How do you judge a bass's tone? When you are looking at or have just received a new bass, what criteria do you use to judge it's tone?
Not talking about fit, finish, comfort, aesthetics, playability, etc....... strictly tone.
For some arbitrary reason, I've always judged a bass's tone by playing it through my amp set completely flat with the bass's volume and tone wide open. Not sure why, but that's what I've always done.
However crazy it may sound, it always made me feel that if I didn't like the tone measured by those standards and if I had to adjust amp eq and or tone control to get a sound I like, then that particular bass's inherent tone didn't measure up and somehow in my mind needed help....
I think I may have sent quite a few really good basses down the road by using these standards......
Is a bass acceptable to you if don't like the sound of it except when you have to add / subtract EQ.....?
What standards do you use? |