IM Going to Fire it up...One Trick Pony

[Big Poppa]

So I'm reading the thread about already have a p bass.....then started thinking about how many people are making comments like "the P bass Sound" in the 25th or Big Al....Hmmm The P bass Sound....They never say "Pbass sounds"

Now I am thinking about internet created urban legend and the damage and lasting negative impact that some jerky boy can create. SOme guy who played a Sting Ray dimed....Says..."I played it and it only got one sound....that slap sound....I turned everything up to ten and I only got one sound" " This thing is a one trick pony"

The next guys reads it and says.."you're right! I was playing one at Guitar Center and turned everything up pto ten and I got the same sound!"

Now I love P basses...I grew up playing them...Here is where I fire a volley at the shallow knee jerk cliche that becomes a tatoo that we have to deal with.....


If the Sting Ray is the one trick pony....what does that make the Pbass?

A passive single pick up bass....

When people start asking for the p bass sounds I will rest.

I really need people to understand that when you read a snappy internet cliche that you need to not be so willing to add it to your vocabulary

 

[funkymofo]

A good point well made.

It reminds me of when I used to frequent car forums a lot. You could go on several websites and see all these wonderful things you could do to do to your car to make it better/faster etc. You would get hundreds of people agreeing that it was 100% safe and there were no drawbacks.

Then you would realise that maybe 5% of the people recommending the idea had actually done it themselves - it was just something people had read and repeated parrot fashion without actually thinking it through or questioning it.

I find internet forums get like that a lot, I'm guilty of it too. The other day I was talking to someone about basses, and I told them to try a Bongo as they were amazing - I've never even played one! - damn you bongolites

 

[oddjob]

Amazing what the addition of a single "s" will do to a word.

 

[Bart B]

if the sting ray is the one trick pony....what does that make the pbass?

+1

Remins me of the fact that many bassplayers cannot seem to get past the concept of playing above the pickup. Move your hand up a bit on the Stingray and you already have a big difference in sound..and then there's not yet a mention of the EQ.

It's all in the players mind...(or hands)

 

[syciprider]

BP, I think having that characteristic Stingray (or broadly, Music Man) sound which to some folks = 1TP contributes greatly to your product's success. Only a Stingray can sound like a Stingray and the only way to get that sound is to play one or as of late, an SBMM. I think the allure of the P is on the same ground. You hear these basses on record, you recognize them and realize that are not too many ways to get those sounds so you buy an SR or a P.

Now consider that other fine CA guitar company G&L. They make great products at a great price that IMO are better than Fender but somehow the appeal isn't there and they aren't selling like hotcakes. I think it is because G&L's L series basses don't have that 1 kick butt trick that ppl will want to buy into unlike the SR and the Precision. IOW, nothing comes out to grab you that says "That's the G&L sound and I want it".

So to some, the SR may have a small bag of tricks but to many of us fans they are all trump tricks.

 

[TheAntMan]

I totally agree with this and as one who stated that I get that 'P-bass sound' - I would like to clarify.

I, for my part, and I think many others may also, refer to the 'sound' in the same way that one would refer to the 'feel' of a material such as cotton or leather. There are various nuances of textures with each material but the 'common' understanding of the material is referred to rather than the entire possible range of characteristics available.

I originally referred to the 'P-ness' of tones from my 25th which I think is more indicative of my intent. I don't think any bass or instrument is a one-trick-pony. If so, then the upright would a prime example but I think we can all agree that each player makes it sound their own.

--Ant

 

[maddog]

I like Bongos.

Single H to be exact.

 

[Smallmouth_Bass]

If the Sting Ray is the one trick pony....what does that make the Pbass?

I think it's somewhat of a two trick pony. Tone all the way up and tone all or most of the way down. I happen to like those two tricks! Plus, there's the plucking hand positioning and pick and fingers that gives variations on that.

I don't think of the single H Stingray or Stingray 5 as a one trick pony, but it does have a certain characteristic sound regardless of most settings. My wife thinks I am crazy when I can hear a song on the radio and pick out that it's a Stingray!

 

[Caca de Kick]

Well all those people also claim the P is a one trick pony too.

But I always have to laugh at players demanding infinite versatility. Then when I'm in clubs watching bands play, especially cover bands, all those bass players sound like themselves and never like the original song or the original bass tone.

Then you would realise that maybe 5% of the people recommending the idea had actually done it themselves - it was just something people had read and repeated parrot fashion without actually thinking it through or questioning it.

I work in diesel repair and always hear of the same thing on forum boards. I call them internet engineers.

 

[Jim C]

Well all those people also claim the P is a one trick pony too.

But I always have to laugh at players demanding infinite versatility. Then when I'm in clubs watching bands play, especially cover bands, all those bass players sound like themselves and never like the original song or the original bass tone.

Well said; it's seems to be a matter of ones' individual perception vs. what they want to believe. Kind of like their own truth (which is not necessarily true).

I have a friend who is a pretty succesful motorcyle builder and racer but keeps a very low key and humble profile. Always great when the kids start spouting off about how and why things work and how records are broken.

After they leave his comments about the BS is usually: "it's there lie and they can tell it anyway they want to".

 

[JayDawg]

Last night I was jamming with some friends in the recording studio. While jamming, I wanted to experiment with some different sounds. On my Classic, I normally play with the treble and bass pots at 10 on it but decided to adjust them a little last night and was amazed at the variation of tones that i was getting. Prior to that, I was also playing my Sterling 4H and did the same thing with it. I was really amazed at both basses on how many variation of tones and I was getting out of them. I had left the Bongo at home because I played it the week before but from day 1 I have been experimenting with it and it still continues to amaze me.

With me, I don't really look for a tone that matches some other bass. I simply want something I will like and with all of my Music Man basses, they are not just giving me one tone or setting that I like but several.

 

[njhammer]

When I think of the music I grew up listening to in the '70's (Lizzy, VH, etc), there was much less tonal variation in the bass from one album track to another. Accordingly, I didn't feel influenced to experiment with the sound I set up my '77 P and Ampeg V4 to put out, and I'm not sure now how much variation that specific gear would allow. I don't ever recall changing my settings during a recoring session.

Compare that to now where the equipment we use actually encourages infinite variations in tone. I actually find myself changing settings on my SR's, preamp and GK mutiple times when recording until I find what I feel works best.

Whatever next?

 

[bbernard]

Most bass related musings on the internet are complete BS muttered by self proclaimed experts who have never played a gig in their lives. This forum and one other I occasionally visit seem to have a much better ratio of gigging players to those who have never played outside their bedroom.

Everyone is a beginner at some point, its much better to play than to not play, just don't pretend to be an expert and just mimic something you have read elsewhere.

There is a variety of sounds available in any instrument. I think the problem is one trick players rather than one trick instruments. Of course I think the variety available in my 25th anniversary 5 string is the ultimate in bassdom.

 

[roccobladr]

The P bass is absolutley a one trick pony. I'm not a huge fan of the one sound you can get from it, but it is unique so I do have one to supplement my sting ray.

I feel with the ray i can get just about every other sound I would ever need.

But lets be honest, even if something is deemed a "one trick pony" its only as limiting as the person is who is playing it. With good/different technique you could even get tons of different sounds out of a p bass.

 

[maddog]

The P bass is absolutley a one trick pony.

I've heard some people put roundwounds on 'em.

 

[BobKos]

I agree with the posts that suggest technique defines an instrument's flexibility. In my world, the Stingray H truly is a one trick pony and not in a good way. My attack is such that I get the infamous clank out of it. It slaps as well as I can slap and better than my other basses for the most part. I can't play smooth mellow bass on a Stingray. Even with flats. It's my technique I am sure, but that doesn't change the fact that it doesn't work for me. So the others that make this claim are not 100% wrong. Perhaps they are unaware that they can't play up to the instrument. A Stingray HH on the other hand is perfect for me. IMO the H and HH are two COMPLETELY DIFFERENT instruments. I'm new to a 25th HH and it is wonderful. I have Fender Jazzes and Jazz clones that are equally nice and also more suited to my technique. The P-Bass has never been my cup of tea. Neither is the Stingray H. I can get a good rendering of those instruments from other instruments I own, but I can't do much with those particular instruments on their own. So to me yes - they are one trick ponies.

 

[Kristopher]

Reminds me of when Bass Player magazine reviewed a single H version of one of EBMM new offerings and gave the one-trick-pony line, even though the model was also very easily available in HH and HS versions.

The next issue Fender put out a new vintage reissue whatever of the same old single pickup passive Precision and it got the Editor's Award. It was laughable.

 

[tkarter]

I've owned a couple of P basses. Never could get my sound so they to me are the one trick pony.
SR5 and two Bongos just speak to me and I get all I ever wanted out of them.

But then again I am nobody special in the world of bass players. LOL.

tk

 

[Big Poppa]

hey bob when calling it a one trick pony they are saying that the bas is only capable of one thing not the players ability or technique

 

[tkarter]

Everyone with a p bass wants it to sound like an upright. LOL.

tk