what are some bass guitars with distinct tone?

#41
bushy said:
I've tried so many bass guitars and most sound the same if not alike, even the ones that cost $200 in comparison with pricier bass guitars.

I do find the Ashbory bass having a distinct tone. Is it the fretlessness of it or the strings or the pickups that give bass guitars their tone?
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Rickenbacker 4xxx series?
Höfner 500/1?
Gibson Ripper?
Guild Starfire?
Gibson Thunderbird?
Gold Tone Banjo Bass?
Fender Aero Jazz?
Wal?
Dobro Resonator Bass?
…and more.

There’s quite a few with a distinctive or signature sound. How are you defining “distinctive?”

As far as the Ashbory goes, it’s unique sound is due to the loose rubbery strings. You can get an improved version of that sound on a mote playable instrument with any uke bass or a Gold Tone Microbass.
 
#44
Sam Dingle said:
Can you give examples of songs maybe of artists where the bassist isn't known (off the top of my head something like "this bruno mars song is a jazz bass, where this taylor swift song is a p bass")
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Honestly, those are two bad examples.

Bruno Mars uses a lot of effects on bass. (Not knocking it. That dude is perfect for that band and hold down a massive groove.) That being said it sounds like a P bass to me.

And Taylor, both in Nashville and New York, probably uses some of the finest studio cats available. But bass is buried in the mix for the most part. I have done quite a few of her country songs live. The bass tone, while great in those songs, just sounds "active" to me. The tone is fine. But it doesn't jump out at me as being any particular legendary bass. Several sound like they use a pick so I used a pick on them live. They were all fun to play (and singing backups above a female singer was TOUGH).

Bass is buried in the mix in a LOT of music from the last couple decades. So disticntive bass tones don't exactly leap out at you. (There are exceptions, of course.)

I don't know if that helped. Just one bass whore's ovservations.
 
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#46
bushy said:
I've tried so many bass guitars and most sound the same if not alike, even the ones that cost $200 in comparison with pricier bass guitars.

I do find the Ashbory bass having a distinct tone. Is it the fretlessness of it or the strings or the pickups that give bass guitars their tone?
Click to expand...
If you've tried a wide variety of different basses in different price ranges and they all sound about the same, it's probably not the basses. ;)

In my quest for the perfect P bass years ago, I went to a store and tried out about 12 different ones (used) from Squiers to MIA. They all sounded different. They weren't all wildly different, but different enough to make my final choice easy.
 
#47
Are Uke bass generally acoustic or it's also electric? This Uke bass is confusing:

Hadean Bass Uke UKBE-22 Blue Fretless - RondoMusic.com

It looks like an electric with knobs and cable plug input, yet it doesn't appear to have any pickups, not even listed. No hole for it to be acoustic. Is it because it's fretless?

40Hz said:
Rickenbacker 4xxx series?
Höfner 500/1?
Gibson Ripper?
Guild Starfire?
Gibson Thunderbird?
Gold Tone Banjo Bass?
Fender Aero Jazz?
Wal?
Dobro Resonator Bass?
…and more.

There’s quite a few with a distinctive or signature sound. How are you defining “distinctive?”

As far as the Ashbory goes, it’s unique sound is due to the loose rubbery strings. You can get an improved version of that sound on a mote playable instrument with any uke bass or a Gold Tone Microbass.
Click to expand...
 
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#50
Basses can sound similar with dead strings and a bad setup. Throwing on a fresh pair of rounds and getting the action right can really open up the tone of a bass and allow you to hear the differences.

Reverb has a series of videos on YouTube demonstrating the sounds of a Ric, P, J, and Ray that's worth looking into to get a sense of what I'm saying.

Angeldust Guitars also does a lot of killer demos of basses that really allow you to hear the differences between bass models.
 
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#52
bushy said:
Are Uke bass generally acoustic or it's also electric? This Uke bass is confusing:

Hadean Bass Uke UKBE-22 Blue Fretless - RondoMusic.com

It looks like an electric with knobs and cable plug input, yet it doesn't appear to have any pickups, not even listed. No hole for it to be acoustic. Is it because it's fretless?
Click to expand...

There’s both solid and semi acoustic body uke basses. Whether or not it’s fretless has no bearing. You don’t see a pickup because, on the one in the picture, there’s a piezo rod pickup in the bridge. So it’s not a magnetic pickup. It’s more like a microphone the way it works. The advantage is your strings don’t have to be magnetic (i.e. nickel or steel) to be heard. Bronze, nylon and rubber strings will also work.
 
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#54
JoeWPgh said:
At home, alone, all of my basses are distinct from one another. In a live setting, in a less than ideal room, the subtle nuances can get lost in the sauce. Some suffer worse than others. And I never know until I get there.
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Exactly this. After 40 years of playing bass, I’ve come to the conclusion that for most live gigs it doesn’t much matter what bass you play as long as it has a decent sound. At stage volume levels the differences blur and all you’re going to hear is “bass.” Different amps will make a difference. But the instrument itself will take a backseat. Probably the main reason why so many experienced players try not over analyze it and just pack along a decent PB or JB style bass and call it a day.

In a recording studio setting you can pull out all the stops and bring everything you’ve got if you feel the need. That’s the place to pursue sonic subtlety and perfection. Or (maybe) when playing in the occasional rare “listening space” environment like a recital or concert hall which was specifically designed with music performance in mind.

But for your average bar gig, a 4x10 with about 500 watts behind it - and just about any bass you want to play - is probably all you'll ever need provided you know how to EQ on your amp. Add a transparent compressor and a HPF to the above and you’ll be able to handle virtually any room you’re likely to find yourself gigging in. Bring your favorite player bass and rock it for all it’s worth and I can practically guarantee it’ll sound great.
 
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#55
two fingers said:
Honestly, those are two bad examples.

Bruno Mars uses a lot of effects on bass. (Not knocking it. That dude is perfect for that band and hold down a massive groove.) That being said it sounds like a P bass to me.

And Taylor, both in Nashville and New York, probably uses some of the finest studio cats available. But bass is buried in the mix for the most part. I have done quite a few of her country songs live. The bass tone, while great in those songs, just sounds "active" to me. The tone is fine. But it doesn't jump out at me as being any particular legendary bass. Several sound like they use a pick so I used a pick on them live. They were all fun to play (and singing backups above a female singer was TOUGH).

Bass is buried in the mix in a LOT of music from the last couple decades. So disticntive bass tones don't exactly leap out at you. (There are exceptions, of course.)

I don't know if that helped. Just one bass whore's ovservations.
Click to expand...

Are you talking about that Bruno song "treasure"? Yep that sounds like a p-bass with rounds to me with that smooth low mid thump similar to the Commodores "Brickhouse"(another slapped p bass tune)....
The song "uptown funk" on the other hand sounds like a jazz with an octaver effect(at least for the main riff, maybe not the slap parts...I gotta listen again maybe), also roundwounds though I don't have golden ears or anything! LOL
 
#58
bushy said:
I've tried so many bass guitars and most sound the same if not alike, even the ones that cost $200 in comparison with pricier bass guitars.

I do find the Ashbory bass having a distinct tone. Is it the fretlessness of it or the strings or the pickups that give bass guitars their tone?
Click to expand...

I find that a lot of tonal distinction depends on the player. I have never had one of my basses played by other bassists sound like they do when I play them.
 
#60
Sam Dingle said:
Can you give examples of songs maybe of artists where the bassist isn't known (off the top of my head something like "this bruno mars song is a jazz bass, where this taylor swift song is a p bass")
Click to expand...

This Bruno mars song uses a Roland synth in the studio for bass, that Taylor Swift song uses a Yamaha synth in the studio for bass.
May want to look through non current pop music for examples of actual instruments.
 
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