I Hate The Sound of My Bass... Or, Phil’s Hierarchy of Tone

Most people fall in love their instruments when they buy them. Very often, over time the love fades and it can be hard to win it back. Every week we hear someone say “I hate the sound of my bass.” In those cases, we suggest you either modify it or get rid of it.

There are many reasons people’s feelings change. Sometimes, the instrument changes, decay, wear, and damage can erode a good tone. More often than not, the player’s tastes change, they become refined or morph into a different expectation. I know I did my time with the fretless bridge pickup Jaco tone, then moved through an electronic processed tone with MIDI and multiple effect layers, only to morph into a stripped-down Motown Jamerson thing. Every time I moved, I’d either modify or get rid of a bass sometimes very stupidly too.

I’ll assume you know how to get rid of an instrument somewhere between eBay and a bonfire and let you have at that. If you are considering modifications, there are several points to mull over before you do.

My most important and first Rule Of Modifications is:

“You will usually get a result you like coupled with at least one other side effect you won’t that you’ll have to learn to live with.

“ This is particularly annoying with irreversible mods. You have to be certain you want to take this risk, or don’t make the leap to do it in the first place. Change from passive electronics to active, and all of a sudden there is this buzz you can’t get rid of until you dump the $1,000 pickups and preamp and put back in the $50 passive stuff you just took out.That’s maddening.

Over the years, I have developed a hierarchy of things that impact the tone of your bass. These points can help people understand the potential modifications they can make and their level of contribution to the overall tone of the guitar.

1. The Player’s Hands. Single most important thing in the hierarchy of tone. When you hear Jaco play, he sounds like Jaco no matter what bass he played. Chris Squire sounds unmistakably like himself whether playing an old Rick or a Jazz Bass or something else. “Modifications” here have a huge impact. Lessons, practice, lots of playing time, this is by far the best bang for the buck. It avoids GAS and puts the onus squarely on the player rather than the gear.

2. Strings. The sound of 20-year-old flat wound Labella strings is vastly different than new DR Hi-Beams.There are many shades in between.Swapping strings can be just what the doctor ordered and is a reversible and often relatively inexpensive thing to shake up your sound.

3. Wood. Generously lifted from Roger Sadowsky. Wood makes a huge difference in the tone of a guitar and is far more significant than anything that follows down the list. You can’t usually change this much, if at all.Why this is important is that sometimes no matter what other changes you make, if the wood isn’t cutting it, then you are just wasting time and money. A great sounding piece of lumber can come from anywhere. It might be in a $10,000 ’62 jazz or a $300 brand new Squier. The opposite can be true to, just because the instrument is expensive doesn’t mean the wood is any good; it would just be expensive tone-dead wood.

4. Setup and Fret Health.A well set up instrument that is comfortable for the player goes a long way to great tone. Conversely, a player who is constantly tripping over deficiencies in setup or fretwork will never feel free enough to create the music they are reaching for. Buzzing spots, intonation issues, pickup height problems all add up to either a great sounding axe or one that is miserable to play. I can’t count how many times a guitar has been transformed for a player by just a routine set up. A well-made instrument with a lousy setup can sound terrible, defying its high price, whereas a garden-variety instrument with a great setup can often sound much better than its price range. No repair man can turn a sow’s ear to a silk purse, but a good one can make your instrument the best it can be, for whatever it is.

5. Pickups and Electronics. Notice how far down the list this is. People often go here first and are dissatisfied when they don’t get the drastic changes that they were looking for.Mostly because they either have junk lumber, the wrong strings or just flatout can’t play. Having said that, there is a huge difference between the sound of an early ‘60 s Precision Bass pickup with a stock passive setup and a set of Bartolini pickups hooked to a Mike Pope Preamp. There are many shades in this range and you can pull your hairout and go broke finding the right combination for what you want.Mostly, remember that if you have skills in your hands, good strings that fit your style, and great lumber, you can’t screw up with any version of high-end electronics you choose. Pick something and learn how to make your sound with it… then leave it alone, and focus on playing.

6. Hardware Changes. Bridges, saddles, nuts, tuning machines, and all the things that touch the string across its stretch can affect the tone the string produces. These are small changes, bass 107 though, and modifications here have the least bang for the buck. These tweaks are usually subtle differences on their own, but when you do a bunch of them they can add up to a profound effect. Usually not as large as changing things above on the list.There are always cases that will be exceptions, however. Overall this is the category where your money goes the shortest distance for the highest dollar.

Go ahead and argue about all this if you like. I’m sure smarter minds than mine can banter about the details here and there; there will always be exceptions to the above. Don’t miss the overarching points here. It’s difficult to modify yourself into a tone that you dream about from where you are. There is always something gained and something lost in every move you make. Nothing is ever perfect, but you can almost always make it better.

Most importantly, remember that the solutions to tone primarily lie in the hands of the player, not in any gear you have or don’t have. That point is blasphemy in a rag that lives and dies by the obsession with gear, I suppose, but here is where this point is best made.

You cannot buy your way into sounding like your favorite player; you must practice and perform your way there. Once you’ve trained your hands, you are well served by educating yourself on the fine details of the tools you use to do your job. In the end, when two great players, (with equally nice demeanor) compete for the same gig, the one with the great sound usually gets it. Paying attention to the little details outlined above go a long way towards getting that gig.