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

[pappabass]

Yes. Every time!

 

[SirMjac28]

It's like someone else driving your car or motorcycle you get to sit back and admire how beautiful it is.

 

[jthisdell]

Victor Wooten played my bass once, many years ago (in high school). It sounded fabulous though I had to set it back up afterwards as the strings were all laying flat on the fretboard. We have slightly different techniques.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

Nope, no way. I know my gear in and out and I make it sound best, always.

 

[MegaSwing]

I welcome opportunities to hear other players play my stuff. It's a valuable diagnostic. I mean, you almost never hear it as an audience member.

That having been said, however, you had 1) better be a bigger fish in the pond than I, or 2) better have enough money to back the experiment in the event that it fails.

 

[chaosMK]

Usually not but once my friend plugged his bass into my amp, and my amp sounded better (after that I sold my SDGR 885).

 

[CallMeAl]

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.

He let me and another bassist use his sweet vintage fender at a blues jam prior; least I could do is let him use my squier!

 

[bbh]

Only if they are better than me.

Agreed. Unfortunately, the locals are generally sub par mostly due to terrible ideas and notes choices.

 

[grocker]

Bands sound different,instruments sound different at distances,players play different lighter touch makes everything sound different then digging in,...so many variables but i believe the vibration of the instrument on our bones and bodies holding it in our hands and against our bodies effects the precieved sound,vibration is everything,put your ear to the top horn of your bass and play,sounds like a beast......

 

[MMiller28]

I've never heard someone else play my bass(es)

 

[TakeABreak]

I don’t know about sound, but my bass usually LOOKS better with someone else playing it...

 

[Gooney]

Not usually better. The people that play my bass aren't bass players so they rattle the frets and pluck way too hard. They also try to shred which never goes well.

When they finally calm down and play something simple it does sound good. It's easier to judge the sound when you aren't playing.

 

[Bassmann79]

Every time.

Yep! : (

 

[Drop1]

Yes. To me the tone is better if I'm not playing it. I like to adjust eq with someone else playing and I can stand back further to make judgement calls.

I also like to record and not go straight into mixing.
I prefer to come back to any part I played days later so I am detached from the physical side of it. This is with any music I make . I treat the creative and mixing sides separately. It sounds so much better if I wait a few days before listening to the recording.
Finding old tracks from years ago I dont remember doing is the best. Your like, damn that sounds nice, and then realize it was you. Great feeling.

 

[RockinJohnny]

It sounds different. Whether it is better, or not, is a value judgement. It's not necessary to decide.

 

[Screnshaw]

I think (know) that (with a comparable player) it is only based on where you are standing. If you are corded to the amp you are way too close to allow the bass frequencies to expand (unless you are on a VERY LARGE stage). I went wireless a while back and now during sound check I can walk around the venue and know how I sound "out there". That being said, I always seem envious of other people's sound. That's what keeps us coming back to the music stores, right?

Snapper

 

[Chrisenbacker69]

It always sounds better when someone else is playing it but I think that has more to do with being critical of my own performance/technique than any huge gap in ability between the other player and me. Also, listening to my rig being played by someone else from the "sweet spot" in the room (as opposed to the unfortunate corner where I'm typically relegated) makes a difference as well.

 

[daddymactx]

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.

Off Bass topic, GO AIR FORCE!!! Don't know if that's your Dad in the bk ground Kerry but I appreciate his service!!

 

[rickstrong]

A lot of it is that we hear things differently when we're playing compared to when we're sitting back and listening. Different parts of the brain are involved. But I do notice big differences in sound when different players play the same instrument one after the other, e.g. at sessions. People all have different ideal sounds and touches. I tend to think the owner of an instrument will be able to get the best sound out of it by virtue of the number of hours they've spent on it figuring out the precise touch needed to extract the best sound.

 

[Benthoven]

I don't know about sounding "better", but my bass always sound different when someone else plays it. Partly due to how they play it, but also due to the difference in how the amp sounds 30 feet away instead of 5-10 feet. I let another bassist play my Ampeg fretless for a whole set at a blues jam just so I could hear it in the room. Maybe he doesn't pluck as hard as I do, or maybe he dialed the treble pot back a bit, but it was very different sounding than when I play it.