Gigs above bar room

[Boneless]

Yeah, this was pretty much the norm in bass playing for the first 1000 years? right?

"Must-have" bass effects (compressor, SansAmp BDDI) are a conspiracy started by NAMM and converted guitarists.

The best part of being a bassist is shaking your head in disbelief as the guitarist sets up their pedalboard that looks like the USS Enterprise.

I have a pedalboard. It has a tuner, an overdrive, a Hot Tubes set not to overdrive much and just round things up (and slightly scoop the mids), a big muff and a compressor. I use the tuner all the time, of course. And the compressor is always on. I could do without the other pedals but they come in handy sometimes. The only must have, in my opinion, is a tuner.

 

[turf3]

I have never - repeat never - been to a gig, large or small, where the sound quality even approached the quality of recordings. That's not what we go to gigs for. We go there for the gig experience (which may or may not be musical in its nature), to hear the songs we love, see the bands we love, the ambience, the energy, the company, the booze, and a great night out. Sometimes the sound quality is OK, but I've come to realize over the years that sound quality is an optional extra.

Sure, but there's a wide range between "imperfect" and "can't distinguish anything below 250 Hz". I'm not going to sit through something that sounds like I've stuck my head inside one of those cars where they take a $1000 car and put $2000 of wheels and $4000 of subwoofers into it.

 

[fu22ba55]

Errrrmmmm.... Uhhhh.... Whoops

Needs more expression pedals:

 

[JakobT]

Sure, but there's a wide range between "imperfect" and "can't distinguish anything below 250 Hz". I'm not going to sit through something that sounds like I've stuck my head inside one of those cars where they take a $1000 car and put $2000 of wheels and $4000 of subwoofers into it.

I guess we differ there. I often go to punk gigs, so that doesn't bother me so much.

 

[Lit311]

Me too! I have a nice Shure, but I've had awesome results on tight bar stages with a Line 6 G10S on my board that charges itself back up during breaks and doesn't have a pack to move from bass to bass. I even use it at home.

I still keep a 20-25' cable ready to go, a habit that goes all the way back to my Nady 49 MHz days.

I use the G10s on my board too. I have yet to experience signal loss, but we also don’t play large gigs. Not sure what would happen if 1000 people were fighting for the same frequency.

 

[Plain Old Barry]

I use the G10s on my board too. I have yet to experience signal loss, but we also don’t play large gigs. Not sure what would happen if 1000 people were fighting for the same frequency.

I always wondered about that myself, but no issues in 40-50 gigs all in places that offer free WiFi and tons of people are playing with phones.

 

[hrodbert696]

I've been to shows where the whole mix was pure mudslide goop and you couldn't make out any instruments at all, let alone discern a bass tone, and I've been to shows where the mix was crystal clear, everything in its place, and you could hear every note and subtlety of tone. I do think there's a "bass drop" mentality out there where low frequency sound by itself is valued without any musicality, and cranking the lows leads to that sludginess. I remember going to one show with my wife where the opening act had godawful sound, total sludge, then when the headliner came out everything was sparkly clear and perfect. I assume the opener didn't get the soundcheck attention the headliner did, but who knows? Maybe that was what they thought they wanted.

Bottom line, I don't think you can generalize that tone doesn't matter or whatever. It all very much depends on the gig and the audio engineer.

Myself, it varies. Minimally, I'll just go with a tuner, preamp, maybe some OD (maybe), and maybe a compressor (maybe). Sometimes just in a FlyRig. Other gigs it's a lot more, depending on what we're playing. For instance, in Mugshot Monday I've got an envelope filter that's literally just for playing Man in the Box, and a fuzz that I put on the board because they want to add Moves Like Jagger. In GSR I've got an octave and chorus for playing Sledgehammer, and will probably use the octave for Burning Down the House as well.

And yes, a wireless. Fight me.

 

[Lit311]

I always wondered about that myself, but no issues in 40-50 gigs all in places that offer free WiFi and tons of people are playing with phones.

That’s good to know.

 

[JazznFunk]

I have never - repeat never - been to a gig, large or small, where the sound quality even approached the quality of recordings. That's not what we go to gigs for. We go there for the gig experience (which may or may not be musical in its nature), to hear the songs we love, see the bands we love, the ambience, the energy, the company, the booze, and a great night out. Sometimes the sound quality is OK, but I've come to realize over the years that sound quality is an optional extra.

I have.... several times.... all at Pat Metheny Trio shows, as well as the handful of times I saw Wayne Shorter, and even Eric Johnson... and a handful of other select indoor shows that *weren't* jazz where live sound quality is a MUST. In fact, when I saw Pat's new trio in February, at a medium sized indoor venue here in Asheville that has a reputation for not having the best acoustics.... it sounded just as good (or at least comparably close in sound) as the recording. Why? Part of it was because it wasn't ear-bleedingly loud! A show with a dynamic drummer that I wasn't playing myself where I didn't need earplugs. What a concept! THAT is a huge problem with live shows these days. Additionally, I've also heard FANTASTIC sound from some of our local engineers at our outdoor venues for larger and more complex bands (Steely Dan tributes, other blues/rock bands, etc.) that was head over heels better than sound run for higher profile touring bands by their own engineers. Those shows are also typically mixed quieter than 'big touring bands' mix. Since I don't drink, I go to the gig for the music first, and the hang second. If the mix is bad or too loud, it's gonna be a long night for me as a listener and fan.

 

[Pilgrim]

What it all boils down to is that although people might not pick the bass out of the mix, they will definitely be able to tell if it stops.

The rest is pretty much up to individual bands to adjust levels and EQ so that there is some ability to hear each instrument.

 

[B-Mac]

Went to a festival yesterday, M3, and boy was it cold. Got to see a few bands I've never seen before and shockingly, Stryper was my favorite. Yngvie Malmsteen was a glorious train wreck of ego and wireless drop outs. Skid Row was tight, but I'm not buying their newest singer. He needs an "onstage antics coach", but his voice is good.

Anywho, all that aside and just being good to be at a concert again, I was thinking about what the bassists were playing. They kept it simple. Four string or five string, pickup configuration, name on headstock, really didn't matter. You're lucky to be heard over the kick and the trend of lower and lower toms. No pedals, you really wouldn't know if it was on or off. Skid Row's bassist had an overdrive tone, but you could only tell that in the 4 beat bass break in whatever song.

So is this pursuit of tone that we've all been on at one point maximize it's ROI (return on investment) in the bar room were the sound is much, much better and balanced? The digital mixers now give even small bands effects and sculpting per channel that would have required racks and rack of gear previously. Beyond the barroom, it really doesn't matter what you play, but just have good timing and a good wireless.

Consider yourself lucky. Although I’m not a gigging bassist, I do support local music and almost every bar, bar & grille, bar/restaurant, American Legion, AMVETS, VFW, MOOSE, etc. has bands that are entirely amplified old school.

Some of these places even have a dedicated stage.

There are one or two nicer bar/restaurants that have systems from Claire Brothers that are pretty amazing. All digital setup where the sound person walks around the venue with a tablet checking sound out all over the listening area.