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

[DJ Bebop]

I let Dave LaRue play my bass once and it did sound better in his hands, but hey, that's just Dave. I'm happy to say that usually my basses don't sound better in someone else's hands. Was not always the case

I think that's a good thing. You know it can sound as good without you so, it is good.

 

[ThaCoast]

Nope - among my musician friends, i'm the better bass player. My drummer has some good bass playing & even wrote a few bass lines for a few songs i had written for our band. But somehow my gear doesn't sound better in the hands of others. unless they're a famous person. Or someone with more chops than me.

 

[DJ Bebop]

.
It's a bit like smoking someone else's pot.
You always get more stoned than when smoking your own!

(How I made that connection to the OP is beyond me!)

It's the terpenes.

 

[DirtyDuke]

Only when someone comes to test out gear I have for sale.lol

 

[bass40hz]

Is it possible some of us may be getting confused between "better" and "different"...it will always sound different as our individual styles etc. make up our unique tone...no one else has your fingers...just because we play the same basses the same way for a long time the tone gets baked into our heads, when someone else plays the same bass its fresh and new so is it better or just different...thats up to you...no one else plays my basses but me ;-)
Rock on.

 

[Wood and Wire]

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 Beta 10 for DB
EA Doubler 2 and (2) Aguilar SL112 for electric bass


Everything else is optional.

Could be that you're listening with a completely different criteria.


Could be that you prefer the combined effect of the instrument and the room, to just being in close proximity to the instrument.


Could be that everyone else is better than you.

 

[Ellery]

Yes

 

[Jon Muir]

Part of it is where you are when you’re listening, the other part is you’ve heard yourself play a million times. It’s someone else playing something new to you. Everyone touches and plays bass in slightly different locations. Although I may be technically better than my dad, I absolutely love his sound more, even though I’ve heard him play for years.

 

[DJ Bebop]

I like it when someone else plays my crap. I like to evaluate it from a distance. In fact for a minute, I was playing gigs from the audience with a wireless unit, because I liked the sound of my stuff from there. It was strange for the band, seeing my out in the audience, clapping for them after a song

 

[Rip Van Dan]

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 Beta 10 for DB
EA Doubler 2 and (2) Aguilar SL112 for electric bass


Everything else is optional.

LOL....NO! Nobody sounds better on it because I don't let other people use it.

I had a 65 Jazz Bass that I bought in 1966 and I let folks use it twice. One of them dropped one of those heavy bases to an Atlas mic stand on the back of it while it was leaning against their amp. Another one kept digging at the strings on the bridge and pulled them out of wack enough I had to loosen everything up and re-string it before I could play it that night. That bass was stolen from me in 1976 along with the rest of my music gear.

After searching for almost 10-years, I finally found another bass in 1985 that had the same shape neck on it - 60's shallow C-shape with 7.25" radius. Even on their re-issues Fender seems stuck on the 9.5" radius. After 34-years of use, my Jazz is still in remarkably good shape, and I would have to have one built to spec by the Fender Custom Shop if I needed to replace it. So far, I've let my son gig with it once and the BL of the group I'm in play it once.

Just did a recording session last Saturday running my bass through my WTDI into the board, and it sounded amazing! It also sounds great when I play it live through my Eden and DNA gear. I'm very pleased with the sound I get and not really interested in hearing anyone else play it...yeah, I'm more than a bit defensive about my gear.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Recently played a gig with a local bass player in the audience. BL called him up to play a tune. Cool to hear my rig, my settings, in "battle conditions." I dont know if it was "better" but it sounded really good. Talk about a GAS buster!

Good on ya mate, but there's no way someone is going to come out of the audience and use my bass. I'll let them plug into the amp as long as they don't touch any knobs, but I can't replace this bass, so no one touches my bass.

 

[DJ Bebop]

LOL....NO! Nobody sounds better on it because I don't let other people use it.

I had a 65 Jazz Bass that I bought in 1966 and I let folks use it twice. One of them dropped one of those heavy bases to an Atlas mic stand on the back of it while it was leaning against their amp. Another one kept digging at the strings on the bridge and pulled them out of wack enough I had to loosen everything up and re-string it before I could play it that night. That bass was stolen from me in 1976 along with the rest of my music gear.

After searching for almost 10-years, I finally found another bass in 1985 that had the same shape neck on it - 60's shallow C-shape with 7.25" radius. Even on their re-issues Fender seems stuck on the 9.5" radius. After 34-years of use, my Jazz is still in remarkably good shape, and I would have to have one built to spec by the Fender Custom Shop if I needed to replace it. So far, I've let my son gig with it once and the BL of the group I'm in play it once.

Just did a recording session last Saturday running my bass through my WTDI into the board, and it sounded amazing! It also sounds great when I play it live through my Eden and DNA gear. I'm very pleased with the sound I get and not really interested in hearing anyone else play it...yeah, I'm more than a bit defensive about my gear.

Fender Classic 60s series basses come with a 7.25 radius. Just sayin'

 

[Rip Van Dan]

Your first sentence directly contradicts your third sentence.
***SNIP***
I played one gig with a guy who brought a Marshall 4x12 cab instead of his usual 1x12. It was acceptable volume on stage but so painfully loud to people sitting 20 feet away in the bar the place cleared out before the second song was over.

I made that mistake once in 1972. We were playing a large club (just under 700 occupancy) and I had just bought my Standel Bass amp to replace the Fender Bassman (50-watt blackface) I'd been using. Had the Bassman turned up to 7 (2 o'clock) so turned my Standel up to 5 (noon). It used a powered speaker cab with two 15's and four vertical round ports. Standing close to the ports would flap my bell-bottoms (1972), but stage volume was fine.

Back of the room vacated the back row of tables by the wall during the first song. Our female singer walked out there and came back. Told me I was blowing people out and needed to turn down...a lot. Turned it down to 3 (9 o'clock) and then all was fine. Good news is they had a waiting line outside, so those tables filled back up and I didn't chase anyone else out with my volume.

 

[Rip Van Dan]

You know, @DJ Bebop,, I looked at those and all the specs came up with 9.5" radius. I did find some older MIM Jazz with the 7.25" but nothing new. I'll go look at them again.

 

[Joedog]

HELL NO! Dude that's like asking if my wife is better in bed w/someone else!

 

[DJ Bebop]

You know, @DJ Bebop,, I looked at those and all the specs came up with 9.5" radius. I did find some older MIM Jazz with the 7.25" but nothing new. I'll go look at them again.

Invalid Link Removed

I have one, it's 7.25

 

[Rip Van Dan]

HELL NO! Dude that's like asking if my wife is better in bed w/someone else!

ROFLMAO!!!

 

[JRA]

Does your bass sounds better when somebody else is playing it?
i'd say almost always...but i know a neighbor kid who i can still smoke.

 

[Rob Martinez]

Only if they are a better bass player than me! Our gear always sounds good when someone else plays it because we then get to actually hear what it sounds like as an audience member. I played a friend's bass at a gig and she said after that she loved how her bass sounded being played by me. BTW, she runs circles around me as a bass player!!

 

[Crackle]

The bottom line: Tone is in the hands. Gear matters but tone is still in the hands.