Where is my sound?

Perfectionists are everywhere. I feel confident saying that every musician, at some point in their musical journey, encounters someone who truly believes in a magic shortcut—that one element that will boost their sound and turn it into something epic.

I met this marvelous Argentinian bass player (Jorge Bustos, or “el perro” as he likes to be called). I was a young and inexperienced musician back then, and there wasn’t much information available to make an intelligent, fact-driven decision about a question that, even after 15 years, still creates debates among bass players: active or passive?

When I asked, he just replied the way any other might reply to a random person who texts out of the blue asking rookie stuff: "It's just a matter of preference."

And what is a preference but a part of yourself? Tone and sound exploration is a path that you (and you only) should carve and shape. You should try different pickups, different woods, and shapes, and even explore different instruments seeking who you are as a musician and how you would like to sound. Your tone is the fingerprint of your musical soul.

Hey, I get it. Try everything until you find your "mojo", magic element, etc. It looks awesome in black and white, but how do I explain this to my pocket?

I know it is sometimes hard for a beginner (even for a pro musician) to buy hardware, pickups, guitars, and basses just for the sake of exploration and seeking their sound. Luckily, at Lago & Urdaneta, we have some alternatives that can help you. Our parts are crafted with the best materials available in Europe using cutting-edge techniques that allow you to assemble your own instruments or upgrade your current ones.

Are you seeking the holy grail of tone? Feel free to contact us.