Does your bass sounds better when somebody else is playing it?

[kerrycares]

Is it just me or does your gear sound better when your bass friends come over and play it.
I’ve gotten my gear down to a reasonable array where I never have to buy another bass and so far it’s been a real GAS killer.
4,5,6 string Jazz Basses, P bass, fretless , Acoustic bass and an upright.

Now the amp thing is a different animal.
So today my buddy came by and I got to sit back ,tweak and really listen.
I think it’s fixed...... lol!
EA Doubler 2 and Wizzy cab with Eminence Beta 10 for DB
EA Doubler 2 and (2) Aguilar SL112 for electric bass


Everything else is optional.

 

[chris_b]

. . .Does your bass sounds better when somebody else is playing it?. . .

Every time.

 

[Nashrakh]

It's a natural law that your stuff will always sound better in the hands of someone else.

 

[jd56hawk]

View attachment 3420755 Is it just me or does your gear sound better when your bass friends come over and play it.
I’ve gotten my gear down to a reasonable array where I never have to buy another bass and so far it’s been a real GAS killer.
4,5,6 string Jazz Basses, P bass, fretless , Acoustic bass and an upright.

Now the amp thing is a different animal.
So today my buddy came by and I got to sit back ,tweak and really listen.
I think it’s fixed...... lol!
EA Doubler 2 and Wizzy cab with Eminence Delta 10 for DB
EA Doubler 2 and (2) Aguilar SL112 for electric bass


Everything else is optional.

I seriously doubt it.

 

[Acoustic356]

I think a lot of it has to do with how close we practice with our amps.

It takes 24 feet for the sine wave of an E string to complete its first cycle. The sound that you hear close to your amp is different than the sound that you hear further away. You tend to get more bottom end when you are closer as well.

I recently rearranged my home studio moving my amps further away and had to re-eq everything.

#thingstoconsider

 

[mikeoso]

Every single instrument I own sounds better when someone else plays it...always

 

[Jeff Scott]

Is it just me or does your gear sound better when your bass friends come over and play it.

The way I see this, it says a whole lot about you as a player than it being about your gear and your friends.

 

[ultra60]

Only my Rickenbacker. I've never gotten the tone that I hear on records or demos. I would define a Ric as bright and growly, unless I am playing one.

 

[Jscriv]

Always. If I go upstairs at practice to use the bathroom or grab a beer and someone grabs my bass I always wonder if it sounds that good when I play it. And the answer is yes. It does sound that good

 

[Floppystrings]

Having someone play your gear is actually a fun experiment, if anything it makes me confident that my settings are all good.

 

[40Hz]

Nope.

 

[India_Sierra]

I love hearing someone else play my gear. It maybe brings out a different tonal character and it's nice to hear a different sound.

That said, I now own the Bogart Blackstone played by Stuart Clayton in this video...where he plays one of my favourite slap tunes which just happens to be an absolute chop-buster. This video motivated me to play well!

 

[MynameisMe]

Nope + 1.

 

[basspraiser]

Always...if it's one of 3-4 friends...

Anyone else... Nope

 

[I-play-bass]

Interesting. I've always found that when I let people play my basses, they can never quite get them to sound like I do, and how I like basses to sound.

 

[Thumpin6string]

Only if they are better than me.

 

[Zack Sewell]

There are a couple of things that affect this but its actually an observable thing happening. Its KIND OF like when you drive a car, bumps dont feel very significant but when you are the passenger, they are extreme and every turn feels sharper. The mind is very powerful and the brain processes that are used to create music take away much of the effect music can have on us. The unexpected notes and changes in rhythm have a different feel and maybe not as significant. Notice how you always hear your mistakes and the audience doesn't? SO Does it ACTUALLY sound better if someone plays your gear? Absolutely not, unless they are better than you. You are just in a different mindset and your brain is functioning differently as a listener.

 

[nnnnnn]

It takes 24 feet for the sine wave of an E string to complete its first cycle.

But sound waves aren't sine waves, they're longitudinal pressure waves (in fluids, anyway, including air).

 

[Acoustic356]

But sound waves aren't sine waves, they're longitudinal pressure waves (in fluids, anyway, including air).

Never claimed to be a physicist... but it is some wave and it’s cycle

 

[Razman]

There are a couple of things that affect this but its actually an observable thing happening. Its KIND OF like when you drive a car, bumps dont feel very significant but when you are the passenger, they are extreme and every turn feels sharper. The mind is very powerful and the brain processes that are used to create music take away much of the effect music can have on us. The unexpected notes and changes in rhythm have a different feel and maybe not as significant. Notice how you always hear your mistakes and the audience doesn't? SO Does it ACTUALLY sound better if someone plays your gear? Absolutely not, unless they are better than you. You are just in a different mindset and your brain is functioning differently as a listener.

This makes sense. On another vein, ever feel like someone else’s rig always sounds better than yours? Maybe not all the time, but I have experienced this. Until I got my current amp, that is. Now I get that awesome tone that everyone else seems to have all the time. Best sounding amp I have ever owned.

I dare not let anyone else play through it now, though...

Raz