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

[drTStingray]

The P bass is nearly as good as an upright for covering up lame technique and bum notes - if you're an inaccurate player it's the bass for you because the mistakes will be far less audible to an audience........................

They will certainly hear them on a 'Ray.

 

[BongoPeg]

who doesn't sound like tony levin who doesn't even seem human, so there.

+1

I completely agree with that whole paragraph... just the last part in specific

 

[MK Bass Weed]

I was scoping some Anthony Jackson Videos today...Yeah..One Pickup - No Controls whatsoever on his bass...One Trick Pony? Pfffft...

His hands are ALL OVER the Bass - and then...he grabs a pick.

 

[Musicman Nut]

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

To Be Honest The P Bass & Jazz Bass & Stingray & Sterling and I could go on forever are all 1 trick Pony's, I think that will change with the Game Changer etc, But when you buy a stingray that's the sound I want & no other bass has that, Same with the Stingray. When I played Fenders Nothing else sounded like a P Bass Or a J Bass, The difference today is this, for me I need the Newer sounds, quite bass when recording or playing some bar with bad Electrical outlets. The Ernie Ball Music Mans do the trick for me and have since 1984.

 

[Tanner]

I can get about 4 different useable tones out of a P-Bass using the tone control and varying plucking hand technique.

I can get nearly twice with a 2 band Stingray.

Best post of the decade, right here, I have a Precision that is a lot older than me, and that one trick pony is the most versatile, the most vocally gifted instrument a man can find, humble yet potent, you move your picking hand half an inch towards the bridge and it has the honk like attack of a marimba, move towards the neck and it jolts out wollowing round notes that will cut through any sound situation. Play directly on the pickup and you get another timbre, play with the tone control and you get a spectrum of tonal capacities that never cease to impress you. Like many have said it not in the bass but rather in the player, I am looking to buy my very first Music Man Reflex fretless but I will never part with my 62 Precision and I've been offered a lot for it. No way Jose'

 

[Musicman Nut]

Best post of the decade, right here, I have a Precision that is a lot older than me, and that one trick pony is the most versatile, the most vocally gifted instrument a man can find, humble yet potent, you move your picking hand half an inch towards the bridge and it has the honk like attack of a marimba, move towards the neck and it jolts out wollowing round notes that will cut through any sound situation. Play directly on the pickup and you get another timbre, play with the tone control and you get a spectrum of tonal capacities that never cease to impress you. Like many have said it not in the bass but rather in the player, I am looking to buy my very first Music Man Reflex fretless but I will never part with my 62 Precision and I've been offered a lot for it. No way Jose'

Elad_E,
Ok lets be real here if you are saying by changing the tone = different tones then I can Pluck differently and roll off the mids and we could do this all day and get what you call Millions of tones but the bottom line is simple, Use a Hammer to pound a Nail , use a saw to cut wood Use a P Bass to play your gig, Use a Music Man to play your gig with a lot of Punch.
This is Splitting hairs here.

 

[ptg]

I do think that one thing needs to be brought up here: Every player who subscribed to this thread not only plays with different technique but is playing through a different rig.
I've played my Ray through a vintage SVT in a studio that made it sound like a completely different monster than it does at a gig through my G&K.
So, if you're going to say any instrument is a one-trick pony, that assessment changes not only from person to person but from the capabilities of one amp setup to another.
My .02.....

 

[TheAntMan]

If you walked into a music store and there was Stanley Clarke, Christian McBride, Flea, Brian Bromberg, Tony Levin, Dave LaRue, les Claypool, Geddy Lee, Marcus Miller or any other the top players you can think of trying out basses and they are just going to town on the instrument. Do you really think it would matter which one or would their playing make the bass their own?

Sure they will do a little tweaking of the bass and amp but only enough to get a 'workable' tone -- then they're off!

Each of these players have their go-to bass but they all have a number of different ones in their stable. I think we all love our EBMM's (especially now with all the variations - which is making them the go-to's for a lot of players that I am seeing using them) and that they give us the tool(s) to express our musicality and that it the real bottom line -- pun intended

--Ant

 

[projectapollo]

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.

I bought bobKos Single H 30th, put flats on it, and have achieved the "smooth mellow" tone -- most likely due to my finger style. I had to work with this bass to get it to be smooth and punchy -- but once I found that sound, it surely has its P-like mojo, but better. So, same bass, different players, different results.

 

[koogie2k]

With all these "One trick ponies" you should open up a circus ranch.

Seriously, the bass will do what you want it to do. Some people prefer one tone/bass over another. I just happen to like my bongo and I get the tonal pallet that I want. I could care less what someone says about it....

 

[Big Poppa]

Tanner I think you missed my point neither of them are one trick ponies.

 

[Steamthief]

The P bass is nearly as good as an upright for covering up lame technique and bum notes - if you're an inaccurate player it's the bass for you because the mistakes will be far less audible to an audience........................

They will certainly hear them on a 'Ray.

I think this is as ridiculous an internet cliche as the "one trick pony" notion. For the record, I am no Jaco playing either my 30th SR4 or Fender P/J. Bum notes and sloppy technique sound equally awful on either bass.

 

[Mabongohogany]

There is only ONE Trick Pony that I know of, personally-

"KOUMA" (Japanese for Devil, I think)-
A Black Pony on my Sister's horse property in Crown point, Indiana aka "Two Dogs Farm"

Kouma has one trick, he comes charging at you, then runs away, then comes back part way and kind of sneers at you as to say "Ha! I could kick your butt- If I wanted to"

He had some issues years back pulling a cart I understand; it rolled over or something, so...

That's the only trick he knows, hence HE is the only true one-trick pony.
Not a StingRay, not a P-Bass, and heyhey, NOT my HH Bongo-

The ONLY way to fly- except for a BA 4SS Roasted Al.......

 

[drTStingray]

I think this is as ridiculous an internet cliche as the "one trick pony" notion. For the record, I am no Jaco playing either my 30th SR4 or Fender P/J. Bum notes and sloppy technique sound equally awful on either bass.

In hindsight you're possibly right - you'll have to forgive me - I've recently recovered from a discussion with a guy who once lent me his '59 P Bass - he was a bit miffed when I told him I still prefer my EBMMs.

It's all personal preference really - I prefer the EBMM basses period, and I don't need to use a P or J as a living so maybe my view is affected by this.

 

[Tanner]

Tanner I think you missed my point neither of them are one trick ponies.

Wow, I don't know what I can say first, as I am both humbled and honoured that you Sterling being the CEO and owner of this great company and forum have taken the time to reply and address a newbie "nobody" like me, i am not sure I'm worthy as i don't even own one of your basses yet, but I am picky and I am trying to source the right one without rushing into an impulse purchase, I've got my eye on a Reflex fretless 5 in any particular pickup combinations, in fact since you make them it would be interesting to learn which pickup combo you recommend for a fretless jazz standards player.

Secondly I need also to apologise to your reference about "missing your point" i realise I've rumbled on about a P bass but my intent was to counter track the perception of the Internet gender at large to think one pickup means one sound only. So very very sorry about that, I've re read your initial post and I "get it" now.

Once again thanks for pulling me back on track. So the best Reflex f/less for jazz in your opinion is: one humbucker, two or that complex three pickups one?

 

[Steamthief]

In hindsight you're possibly right - you'll have to forgive me - I've recently recovered from a discussion with a guy who once lent me his '59 P Bass - he was a bit miffed when I told him I still prefer my EBMMs.

It's all personal preference really - I prefer the EBMM basses period, and I don't need to use a P or J as a living so maybe my view is affected by this.

There it is in a nutshell, play what makes you happy!

 

[LawDaddy]

There was a thread over on the skinny string side that got sidetracked when someone said their Axis was better than a Les Paul because the LP is a "one-trick" pony. Pretty funny.

Sometimes I think we listen too much with our eyes, and deploy a mental filter of musical expectations based upon what brand/style instrument we see being played.

I mainly play guitar, and one of my favorites is when I play surf tunes live. Rather than switch to a guitar officially sanctioned by the Committee of Genre-Correct Instruments, I dial in some excessive reverb, switch to the bridge pup, pick hard and close to the bridge, and my rosewood Axis SS does a remarkable surfy impression of one of Leo's fine products. This always blows some minds, and invariably I see guitar players looking around the stage for some magic pedal, since of course we all know THAT sound can not be coming from THAT guitar... SURF TUNES CAN ONLY BE PLAYED ON GUITARS THAT HAVE SLANTY BRIDGE PICKUPS. I consider it a good night's work when this happens.

I can only imagine BP's frustration in having the fruits of his (and his predecessor's) life work dismissed as a one-dimensional product. Here's to changing minds, one gig at a time

 

[Bloodfist]

One of my main basses before I got my stingray was a 1973 Fender P. I really enjoyed that bass, but I did get rid of it because of it's limitations. I wouldn't necessarily call it a one trick pony, but it is kind of a "point and shoot" type of bass. I bought my Stingray HH because I wanted a bass that could cover all the different tones I wanted with ease. With that said, when I was playing in my originals band, I always kept it on the back humbucker, and made very small adjustments on the eq so in a way I was using it as a one trick pony. When I joined the cover band I'm in now, I needed a bass that could change tones quickly to suit the song we are playing, and the Stingray does that beautifully. I play 2 other basses besides my Stingray live, a Spector and an Exlusive, the sound guy says the room is going to explode lol. I have a lot of respect for some Fender products, but I could care less if I ever owned one again. The whole Musicman vs Fender debate is as epic as Apple vs Windows, and Playstation vs Xbox. Each has their own set of diehard fan boys, I'm a Musicman, Apple, Playstation type of guy, I live life dangerously

 

[cellkirk74]

As long as it is a good trick, that ain't that bad at all.
I knew I could do quite some more but I just used one trick of my Stingray for a long time and was happy with that.

I was also happy using a P for Punkstuff, because it just worked.

That said it is a lot more fun with a larger staple of well teached ponies for me nowadays. I switch back and forth with other basses sometimes when I practice new stuff, just to find out I can get the tone I want better and bigger from my Bongo, Big Al or Stingrays.

If this is the one trick, I like it...

 

[bovinehost]

SURF TUNES CAN ONLY BE PLAYED ON GUITARS THAT HAVE SLANTY BRIDGE PICKUPS.

That's classic. And a lot of people think it's true, too.