And you forgot the part where guitarists say they hear stuff that isn’t even there which is why tone is very hard to measure because it’s an idea that has no foundation
Im mainly a guitarist but when I play bass I automatically emulate Geezer Butler… where you play with the right hand on the fretboard and a very heavy attack. Love his tone so much
its a little of everything i think personally, think about playing with hard plucks versus softly walking across the strings, then you have fretless, semi hollow, stand ups, acoustics, and any combination of that, then you have different variations of strings, different body woods, what kind of pickups are they, i could honestly go on but you get my point, tone comes from a little of this and that
Tune up to F# on a P bass with lots of high mids and a little chorus. Pick at bridge. (DO NOT TUNE UP WITHOUT LIGHTER GAUGE OTHERWISE YOUR NECK WILL BE AT HIGH RISK OF DAMAGE)
I think "tone is in the hands" is just a way to stop people from having unrealistic expectations from their gear. Yes, the way a person plays can be recognizable even if they use a different rig. But, the gear has a lot to do with what you hear as the end result.
The reason people say tone is in the hands is to get new players more focused on technique and on learning to play well, rather than on trying to buy shiny new gear
It’s a mixture of the two. Tone depends on a few things, mostly your speaker, pedal and effects, bass electronics, playing style. Those are gonna be the main things to focus on when changing your tone.
Technique can drastically change your sound. Playing soft with fingers near the neck Vs playing hard with pick near the bridge will sound wildly different.
That's a lot more true for distorted guitar than bass imo They are a huge factor no doubt, but how hard you pluck, where you pluck, and whether or not you use a pick/fingernail all play a huge part in your bass tone, before you even get to the pickups, much less the speaker
I think people use the term tone when they mean inflection or quality of sound. Your inflection is like the voice of your playing and the character you give the bass and quality of sound is a lot to do with your fingers and how you strike/mute. Your actual sound makeup is mostly formed by the electronics
Tone's in both your hands, buds. You'll get a different tone if you really dig into the fret like Billy Sheehan or if you strike the string really hard like Geddy Lee.
I don't think anyone actually believes it's just in the fingers. But there is something to be said when someone else picks up my bass and sounds completely different from me.
I think when people say tone is in the finger they don't actually mean the timbre of the sound, rather I think they mean the style and tastiness of the sound. At least that's what I think.
I’d say tone comes from a variety of places, but the right hand technique is definitely one of them. For example, on certain songs I use a pick *shocked pikachu face* because it has a better attack that matches the song better
tone mainly comes from the pickups, the amp obviously makes a huge difference too. but yea also how you hit the strings changes the sound, that’s not where all the tone comes from. but there’s an obvious difference from geddy lee to les claypool
Personally i think that any regularly functional bass with any tone can be made to sound well by a well trained ear and touch. Someone without the skill wouldnt know how to control the sound to that degree. Although all and all flavour is subjective, so depends on what " good tone" means to us and to the listener. Idk what more to add. Personally i like tones like on that one song from Gjorge Balasevic called Montenegro ekspres. Its such a slick tone
I've learned that the only difference between different finger and pick styles is the articulation and clarity. Focused on the front end of the note. Tone comes from the speaker and pickups(only if you're playing cleaner tones, otherwise the pickups and basses all sound nearly the same). I've tricked people into thinking I was playing slap when I was really just picking in a sort of way with my tone knob all the way up to mimmick the slap tone perfectly.
Reminds me of a story of Steve Luthiker said about playing EVH's rig : he was disappointed to hear that he didn't sound like Ed playing......he sounded like HIMSELF playing a different guitar....
Tone isn't "just " in the fingers. But all the various adjustments that you can make to your gear simply don't have a ton of audible effect outside when you're playing alone. You should adjust your gear so that it inspires you to play different, to feel different. Then your tone will be wildly different.
When people say tone is in the fingers, I think this particular example isn’t what they’re referring to. If I picked up Steve Harris’ rig tomorrow… would it sound like Steve’s tone? No. Elements of it would be there, but largely no. If he picked up mine? Probably very very close, would just need some shifting of EQ. The playing style & the way your hand reacts to the strings & pickups is 70% of the tone, IMO.
It's not "tone doesn't change from instrument to instrument" it's more like... if you have a standard bass like fender Pbass or jazz, you can achieve a DIVERSE set of sounds just by playing in different positions and at different velocities. In the right hands, any bass with good intonation and working electronics can sound great.
Tone really comes from the pickups in a electric guitar/bass. There's a video of a guy who goes and eliminates every single factor he could in order to find where does tone comes from in an electric, and he gets so bare bones, he just has some strings ascended in the air, with a pickup underneath it.
But pickups only depend on the signal strength above them and while so it will vary depending on position, this can be countered by changing the position and strength of the plucking. Of course for practical purposes it's much easier to move the pickups' signal than the hand.
Also to what degree the pickups are microphonic matters. Most popular pickups in the most popular formats are designed to remove microphonics as much as possible for consistency of sound, but over time, these pickups can become more microphonic, or be designed to be so, for better or worse.
For guitar the construction might not make much difference (especially if it's being distorted in any way) but for bass I'm not convinced. Acoustically my Kimbara JJ and my Aria PJ have different tone. The Kimbara is heavier and has a fuller tone.
@@unclemick-synths Interesting on the bass construction, maybe more wood effects it more. My two basses are too different to know how much the very different bodies and neck impacts it. One thing to add I only learned this week is a slight different tone in stainless steel vs nickel frets, very slightly brighter on stainless.
@@mandiocatostada3859how you play the piano still makes a difference in tone as does the specific piano (or the specific pack if you’re using a keyboard)
I don’t fully agree with the whole ‘tone is just in the fingers’ argument as it just negates the need for any sort of genre-specific setup, but I do have to admit now that mine are calloused up to all hell I’ve noticed my bass sounds a lot more percussive with richer high tones. I think in the end it’s the hardness of whatever you’re hitting the string with, hence why the ukulele picks sounded so smooth in comparison
”Tone is in the fingers” doesn’t mean actual tone as in sound coming from bass. It means the playstyle and qualities a certain player has. For example you give any bass to Victor Wooten, and he is gonna sound like himself on that bass.
Saying tone is all in the fingers is like telling a painter that color is all in the fingers. Yes your hands ARRANGE the tone and color into art, but if you have red paint, there's nothing you can do with your hands to paint blue. Technique is invaluable, but you still need the right equipment. After all, the best guitarist in the world playing air guitar sounds exactly the same as anyone else doing it.
Even though the way you EQ your bass plays a big influence, I believe that it ultimately comes down to your fingers and technique. I remember watching the Jaco Pastorius “So What?” concert and he was playing a bass that wasn’t his usual fretless. He still sounded pretty much the same as if he would’ve been playing with the fretless
From my point of view, "tone" doesn't come from your hands or fingers; this come from your instrument, Amp, pedals etc. BUT the way that you sound, come from your hands, fingers, the way you slap or pick etc. THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE!
I think the idea behind the phrase is more that anyone dedicated enough to fiddle can get *close enough*, and that ultimately playing matters most. But this is funny so i reckon it doesn’t matter
You altered the playing style more when showing the sound between the different pickups, which contributed at least as much of a difference to the sound than the pickups.
Obviously not entirely, but I know alot of people who spend alot if time complaining they can't get the same "tone" as a song but they just have poor dynamics and timing.
I understand the point that those people are trying to get at, but it’s completely lost when they spew stupid shit like that. Of course gear matters, it opens up a world of possibilities, just as the instruments themselves do. Fingers are just as silent without that gear as the gear is without fingers. Tone is a combination of all of these factors and is as subjective is it gets!
Agreed. A voice and how the voice is used are two different things that both contribute to the singing. One can't do what the other does, both are necessary.
The fact someone somewhere has said "tone is all in the fingers" is astounding to me. Thats THE most ignorant thing ive ever heard in my entire life. You simply cant make a fender jazz bass with just the bridge pickup on sound like an ibanez with costed flat wound strings just with your fingers...bruh
While I am a firm believer that there are many different things that go into tone, your test is technically flawed because you didn't play in the same spot for both pickups
For electric bass 95% of tone is technique, pickups and strings (including lenght of strings). Bridge, frets and nut have minor contributions to the tone, body and wood literally does not matter and gives no audible difference, except maybe making the body vibrate slightly differently (listeners cannot notice this).
"tone is in the fingers" has always been such a stupid aphorism. As if fiddling around with your fingers could achieve every sound known to man rather than the very specific section determined by the very thing you're holding and the rest of your signal chain
Tone is ultimately a combination of multiple factors, finger playing style being just one of those factors
Precisely
And you forgot the part where guitarists say they hear stuff that isn’t even there which is why tone is very hard to measure because it’s an idea that has no foundation
Or if you use a pick too.
I use fingers and picks mostly fingers
exactly
nah i think its just one factor
Tone is stored in the balls
😭😭😭😭
Amen brotha
My bros speaking facts
Fax
"Is tone really just stored in the balls? Lets hit the morgue"
Day 4 of asking for Les Claypool’s Behs tone.
Don't do it Danny, its just a trap 😂
day 4 of seconidnging this
@@C_475 Day 4 of thirding this.
Day 4 of fourthing this.
It’s just bridge pickup with some extra mids and overdrive
I would say for electric bass tone comes from a lot of factors, and on upright it comes from even more
String height, string brand, amp, EQ all that plays a factor in upright tone
Im mainly a guitarist but when I play bass I automatically emulate Geezer Butler… where you play with the right hand on the fretboard and a very heavy attack. Love his tone so much
You inspired me to finally buy a bass!
its a little of everything i think personally, think about playing with hard plucks versus softly walking across the strings, then you have fretless, semi hollow, stand ups, acoustics, and any combination of that, then you have different variations of strings, different body woods, what kind of pickups are they, i could honestly go on but you get my point, tone comes from a little of this and that
I’m sure you would nail this - andy rourkes BEHS tone - RIP
Tune up to F# on a P bass with lots of high mids and a little chorus. Pick at bridge.
(DO NOT TUNE UP WITHOUT LIGHTER GAUGE OTHERWISE YOUR NECK WILL BE AT HIGH RISK OF DAMAGE)
I think "tone is in the hands" is just a way to stop people from having unrealistic expectations from their gear. Yes, the way a person plays can be recognizable even if they use a different rig. But, the gear has a lot to do with what you hear as the end result.
Exactly 👍. I think it's the equivalent of the old adage, "to sound like Bonham, first of all you must play like Bonham".
Another fun video!
Nice tone from that BEHS
The reason people say tone is in the hands is to get new players more focused on technique and on learning to play well, rather than on trying to buy shiny new gear
Comes from fingers, strings, pickups, where you play (pluck up on the neck or down at the bridge or in-between), maybe neck length, and body type.
This is correct 👍, also, the woods used determine the sound of the bass
The individual pickup tones are being affected by hand placement already. Doesn’t playing closer to the bridge create a more trebly, tinny sound
Such a good bass tone
It’s a mixture of the two. Tone depends on a few things, mostly your speaker, pedal and effects, bass electronics, playing style. Those are gonna be the main things to focus on when changing your tone.
Tone is all in the speaker and what you use to capture the sound.
Strings have a pretty significant contribution as well.
Technique can drastically change your sound. Playing soft with fingers near the neck Vs playing hard with pick near the bridge will sound wildly different.
That's a lot more true for distorted guitar than bass imo
They are a huge factor no doubt, but how hard you pluck, where you pluck, and whether or not you use a pick/fingernail all play a huge part in your bass tone, before you even get to the pickups, much less the speaker
I think people use the term tone when they mean inflection or quality of sound. Your inflection is like the voice of your playing and the character you give the bass and quality of sound is a lot to do with your fingers and how you strike/mute. Your actual sound makeup is mostly formed by the electronics
Tone's in both your hands, buds. You'll get a different tone if you really dig into the fret like Billy Sheehan or if you strike the string really hard like Geddy Lee.
You're funny dude! "BEHS"😊
You have one of the strongest accents I've ever seen
Bass with headphones on tickles my brain
Behs
Tone is stored in how you rock to da beat.
ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL; tone is in the fingers
I think best tone comes from setting it up exactly how you want it to sound, then just pretending that tone comes from the fingers. Works every time
Fehngs! BEHS!! Something something tone!
As a guitarist this is true
I own a ukulele bass! I got it for Christmas in 2021.
I don't think anyone actually believes it's just in the fingers. But there is something to be said when someone else picks up my bass and sounds completely different from me.
I believe tone is in the tone knobs
I think when people say tone is in the finger they don't actually mean the timbre of the sound, rather I think they mean the style and tastiness of the sound. At least that's what I think.
I’d say tone comes from a variety of places, but the right hand technique is definitely one of them. For example, on certain songs I use a pick *shocked pikachu face* because it has a better attack that matches the song better
For any amplified instrument, the most significant impact on tone is always the speakers.
tone mainly comes from the pickups, the amp obviously makes a huge difference too. but yea also how you hit the strings changes the sound, that’s not where all the tone comes from. but there’s an obvious difference from geddy lee to les claypool
Technique, accents, force, position, fresh strings, pickups, amp, pedals. Lots of factors.
Personally i think that any regularly functional bass with any tone can be made to sound well by a well trained ear and touch.
Someone without the skill wouldnt know how to control the sound to that degree. Although all and all flavour is subjective, so depends on what " good tone" means to us and to the listener.
Idk what more to add.
Personally i like tones like on that one song from Gjorge Balasevic called Montenegro ekspres. Its such a slick tone
You can get a lot more from where on the string you pluck too, obviously. But yes, I agree. Quite a bold statement.
I've learned that the only difference between different finger and pick styles is the articulation and clarity. Focused on the front end of the note. Tone comes from the speaker and pickups(only if you're playing cleaner tones, otherwise the pickups and basses all sound nearly the same). I've tricked people into thinking I was playing slap when I was really just picking in a sort of way with my tone knob all the way up to mimmick the slap tone perfectly.
Tone primarily comes from the speaker, technique is in the hands,
My favorite was Billy Corgans tone paint.
Reminds me of a story of Steve Luthiker said about playing EVH's rig : he was disappointed to hear that he didn't sound like Ed playing......he sounded like HIMSELF playing a different guitar....
Tone isn't "just " in the fingers. But all the various adjustments that you can make to your gear simply don't have a ton of audible effect outside when you're playing alone. You should adjust your gear so that it inspires you to play different, to feel different. Then your tone will be wildly different.
When people say tone is in the fingers, I think this particular example isn’t what they’re referring to.
If I picked up Steve Harris’ rig tomorrow… would it sound like Steve’s tone? No. Elements of it would be there, but largely no.
If he picked up mine? Probably very very close, would just need some shifting of EQ.
The playing style & the way your hand reacts to the strings & pickups is 70% of the tone, IMO.
Js just sound great no matter what
I play with my hand at an angle so my fingers hhit the strings as iff I were playing a stand up.
It's my favourite way to change tone with my hands
The tone comes mostly by the fingers, but also it has to do a lot with the gear you're using
ACCOUSTIC REPRESENTATION LETS GOOOOO
i've got the best tones i've ever had recently, and it's all down to the bass (sire p5R), strings (R66), and amp (katana 210) - same fingers as ever!
It's not "tone doesn't change from instrument to instrument" it's more like... if you have a standard bass like fender Pbass or jazz, you can achieve a DIVERSE set of sounds just by playing in different positions and at different velocities. In the right hands, any bass with good intonation and working electronics can sound great.
Tone really comes from the pickups in a electric guitar/bass. There's a video of a guy who goes and eliminates every single factor he could in order to find where does tone comes from in an electric, and he gets so bare bones, he just has some strings ascended in the air, with a pickup underneath it.
But pickups only depend on the signal strength above them and while so it will vary depending on position, this can be countered by changing the position and strength of the plucking.
Of course for practical purposes it's much easier to move the pickups' signal than the hand.
Also to what degree the pickups are microphonic matters. Most popular pickups in the most popular formats are designed to remove microphonics as much as possible for consistency of sound, but over time, these pickups can become more microphonic, or be designed to be so, for better or worse.
For guitar the construction might not make much difference (especially if it's being distorted in any way) but for bass I'm not convinced. Acoustically my Kimbara JJ and my Aria PJ have different tone. The Kimbara is heavier and has a fuller tone.
@@unclemick-synths Interesting on the bass construction, maybe more wood effects it more. My two basses are too different to know how much the very different bodies and neck impacts it.
One thing to add I only learned this week is a slight different tone in stainless steel vs nickel frets, very slightly brighter on stainless.
Tone and sound is down to the individual.
Each individual will have they're unique sound on any given instrument
unless you're playing piano
@@mandiocatostada3859how you play the piano still makes a difference in tone as does the specific piano (or the specific pack if you’re using a keyboard)
@@mandiocatostada3859 I disagree
@@kg-ui4mc exactly
I don’t fully agree with the whole ‘tone is just in the fingers’ argument as it just negates the need for any sort of genre-specific setup, but I do have to admit now that mine are calloused up to all hell I’ve noticed my bass sounds a lot more percussive with richer high tones. I think in the end it’s the hardness of whatever you’re hitting the string with, hence why the ukulele picks sounded so smooth in comparison
When I used to play I always played near the fretboard to get a good deep bass tone. No pick either.
What's the brand of your guitar?
”Tone is in the fingers” doesn’t mean actual tone as in sound coming from bass. It means the playstyle and qualities a certain player has. For example you give any bass to Victor Wooten, and he is gonna sound like himself on that bass.
Saying tone is all in the fingers is like telling a painter that color is all in the fingers. Yes your hands ARRANGE the tone and color into art, but if you have red paint, there's nothing you can do with your hands to paint blue. Technique is invaluable, but you still need the right equipment. After all, the best guitarist in the world playing air guitar sounds exactly the same as anyone else doing it.
Whats the name of the second bass???
Tone is absolutely in the fingers but rather from a production perspective, not a mixing perspective.
What bass is the second?. The body shape like Musicman?
No. It's stored in my Jim Dunlop .60 mm vinyl pick.
Even though the way you EQ your bass plays a big influence, I believe that it ultimately comes down to your fingers and technique. I remember watching the Jaco Pastorius “So What?” concert and he was playing a bass that wasn’t his usual fretless. He still sounded pretty much the same as if he would’ve been playing with the fretless
From my point of view, "tone" doesn't come from your hands or fingers; this come from your instrument, Amp, pedals etc.
BUT the way that you sound, come from your hands, fingers, the way you slap or pick etc.
THIS IS THE DIFFERENCE!
BEHS!! 😂👍
Saying tones comes from the fingers, is like saying tone comes from the wood type. Tone comes from 3 things. Pickups, string age, and skill
Why would Geddy Lee use a sansamp if tone is just in the fingers?
I think the idea behind the phrase is more that anyone dedicated enough to fiddle can get *close enough*, and that ultimately playing matters most. But this is funny so i reckon it doesn’t matter
Tone is in the plectrum
🙈
Next time I hear/read someone say "tone is in the fingers" imma ask them to do an envelope filter sound then
You altered the playing style more when showing the sound between the different pickups, which contributed at least as much of a difference to the sound than the pickups.
how to get Nic Potter tone?
Rex brown from Pantera bass tone?
Imagine if wendolen awakened
With all respect, what's the name of your accent?🙏🏽
Obviously not entirely, but I know alot of people who spend alot if time complaining they can't get the same "tone" as a song but they just have poor dynamics and timing.
S P E A K E R. C A B S.
Matt Sharp’s bass tone
ALICE IN CHAINS BASS TONE
I understand the point that those people are trying to get at, but it’s completely lost when they spew stupid shit like that. Of course gear matters, it opens up a world of possibilities, just as the instruments themselves do. Fingers are just as silent without that gear as the gear is without fingers. Tone is a combination of all of these factors and is as subjective is it gets!
Tone comes from the tone nob and pickup blend.
Who ever said that has no common sense. I’m new to bass but I have at least 2 brain cells. One tells me basic electronics and other is basic physics
I feel like tone and articulation should be thought of differently.
Agreed. A voice and how the voice is used are two different things that both contribute to the singing. One can't do what the other does, both are necessary.
B E H S💀🫣🧌
Claypool’s bass tone?
Would love to see that, I've never been able to figure it out
@@Tomversal bridge pickup with a little overdrive and mid boost
People tend to conflate tone/sound and feel.
No, but it certainly helps
The fact someone somewhere has said "tone is all in the fingers" is astounding to me. Thats THE most ignorant thing ive ever heard in my entire life. You simply cant make a fender jazz bass with just the bridge pickup on sound like an ibanez with costed flat wound strings just with your fingers...bruh
Why does it sound like I’m broken by Pantera
While I am a firm believer that there are many different things that go into tone, your test is technically flawed because you didn't play in the same spot for both pickups
Why, yes
For electric bass 95% of tone is technique, pickups and strings (including lenght of strings).
Bridge, frets and nut have minor contributions to the tone, body and wood literally does not matter and gives no audible difference, except maybe making the body vibrate slightly differently (listeners cannot notice this).
You changed hand position
You took that a bit to literal
BEHS
I feel like a lot of these videos are made for people who's been playing for 2 weeks
You guys hear something?
Pick
"tone is in the fingers" has always been such a stupid aphorism. As if fiddling around with your fingers could achieve every sound known to man rather than the very specific section determined by the very thing you're holding and the rest of your signal chain
Like for you 👍👍👍👍
pick