I just had a conversation yesterday with a fellow bassist about this very topic. It centered more on the insane amounts of money we spend buying and selling all kinds of gear in search of the best tone. I have come to the realization that if I have an amp that people can hear (Hell, a Sansamp works) and its mixed well with the rest of the band. People will dig it. They don't give a hoot about my gear, besides the other bass player that may show up.
I guess I will save my money from now on and not shoot for 2000 amps to play some bar. I will use my Fender Rumble gear that sounds absolutely fine to me and everyone else and just get out there and play.
Hear, hear., Well spoken.
I don't think it's a matter of the audience not caring, it's more about not noticing. I posted this mini-rant
on another thread but am gonna copy it here just because I think it's relevant to the discussion:
1. 99% of an audience doesn't know or care what kind of bass you are playing or what you are playing it through.
2. You are playing (usually) in a band mix, as a member of a band, in what is usually a pretty loud venue with untold extraneous background noise going on.
3. A large percentage of the audience is there to knock back a few beers, hit on cuties and hang with friends.
4. The people who ARE there primarily for the music are there to have a good time and listen to the band play songs. They aren't wrapped up in your "awesome bass tone, duuude."
5. 99% of most any audience doesn't know or care whether you are playing a $200 plywood Chinese cheapo or a $4000 boutique bass made of unobtanium, unicorn horn and rare, ancient magical wood from the tone-tone tree. And they still wouldn't know or care if you tried to point it out to them.
All that said, having an instrument that YOU like and playing it through YOUR rig can definitely help with comfort and confidence, etc. in playing live. You should play what you like and enjoy.
But today, with really nuanced EQ, modelers, all manner of effects pedals, not to mention good ol' amp and onboard vol/tone knobs, and
also not to mention your own style of playing--the way you attack, fingers vs. picks, etc., etc. you really can make the $200 plywood Chinese cheapo sound like pretty much anything you want it to.
Yes, I am from the "Indian not the arrow" school of thought.
IMO, the actual instrument you are playing--including the name on the headstock, the country of manufacture, the price tag and even the component parts--type of wood, composition of hardware, etc. is the LEAST important thing about playing.
It's one thing if we are talking about playing solo acoustic concerts of Bach transcriptions in famous halls and cathedrals around the globe. In that case, I'd say wood, composition, etc. definitely CAN impact "tone."
But with (generally mass produced) electrified chunks of wood and wires being played through amps with bob-knows-what in the signal chain? Not so much.
I believe a person playing multiple instruments of this kind in multiple styles through different equipment can, yes, detect differences in tone. But in a live band situation? Meh.
