are not there and I'm in control of the environment!

I think its a good thing to pursue a good tone and the one you want though. The want to be that bit better just for your own satisfaction is not a bad thing at all. It all adds up.

[Count Bassy]

Surely the 'Perfect' tone will depend on the song you are playing?
Ie there is no such sing as a single 'perfect' tone.

[elcastillian]

[quote name='bassjim' timestamp='1500284038' post='3336612']


When i have a gig and the drummer is brain dead and has no respect for the music, volume,feel or tempo, or any band member for that matter, it can drain all my enthusiasm and mojo. When this musical scribbling happens my tone may as well count for nothing as its either getting drowned out or I cant play the parts I want to, how I want to.

The best tone I get with complete satisfaction with the best consistency is when I'm working at home through a sh*tty little £15.00 off ebay practice amp, at low volume. Be it twiddling or working out new material for gigs playing along to youtube ect its always very good. But then all the other conditions that effect tone at gigs are not there and I'm in control of the environment!


[/quote]

+1

[cheddatom]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1500290667' post='3336665']
Surely the 'Perfect' tone will depend on the song you are playing?
Ie there is no such sing as a single 'perfect' tone.
[/quote]

Indeed! That's why I like to have several different variations of dirt, wah, octaver, compressor on the floor, two pickups and a pre-amp on my bass

[Urban Bassman]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1500199050' post='3336140']


Very much this... there's huge variation to be had without any knob tweaking whatsoever.

Get a good core tone you're happy with and IMO all the subtle differences you could even need are there with a slight change in technique.

... obviously this only works if you use a clean "traditional" bass sound for the full set. Those who use an effects heavy set up to get what they need are going to struggle to get synthy octave fuzz sounds with a change of plucking position 😕
[/quote]


Oh yes...I've got several pedals to add dirt, more dirt, chorus, octave and so on as the song required.

[thepurpleblob]

My basic view is that it's only a bass guitar. It needs to make a rumbly noise and that'll do.

Having said that, I just "invested" (phrase used on the wife) in a SansAmp RBI and I'm particularly pleased with the outcome!

At the end of the day your sound is mostly about your technique. When I get some technique I'll let you know

[SimonEdward]

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1500158337' post='3336029']
Is anybody 100% happy with their tone?

I've spent many years and lots of money on different amplifiers, different cabinets, different basses, different strings, countless hours on my technique, and the closest I've ever got is a tone that's just ok, one that I'm fairly happy with, but not one that totally satisfies me. I wonder sometimes if I'm just chasing something elusive but ultimately unattainable - subjective perfection?
[/quote]

Me too. I think it's about finding where your own personal 'sweet spot' is ~ depending on the situation, whether playing Live on a stage or recording at home or in a studio.

Stage: After many years' of amp fiddling and twiddling, I gave up and like a few others, gave FOH a DI +++ my own personal monitoring amp/cab facing towards me.

Home: Preamp DI into the Interface > DAW, and monitor out to a personal favourite amp (NAD 302) with headphones.



(Preamp DI in the rack for FOH + my own cabinet/monitor pointing towards the 'sweet spot'. No way FOH are controlling my monitors as well!).

Edited July 17, 2017 by SimonEdward

[Dan Dare]

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1500180775' post='3336050']
Over time, I've tried to stop fretting about it. Particularly in a live situation. Yesterday I payed at a festival with an active Precision through a Trace Elloitt combo. I didn't like the tone I was hearing on stage at all, but the people out front said it sounded just dandy.
[/quote]

So true. I played through a Markbass rig that belonged to another bass player on the same bill. Didn't like the sound on stage, but it was excellent out front. We were both using J basses, so I what I heard when he was playing must have been the same or very close to the sound I had.

[blue]

[quote name='T-Bay' timestamp='1500272324' post='3336518']

Partly but if I stick you with a Stagg with an action as high as Mt Rushmore through the Peavey practice amp we have at work that sounds like wasps trapped in a tin you won't get the same tone. You are right that your fingers are critical to it but you need kit that will allow that to show through.
[/quote]

Of course you need a bass that's reasonabky playable.

Blue

[Cat Burrito]

As Blue said earlier, a lot of tone comes from the player rather than the gear. I'm usually pretty happy but I'm also at a stage where I sound like me regardless of who's gear I'm playing.

Also it is important to tweak your settings for the room you are playing. Some raised wooden stages can make the bass sound boomy so adjusting EQ and putting it back after is important.

[BrunoBass]

Thanks for all the responses guys.

I've been playing bass on and off for twenty five years so I'm well versed in eq'ing etc. I guess the point I'm making is regarding the endless search for the tone I hear in my head that I want to achieve and actually achieving it. As I said I suspect that it's ultimately unattainable 😊

[oldbass]

[quote name='Len_derby' timestamp='1500180775' post='3336050']
Over time, I've tried to stop fretting about it. Particularly in a live situation. Yesterday I payed at a festival with an active Precision through a Trace Elloitt combo. I didn't like the tone I was hearing on stage at all, but the people out front said it sounded just dandy.
[/quote]

This is kinda why the term "my tone" doesn't really make much sense cause 9 times out of ten if its sweet deep and lush on stage its gonna sound like mud in the crowd...thin and crap on stage usually sounds goodly in the pit.

[mcnach]

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1500158337' post='3336029']
Is anybody 100% happy with their tone?

I've spent many years and lots of money on different amplifiers, different cabinets, different basses, different strings, countless hours on my technique, and the closest I've ever got is a tone that's just ok, one that I'm fairly happy with, but not one that totally satisfies me. I wonder sometimes if I'm just chasing something elusive but ultimately unattainable - subjective perfection?
[/quote]


I'm currently 100% happy with mine.
I define 100% happy as "getting better than 90% perfect"
Or when the ratio of "damn that sounds good" to ("it works" + "meh") is above 2 at the very least.
Or something

At some point one realises that the search for a better tone belongs to the "something I do for fun if I have time and can afford it and be arsed about it"
, otherwise it gets too stressful.
In my case I prolonged it longer than necessary because I added other constraints like "it has to fit in my boot" (driving a small car!) and "it's got to be portable enough" with regards to shape and weight...

[chris_b]

[quote name='PaulGibsonBass' timestamp='1500158337' post='3336029']
Is anybody 100% happy with their tone?

I've spent many years and lots of money on different amplifiers, different cabinets, different basses, different strings, countless hours on my technique, and the closest I've ever got is a tone that's just ok, one that I'm fairly happy with, but not one that totally satisfies me. I wonder sometimes if I'm just chasing something elusive but ultimately unattainable - subjective perfection?
[/quote]

IME there's no such thing a a perfect sound. Maybe some of the best bass sounds can be achieved in the studio and they have probably been achieved by going direct. On a gig? I don't think so. I don't know what music you're playing but while aiming for "perfection" might seem like a good idea, it will probably deflect your focus from the real job of being a better player.

On the other hand, I'm very happy (100%) with my sound. . . . because I don't slavishly try to attain a mythical "sound in my head". Every time I change the amp, cab or bass the sound changes, but that doesn't matter because these days good gear always sounds good.

I don't have a unique sound and don't use pedals, but I do buy good gear and try to get the best sound out of it that I can. Then I try to work on my playing. IMO that's where a player can aim for perfection and get results.

[Si600]

One thing i have noticed from the Midlands Bass Bashes is that when someone else plays my bass through my amp it sounds exactly how I want it to sound. When I play it, it doesn't.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Si600' timestamp='1500541697' post='3338539']
One thing i have noticed from the Midlands Bass Bashes is that when someone else plays my bass through my amp it sounds exactly how I want it to sound. When I play it, it doesn't.[/quote]

That has also happened to me. So buy good gear and trust yourself to get a good sound out of it. Check with people that they are hearing what you want them to hear and be happy because unless you really are tone deaf, you [i]are[/i] sounding good.

Most semi pro players sound good. That wasn't the case when I started and the crappy gear most of us used would really drag the sound down. These days any bass playing problems are usually in the playing and mostly in the timing!

You can sound as perfect as you think you can get but you'll piss all of that "perfection" up the wall by playing out of time!!