How Many Have had this told to them

[Dave44]

I played a blues gig a week ago and was told by the manager that my bass playing was great, quote "I couldn't hear the bass so you must have been right on the button" huh......... I guess it's a compliment I dunno.

[jnuts1]

even if the bass is the loudest thing in the room nobody knows what it is. it's very sad

[lunarpollen]

It could have meant that you were so low in the mix and/or the other elements were intruding on the bass frequencies so much, that you were inaudible. In which case you could have played like crap and no one would have noticed!

[AwesomeMcBadass]

Originally Posted by jnuts1

even if the bass is the loudest thing in the room nobody knows what it is. it's very sad

You can't be serious...

[Dave44]

My mix was right on. I have a JBass with a David Eden amp and I've spent many an hour getting just the right volume and tone to please any ear.

[smeet]

Maybe he meant you locked in so well your sound blended in instead of sticking out? Hopefully???...

[peetey]

If you had played a wrong note the manager and half of the room would have noticed. Take it as a compliment.

[Bardley]

Originally Posted by jnuts1

even if the bass is the loudest thing in the room nobody knows what it is. it's very sad

This is true. There is a large number of people that if you asked them to pick out the sound of a bass guitar out of a tune, they would not hear it. They just hear the music. It's hard for musicians to think about because we automatically break it down in our heads.

To the OP. That's a weird comment and I would have probably took a little offense to it, but not get upset about it because you may not understand his true meaning.

[troythorpe]

Originally Posted by Bardley

This is true. There is a large number of people that if you asked them to pick out the sound of a bass guitar out of a tune, they would not hear it. They just hear the music. It's hard for musicians to think about because we automatically break it down in our heads.

To the OP. That's a weird comment and I would have probably took a little offense to it, but not get upset about it because you may not understand his true meaning.

It seems we are an unappreciated lot.

[60's Bluesman]

Originally Posted by Bardley

This is true. There is a large number of people that if you asked them to pick out the sound of a bass guitar out of a tune, they would not hear it. They just hear the music. It's hard for musicians to think about because we automatically break it down in our heads.

To the OP. That's a weird comment and I would have probably took a little offense to it, but not get upset about it because you may not understand his true meaning.

your exactly right, i never noticed the bass intill i started playing the bass, now me and my family as well listen for it all the time.

OP as the others are saying your just locking in well, thats a good thing, dont worry about it. if you know your good then who cares what ppl think right...

[varunkapahi]

i guess he just meant you blended in and locked in too good, that or you need to turn the gain knob the other way

[plankspanker13]

Consider this: Many bassists I encounter at multi-band shows know squat about the kind of tone needed to penetrate thru the mix when the sound guy does not wanna give you anything in FOH above 200hz. You've gotta remember to dial in more treble than would be pleasing to your ear. What may sound clanky & overly twangy to you will sound smooth and defined to the audience. I often wonder about the so-called tone freaks who dial in what they believe is their ultimate dream sound; is it something that the audience also gets? This is one reason why I use post-EQ DI out on my amp when feeding the FOH, and even then, I still ask a trusted pair of ears in the audience whether or not my notes are sounding defined out there. Of course, playing mostly in trios, I usually have a lot of room in the mix anyway, and the kind of feedback that I get usually is of the "you're really good" variety.

I am not passing any judgement on the OP, or the remark that is related in the first post's story, and I hope that, if anything, this post does a service to those who may be struggling to be heard.

[gus1894]

I watched this show last night where a group of 6 year olds couldn't identify a single vegetable, they also did not know how to use a fork and knife. In the United States... and we expect people who've been drinking in bars to be able to identify the bass?

I guess we shouldn't expect too much!

[beelzelboss]

My brother who plays guitar, he can't pick out the bass line in a song, where I hear it clear as day.
Some people break the music down to their instruments (I think I do) and some just take it in as a whole.

[IntrepidCellist]

I've found the best way to make people know I'm there is to do occasional bits where I "drop out" for a bar or two (obviously it has to fir the song) but there are a few songs we do where I can do that. According to people I've spoken to afterwards, it does make the bass stick out a little more.

Doesn't hurt that I get a few bass riffs and intros to myself too.

[lunarpollen]

If you're sure your mix was good, then either you locked in perfectly and precisely with everything else and didn't play anything to stand out in any way, or that manager doesn't really know what a bass sounds like or wasn't really paying attention.

[kcole4001]

My take:
He was paying you a compliment and doesn't know enough about the composite parts of music to break it down and define it properly (like most people).

[Throckmorten]

Someone said something like that to me once. He said I was playing in the key of L.
At least I think he said: That sounds like L !

[RFord04]

Originally Posted by Throckmorten

Someone said something like that to me once. He said I was playing in the key of L.
At least I think he said: That sounds like L !

Or maybe he has some sort of strong accent, and he was insulting you, saying "that sounds like hell"...

[guitarbassist]

lol i had the same problem before i started playing