Bored in the car: tone OR playability - you can only choose one...

[Moos3h]

Hi all,

Post a depressing visit to Bass Direct, I was spending the 1hr 30 in the car on the way back wondering...if you could ONLY have a bass that played like heaven OR sounded like it, which would you choose?

I think it's playability for me, I mean, even the worst of basses sounds roughly like a bass, right? As long as it plays well, I could see me coping with it but so many basses that I tried today sounded INCREDIBLE but played in a way I disliked.

It's all personal preference, so I don't expect us to be able to define what's good tone and bad tone and/or what defines 'plays well' (the forum would implode if we all agreed) but I'm curious to know.

Cheers,
James

[Lozz196]

Difficult one, I think playability as surely that coaxes the best from the player, so with a decent enough amp should achieve a good sound.

[TheGreek]

I voted for playability - tone is such a subjective thing with so many factors (strings/amp/technique/etc) that it isn't just about the bass. For me, if I don't like the feel of an instrument, it has to go. This includes 2x Wals which I couldn't get on with the neck profile.

[Rich]

Playability for me, every time. No point having a bass that sounds like heaven if it's hell to play.

[operative451]

Tone. I like to fight instruments a bit or it doesn't feel like i'm trying... My non-bass guitar is a jazz box despite me being mainly a rock player - i like the Jesus and Mary chain and i like feedback! If you get a good fuzz-wah oscillation going it feels like its trying to twist out of my hands!

[gjones]

I've come to the conclusion that all the bass players I know, who have the best tone, seem to have the highest action on their basses. I know there's a pro US bass player who, not too long ago, joined this forum (and was then chased away by the grumpy regulars). His quote was, 'A low action is the enemy of tone'. Maybe he was right.

[Tdw]

I think tone, i dont necesarily need to be able to play particularly difficult parts but want the bass to sound as good as it can.

[Merton]

Playability all day

[Mykesbass]

I'm probably a bit odd (no, scratch the probably) in that I seem almost oblivious to a wide range of bass/guitar dimensions. I'd ever really noticed scale lengths playing different guitars, and although I have noticed it more on bass it has never felt wrong. I hadn't even really paid too much attention to my Shuker having a zero radius. Only thing I really can't get on with is open pore finished necks. So I'd best vote for tone, as I seem to be able to find playability anywhere.

[Twincam]

[quote name='Moos3h' timestamp='1459792476' post='3019700']
Hi all,

Post a depressing visit to Bass Direct, I was spending the 1hr 30 in the car on the way back wondering...if you could ONLY have a bass that played like heaven OR sounded like it, which would you choose?

I think it's playability for me, I mean, even the worst of basses sounds roughly like a bass, right? As long as it plays well, I could see me coping with it but so many basses that I tried today sounded INCREDIBLE but played in a way I disliked.

It's all personal preference, so I don't expect us to be able to define what's good tone and bad tone and/or what defines 'plays well' (the forum would implode if we all agreed) but I'm curious to know.

Cheers,
James
[/quote]

You didn't say how bad the tone and playability were? That's a big part of the question.

At the extremes there's No point in having an instrument that sounds good but you can't play right else it won't get played and no tone at all.
The same can be said about playability but even if the bass had very bad tone.

But let's just say both tone and playability are very average not great not poor then playability for sure or would I???
I'm confused now.

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1459802277' post='3019886']
I'm probably a bit odd...
[/quote]

Odd, perhaps, but not alone; I'll even see your playability forgiveness and raise you a tone flexibility. I find that, whatever tone (whatever that is..?) on an instrument, I play to it, and (bagpipes excepted...) find I can get along very well with it. I'm never looking to impose what [i]I [/i]want, but rather trying to get the best out of what's on offer. Same with playability; on bass, fat neck, short scale; even 'lefty' at the extreme end of the scale, I'll get what I can from it. It's true that I'm not (nor trying to be...) virtuoso on any instrument, and don't, or rather, no longer, spend hours on end with a bass on my shoulder. It makes it easier (not easy, but easier..!) to enjoy most instruments. I'm not the grouchy type, either; that helps, maybe..,?

[Skybone]

For me, I voted sound over playability. Playability can be tweaked until it's right at no extra cost. Making something sound right can cost a lot of time & money, and you're not always guaranteed the "right" results.

I've owned guitars and basses that have been superb instruments to play, but no matter how much I tweaked them or spent on them (new pickups/pot's/capacitors/etc.), they still didn't sound right.

I've owned guitars and basses that haven't been great players, but they sounded great, so I invested a bit of care & time into them (setups etc.) and they became fine players (and I got used to how they played).

With hindsight (and after spending a small fortune on equipment), playability comes after sound in my book (but they still have to look good too!).

[CamdenRob]

Tone over playability if it came down to it... Fortunately we don't have to choose and many fine instruments offer the best of both 🙂

[ezbass]

Ooh, interesting conundrum. I can see both sides that have been made above. If a bass sounds fantastic, then there are things that can be done to make it play, OK-ish. However, this flies in the face of what happened to me a while back. I was out bass browsing, as you do, and there was a wall full of Ricky 4003s. My previous experience with this Marmite brand was an almost unplayable example at a guitar show. However, there they were on the wall and I thought I'd see if my previous was still relevant. Cue a very playable 4003S. It was only then that I plugged it in and fell for the tone. So there you have it, I would have called tone, but it appears that I'm a playability guy.

[GrammeFriday]

Thankfully both of my current basses have both tone and playability in spades, but if forced to choose I'd take playability every time. Choosing tone over playability is like choosing a car that has a fantastic engine sound but can't get out of 1st gear. I appreciate that some people have the time, money and patience for such museum pieces, but they're not for me.

[Cameronj279]

I'd rather have a bit of a struggle to play something but have it sound excellent than find something really easy but sound like a walrus being harassed.

People wouldn't listen to a recording and think "I really like this, even though it sounds awful...it's nice to hear how easy the bass was to play"

[EssentialTension]

I'm very flexible on both.

Tone can easily be shaped by fingers/pick/strings/preamp/effects/amp/cab etc.

And one person's playability is another persons unplayability.

[Paul S]

I voted for tone. Or, probably more accurately, the voice. As ET says above, you can make a bass sound different by changing the way you play but the inherent character or voice is something else. For me it is the most intangible and illusive quality. My three 'keepers' all have that certain something that is difficult to attain by changing bits.

Example - my white medium scale Squier Precision arrived with what I would consider to be the perfect Precision bass tone. The voice is woody and fruity. It is also lightweight and has a very comfortable neck. But - it is white. I like black basses. So when its twin - a medium scale Squier Precision bass but in black - became available from a seller in Japan I bought it, with the intention of moving on the white one. I made exactly the same changes to the bass as had been made to the white one - Fender Original pup and better wiring loom. Result - an exceedingly lovely black Precision. But it didn't sound as nice as the white one.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Paul S

[BigRedX]

I don't understand the question. Having grown up in the 70s with basses (and guitars) that only just qualified as musical instruments in terms or sound and playability, my experience is that just about every single modern bass performs perfectly adequately in a band context on both counts.

And judging by what others say about playability and tone, both attributes are entirely subjective.

[Skol303]

A very subjective question of course... but as I interpret it, my vote would be for playability.

All things being fairly equal, my tone sounds pretty much the same whatever bass I'm playing (assuming here a broadly equal pickup configuration, string type, etc). If the action is way too high, or the neck not comfy, or the bass too heavy, or has neck dive, or whatever, then my playability and thus tone is going to suffer.

So I always choose basses depending on whether they feel comfy [i]first[/i], knowing that I can adjust the tone via numerous other means (on-board EQ, amplifier, post-production software and so on).

[cheddatom]

I've never played a bass I wouldn't be comfortable playing. The bass I choose to put in the bag is the one I think will sound best for the task at hand, so I guess it's tone over playability for me, but yeh, I've never known an unplayable instrument

[chris_b]

Tone every time.

Playability is personal, it's about what I like and don't like about the feel of a bass. Hopefully I'm good enough to be able to play any instrument, even the ones I don't get on with.

Tone is what a musician sends out into the world to be judged on. It's what others hear when they make decisions about my playing. A great tone is everything.

[RockfordStone]

i'd say playability for me, there are many toys you can get that will adjust your tone to suit, but you can only adjust a bass so much to make it perfectly playable.

[BigRedX]

But tone is entirely personal too. Especially judging by the number of threads I see on here purporting to show off killer tone, most of which leave me thinking that if I sounded like that I would be seriously re-evaluating my playing technique and choice of equipment.

And a good tone IMO very much dependent upon the type of music you play and how the other instruments in the band sound - what works with one type of music and musicians doesn't automatically work with others.

[discreet]

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1459796419' post='3019786']
I've come to the conclusion that all the bass players I know, who have the best tone, seem to have the highest action on their basses. I know there's a pro US bass player who, not too long ago, joined this forum (and was then chased away by the grumpy regulars). His quote was, 'A low action is the enemy of tone'. Maybe he was right.
[/quote]

I think he IS right. A super-low action is way overrated imho. I raised the action on my basses recently to get a more 'DB' sound for a project and it's like night and day. In a good way. I think it's because the string has more room to vibrate properly. Plus, when I play live with a low action the sound seems a bit choked to me and when I start to dig in I get lots of fret buzz. So you need a light touch with a low action, too.

A low action is fine for when you're practising or noodling at home, but when you're going for it at a gig it's better to have a higher action. As someone said above, it's good to fight the bass a little, it's well worth it. All in my opinion, of course.

I voted for playability, but I don't see why you can't have a good sound as well?

Edited April 5, 2016 by discreet