No one cares...

[bassfiddlesteve]

Conversation from earlier today between me and a guitarist whom I've played with since 1991.

"How does my bass sound?"

"Fine. Isn't that the bass you've always played?"

"No, I've always played a Fender Jazz Bass. The is a Music Man Stingray."

"Oh."

"I thought you'd like it. It's what the bass player in your other band always uses."

"It is?"

- Steve

 

[Volker Kirstein]

Truth. Unless your sound is horribly disfigured, no one cares about your bass or your sound. Not the audience, not the rest of the band, not your girl-/boy- friend, not the passers-by on the street... No one.

Except other bass players. I saw that consistently at the jam sessions. No one talked basses/my sound with me except other bassists.

Also sound engineers, but they're paid to care about your sound. But you usually don't run into sound engineers in casual conversations at the gig, so that's a deep left field issue. The venue's FOH guy doesn't usually count as a sound engineer.

Like all gross generalizations, there are exceptions.

 

[Lenny JG]

Last rehearsal I showed up at everyone was quick to point out Mr. Potato and say, 'Thats not the same bass as last time.' I guess ive had the opposite experience in most cases. Even audience wise.

 

[2112]

Truth. Unless your sound is horribly disfigured, no one cares about your bass or your sound. Not the audience, not the rest of the band, not your girl-/boy- friend, not the passers-by on the street... No one.

Except other bass players. I saw that consistently at the jam sessions. No one talked basses/my sound with me except other bassists.

Also sound engineers, but they're paid to care about your sound. But you usually don't run into sound engineers in casual conversations at the gig, so that's a deep left field issue. The venue's FOH guy doesn't usually count as a sound engineer.

Like all gross generalizations, there are exceptions.

This has also been my experience. My bandmates also notice if I change to a different bass, but every single one of them actually plays bass themselves lol.

 

[Winslow]

Walk in with a headless bass, and it's amazing how many "experts" suddenly materialize, with vital commentary you absolutely must hear, even before you plug the thing in.

 

[Volker Kirstein]

Last rehearsal I showed up at everyone was quick to point out Mr. Potato and say, 'Thats not the same bass as last time.' I guess ive had the opposite experience in most cases. Even audience wise.

I suppose if I showed up at a gig with my Stingkitty, it would get noticed and talked about, too.

​

Any unusual bass, which is - based on name alone - what I'm assuming Mr. Potato is, is bound to get noticed/comments. Basses like Vox "canoe paddles", Longhorns, or the Mothman kinda fall into this category, as well, simply because they're very much not FSOs.

However, I still stand by my previous statement: no one cares except other bassists.

As proof, I offer your own response. You're a bassist. As is @2112 and everyone in his band.

This has also been my experience. My bandmates also notice if I change to a different bass, but every single one of them actually plays bass themselves lol.

 

[two fingers]

Conversation from earlier today between me and a guitarist whom I've played with since 1991.

"How does my bass sound?"

"Fine. Isn't that the bass you've always played?"

"No, I've always played a Fender Jazz Bass. The is a Music Man Stingray."

"Oh."

"I thought you'd like it. It's what the bass player in your other band always uses."

"It is?"

- Steve

My two main guitarists are the polar opposite.

"Did you change strings?"

"Did you bump your low mids a little?"

"You usually wear a black V-neck to rehearsal. I think the blue on takes the edge off of your highs."

(OK that last one I made up.)

BUT, at the same time, the one with the best ear always ruins my NBD with a backhanded complement. "Man, I dig your new bass. But no matter what you play it always sounds like you."

 

[2112]

However, I still stand by my previous statement: no one cares except other bassists.

As proof, I offer your own response. You're a bassist. As is @2112 and everyone in his band.

Yeah, and to add insult to injury... they all prioritize bass so much they choose to play something else AND they're ALL prolly still better than me.

Hahaha I never saw the back of the StingKitty... that's freaking hilarious!

 

[WI Short Scaler]

Any unusual bass, which is - based on name alone - what I'm assuming Mr. Potato is, is bound to get noticed/comments. Basses like Vox "canoe paddles", Longhorns, or the Mothman kinda fall into this category, as well, simply because they're very much not FSOs.

Yep, my custom paint jobs are the only thing that get asked about by non-bassists. Otherwise I just do my job(s) and sing, play, run the PA and lights and life goes on.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

It is the truth, which makes your choice of bass tone and your ability to achieve it through gear selection and playing style / ability all the more important in making your band sound good to the masses.

It has been and will continue to be primarily up to the bassist to know and achieve a good bass tone for the style of music you play and the venues in which you play.

It’s all on you (us).

 

[JRA]

who cares if no one cares?! we always have each other.

FWIW: i took a red bass to my last rehearsal and the tenor cat said, "wow, that's red!"

 

[Pings Bass]

It's always been more about the notes played than the instrument they're played on for me, since day one of fifth grade band on my step-mom's battered cornet. Was my tone improved somewhat by the pro trumpet I got in junior high? Probably. But I still had to practice and play the right notes at the right time, which is all anybody really cares about.

 

[portpc]

No one cares as your job is to be in the engine room of the band, without a steady bass the ship steers a course to oblivion very quickly. No one wants to venture down there as they don't quite understand it, (The competent drummer does but they have their own issues)

I'm a simple bassist, I have a couple diff basses, a couple amps, know the tone I want & it's plug-in and go. I do sing a lot as well & folks ask me back again..

Against my better judgement I still bicker w/guitarists I work with who can't function w/o a Steve Hackett selection of pedals with at least one doomed to fail/cable issue/something stupid happening in the course of a cover gig.

 

[socialleper]

It is pretty hard to get people to care about bass tone. That's why I'm so happy with my current project. When I change things they actually notice. The drummer (That's right, the drummer) actually has a preference of my basses. It is the heaviest of all of them, but he says "that's the one!"

 

[Brich]

Gig last Saturday:

Just finished playing the first of three sets, approached by a woman who was at the bar. "You guys sound great! Are you in the band? What do you play?"

No one cares lol

 

[Killing Floor]

I’ve read threads here where someone posts about a BL or engineer suggesting they use a P Bass. A) Bull, that never happened and B) I wouldn’t know on my own recording if I did takes on multiple basses and didn’t write it down in the notes. Easily 1/2 of the hits we associate with P or J or Ric or Mosrite or Alembic were recorded with something different. Don’t panic, same is true for Strats, LP, and Tele. We bring a P or a Ray or Fodera because WE like it. No musician, fan or music industry professional you have ever met could give 2 poos about what bass you have unless they are a bass player. In fact, other than bass forums where we fuel each other’s GAS, even most of the bass players I know could not care less what bass someone else is playing.
In my own experience the last time someone commented on my bass after a show was a Kramer Focus that was custom faux chrome in the 80s. And when I played a short spell with a wealthy drummer from “a band that did the song that everybody in every bar shouts for you to play and your instinctively raise a finger”, even those rockers didn’t care that I played a Kubicki because they didn’t notice it because I was a bass player.
I’ve done entire nights on fretless and nobody in the band knew any different.

 

[arbiterusa]

You're free. Now you don't have to care either.

 

[stigbeve]

Started with a metal band in November playing bass.

Singer after a few practices: "My buddy is a bass player for (insert band I've never heard of),
he said you should run some overdrive."
Me: "I already do. I could crank it up if you wanted."

Singer a few months later: "Could we try turning your overdrive (he called it distortion) down?"
Me: "Sure, I don't really have it cranked for a distorted sound. I use it for definition in the mix
but I can turn it down. Might be more of an R&B type tone though."
Singer: "Maybe an R&B tone is what we need."

Singer a couple weeks ago at recording studio "My buddy is a bass player for (insert band I've never heard of),
he said you should run a compressor. He said that's his secret weapon."
Me: "I already do." (have had a Markbass Compressore on top of my amp since I started with them in November)

 

[bigthemat]

I have a bit of the other problem.

Hey have you thought about getting this kind of bass? Yeah your pedals sound ok, but what if you did this. Hey the bass frequencies are a bit wrong, can you....

Dude, lemme handle my gear and my tone. He's a guitarist that can play other instruments and has a lot of control on how/what we play in the band. But at one point I came up with my own bassline for a song and he's like, wow that grooves. I guess I should let the bass player do their job LOL

 

[Mastermold]

Truth. Unless your sound is horribly disfigured, no one cares about your bass or your sound. Not the audience, not the rest of the band, not your girl-/boy- friend, not the passers-by on the street... No one.

Except other bass players. I saw that consistently at the jam sessions. No one talked basses/my sound with me except other bassists.

Also sound engineers, but they're paid to care about your sound. But you usually don't run into sound engineers in casual conversations at the gig, so that's a deep left field issue. The venue's FOH guy doesn't usually count as a sound engineer.

Like all gross generalizations, there are exceptions.

Opposite experience here—EVERYONE in my band is interested in my bass tone, raving about it when they love it and letting me know when they don’t. We recently spent a whole day trying out different bass and amp combinations for tone palettes before recording our new record. I’m appreciative of the effort and happy with the results.