Resonance vs sustain

What do you want more in a bass?

  • Resonance

    Votes: 66 58.9%

  • Sustain

    Votes: 14 12.5%

  • Beta Carrotine

    Votes: 32 28.6%
  • Total voters
    112
#62
Mystic Michael said:
Well, that's really the central issue then, isn't it? Because how long the string is vibrating over the pickup (i.e. quantity of signal) is a manifestation of sustain, while how easily or readily that string vibration occurs (i.e. quality of signal) is a manifestation of resonance. So the two are closely related, or put another way, are a way of perceiving two aspects of the same function.

Herein lies the importance of tone woods (yes, I'm going there): Because various types of woods resonate in a particular, generally predictable manner as they influence the way the strings vibrate, and to what extent. The player can then exploit those tonal traits musically.

MM
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I recently got a Lucite bass. Apparently the wood the neck is made of is much more important than the body material because it sounds pretty good (surprisingly like a P Bass).
 
#64
I want less sustain, but the resonance intact. How do I vote? I voted Beta Carrotine. So I don't want neither in any bass. This sustain thing everybody's looking for beats me too. Guitarists I can understand but bassists? Meh...
 
#65
Depends on the music. Electric solid body basses have a lot of sustain. In some cases too much. Resonance, on the other hand contributes tone. But it's just a small factor of the larger world of sound. Many other factors will likely have more impact on tone and sound than just resonance. But it is the foundation of which the other factors build on.
 
#71
What exactly is "resonance"? I have thought about it alot, and it seems the dictionary definition doesnt jive with how people usually use it. In fact the way people use it when talking about instruments is dependent on sustain. In some cases it can mean the lack of fundamental tone as well. Its a vague term so its difficult to nail down.
 
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#72
I voted resonance.
I prefer Bolt-On neck construction that generally adds to perceived volume output in comparison to set neck or neck through neck construction. The later neck builds are still great but if I could only have one instrument it would be a bolt-on.

Why are Pre CBS Fenders sought after?
They were resonant bolt-ons.
 
#73
Wiremessiah said:
What exactly is "resonance"? I have thought about it alot, and it seems the dictionary definition doesnt jive with how people usually use it. In fact the way people use it when talking about instruments is dependent on sustain. In some cases it can mean the lack of fundamental tone as well. Its a vague term so its difficult to nail down.
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It's like trying to describe tone. It's pretty subjective. Resonance is more about how the vibrations of the entire bass produces the right sound frequencies or right kind of output. Sustain being the duration of an open or fretted note.

Neither are simple to explain or comprehend.
 
#74
bassballs27 said:
It's like trying to describe tone. It's pretty subjective. Resonance is more about how the vibrations of the entire bass produces the right sound frequencies or right kind of output. Sustain being the duration of an open or fretted note.

Neither are simple to explain or comprehend.
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By that definition its exactly like describing tone. It is tone. Tone though develops over the volume envelope. Resonance is usually used to describe acoustic instruments, incorporating loudness, brightness, fullness, clarity, projection and sustain. In tuned circuits it can mean honkiness or sharpness. In drums it can mean tonality and "anti-boxiness". In electric basses i guess it means timbre.
 
#75
Wiremessiah said:
By that definition its exactly like describing tone. It is tone. Tone though develops over the volume envelope. Resonance is usually used to describe acoustic instruments, incorporating loudness, brightness, fullness, clarity, projection and sustain. In tuned circuits it can mean honkiness or sharpness. In drums it can mean tonality and "anti-boxiness". In electric basses i guess it means timbre.
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To me, resonance just means the amount of information that is transferred from string to body.
 
#78
Engle said:
If you play upright bass and then play electric, you realize that pretty much any electric bass has far more sustain than is necessary.
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If one played electric bass all their life, then picked up an upright that might wonder why the upright is so dead sounding. Perspective, regardless of which instrument came first in history.
 
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#79
Pitched instruments consist of at least one resonant system. This first system determines the pitch of the note produced and also its raw (unprocessed or unmodified) timbre. In the case of stringed instruments, this resonator is the string itself. In the case of wind instruments it is the length and shape of a column of air.

Certain instruments, like acoustic stringed instruments, also have a second resonant system. This system consists primarily of the instrument body and its enclosed air mass. The resonant frequency of this second sytem does not affect the pitch, but rather acts as a formant filter, affecting the voice or overall timbre of the instrument. It is also part of the system that serves to transform the string energy into acoustic energy.

As an acoustic or musical quality, resonance refers this timbral shaping of the sound by a resonant system. Some of us have a naturally resonant voice.This resonance is provided by the physical shape of the larynx (voice box). The rest of us "sing in the shower", which provides a resonant cavity, and use SM58 mics.

Generally, resonance refers to a desirable peaking in the frequency response or timbre. But technically, it just refers to a peaking. Martin guitars have a definite resonance in the lower frequency range. Some like it, some don't. But they are nonetheless resonant.

It is not clear to me that resonance and sustain are mutually exclusive. In the case of acoustic instruments, volume and sustain are opposing qualities. You can only increase one at the expense of the other. Not so sure about resonance and sustain.

Things are a bit different with solid body electric instruments. The primary effects on tone (or timbre) are from the string construction, pickup construction, pickup location, and control circuitry. The pickup itself has a self resonance but it is typically at the upper end of the audio range and insignificant. The overall response of a pickup is that of an LR lowpass filter. When you add a tone cap fully into the circuit, you get a resonant peak, but it is typically small with the loading of common vol pot values. The larger effect is the steeper rolloff of the LRC filter formed by the addition of the tone cap.

The combination of neck and body will resonate at some frequency and that will be reflected in the vibration of the string to some extent. Also any vibration in the body will be sensed by the pickups. The actual effects of these are a whole 'nother topic though.

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