THE 7 SECRETS OF A GREAT BASS TONE

[@sambolino44]

#8: Facial Expression.

[@egrabczyk]

Bass face

[@allkindofshorts4940]

*Bass-cial* expression

[@samsmelser_]

Lol

[@allendestine3406]

Agreed

[@かわいい89]

Your wrong that is #0 it’s like breathing you don’t need a reminder.

[@RMGCBG]

Left hand is what you’ve learned, right hand is who you are...

[@dreadnaught90]

This is probably the best comment on bass playing I have ever read!

[@RMGCBG]

dreadnaught90 thanks, a bassman friend of my mine said that like 30 years ago and it put it all in perspective for me. Thank you

[@NB-oi4uc]

thats a very good one !

[@levifig]

This is actually true for guitarrists too and even for most instruments, including most stringss-even piano… ;)

[@Xitronix]

W O A H

[@singleproppilot]

As a guitar player that dabbles in bass, I'm constantly surprised at how many different tones you can get from the same bass and amp combination, and how many of them are great sounds. So many options.

[@sambolino44]

And if you have always played guitar with a pick, you may be surprised at how many of those tones are available to you with the same settings, just how you touch the strings is different.

[@ersatzvitamin1]

That kinda carries on to the guitar as well, doesn't it?

[@NVM_SMH]

So many people think that they don't sound any good, when most of the time most of the sounds are good, just different. I like variety. It makes music interesting.

[@nathanbasurto8246]

My bass teacher didn't change his strings in like years and his strings sounded freaking fantastic. That man is a mystery.

[@tednjessdamman7089]

I'm not sure how familiar many arewith the idea of a string library. One of my teachers had a box of manilla envelopes of string sets labeled what they were on and how long they'd been there when he opened a new set of strings he'd start a new envelope and put the empty packet in it. The strings he took off he would boil then oil and air dry and put in their envelope. That way he had dark mellowed sets to pick from when he needed them. Not all situations require bright new strings. I like a good set of broken in strings. I've got a bass right now that has had the same set of strings since 2006 I wipe them with a rag with wd40 on occasion but there is something about that muddy low tone.

[@champ6436]

@@tednjessdamman7089 different bass require different string. i have a 70s jazz bass and its a bass you really want to slap, you have that marcus tone. but it has vintage dark low output pickup so with brand new string you have a great tone but 3 week later it just felt like the bass lose everything. i have an other bass, active with bartolini pickup and preamp so you already know its a really bright bass and i can get away with way more on it. on my jazz my string last a month, on that active one, 6month sometime 9 month without changing the string and its still have that brightness. to put thing in perspective, i have 3 month old DR pure blues on my jazz and 3 month old flatwound on the active one. well the active one with Flat still sound brighter than the jazz bass.

[@JoseAv-tx4yl]

Flatwounds?

[@firebald2915]

Flat wounds, equals no string squeak. They aren't cheap. LaBelle flat wound. Slick and fast with less hand fatigue. They'll last for years.

[@sgtflashback5442]

​@@firebald2915 Yep, flats are awesome - but not for every style. That's why I play rounds. If I want a vintage sound I roll off the tone and/or I palm mute with a pick and/or I pluck on the neck etc.. You can get all sounds out of a round wound while flats are more limited. Ideally, you'll need one bass with flats and one with rounds.

[@zibbezabba2491]

1: Get a decent bass 2: get a decent amp 3: practice till the skin on your fingertips develops a callous (probably the most important part of creating YOUR individual bass sound) 4 practice your technique to avoid unwanted noise/tones through muting of strings not being played. New strings are important only if that's your preferred sound. My fav bass player of all time never changed his strings (Bernie Edwards from chic) the result is a wicked low/mid tone with all of the brightness taken out. The rest is down to your musical skill and knowledge

[@selfactualizer2099]

I never forgot my grandpas suggestion when i was a wee lad, "I played until my fingers bled when i started" he chuckled

[@shasha-muse6054]

Zibbe Zabba☆☆☆ Bernard is my favorite as well. His bass sounded like it had an "Attitude". Just a phenomenal tone. Peace and love.🎶🎶🎶

[@pacoeltaco79]

FREAK OUT!!! Talk about bass porn!

[@irout5769]

@@selfactualizer2099 you could light a match off one of mine. MY gramps Said "perfect practice makes for perfect performance".Drove him nuts me learning tapping every day. Of course, my brother is huge in electric music for 30ys music. I came home and he's pumping e drums through my Hartke. Those days, drum machines took forever. I knew he was midi'd to death, and so after blaming me for HIM using MY gear, i twisted every button power down his sequencer.

[@iameshu1146]

Thanks but how do you get that tight staccato sound? I mean he barely touched the strings and no fuzz, buzzes or other tones just clean clear popping bass.

[@projectz975]

secret to great bass tone: set the bass knob on the guitarist's amp to 4 and then yank off the knob

[@mehmed6529]

And turn their volume slightly down too multiple times when they least suspect it 😂

[@aureliusthegunsmith7203]

4 is a little too high 2-3 is better

[@mr.hedgehog420]

@@aureliusthegunsmith7203 I'm lucky, the lead guitarist in my band always has bass turned to 0...says he likes the tone. So my bass guitar really comes through when we're playing!

[@t0dd707]

😂😂😂😂😂

[@wizardito7741]

The reason why i use a treble booster, so my bassist can play on him zone, as me on mine.

[@McDoinky]

I like how the list on the board magically appears at 2:08, then disappears around 2:28

[@ginamartinez70]

and because you said it i had to watch that first lol

[@lucidvoid2528]

*continuity*

[@rayj1013]

Great eye mate!

[@JS-ue2si]

I think it's because he didn't change strings until the end, and then edited it back.

[@robertsupersexykeineahnung8914]

It was a big suprise for me, that the second point were "strings" 😂

[@MisterNiles]

I liked your 6 week old string sound better than the new strings.

[@reidgowan2670]

It’s all down to preference, and what style your playing. I personally like brand new strings, but I’m more of a metal guy so that sound is ideal for the genre.

[@BoomChockolaca]

+1

[@EpicStuffMan1000]

turn the treble and mids down instead, you will get better results

[@murray6188]

same

[@JamesDavis-ps6yy]

Right? I never like the sound of a fresh set of strings. Too jangly and bright. Need to be worn in just a little bit

[@Khaospenguiny]

"Check out this bass tone" > Plays bass through laptop speakers and records using cellphone mic

[@VoxMax1200]

Ha ha ha ha 👍

[@louistaylor8257]

VoxMax1200 f

[@vaniavampy]

yeah this part got me confused af too LOL

[@shaft9000]

Stopped it after he opened with the sampled-sounding Sienfeld lick, the very antithesis of "good tone" lol

[@Dracu666]

◔_◔

[@danielvandoorn]

Some great tips in there, Scott! I would have switched #5 Wood for #5 Effects. Wood might be important if oyu play accoustically, but electric, it makes minor difference compared to the other 6 (7 if you add the effects).

[@BasszusX]

Wood only matters for the weight of the instrument, for tone not at all, ok, it has to be compact for a good sustain, but thats it.

[@xbassausagex]

Idk if you’ve ever played a squier p vs a fender p or jazz or whatever setup, that comparison can be pretty crazy, and it rly comes down to the wood they use, yeah it’s heavier first and foremost but tonewoods are not to be dismissed

[@kameronpeterson3601]

the wood of an electric guitar ranks like 12th on the list of things that can affect tone where you're sitting in a room affects tone more than the wood of the bass

[@Hexspa]

@@kameronpeterson3601room position affects your perception of tone but not the bass’s actual tone because pickups are mostly electromagnetic and not acoustic like your ears because the room modes are an acoustic property: the same reason wood matters less on an electric instrument. The DI signal won’t change as you move around the room, in other words; besides any electrical interference. However, if you’re micing a cab then room position does matter - especially for bass.

[@pablosorbara2280]

Just 3 or 4 months ago? The bassist on my band hasn't changed strings since he bought his bass...

[@snoopstp4189]

Must have flat wounds and or fairly clean hands, fat round wounds are notorious dirt collectors. One dude played the same set of Ernie Ball flat wounds for like 20 years. It's amazing how much variety there is in bass playing.

[@0000song0000]

It depends of the person... E.g. hand wounded pickups used to be done only by women (strings still are btw) because our sweat doesnt corrode metal as much as a man's.

[@pablosorbara2280]

It was a joke, he actually takes good care of his instruments. But yeah, I agree; when I was just starting playing guitar I was breaking a lot of strings and they got corroded pretty easily. Then my hand grew accostumed to be touching a metal wire daily and it stopped sweating that much.

[@MYKOSS1]

totally! I almost spat my coffee out when he said 3 or 4 months. I was thinking "more like 3 or 4 years mate"

[@chrishayworth282]

@@MYKOSS1 I use mine as long as I can. I buy a set about every 4 years. The fretless has flatwound on it. It still has the strings that come with it about 10 years ago.

[@cmingus26]

I like your advice on how to EQ an amp: „Put everything to 12 o‘clock - not the volume.“ 😂😂😂

[@TimTrOn3000]

Obviously the volume knob goes to 11.

[@derekjones8944]

@@TimTrOn3000 lmfao!

[@ryneagheilim9782]

Everything goes to 0 or medium first so you can start adding little by little

[@ryneagheilim9782]

@Who's That Tripping Over My Bridge? Well, you're right. Maybe you can start at 5

[@ryneagheilim9782]

@Who's That Tripping Over My Bridge? Long fingernails can change your tone too xD

[@chriswenkle2635]

Thank you Scott. Having played bass for a while now, I've learned all of those points you listed via trial and error. It's why I've sold (and am selling) all my active basses (4, 5, 6, and 7 string) and play passive 4-strings for the most part these days (church worship). One thing I would have liked to see is what does one do when the playing situation is without an amp - i.e. when the bass signal goes straight to the board (passive or active DI). That being said, this is a great video and I plan on passing it along to our worship leader as a tool for young up-and-coming bass players. Cheers.

[@AJGreen-di9jq]

Bass player changing their strings? Sorry mate, never heard of it.

[@laurieharper1526]

Only if they break.

[@Soebe]

@@laurieharper1526 They won't. So the next best thing is buying a new bass.

[@irout5769]

are you serious? I always bring strings, tuner, Two amps, etc. Of course, right now it sounds like hitting a pillow with a larger pillow. It's a 1986 Ibanez proline II. I have only seen one pic of it online. big soapbar pickups. Good point is the neck has amazing patina. I broke a low E, changed it on the break, hour later, broke again. Using a jeweler's loop & bench lamp, I found TWO burrs on the saddle. I guess im bringing my rasp next time.BTW, I had an MM5 which rang like a piano, maple neck make it too bright (end of my entwhistle days, beginning of iron maiden days). Fender P/J now. Fretless P/Ja Found id been missing out on a lot of tonal variety. w/1000 rig. Im retired as shoulders/neck are done. if you work out, do not forget a back. everything is attached.

[@melvingodecke7620]

I'm a bass player and I didn't know that strings were changeable. All makes sense now.

[@AlexRamosDrTaz]

@@Soebe I'm not a pro player these days, but I've broken strings. Thankfully not on stage or during a recording/practice session! Fingerstyle, too... not with a pick. Crazy, huh LOL

[@huntleyjohnc]

Thank you very much, Scott, for this video. This may be the most important lesson for any bass player and most valuable for how to choose your bass(es).

[@MonkyMonk729]

I'm a guitar player but I love playing bass as well. I've heard a lot of guitar players say, "if you can play guitar, you can definitely play the bass... piece of cake." This is why most guitar players suck. They only think in technical terms (not in artistic terms, or composition terms, etc.) and they're usually wrong or misguided within their technical prison mentality. For example, a shitty guitarist often thinks, "On the bass you only need to play one note at a time. There aren't even chords. How hard can that be? And you're not even shredding. It's so simple it would bore me to death... but I could definitely play the bass at a high level." And you bass players (and all other competent musicians) think... "what an idiot!" Anyway, my point is... I'm not that guy. Yes I can play scales on a bass and know where all the notes are. I totally recognize that playing bass is fundamentally and completely different than playing guitar. It's purpose in a composition is completely different. You need to approach playing from a completely different mindset. I love the challenge of really trying to craft a great bassline. I strive to become a great bass player. Now I might get laughed out of here with what I'm about to say, and that's fine... but I play bass with a pick. I can play with my fingers pretty well, but I just prefer the tone and the attack of playing with a pick. I'm a rock guy... and feel like there may be a bit of a genre barrier here because playing with a pick wasn't even mentioned as an option to even consider in the tone formula here.

[@raycyst-k9v]

MonkyMonk729 takes like a second to change the mindset and figure it out. Not a big deal. Stop bullshitting

[@MonkyMonk729]

@@raycyst-k9v If you say so. It's one thing to cover other songs on the bass, but I'm talking about writing bass lines and improvising on bass. Yeah. I guess there was quite a bit of ground I was able to cover on bass very quickly. But I'm way better on bass now than I was 5 years ago. There's a lot more to learn than it sounds like you're aware of. It's not a given that if you can play guitar, then you can write great bass lines. You didn't become Flea or Paul McCartny or a bass legend in whatever genre you play after one second of bass experience so it sounds like you may be bullshitting yourself.

[@fredd036]

I love playing with fingers and with a pick. It all depends on the genre and sound you want. I also love to have different basses for different sounds as well

[@beatlesrgear]

@@raycyst-k9v You don't know what the hell you're talking about. Monk is right.

[@saz123ful]

Scott I love your passion for what you're doing and you're right! I want to add that in the quality of the sound that we are listening in records or in live situations big part of this are sound engineers and the equipment that they have plus what you have... Marcus knows a lot about sound production !! The rig that he has on stage is what a sound engineer would have in a studio recording situation..

[@juhatarkka9867]

One factor that was not mentioned is the acoustics of the room where you play: its size, and the amount of echo in it. That has a bigger effect on the bass than on many other instruments.

[@iwsajet8506]

I would have to add "compression" to this list.

[@josephjester4917]

Compression is so 80s...

[@beornthebear.8220]

I always use compression. I got the tip from a video from Billy Sheehan. I never go without it.

[@mhillaxeman]

How you set the gain (amount of breakup) and compression (none being the default option) will have huge effect.

[@SvenElven]

Roundwound strings need 20~ hours of playing before they stop sounding offensive IMO.

[@espartacus001]

my strings got 20 years, i think they lost that midrange treble sound of new ones

[@steelman774]

Try some half-wound strings. They sound like round-wound but feel like they are old strings. Awesome find!

[@beatlesrgear]

I hate roundwound strings. They eat up your fingers and your frets, and they sound like piano wire. Half rounds, flats, and nylon covered are my choices. I've tried almost every string made and I find Rotosound Jazz 77s to be the best of all.

[@Tomas-te3ph]

I used some SIT David Ellefson strings and they sounded pretty good right away.

[@FrederickTSchurgerDC]

I'm still all about active EQ. I've always liked the brighter, punchier tone I get out of my active EQ, especially with a tonal difference that just shines thru. That said, I think ADDING an active circuit to bass is definitely a no-no, opposed to not buying a bass with an active EQ. Big difference. The SIRE basses have LOTS of variations available, especially with how you can split the pickups on some of their basses. BTW, my active EQ tends to be pretty neutral unless I'm driving more towards one pick-up than the other or looking for a tonal difference towards bright or bass

[@DenverStarkey]

i used to be a fan of active , until i realized i could get a EQ pedal that gives me way better control for way cheaper than getting an active circut or a completely active set of pick ups. found an EQ pedal on amazon for 35 bucks , MASSIVE difference on my two passive P-basses. i still got an active bass , but since getting the EQ pedal i've actually had to start using the decibal cut button on my amp when running my active bass through the eq pedal.

[@k0brakai]

Scott forgot something important. You can have a great bass with great pickups and a great amp. But what’s between those? A cable. A good cable is not going to enhance your sound but a crappy one can ruin it! So people, stop buying cheap crappy câbles and start investing in good ones! Also, good cables last years.....

[@andymb601]

totally agree!

[@jockojohn3294]

Yes....cable capacitance makes a difference. In the analog days, studios would have different cables to record with because certain cables would roll off highs/mids enough to hear the difference......

[@kaedeschulz5422]

Just don't by stupid voodoo shit for 300$ or something.

[@k0brakai]

Schulze Designs I agree. You dont need to spend so much money to get a decent robust cable

[@leftaroundabout]

Although you're right that a cable can have an influece on a bass, this comment is the wrong approach. Actually, cable influence is the main reason why, contrary what Scott said, active electronics *are* objectively better than passive: with a good active bass, the cable only has negligible influence on the sound. Of course, even then you shouldn't buy the cheapest, brittlest cables, but it means you don't _rely_ on a particular cable to make it sound right.

[@Gaven7r]

As a guitar player, this video made my head EXPLODE! Amazing video, helped me understand bass a little better

[@tomrelf]

“You want to be plugging into a decent amp. You don’t want to be, you know, plugging into a hamster cage”. A lesson for us all I feel

[@holygroove2]

Nice job making this FUN. Playing electric instruments seems to require a science degree sometimes but you make it approachable. I think electric guitar is more difficult in terms of sound. Thanks again!

[@jupiterjames-reynolds2260]

Asking a bassist how they effect their eq. scott: subtle tweaks. Lemmy: blast those mids up.

[@kennyroadknight1771]

Clear and sorted. Thanks for some down to earth pointers. 🕊🎸

[@AH-64-Apache-Helicopter]

Second :D love the work you put in the video's Scott! Keep bass geeking yall!

[@BJaca-tn3om]

Aaaaaah, people still think wood matters that much... Like, there are tons of videos where you can hear that there's very tiny difference between woods, wich can be balanced by tweaking with your EQ. It's just an old marketing trick, because for acoustic guitars, it matters A LOT. But for electrics? Like, 1% of your tone, maximum.

[@18JR78]

True, was checking if anyone else had noticed this.

[@shaft9000]

Spot On. I think this guy's ears are wrecked, because I saw Billy Sheehan live twice and his "tone" was a friggin' mess. (Endured his solos while Mr BIg opened for Rush in the early1990's)

[@mathewpolmear6936]

As a builder the only sound difference between woods is when it's hard, medium or soft woods. But yes you can eq around the sound

[@mattthompson2075]

I wouldn’t say “tone” but I do believe woods make a difference in sustainability of the note, especially for fretless guys when they’re digging for that “mwah”

[@pimcramer2569]

What's you experience with type of neck connection?

[@pjmuck]

Action/string height (in conjunction with PUP height) are also important elements of tone. Some players like that grindy, buzzy, low action tone (Marcus Miller's early tones like on Sanborn's, "Straight to the Heart", or It seems two handed tapping players like their action low), while higher action (depending on the bass) can give you a thumper tone.

[@hornetlord]

Great playing and tone, as always. How on earth do people give thumbs down to your vids? Crazy.

[@Mr.Goldbar]

What about the placement of the pickups? How close they are to each other? Both a Jazz Bass and a Warwick Thumb have Two jazz single coils, but they sound totally different

[@pbague]

Bar Goldstein also different branded pickups

[@brucesmith9144]

The Jazz bass has a notorious reduction in the output (both neck and bridge pickups on) between the C and E on the G-string (5th to 9th fret). Usually panning to either pickup alleviates this.

[@eljapel]

orders of magnitud more important than freaking wood.

[@a-funk1253]

@@brucesmith9144 this is very common in several brands basses, from 5th to about 9th like you said. I have a habit to check that area when I pick a new bass to try it out. When I bought my Yamaha via eBay, I was lucky: that 'dead spot zone' wasn't bad at all. I have been thinking if different gauge strings creating different tension to neck would be a solution to this problem.

[@Sproeikoei]

@@a-funk1253 Luckily I can give atleast a clue on this since yesterday I accidentally bought 120's instead of 100's and the difference in output on the 120's is quite noticable (even with light compression) , where with the 100's it barely is.

[@Geert-1988]

i actually changed my bass strings yesterday, and am very happy with the sound it gets. I never changed them in 12 years, because i never liked the new sound on an electric guitar... but for my bass this sound is much better

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

Good general advice, but I have to disagree with your “No”. While I agree that it isn’t something that will, “fix all your problems,” you come off quite strongly that Active Electronics are something to avoid on principle. While that may seem to fit for you, that is a personal preference. My experience has been different, with my original passive Ibanez being an absolute dog tone-wise, and my active Yamaha literally stopping people in their tracks (and that was set flat). Had you said that it does affect the tone would have fit with the flow and spirit of the video as there are tonal differences in all electronics. Some differences you may prefer and some you may not, but actively (pun intended) pushing people to inherently avoid one for the other based on your personal preference is rather myopic and unhelpful.

[@gryzew]

His point I think was to avoid modding a shitty sounding bass to active as a fix. With that I would have to agree 100% from experience, if a bass has crappy low end that doesn't fill the mix well, or has dull high end and you can't get good attack for slap or rock, a knob that boosts it +6db just highlights the crappiness in an artificial way. Never once had an active onboard EQ on a bass succesfully conjure up something that just wasn't there naturally in the instrument. Active is great on a good instrument if you want flexibility, like when you really play parts in different styles, or I guess when you're especially a pro playing big halls and you want to bring out the sound you know and expect from your instrument but it needs a little tweak due to a different room characteristic each night.

[@Skkorm]

I had the opposite experience. My tone lit up once I started using passive electronics.

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

@@gryzew Could be his meaning. And, I'd agree with that. It's the old adage of "polishing a turd." No active electronics would have saved that old Ibanez I had ... a dog is a dog is a dog. That said, if that is the case, it would be good for it to be clarified as this can be taken multiple ways and (being such a strongly-worded statement) should be clarified to not push those without the benefit of experience in a possibly wrong (for them) direction.

[@jean-pierrejoubert6140]

@@Skkorm What bass did you get and what did you have before? Was there a difference in price, as well? Or a difference in pickup config?

[@e3a3c3]

Anthony Raftery, you are right about the redundancy of preamps with any active instrument. However, a true active PICKUP is very different from a passive one. Far fewer windings, different impedance, lower output, usually different magnet structure, etc. You can read about the ramifications of these design differences if you google "active passive pickups" and click on the ultimate-guitar link. Interesting stuff. cheers

[@blues61]

Regarding where you pluck the string, i.e. towards the bridge or towards the neck, Jack Casady refers to that as the "speaking length of the string". Very important ingredient of dynamic playing on bass - or guitar for that matter.

[@samuranta-aho9540]

I have to say that I love my active bass. I disagree with active being a NO. It doesn't fix all your problems although some people think so but I'd say that passive sounds more human and living and active sounds more like a cyborg. It's your job to choose but I prefer by bass active.

[@Not_Lewis]

My bass is always active, no switch offs Unfortunately

[@liammusik]

Yes I althoug Like my aktive Sound of my Cort Bass.

[@bobbyfields7359]

It would be foolish for me to argue with the master! Just in the way of an opinion I’ve found that the amp makes a more consistent improvement of tone than any other single thing. For instance I recall an old KZbin debate “Expensive guitar & Cheap amp it Cheap guitar & Expensive amp?”. My favorite bass amp is a GK 1001RB-II. I was amazed when I plugged in a Squier Affinity Jazz Bass (@the time $199 new) with the cheap strings that came on it. It was a profound improvement in tone! I then plugged that same guitar into a Med price amp (one that sounded good with a more expensive guitar) and it sounded as you might imagine. So, if I were challenged with getting a rig and I could have my GK amp but only with a $200 guitar. No question and without hesitation!

[@rodshop5897]

Bobby Fields, I agree that the amps do make a big difference! I have a GK and a Hartke, and they make huge changes in my tone when I plug the same bass into either of them. I must point out that my Squier Affinity Jazz Bass ($199) plays and sounds great, no matter which amp I pair it with. To each their own, but I didn't find the $2800 USA made Jazz to play or sound any better.

[@natman6905]

Anyone else prefer the sound of the 6-week-old strings?

[@warrenmorphis4208]

Yep -- Less "twang" and string chatter. I HATE the chatter of brand new (round wound) strings. You either have to cut your highs to nearly nothing - or use foam until they age a bit.

[@udisisisisusi3321]

Yeah I wreckon it depends on personal preference in my opinion I love old strings because it has that vintage tone

[@WavePotter]

I need to get me one of those frettin gloves like you've got! I've been wanting to switch to flat wounds to save my fingers, but i don't want to lose the bright snappiness.

[@spiguy420]

Also, one's ear and skull shape. Each person will hear diferently xD

[@CNick75]

I wouldn't recommend skull mods though.

[@zibbezabba2491]

You can overcome this problem by experimenting with different sized cardboard boxes over your head while playing.

[@dexterj5615]

Was that a phrenology joke?

[@jas_bataille]

@John Brownbill You sir would make a fine politician.

[@naetharu]

Minor correction. The neutral setting on an amp depends on the design. There are amps that have passive EQ stacks that are subtractive only. And for them the neutral position is actually all dials set at max. In the same way that a passive tone pot on the bass is neutral when fully open and not taking away any high end. Other amps have active EQ systems. And generally these amps have a neutral position at half-mast. The EQ allowing both addition and subtraction just like on the active EQ pots of a bass guitar. If in doubt check the documentation for your amp to see how the EQ section works.

[@martinsavaria1138]

1- Your fingers 2- Your fingers 3- Your fingers 4- Your fingers 5- Your fingers 6- Your fingers 7- The rest... 90% of my ''tone"' come from my playing style, from the way I make music happened with technics and inner drive. The rest 10% is almost only gearhead interest. Learn to play and develop your own sound. Life is short. 9:1 is a good ratio representation of the time you should spend on both in your practicing and exploring habits. In the process, you will know which component’s adjustments to do to get there. Keep it simple. This is no rocket science. That said, I understand that for a professional studio/concert player, you should be able to offer a large sound’s palette involving a lot of gear knowledge. But for most of us?

[@israel426]

Nah

[@Finnvbot]

Yeah, because you sound totally the same whether you play an MM Stingray, Fender P, Warwick Thumb, Gibson EB, etc. /s

[@martinsavaria1138]

​@@Finnvbot You’re perfectly right. That’s not what i’m saying. I know they’re infinite sound’s possibilities. Tone secrets is what we are talking about. A different bass is not a secret, evidently. Any component or adjustment will have effect on your tone. I only think that if Geddy Lee’s playing any of the basses you mentionned, it’s gonna sound like Geddy Lee and that’s what matter. I’d only want to encourage beginners like me to spend time on their playing and music learning rather than on what kind of strings they should be using to sound better. ;)

[@mohaiminkarimbass]

Yes it’s true that fingers are a huge and probably the most important part of tone production but it is not everything. If I have very good fingers and a decent bass but I have a very shitty amp then there’s no way I would sound great given how electric bass is not as natural of an instrument as a double bass(where it’s all about the fingers).

[@martinsavaria1138]

@@mohaiminkarimbass Thank you for your input Karim. You get it all right.

[@davidclaassen2448]

Love the lesson! I've been playing for over 40 years now, and would only disagree with a couple of items. Maybe I am old school, but I love the sound of a 15". The multiple 10" cabs sound great until you get down on the E string....then...not so much, imo. Also, my favorite gigging bass ever was a Gibson RD Artist, simply because of the flexibility given by the active electronics. It was, however, crazy heavy, so I ended up using my '63 Jazz most of the time. Now, I am back with an active bass (G & L) because of the neck. To be fair, I don't use the active switch all the time. My dream set up for tone would be the Gibson, through a Music Man head (tube power) through a combination of 10's and 15's, or maybe one of those old folded horn 2x15 cabs. Please keep up the good work!

[@JesseP.Watson]

I play drums and bass and I often play with bassists who cut off so much mid and treble that it's practically inaudible... a woolly burble. So, a note from a drummer: Just cause it's a bass doesn't mean it's all about bass. Remember that unless you're playing solo, your sound is part of a mix and to cut through, to complement what's played alongside you... You may find that 'perfect sound' solo is far from perfect when the other instruments start filling up the mids and highs. If you've only a whisper in that range it'll get absorbed and your sound ends up lacking the definition to cut through (dub being the exception.)

[@mdp303]

Watson's Bubble yes and this is a recent thing that seems to coincide with tether sudden obsession for old P basses.

[@alvarhanso6310]

Sometimes it isn't the bassist to blame here, but the soundman who takes all the highs and mids out. I like highs and mids because I have 24 frets worth of notes, some obviously higher and I like the character they bring. A lot of times the mids are cut to avoid a muddy mix, but the highs are cut, too, and when I move up, I can no longer hear myself, which is more than frustrating. I also use a lot of effects, some of them needing those highs and mids, luckily some of those effects, like the synth and shimmer cut through the mix fairly well, others like envelope filters somewhat less so. And you make a fantastic point about where that bassist's tone that they like personally sits in the overall mix! That was a big omission, IMO, from the lesson. Whateverbthe tone, it has to be practical.

[@RJMelling]

Totally agree with regards to active circuitry - more trouble than its worth. I don't even keep a battery in my bass.

[@Savior241]

Um I use active circuitry and I am the bassist and lead vocalist of my hard rock and metal band and it comes handy to help me cut through the mix

[@singleproppilot]

8. Glove on the left hand.

[@PaulXerxen]

Why?

[@wlcm2grvit]

Focal dystonia

[@dartharmis5562]

@@PaulXerxen adds extra bass

[@ASteadyForce]

Darth Armis where’d you get that idea from?

[@josephjester4917]

He has a video over why exactly he wears the glove, and after watching it I totally sympathize with Scott.

[@jamestonguet1737]

As a Luthier I build both Active and Passive basses .. the advantage the Active's have is onboard EQ if your AMP or Soundman aren't doing it

[@gregmassaro3470]

Scott - one thing missing from the 'Secrets to great bass tone' video - CABLES - yes, they do sound different.

[@jorn-jorenjorenson5028]

Cables, exactly what I thought to be number 7. My first years in music I thought "the sound of a cable" to be esotheric BS. Then I found out some cables really cut the high frequencies and make your bass or guitar totally dull. Though, I think it is not this bad with an active bass or guitar.

[@Video186284]

@@jorn-jorenjorenson5028 This is a good point. Sometimes a cheap cable can give you a sound that you like more than an expensive cable because of differences in capacitance. I love the Vari-Cap instrument cable because it allows you to vary the capacitance that the cable adds to your signal. You can dial in just the right amount until you're happy with the tone. It's a bit expensive, but if you're serious about tone, there's nothing like it.

[@RobertBarnes66]

It's EXTREMELY subtle.

[@vincentm614]

Being a member of your site and looking at other bass videos and even listening to tv commercials have opened up my ears to pick up diffrent styles of playing. For example Ive noticed you like getting a very raspy sound out of your bass where someone like Jeff Berlin likes a more clean sound. Ive also picked up some beautiful flat wound precision bass tones in many tv commercials where the sound is more like an old tighr upright sound. Alot more of this is in the hands of the player and not in the electronics. Bobby Vega for example gave me renewed respect for playing with a pic. He makes his old fenders sound just beautiful!

[@michaeljywang0619]

Nice video. Very helpful (and reminds me that I should put a new set of strings on!) But after watching it, I have some questions: you mentioned the importance of the tone pot and the EQ section on the amp. But then, you also said that the active circuit does not help: you said it gives a different tone, but not a better tone. Nevertheless, isn't the active circuit just like the EQ? And isn't the treble knob of the active circuit sort of like the tone pot? (I say "sort of" because I don't think a tone pot can boost the treble,but when we turn the treble knob down from the neutral position, isn't it functioning like a tone pot, which cuts the high?) So, all in all, my question is that, what is the difference between the EQ on the preamp and the EQ of the active circuit? And my second question is, what's the difference between the treble knob of the EQ and the tone pot? Thanks a lot for all your great videos. You are definitely the best bass teacher, Scott.

[@JonathanHerrera_Bass]

Couple of points to clarify here. The "active" preamp on a bass is similar in general ways to the preamp section of the average bass head, BUT its place in the signal chain is important. The preamp on the bass is "buffering" the bass's signal, lowering significantly its output impedance and thus diminishing the negative impact on fidelity of the instrument cable's capacitance. Well designed active basses are much less sensitive to cable length and quality as compared to passive basses. Secondly, the tone knob is substantially different in its effect on the bass's frequency response than the typical "treble" control on a preamp, whether in the bass or in an amp. The tone knob's performance is the product of a complex relationship between the pickups, the pots, and the capacitor in the circuit. The result, though, is a fairly shallow slope lowpass filter with a slight resonant peak at the cutoff. The average treble control, by contrast, is either a shelving control at a fixed (often quite high) cutoff frequency or a wide-Q bell filter at a relatively high center frequency. Either way, the impact on frequency response (and thus, tone) is often audibly quite different

[@michaeljywang0619]

@@JonathanHerrera_Bass Thanks for explanation. I wonder, than, if we want to achieve the same "effect" of the tone knob, we will need to adjust probably all 3 (bass, mid treble) knobs of the EQ?

[@BigTex1300]

the brass bridge and brass nut is a must for me.. like the old 80's Aria pro II SB basses or Spector basses..

[@lincolnadams83]

I think Scott, really nailed the 7 most important ones here. But If I had to add an 8th one, I'd say it's cleanliness of technique and length of fingernails. Tone magically tightens up with a cleaner technique because of reduced fret noise and/or cross string vibrations...

[@xlaythe]

I think this is supposed to be part of "fingers"

[@johnmcminn9455]

I think amp and speaker I also agree Active is not the be all to end all In fact active is over rated Trace elliot is a great bass tone Peavey does a damn good job at simulating it with is newer digital modeling amps I couldn t be happier with my cheap peavy vs a 1000$ rack and a heavy refrigerator size amp The guys in my band can not believe how great the speaker technology is with new peavey

[@ajip4761]

@@johnmcminn9455 n

[@johnmcminn9455]

@@ajip4761 i also made my own bass out of poplar with a duel truss carvin neck and use hot dimarzio j bass replacement pick ups , so i don't mean stock. The amp must bring out the actual acoustic tone of the wood After all bass generally doesn't have high gain distortion It is much more of an acoustic instrument than guitar In rock situations Some rock players even prefer higher action to get more tone If you play on your finger tips you will get more tone

[@nadler4]

For bass I would say that the room you are listening in is way up there in this list because alot of places like rehearsal rooms have room modes that can eliminate or enhance bass frequencies

[@vblake530530]

What if you never have changed your strings and you got the bass in 2001☹️. It’s been sitting in my basement for years and I’m just trying to pick it back up.

[@pacoeltaco79]

Got a Reverend Decision a year ago. It's first passive bass I've ever owned and am now in love with changing the tone per song, even mid-jam. Fingers vs pick also a mega huge difference on the same exact pickup/tone selection. Never liked the active p/u's, I just dealt with it for some reason.

[@Henrydingus01123]

I’m about to put new strings on my bass after 10 years and I’m nervous. I really like my muddy sound but I know I also like playing on bright basses at the guitar store. Wish I could just afford a second bass.

[@Henrydingus01123]

New strings sound great! I can slap and still get my muddy swamp tone. Fantantastic

[@gagslovedotcom]

I changed strings on my main bass after they had been on for at least 5 years and it made me fall in love with it all over again (adjusted the action a bit too). Granted it's very bright when going direct for recording but as another said, you now have access to more frequencies and can still roll of some of the high end if desired.

[@nickharris9761]

More you could add : palm mute and string wrap mutes and that bit of foam near the bridge. But compressor really important and as you say EQ. Great job Scott 👍

[@danjaraven4479]

Great video Scott

[@kalidesu]

Great Scott. Video!

[@albertoplasencia1735]

i can tell this is a fresh video, scott you are improving a lot with your talking style, more dynamic and attractive! well done!

[@jeremiahdagcutan7759]

I kinda want to change my fingers so my tone would change too..

[@DiogoBaeder]

Some contribution for the "passive X active" tone debate and tone pot, I hope it helps: Scott is absolutely right on two things he states there, which I'd like to develop further: 1. They're not "better" than one another, they're just different. Sometimes a song calls for a certain tone where an active circuitry will fit better, other times it will call for passive circuitry. James Jamerson and Anthony Jackson play(ed) passive basses, their tones are massively different and they are (was - in case of Jamerson) amazing players. Marcus Miller, Matt Garrison, Alain Caron and a lot of other players use active circuitry, and they're also amazing players, with massively different tones. I think it's a pointless discussion to make, trying to come up with "better" here, there's no absolute "better", just what fits best for certain circumstances and to our own taste (heck, Scott (almost) never uses active mode and he rocks!) 2. Tone pot even in active circuitry. Guys, he's absolutely right here. I've seen people commenting down here that tone pots don't make sense in active circuitry, but they do, and they do make a LOT of sense. There's a musical and a technical explanation for this, and they're related, so let me start with the musical one: the difference between using a tone pot to cut down highs and pulling down the treble control is usually massively different, you usually hear that a tone pot can "cut" much more tone than treble controls. The technical explanation is that, usually, tone pots have a much lower Q, which means they affect the frequency spectrum more "widely", whereas treble controls use to have a much higher Q - mostly because they need to not interfere too much with the mid control. I'm a very lucky owner of a Sadowsky J-style bass (if you have the opportunity to get one, do it!), and it has both treble control and tone control, and the difference between them (how they interfere in the tone) is massively different, to the point that it's not even worth comparing. And both are immensely useful. Of course, the Sadowsky stock preamp is boost-only, but even then, when you reduce the amount of treble boost is very different, tone-wise, from keeping the treble up and cutting on the tone pot. So I highly recommend people to have a tone control pot, even in active basses. It makes a huge difference. Cheers!

[@rohansylvain1702]

I love to see someone mention Alain Caron! I know it’s off topic but he’s such an underrated player.

[@DiogoBaeder]

@@rohansylvain1702 he's rarely regarded as one of the top bassists in the world, yet that's how he should be regarded as. I totally agree, hugely underrated.

[@matthewashley2924]

I think Scott's got a bit of a Vulf bug right now because he's used Joe as an example in a couple videos recently.

[@sandsand5483]

And why wouldn't you?! Two weeks ago I was thinking about buying a bass. A few plays of The Beautiful Game album and here I am, the owner of a new bass with El Chepe(poorly) under my belt already. Vulf is lyfe

[@matthewashley2924]

@@sandsand5483 I agree, there my favorite band!

[@lamusico7746]

He's been infected by the vulfies hehehehhehseh head bopping affects one's tone. I sound like a funky duck when i do the joe dart head bop

[@facedowngaming]

Yep, Vulf has been influencing a lot of new players when they walk into a guitar center looking to buy a $600+ bass for that Vulf sound..

[@MJTbreww]

Vulfpeck have that effect on people, especially with Joe Dart there lol

[@ziggybass8592]

What an excellent Video and Scott your so right. Wish someone had been around to lay out all this hard earned knowledge decades ago. Probably the best video in the world. Well close!

[@thomasmattingly2856]

How to unlock the secret tone that makes up bass gods: Make sure it’s in tune ;)

[@akisantoniou2913]

James Jamerson with the legendary Motown tone never changed or even cleaned the strings. Dirt produces the funk he used to say.

[@forkboy3309]

#6 have a friend fiddle with the knobs while you jam.

[@leFoodeater]

For me, active or passive is dependent on what style I am playing. Right now I have to basses: one fretless Ibanez with an active EQ for the standard pickups but it also has a piezo pickup with a tone control. I barely use the regular pickups - the piezo is more than enough and the tone knob does wonders! My other bass is a Sandberg with a maple fretboard (very punchy sound from that), also with an active EQ (bass and treble, no tone). I don't miss a tone knob on that, but I love to be able to control the treble for slapping, and the power you can get from turning the bass knob up is insane!

[@leFoodeater]

Worth mentioning is that I am that kind of guy that sets the EQ of the amp flat and don't tweak it. You know that you have good gear if you can do that. That way it will always sound good no matter how you adjust the knobs on your bass

[@ReasonablySane]

After putting flats on my acoustic/electric, and tapewounds on my fretless, I finally went to flats on my main bass, a Yamaha BBn5 with 18 volt active pickups. But as I was putting them on, I realized the last time I changed my strings was at least 8 years ago because I was in Seattle at the time and I moved to KY 8 years ago. And they sounded fine. I kinda like that new round wound sound, but it goes away so fast, it's pointless to strive for it. I can't afford it and I'd wear out my bass replacing strings. I'm 66 and I can imagine these flats lasting me the rest of my life. :)

[@maxwelledison9954]

The price of liking rounds is astronomical, especially here in Australia

[@Carlparishhonda]

The best bass speaker sizes I experience playing during the 1960s was size 12 and 15 inched Jensen speakers. However there was a time I plug my bass guitar into this guy 18 inched bass piggyback amplifier, and that bass tone was extremely full clean and rich with no distortions. We were in a High School auditorium with thousands of people.

[@BrucieMagik]

this just alienates me as someone who wants to play like Lemmy.

[@pacoeltaco79]

You mean with a pick? Or just metal in general? :P And yes I'm a fan of giant moles too. \m/

[@jordanbush7605]

Lemmy tone: mids all the way up, bass and treble all the way down. Also, use a pick.

[@avalerionbass]

My list: 1. Fingers - Multi-faceted aspects to this, but ALL tone comes from the fingers. a. Consistent right hand technique - Whether you play 1, 2, 3, 4 fingers, with a pick, slap and pop, tap, etc. each attack needs to be uniform as well as volume. This will develop consistent control over your dynamics. b. Point of attack - Over which pickup/where on the string you play your notes. c. Technique - Slap, pop, tap, pick, finger, harmonics, etc. Each of these has a different tone in how the string is attacked. d. Which "version" of the note you play - 10th fret on the low E string, is the same as 5th fret on the A string, is the same as an open D string, yet they all sound different. Depending on what you're going for, this position choice can make a WORLD of difference. e. Remove buzz/clanking - Fret buzz is WAAYYY too accepted by the bass community. There are -SOME- circumstances where it fits the style, but for the most part it sounds like garbage. Either your left-hand finger placement is off, your right hand technique is too rough, or you don't have a proper setup on your bass. Practice at slower tempos to ensure each note is clean and articulate before you speed things up. If it starts buzzing again, slow down and try again. 2. Mid-range control - A lot of tone from a good bass sound comes from a balanced mid-range frequency spread. It helps fit you into the mix so that you sound more full and not just boomy. Best way to tell if you don't have good mid-range balance is to take a solo/play lines with higher notes. If it sounds like your bass just disappears in the mix with any note higher than the D string, you've got bad mid-range balance. Don't default to the "smiley-face" eq setting, play around with those mids! 3. Mixing your tone alone - You could get the beefest, coolest bass tone practicing at your house and then it turns to absolute mud when you play with a band. This is because there is only so much room in the "sonic space" where frequencies can vibrate and a lot of instruments cross into each other's territories. I used to be in an experimental, progressive, groove metal band and I actually had to use extra high end to cut through everything. By itself it didn't sound great, but with the band it was butter. 4. Not knowing your environment - Bass waves propagate in all the worst ways! Every SINGLE venue will adjust the tone of your bass without touching a single knob. I HATED this while gigging and couldn't understand what was happening and why. There are several ways to combat this, most of which involves being prepared to adjust your tone knobs on your bass, but the biggest one to save you this headache is... 5. COMPRESSION - The secret sauce to make your baby bass sound like a Big Mac. The bass has a MASSIVE dynamic range and can be a huge pain in the ass for all mixing scenarios, but compression helps smooth this out. It took me a long time to understand what the hell it is and what it does, but the short tale is... it makes the louds quieter and the quiets louder, which equals MORE SOUND CONSISTENCY. This really helps with that environment issue. Everything else in my opinion centers around personal preference of flavor, but across the board no matter what style, type of bass, quality of woods or electronics, types of pickups, or amps used, these are the things that you ALWAYS have in your control to adjust and will ALWAYS affect your tone for the better, no matter your personal style.

[@chuckhammond8266]

The day I started THINKING about the sound of my bass is the day my playing was ruined !! Get decent passive (I agree with #5) bass, open up ALL the pots and concentrate on your PLAYING. A good bassist can play ANYTHING and sound good. UNLESS you're not really playing bass; but "lead bass" and want attention rather than supporting the song. LISTEN to everyone else (drummer, singer, guitarist, keyboards - in that order) and concentrate on not making noise !! It's a rhythm instrument meant to BLEND and support thre song, not "cut through the mix" !! Dammit !

[@333arceus9]

Yeah try "supporting the song" without atleast somehow cutting through the mix :P

[@Falasi4]

I go to a DI box to the mixer and trust the sound guy to put me where I need to be. In ear monitors. Pickup configurations, tone pot, and eq (and pretty much everything else) completely trump what wood the bass is made of. All good things to think about when considering tone. If you start adding effects pedals a whole different discussion about tone happens.

[@Mr.Goldbar]

For me, active electronics>>>tone pots

[@jesuschristisapussy461]

Primus sucks

[@andymb601]

@Bar Goldstein, yeah I like both, but active is way cooler imo. I have a 1995 Stingray and it sounds awesome

[@kai-uweschmidt3857]

#2 is the most important IMO, to find out the "best" strings is a hard,long way,but if you got it,it takes you to a very higher level!

[@dropclutch1]

@@kai-uweschmidt3857 Daddario NYXL are soooo good. Try them if you haven't yet.

[@hubbsllc]

@@andymb601 Mine's a '79. I got it back from a luthier a few months ago and he said it was the punchiest bass he ever played. I have nothing against passives nor do I agree that "active >> tone pots" but I do like and appreciate having boost/cut tone controls (two-band, in my MM's case).

[@LD-qj2te]

As always I love all your videos ! Really appreciate your insights

[@aboss0206]

8:12 "don't want to be plugging into a hamster cage" ahaha

[@bringdabass1]

Dude.... Awesome, awesome information. First time hearing someone's opinion about active and passive. Good stuff, thanks

[@johnmeggers5059]

Beautiful bass. Don't recognize the logo on the headstock, though.

[@jorgeavila396]

I’ve tried so many different search terms and can’t find it .. :(

[@Novataro]

F Bass from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

[@drumsaresexy]

I thought it was a fodera but it might be a F bass

[@BMR86]

aahhhh... a nod to vulfpeck in your video.... you are a man with great tastes! 0:46 naah i geniuenly smiled when you decided to reference Joe Darts sound! ha i'm so happy the vulfpeck message is transcended time and space!!

[@tonyryan6688]

Does open and closed back speaker cabinet affect tone?

[@ichbrauchmehrkaffee5785]

with guitars YES, with bass, most likely.

[@cookinsdabest]

I've got a humbucker on the neck and a precision pickup in the bridge (both EMGX's) and love how it's thick but still punchy. Maybe do a video changing placement of the pickups?

[@abstract-a0f]

Scalelength actually makes a huge difference. Shorter scalelengths sound quite mellow while longer scalelengths sound clunky, almost bone-y.

[@ichbrauchmehrkaffee5785]

This is one of the few thing I believe to be actuall non-bs, opposed to factors like wood-type. I mean, there is a reason, why the D-string on the 6th fret sounds different than the G-string on the 1st. I has to be related to the scale length, the gauge or the tension in the strings. Unfortunatelly, you can't change one without affecting at least one of the others

[@johnthrelfall5]

Excellent points! Very useful comments.Then there is room acoustics and position of cabinet in room.

[@nicedevices]

Different strings, pickups and amps sound different? These things are secrets?

[@matthewtayloryowieresearch1912]

Cosmic Top Secret Classified - Majestic7 eyes only... shhh! keep it dark! What a total joke, talk about lmfao, I knew this when I was a beginner of all 11yrs old hardly arcane sage salient secret wisdom of the ages, ffs?. Peace, respect & far too much bass & guitar is nowhere near enough. Didyabringyabongalong Station, Central Queensland, Australia.

[@stevenordstedt2535]

Hey Scott, Im Steve, Ive been playing Bass Guitar for over 40 years now. I have to disagree with you on active pick ups. I put a Bartolini in my 1978 Rickenbacker 4001in 1993. and it cuts thru the band more clarity and I like the tone tone to. So its really about what the bass player likes. In the early 1970's. Eddie Van Halen was one of the first to go against the grain on standard E Tuning. And out of that came 5,6,8 and even 12 string basses. Tom Peterson of Cheap Trick played and 8 string then went to a custom made 12 string Rickenbacker Bass. So! But I love your channel. Just saying!

[@ddodorsirzzehzhezjrzj7267]

I got an active bass because I need the versatility as I can only afford one bass.

[@deathsicon]

I was taking to another player who uses passive when he's got time to control his settings and active when he gets thrown to the wolves

[@thomaswheeler5216]

I think is exactly the thing! If you have to regularly change gear/rely on venues etc it’s nice to have some control!

[@52goldtop]

Strings are almost always the culprit in terms of 90% of the ppl I talk to, who are complaining about their tone, and want to install new pickups... many of them have old ass strings on their bass (3-4months) and they’re blaming the pickups. It’s easy to forget how great a fresh stung bass sounds... There are so many choices out there from SS to nickel, and cobalts, to flats and hybrids... part of being a bass player today are all the choices of different strings, companies and gauges you can choose from... and EXPERIMENTING. Plus you can order them online now and grab ‘em out of your mailbox... If it’s $15-20 for strings vs a full pickup swap and downtime and $$ with a tech, I’m going with new strings every time. We live in an amazing era as musicians, so many choices and covered so well here, thx Scott. Badass F-bass btw, Jesus.

[@wdwd11tr]

4 choices of pickups - plus a Rickenbacker. Seriously, they don't sound like anythings else, or is it just me?

[@averyetvspecial1487]

You’re right but I think that has more to do with the placement of the pickups. Nothing sounds like an EB-3 to me either, and with both that and Rickys you can change the pickups and it still sounds like itself.

[@VittorioGreggio]

Thank you Scott, amazing short version to understand what makes a tone

[@paulatreides3214]

You just contradicted yourself there, mate. The video is about how to personalise your tone. Then you make an emphasis on saying that a big *NO* when it come to tone is whether the electronics are active/passive, while at the same time saying that active electronics will only give you a *different* sound -- well, isn't this the point of personalising your tone, i.e. getting a *different* sound?

[@scottgun]

He's talking about people who are unhappy with their tone and think that active will solve it. It won't. Active's main benefit is convenience. Leave your amp mostly flat and do all your knob fiddling on the bass.

[@CNick75]

@@scottgun there's other benefits to active electronics. I agree with Paul that Scott is kind of off on this point. An active circuit can bring a bass to life.

[@scottgun]

@@CNick75 I missed the part where I said it was the only benefit. He's warning against "my bass tone sucks. Active will fix it." That's a solid warning because there is a laundry list of things to try before going active.

[@simaojoseph]

Scott I myself don’t quite like active electronics tone, but it still is tone shaping, and a pretty drastic one. Isn’t the guy with the hat using his signature axe WITH active electronics?

[@scottgun]

@@simaojoseph As Scott says, he gets lots of students who say they don't like their tone and think that active will fix it. If I had a student that said I'd put the brakes on as well and try to see if more basic changes as he lists them work first before just jumping to active.

[@droppinlikefliesBand]

I am so happy you did this video, I see so many Bass players making crazy Bass decisions lol. It’s all about the Bass Chef.

[@boricesellers4669]

Consider #5 the least important factor to tone.

[@bobbyfields7359]

Yes! I’ve honestly never heard a difference at all!

[@thecappy]

Agree, wood is for aesthetic purposes on an electric instrument.

[@reineh3477]

As a guitar player I can say that there is zero difference when it comes to wood. The pickups pic up vibrations from the strings. The pickup change that to an electric signal that goes to the amp where the sound is created. I am quite sure the same thing goes for basses.

[@WhenGoodWearEViL]

In my opinion, sound difference from fingerboard wood is heard.

[@andymb601]

T O N E W O O D B R O

[@andrewgraham7659]

Yes thanks Scott. Exactly what I was thinking the same. I have a Honer 5 string I prefer to play passively. I've never put it through any special amp, but I love the range of sounds I could get with the active switch on. My new Ibanez four string is active only, but I have some experience with both active and passive playing. I do like the sound of the Ibanez when it's active. Of course pick up wise it's jazz and precision each pick up I believe has it's own volume. I guess it's a master volume and tone control that make up the other two. Which something I'm not used to.

[@ProDigit80]

3 or 4 months? Some of my strings are 1 or 2 years old! 🤣 Also, a good speaker and amp are the biggest reasons of a good tone. Not the last ones...

[@garethhjones]

The room you're in has a big effect on the sound of your bass out front. Hard surfaces reflect bass and make you sound boomy. Soft surfaces like soft curtains, soft furnishing and crowds of people, soak up low frequencies and stop the bass sounding boomy.

[@kucor01]

1. fingers 2. fingers 3. fingers 4. everything else

[@ashfordwyrd7458]

Wood may affect how your bass sounds acoustically, but it has far less effect how it sounds through the pickups. The pickups pretty much remove the wood as a factor.

[@Mr.Proper1]

Whats the bass called that he is using?

[@ubgoinoff]

Fodera???

[@beornthebear.8220]

I think it's Wal bass.

[@Chef316]

Thanks for this Scott! Just watching this now.