So what I am trying to understand is what a cab does for the bassist. On the B3n, you can blend the dry signal with it if you choose (for the G5n cabs, it's more of a binary decision and you'd gonly leave the cab model out of your chain if you were plugging into a real guitar cab). Whereas bassists can take it or leave it, it seems?
[apologies, windbag post here ]
OK. I'll offer up what I can. My experiences are as a bassist and a FOH mixer at venues of all shapes and sizes. When I'm wearing my "bassist" hat on stage, I'm playing mostly well-known rock, hard rock, classic rock, some R&B, some pop and metal. I go for a tone that translates well across all of those genres, thus some of those styles have some component of drive/distortion going on - from subtle to very aggressive.
The bass cabinet IR filtering is a key element in taming the harshness/top end of the OD distortion, as well as adding the "flavor" of that particular cabinet. I'm a big fan of the SVT amp/cab for most styles, but old school classic rock sounds great through the Acoustic amp/cab, too. Since finding modelers with cabinet simulation, I've generally been using full range cabinets to amplify my bass on stage.
The blending of the full range dry tone with the cabinet sim is what retains the top end and fundamental low end components of the bass sound. To what extent tends to be subjective IMO, but also depends on whether more of the dry blend helps you with articulation, clarity and body of your tone. On stage this is important for a happy performance, no? So, for me, it doesn't take a lot of thinking to get a bass sound using the B3n. I'll have an OD (used occasionally for heavier rock/metal) in front of a compressor (mild compression, the 1176 model simulation), going to the SVT amp model (set to my taste, a little grit when I dig in, lots of upper mid-range presence, Ultra Hi & Low switch engaged), and then onto the SVT cab sim set to around 85% cab/15% dry blend. I'll ride my tone knob and pickup selection knobs to blend into the mix as desired, more or less "edge" to the sound.
Personally, I find the "pure direct" sound (into a full range speaker system) with no cabinet simulation to be almost too literal and sterile a representation of the bass for the above mentioned styles. However, that broad range, enhanced snap of the top end and heft of the low end fundamentals can be exactly what someone is looking for if you're doing a lot of funk pop/slap bass (round wound strings, of course), and modern pop music, where the style takes advantage of the broad dynamic and frequency spectrum of the bass. In this case, it's all about the instrument and the player for the bass sound. A little comp/limiter to help with the dynamic extremes may be all you need...no modeling or cab sim, just add effects as desired...BUT with all of that frequency range available, you'll need to be careful with distortion, which will tend to sound like swarming bees unless it is radically filtered with a LPF. Generally speaking, there's not much value above +/-5khz for the bass IMO. For that matter, classic rock tones (60s & 70s) may not benefit for anything much above 2.5khz, especially if you're mimicking bass tones with flat wound strings.
From a FOH sound mixer's standpoint, bass tone and dynamics are a bit different than on stage, and is IMHO the most difficult instrument to get to sound good in performance, unless you benefit by a room with great acoustics, a stage volume that is in control, a good bass sound to begin with, and quality sound reinforcement equipment. For most club rats, this lucky combination isn't usually found often, so IMO a good cabinet simulation can be the key to having a good bass sound in the PA system. With the cab sim, you're doing all of the necessary filtering of high/low frequencies for the FOH mixer from the get go. That's why I usually always revert to the SVT 8x10 for cab simulation, since it has a fairly broad frequency range that works well for the bass - not overly dark or muddy, not overly crisp unless you want it to be.
I'm sure others have varied opinions on the fundamentals of bass tones. All this JMO based on decades of experience, but YMMV. Hope this helps.
