Nobody cares about your tone....

[JSandbloom]

Obviously I'm not saying go out and sound like crap, common. However, will the average listener hear the difference between a Sadowsky Jazz and a USA Fender Active Jazz? Both are great sounding basses, both play great (still prefer Sadowsky) they both sound good to a listener. Good is Good, right? Do the people we play for hear the 2K difference in basses? As a Sadowsky player myself, I can hear the difference. Can the listener? In a good FOH mix, I don't know if I could. I play Aguilar amps, I love their tone. Does a DB750 sound better then a off the shelf hybrid amp like a SVTIII...I think so, but the listener doesn't hear a difference. But both are good amps.

I think a lot of amps get you 90% of where you want to be. Is it worth the several thousand dollars to get your the extra 10%?

Just to toss it out there, I have gone the extra 10% so I am always trying to find the best tone. I just stopped and wanted to ask to see if its all really worth it.

 

[jeffbassguy]

sometimes the room you are playing can be your best friend or biggest enemy..ill have the same exact setup and it sounds meh at some places and others it is incredible. the audience unless full of bass players is pretty clueless in almost all my experiences. if i play with one hand and drink a beer with the other, wveryone thinks the bass sounds amazing..go perception!!

 

[Rudreax]

I do care how I sound on stage. I trust whoever's doing sound to get a good mix in the house, but on stage I get MUCH more into it if I dig the way I sound and hear myself.

 

[SanDiegoHarry]

Hadrien Feraud, right? I actually like his sound, but yeah, he's touchy! I've gotten an occasional PM from him.

Mind reader!!!

 

[cchorney]

My last gig I sounded great on stage. Mid 2nd set, I strolled out to the dance floor to interact with the audience, and I discovered that I sounded almost atonal - whump whump whump, no matter what notes I was playing. Thanks sound guy. After the set ended I got several compliments on how good the band sounded.

 

[HolmeBass]

Not only do I care, everyone who hires me cares. A lot! Can they tell the differenc between basses in the mix? Maybe not but I sound like me no matter what I play. I got that way by caring, again a lot, how I sound. Dismissing that aspect is missing the point. Music is entirely about how it sounds.

 

[Kevan Campbell]

I think that those of us who care how we sound care because we want to sound as amazing as possible, which in turn motivates us to play with more joy and positive emotions. The audience may not be able to hear the difference between a stock Fender P and a tricked-out Fodera, but they do notice when anyone onstage is having fun, inspired with the music and interacting well with the crowd.

 

[Jughead6]

Said it before, say it again. I keep my good gear at home, where the audience (myself) appreciates it.

As long as my gig sound is defined enough (not just whump whump), I'm happy.

 

[Masterbassist30]

A wise man once told me, "The end goal of playing music is to have fun". If micromanaging your tone provides you with enjoyment, go for it! If not, find something else that gives you enjoyment.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

I happen to be LOVED for my tone

 

[GregC]

I think if you get the tone you want or close to it, your band should (hopefully) sound better as a whole. The audience may not realize where that overall better sound came from, though.

 

[JSandbloom]

I happen to be LOVED for my tone

Wouldn't you say its better to be loved for Groove instead of tone?

Sorry, I just love poking the bear!

 

[Baird6869]

I happen to be LOVED for my tone

Same here!

In fact, I get lots of complements on my tone but not on my playing. Hmmmm.....

 

[Alexander]

I do care how I sound on stage. I trust whoever's doing sound to get a good mix in the house, but on stage I get MUCH more into it if I dig the way I sound and hear myself.

This...

 

[Mechanical]

As musicains and artists I think we should all just try and please ourselves first. Who cares what the auidence likes. As long as I'm happy. If people like what I'm doing thats great...if not oh well. As long as I satisfy my artistic needs. Otherwise its just entertainment, and I want to make art. It has to be a reflection of me.

Because the audience pays you to play your music?

 

[JSandbloom]

Because the audience pays you to play your music?

Thank you!

 

[spaz21387]

Yup I know no one cares how I sound. But I do love my tone. The musicman stingray through an ampeg v4b is amazing. I have 2 rigs a carvin 2x10s vertical stacked and a carvin bx 500. The carvin rig goes to the sketchy shows or the multi band shows where we are expected to pack up in 2 minutes. The v4b/ 6x10 is usually practice and studio stuff.

 

[quickfix]

I do care how I sound. However, I don't think there's many in the audience that are going to be all agog about the "wonderful" bass tone.
They're there for the whole sound experience.
The concerted effort of a bunch of wildly different musicians and the tight sound we produce is the fun part for me. Each of us works on our own tone and then blend it all. Sometimes we need to adjust our own tone a little to manage that blend. It's a delicate balancing act that requires some give and take to achieve "The Sound".
In the end I want to see the audience's toes tapping, heads nodding and bums waggling. Smiles will abound.

 

[JSandbloom]

Yup I know no one cares how I sound. But I do love my tone. The musicman stingray through an ampeg v4b is amazing. I have 2 rigs a carvin 2x10s vertical stacked and a carvin bx 500. The carvin rig goes to the sketchy shows or the multi band shows where we are expected to pack up in 2 minutes. The v4b/ 6x10 is usually practice and studio stuff.

I can vouch for that tone. I have the reissue v4b and the 810av cab. Its a beast, and not too terrible price point. I'm talking about these rigs that cost 4-5k for a smidgen better/different tone.

 

[Snowglo]

Simple really. The better you sound to yourself (and band mates), the better you perform. May sound silly, but it's the truth. I have played shows where my tone has been less than adequate and it always seems to throw my mood in the dumps. I spend more time trying to get a good eq than I did focusing on the music and having a good time.

I agree with the OP that the majority of the audience could care less.