Tonal qualities: live VS. in your room

Blueszilla · #1 12-03-2007, 05:20 PM

I traded for a 55-01 and a JO5 last year. To my ears, the JO had a tone I liked better, (I'm more of J, rather than P, guy) so it has been my main player, with a few exceptions. I like the 55-01, but my thoughts were that it was a bit tame compared to the JO. A week ago the JO strap screw on the bottom came out during the last set. I was very busy the next day and forgot to try and repair it. When it came time to go to the gig, I realized I didn't have time to repair it, so I took the 55-01 for the evening. I was very surprised at how it sounded at volume and in the context of the band; clean, wonderfully even and rich sounding. Tones easily tweaked with the preamp controls on the bass. I like it enough to keep using it for the next several gigs to get a full assessment. The drummer and gp both made positive comments.

So, my question is what experiences do you have regarding evaluating the sound of a particular bass in your room and then within band at volume? Stories please.

JoshD · #2 12-03-2007, 05:57 PM

I know for a fact that my bass sounds WAY better in a large space vs. my room. A lot bass-ier, but I still have that brightness from the Hi Beams.

alfredpunkjazz · #3 12-03-2007, 06:18 PM

I hate how any of my basses sound in my room. Sometimes I just plug it to use headphones.

Being played out with my big SVT rig, the whole thing it's just different... it's BIG... O yeah...

Steve Whitman · #4 12-04-2007, 12:58 PM

In my experience there's very little connection between how my basses sound at home and on the gig. I would base my choice of what bass to bring on how they compare on stage and disregard how they sound at home.
BTW Phil - where're you gigging these days?
Steve

Blueszilla · #5 12-04-2007, 04:09 PM

Hey Steve, good to see you're alive and well! How's ABC treating you these days?

I'm at Marcellos in the ABQ uptown every Friday with Karl Richardson, 7-10. I get one or two dates a month with the Tony Brazis Group (Steve Maase on guitar), and I seem to pick up 3-5 a month with Alpha Blue, and others. Played at the Toys for Tots bike jam at Copelands on Saturday, then did the TFT dinner at Marcellos on Sunday night. We're playing the office party for Sennheiser this Sat nite, looking forward to it. How about you?

About the thread here, I feel the same way, but was wondering if there were any techniques folks might use, or experience someone had that might lend itself to determining if one might be better than another, other than taking it and trying it. I suppose that's obvious but maybe someone has a special way to decide that hadn't occurred to the rest of us.