iconic Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Well, so far in my limited time of owning a bass I have heard/read the following descriptions, there should be some sort of EEC STD glossery in no particular order:- [b]mellow rich soft hard edged full empty hollow harsh cold warm muddy clean bright crisp rounded "with a cool top end twang" fat thin funky jazzy classic 50's/60's/70's/80's sound....not seen a 90's yet... velvety vintage modern balmy smooth I even saw 'crunchy' for an Orange bass amp sound.... [/b][i][/i] It can't be the easy trying to describe a sound by words but it's a shame someone like a wordsmith like Matt Johnson doesn't write reviews, I mean we would all know what this means "the distant noise of some drunken jazz band".....but then we would like to what the rig the bass played thru Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Very interesting and potentially useful topic Not sure if one word in itself can describe some bass sounds adequately, as different frequencies ranges can have their own characteristics, especially with some of the active E.Q. systems available today. i.e. to use some examples from the list ' A warm bottom end with a cool top end twang' Would be curious to see where this goes. T Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Protium Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 "angry wasp trapped under a glass" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 flatulent ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='Protium' post='698630' date='Jan 2 2010, 11:48 AM']"angry wasp trapped under a glass"[/quote] sound more like fret buzz to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldslapper Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 "Punchy P" always reminds me of an angry vegetable I once dated. "Flappy B" a rather stressed insect? "Growly PUP".....not just for christmas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crez5150 Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Brown ;0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
essexbasscat Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='phil.i.stein' post='698632' date='Jan 2 2010, 11:51 AM']flatulent ?[/quote] Blown another speaker cone Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 drawing from my Yamaha WR250F enduro bike suspension phrases [b]creamy plush top end hit low end grunt.......or was that the sprouts Christmas Day evening?[/b][i][/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robocorpse Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 My all time fave: "Like a handful of gravel hitting a tin bath" Often used to describe Rickenbackers in the early 70s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrcrow Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='iconic' post='698620' date='Jan 2 2010, 11:33 AM']Well, so far in my limited time of owning a bass I have heard/read the following descriptions, there should be some sort of EEC STD glossery in no particular order:- [b]mellow rich soft hard edged full empty hollow harsh cold warm muddy clean bright crisp rounded "with a cool top end twang" fat thin funky jazzy classic 50's/60's/70's/80's sound....not seen a 90's yet... velvety vintage modern balmy smooth I even saw 'crunchy' for an Orange bass amp sound.... [/b][i][/i] It can't be the easy trying to describe a sound by words but it's a shame someone like a wordsmith like Matt Johnson doesn't write reviews, I mean we would all know what this means "the distant noise of some drunken jazz band".....but then we would like to what the rig the bass played thru [/quote] my input is brown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 (edited) is 'brown' like 'beige' but more interestin',or just darker ? Edited January 2, 2010 by phil.i.stein Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 firstly...who's matt johnson ? secondly...gloss[b]a[/b]ry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 The tHe ? spelling optional.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Conan Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Like it! Just like any other area of interest, bass playing has its own unique jargon and some which is shared with others... We all know what the terms mean (or at least we THINK we do!), but they are very subjective - so one man's "warm" may be another man's "creamy"... Fortunately, I'm yet to hear the word "moist" used to describe sound. Probably just as well!! :brow: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='phil.i.stein' post='698869' date='Jan 2 2010, 05:27 PM']The tHe ? spelling optional.. [/quote] well, that's who sprung to mind....but i wasn't sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='Conan' post='698873' date='Jan 2 2010, 05:28 PM']Like it! Just like any other area of interest, bass playing has its own unique jargon and some which is shared with others... We all know what the terms mean (or at least we THINK we do!), but they are very subjective - so one man's "warm" may be another man's "creamy"... Fortunately, I'm yet to hear the word "moist" used to describe sound. Probably just as well!! :brow:[/quote] squelchy is one i've heard in relation to fx ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cat Burrito Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 (edited) Great thread. I think the 90s was more a decade of nostalgia generally so there is unlikely to be a 90s tone as such. I reserve the right to be wrong but that's how it felt at the time, as we faced the end of an era and the dawning of a new millenium. One term I used to hear a lot which I don't so much these days is "chocolate-y" but I think you got them all covered. We can all walk into studios and create the impression we know what we are on about! edited for my woeful spelling! Edited January 2, 2010 by BurritoBass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Good topic! I especially like the descriptions which are contradictory. I dig the classic description of slap tone: "marbles in a biscuit tin". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iconic Posted January 2, 2010 Author Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='ahpook' post='698858' date='Jan 2 2010, 05:18 PM']firstly...who's matt johnson ? secondly...gloss[b]a[/b]ry [/quote] I'm a little dyslexic, ya lucky I got the worms the way right 'round...yes The The...I like my group names to be easy to remember because of this...I also like Talk Talk Brown..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RhysP Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 My favourite description of a bass sound has to be Nick Lowe's comment when talking about his Hamer 8 string bass: It sounded "Like a dinosaur eating cars!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadonroll Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 bag of crisps/foily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahpook Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 hang on... has nobody mentioned 'clank' ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phil.i.stein Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 [quote name='iconic' post='698972' date='Jan 2 2010, 06:42 PM']I'm a little dyslexic, ya lucky I got the worms the way right 'round...yes The The...I like my group names to be easy to remember because of this...I also like Talk Talk Brown..... [/quote] g.s.h.o. !! respetc ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apex Posted January 2, 2010 Share Posted January 2, 2010 Hmm, glossary eh? We seem to have all the words but none of the meanings! How about a few sound clips to group the words around? Then I might have some idea of what we're talking about! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.gif.9ad672bb8b84505709f76b39c8c256ec.gif)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.