MacDaddy Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 (edited) Just lately I've been coming around to the train of thought, that a bass is just a tool to do a job. Obviously choose the right tool for the right job, but a tool nonetheless. I've always had to sell to be able to buy and upgrade, and I think I have some nice basses, but I think it's because I sold [i]the bass that I would never sell[/i], to help fund my custom build. I'm not totally devoid of emotion for my basses, but it's quite liberating in a way not to be beholden to brand loyalty or sentiment. Having said all that, when I get my custom Shuker (designed to my exact spec) I'll probably have a change of mind Edited June 30, 2007 by MacDaddy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King of Loss Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I'm never selling any of mine, ever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 [quote name='MacDaddy' post='23113' date='Jun 25 2007, 05:30 PM']...... a bass is just a tool to do a job........[/quote] Yep. You buy the best tools you can in order to do the job, which in my case is to play music. My ultimate aim is to successfully play to the audience and with the rest of the band in a way which makes all of us very happy, makes me proud of my accomplishment and gets me and the band rebooked! A good bass just helps me to do that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I've grown rather attached to my tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MythSte Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 But my tool looks better than your tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 Well...I've had more tools than Joan Collins in the last two years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I've got more tools than I know what to do with - I'm attached to a couple but not too bothered about most. Easy come, easy go, and there's always a new or different or longed-for or prettier tool just up ahead. Jon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 I couldn't agree more, unfortunately because I play covers there's always a tool that will do a better job - hence, G.A.S. Having said that, its under control more or less with a pair of fretted/fretless 5's for modern songs, a jazz, Alembic and stingray for covers. If I did more original music, I could have a pair of matching basses for my signature sound and be done with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 25, 2007 Share Posted June 25, 2007 [quote name='Crazykiwi' post='23219' date='Jun 25 2007, 09:02 PM']I couldn't agree more, unfortunately because I play covers there's always a tool that will do a better job - hence, G.A.S. Having said that, its under control more or less with a pair of fretted/fretless 5's for modern songs, a jazz, Alembic and stingray for covers. If I did more original music, I could have a pair of matching basses for my signature sound and be done with it.[/quote] I'm sorry but I don't understand the idea that playing covers means you have to carry several basses around. Is this to get the "correct" sound of the original record? I have played in original and cover bands for many years and as it's me playing they get "my" bass sound, currently a Lakland 55-94, trying to sound like me. To date I have never been asked to sound like someone else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Burpster Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Chris, I believe Kiwi (the point of his reply) has been trying to obtain the correct sound for the piece of music that he has been asked to play........ That sound MAY have required a specific sound, or maybe the [b]band[/b] required a specific sound or look, hence his post above....... I understand about "your own sound" and thats kinda what I'm after...... however I can understand the pressure to replicate a specific sound to appease, /please/ fit it with others in the band..... I should know I have a P bass because of that----- I'm not in love with it, but it does produce a sound that I cannot get from my PRSs and that is a sound my guitarist wants...... Him happy=Me happy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowhand_mike Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 [quote name='chris_b' post='23282' date='Jun 25 2007, 11:05 PM']I'm sorry but I don't understand the idea that playing covers means you have to carry several basses around. Is this to get the "correct" sound of the original record? I have played in original and cover bands for many years and as it's me playing they get "my" bass sound, currently a Lakland 55-94, trying to sound like me. To date I have never been asked to sound like someone else.[/quote] i actually agree,i play in a covers band and i don't see it as necessary to get the exact same sound as the original, i do however try and get somewhere close but with my own sound on it, but also i can't afford any more than 1 bass so thats what i have to use so be it. if people have expected to see an exact copy of the original band then they should go and see them, tribute acts then yeah you need to replicate it but in a covers band you could be playing 30 different bands songs so then theres 30 different sounds, frightening. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedontcarebear Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 I'm a tool Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul, the Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 It's an object's idiosyncrasies that give it character; that chip behind the 7th fret, the nail marks on the pickup cover. Your influence on such an emotive object make it very hard to part with. Playing a new bass or a friend's is an equally difficult task. I like the idea of a custom but I also like the idea of adapting to what I have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_b Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 [quote name='The Burpster' post='23353' date='Jun 26 2007, 07:49 AM']That sound MAY have required a specific sound, or maybe the [b]band[/b] required a specific sound or look, hence his post above.......[/quote] I can see what you are saying. I would say that in most situations I'm aiming for a bigger, fatter, punchier Duck Dunn tone. I suppose it's pretty close to a classic, go anywhere bass tone (but hopfully better), so maybe that's why I don't get hassled. I think that owning several basses to get specific sounds is way too expensive for me and, as Mike says, is moving into tribute band territory. A joy which I have yet to experience! This is a quote by Lee Sklar, which pretty well sums up my approach as well: "I am using my Dingwall fanned-fret 5string only. I am not one for dragging around a half dozen basses and always changing. If the song was done with a fretless in the studio, I just try to emulate it stylistically." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martthebass Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Guess sometimes it depends whats needed. I love the sound of a WW Thumb but it just doesn't work on some of the stuff I have to play. Something a bit more neutral is sometimes needed to cover all genres? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ARGH Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Tool are a great band Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJW Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 yes. it is a tool, and i love my particular tool very very much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 I've got a massive Tool...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MacDaddy Posted June 26, 2007 Author Share Posted June 26, 2007 [quote name='crez5150' post='23704' date='Jun 26 2007, 08:14 PM']I've got a massive Tool...... [/quote] I hope we are still talking about basses Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acidbass Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 Mine is 34" in length. I totally agree with 'paul, the' above - I bought my Warwick on a whim a few years ago and didn't get on with it at first, however now I've grown so attached to it that when I play another bass, it just feels odd. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muppet Posted June 26, 2007 Share Posted June 26, 2007 There are plenty of tools with jobs in my office. fetching coat as we speak... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TPJ Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I once heard an interview with George Benson and when asked about his guitars he said, "..don't get me wrong, there are guitars I like to play. BUT, I tell the guitar what to do, not the other way around" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Telebass Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 All valid points... I do only covers, and use only one model of one variety of bass (OK, a split-coil P and a single-coil P, but there's not a huge difference). There's no problem with different sounds. Just play the instrument differently and know well what your amp can do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 I collect tools. Vintage basses are more than a just 'a tool to do a job' ... they're an intrinsic part of that job. As a crap bassist myself (only been playing for 18 months, plenty of room for improvement) every time I pick up a 45-year-old bass I get a sense of a line of previous players of that instrument standing behind me. I'm not getting all mystical or misty-eyed here, I'm not that sort. But I do have a sense of history, and it really adds to the sensation when playing. If I play the same bass-line on a brand new bass, it may sound the same to you but it won't feel the same to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted June 27, 2007 Share Posted June 27, 2007 [quote name='The Burpster' post='23353' date='Jun 26 2007, 07:49 AM']Chris, I believe Kiwi (the point of his reply) has been trying to obtain the correct sound for the piece of music that he has been asked to play........ That sound MAY have required a specific sound, or maybe the [b]band[/b] required a specific sound or look, hence his post above.......[/quote] In my experience, having the right instruments for the song makes a hell of a difference to how inspired other people in the band feel about their playing. I've heard musicians lift the standard of their playing to match the quality of the sounds they hear. Its not just bass either. What about if the keys player is using an organ patch on a Casio home keyboard instead of using a Nord Electro 2? OK its adequate and you'll get by, but is adequacy the standard you want to achieve musically (he asks rhetorically)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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