Back in the 60s, were boomy basses bad???

[SoulReflection]

Been playing out since 1968 and "Boomy" was never considered good, but there was certainly more of it back then, but this was certainly not always the case. Had some refridge rigs, including an Acoustic 360, that actually sounded great, and were not boomy in and of themselves, but I would never want to lug those around again. The "boom" was caused more by the inferior front of house PA systems we used back then. Vocal and stage mics picking up the low frequencies and things not being eq'ed properly were a huge culprit.

I started playing out in the mid 60s. Never saw FOH PA systems until the 70s. That is when boom became noticeable to me.

 

[SoulReflection]

Wasn't the West Coast psychedelic sound kind of a boomy bass sound?

My memory might be weak in that time frame.

I avoided that psycho noise, preferring soul and R&B while playing bass with thump of black nylon strings on a Telecaster bass . Boomy bass started more with the volume wars of the 70s, IMHO.

 

[salmon256]

Really genre dependent. In Mambo and Salsa a boomy bass can be heard from the 60s to modern day Salsa. I have notice a modern Salsa trend is to have a less boomy bass but it entirely depends on the artist and the band. A boomy bass though in those genres can still be heard and may emphasize the bass for big bands and listening, especially a decent amount for meant for dance.

 

[lordradish]

Not being around back then, I would venture it's relative to what is common at the time. Almost all bass back in the day was pretty lo-fi, and some of it was pretty boomy. I think that works in the context of the music, but I absolutely HATE boomy, muddy bass, unless I'm playing reggae. I never seek out a vintage tone unless I'm playing very vintage-y music.

 

[mambo4]

Sound technology has been a race to he bottom (low end EQ spectrum) over the past 40 years.
I think "boomy" in 1965 was an entirely different sound than "boomy" in 2024

 

[Topkat13]

Before indoor plumbing were out-houses bad?

 

[Derek Kay]

I quickly began to hate 4x12s - quad boxes. Crap x 4.
This was the 70s doing its best to improve on the 60s.
They were awkward and inflexible. They boomed in small venues, and got lost in big ones.

The 80s brought better speakers/cabs, the 90s better amps

The old 60s amp I had was OK - a local copy of a Bassman.
It came with a matching 2x12.

 

[MrLenny1]

IME basses were not boomy. The amps were.
Bass amps were under powered, cheap speakers and
weak EQ.

 

[jim nolte]

Yes, the Dead being an exception because Phil Lesch is such an unusual bassist and came from a classical background.

Being from the era it was also Jack Casady who was pushing for a more articulate sound with stacks of Showman heads, Sunn/JBL cabinets and the wizards from Alembic and that was what my tone goals were at the time.

 

[Short4since64]

If you look at what I was suggesting, boom wasn't necessarily a bad thing back then. It wasn't for me, was it for you? Did you play live back then?

Played my first gig in 1965. Wards Airline bass, then a Gibson EB-0 into a B15. Guitars had 20-watt amps. Placed the B15 in the corner of the high school gym to get some boom. Tone was great (my playing not yet so).
Almost everything recorded in the 60s east of the Mississippi was either a mic'd B15 or the Motown Studios direct setup. Can't call the sound boomy, just strong and full. (If it's muddy and boomy that's a case of poor technique.) Followed by the power trio era (Jack Bruce, Noel Redding) - distorted Marshall bass amps filling in for the missing rhythm guitar. What sounds boomy, and annoyingly so, is a sealed 212 or 412 cabinet with no response in the low octave being pushed to try to get lows out of it, and even worse, the sound tech who puts an undamped low kick out in front of everyone else and drowns the bass guitar out.

 

[KellyC]

I keep reading about how bad boomy basses are. Going back in time, before tweeters, slap, powerful amps and modern music, I seem to recall that was not a problem for live music back then.

We didn't need or have tweeters and HPFs. In fact, I seem to recall that a booming bass was a good thing and meant you were getting through!

Was it the lower powered amps, speakers that didn't have lower frequencies? Thoughts?

Think of the farty tone Jaco had to settle on just to get the articulation he desired, I'd say it's always been a problem.

 

[azureblue]

Define "boomy" if you mean emulating the tone of an upright, yes. Look at Jamerson, Babbit, etc., all had that thud that lays in the background and propels the music long without getting in the way of other instruments.

 

[LowendG]

Define "boomy" if you mean emulating the tone of an upright, yes. Look at Jamerson, Babbit, etc., all had that thud that lays in the background and propels the music long without getting in the way of other instruments.

To me, those bass tones, good reggae bass (Family Man, etc), and the like are not "boomy". They might not have much obvious high end content, but the bass parts played by those guys are clear, defined, articulate, have space where they need it, and they dovetail into the mix and arrangement. "Boomy" to me is when the bass sounds like an indistinct blur, as many lesser skilled players(especially rock players) do even with a full-range sound. So, much of it comes down to technique, and how actually musical a bass player is.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Parametric EQs solve a lot of 'boomyness issues' if utilized...HPF are great for cleaning up unwanted low frequencies that suck power as well....both are great tools that are featured on many modern amps.

 

[SoulReflection]

Parametric EQs solve a lot of 'boomyness issues' if utilized...HPF are great for cleaning up unwanted low frequencies that suck power as well....both are great tools that are featured on many modern amps.

Because they are needed on modern amps for modern cabs...

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Because they are needed on modern amps for modern cabs...

Parametric EQs work great with say Gibson EB0 basses as well...Frank Zappa used them in the 70s to cut the unwanted frequencies as well as adding a specific frequency.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

I have thought about tie-dyeing grill clothes for my Dead band, however, it would look a little weird since all we use are my 210, the guitarist and electric mandolin player each have a 112 and we have two 112 FOH. Compare that to the literal piles and piles of amps they used back then.

Right after the tie-dye installation.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

Before indoor plumbing were out-houses bad?

Have you ever used an out house? One was part of my life for a while in the back woods of Maine.

 

[Gizmot]

Listen to Jim Fielder on the first Blood Sweat and Tears album with Al Cooper. Jims bass lines were syncopated, articulate and clear not boomy. Good recording engineer?

I saw BS&T live a couple of times when Jim was on bass. He was a very good Jazz player and he used a Fender played through a Guild 2 x 15 bottom. Those cabinets weren't as low end heavy as Kustom, Sunn or even Ampegs being used during the same late 60s timeframe.

 

[Wesley R]

I avoided that psycho noise, preferring soul and R&B while playing bass with thump of black nylon strings on a Telecaster bass . Boomy bass started more with the volume wars of the 70s, IMHO.

Congrats on using tapes, you are obviously wise beyond your years