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Nobody cares about your tone....

#381
JimmyM said:
So what have we learned in this thread so far?

1. You are nothing to anyone, so act like it.

2. You should always gear your entire presentation toward the most stupid and music-illiterate people in your audiences.

3. Practice schmactice! Just play any old bassline. Doesn't matter even if you're in a different key.

4. Hell, just go home. Nobody likes you or even cares about you even a little, and your only real function is helping with setup and teardown.
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The adages of the working bassist.
 
#382
BFunk said:
I also think a lot of the 'tone matters' depends on what you are playing. I think bass is more of the defining sound of modern rock than classic rock. (Not to detract from Geezer Butler or other great bassist of the era.) Ever since players like Flea came on the scene, the focus on the bass increased significantly. I think a lot of this has to do with major improvements to the playback devices average consumers could access. In my original hard rock band, which I liken to Foo Fighters, the bass tone has a much larger effect on the overall tone than in my previous band. In that band, I was playing music more like Joe Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Beatles and Nick Lowe.
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I find that since we have better ways to reproduce bass frequencies that the focus for bass tone is more of a low rumble, very round where you can tell every notes but if yu play the same song without that subwoofer, you loose it completely ... so it isn't that important to the overal sound. While most band from the past couldn't get that low frequency so they focused more on the mid and so you can hear the bass well but you don't have any sub frequency at all.
 
#385
Trying a different approach here.
First of all, there is the bassists and quite a few drummers and even a couple of guitards and other musicians in the audience that can discern the bass(sound) and will appreciate a good sounding bass.
Apart from that, tone gives possibilities. A bass that is muffled and boomy will sound best if the player keeps a low profile. As soon as the sound gets better through all the registers, the bass can maintain it's function to lay down the groove and keep things together with more spice added. For the non musicians the effect might not be as clear as to the educated ears, but it is there.
I know from personal experience that i play more fills and stops when i can hear my bass and can rely on the fact that any note i play will ring true and clean.
But i have to admit that i showed up to several gigs with nothing more than a bass and a cable, playing straight into the PA or the DI.
 
#386
So I,ve read through a bunch of this stuff and man, some of you guys( and maybe gals) are makin mountains out of mole hills. 9 times out of 10 if you go into a larger venue with a house system they have a crew of techs that you hope know what they're doing, you can tell them what you want, but believe me when the lights go down you get what you get, like it or not. And really if the house does a crappy job of mixing and the sound is horrible they are only hurting the venue. I just worry about doing the best job I can because FOH aint my job, its there job.

Personally I rather like playing small venues with a small PA because it sounds better and you have control over your own sound. Larger rooms can sound great or can be a sonic nightmare, depending on who's driving.
 
#390
Ok... I skipped the last 10 pages, but I have read some " I can't stand it if I have a bad tone" type posts. If you can't pull a good tone out of any reasonably powerful amp and cab... you shouldn't blame your set up.

Really, just dial in your tone and play.
 
#391
I think tone is one of those things that we each obsess over but it's so relative to personal preference that an amazing tone to one person may sound terrible to someone else.

That being said, a "good" tone that represents the range of the instrument with clarity and doesn't get too muddy or pingy will always be noticed. Even if the lowly concert goer doesn't know what they're noticing. It'll make a difference in the enjoyability of the show for them.

I hear bass tone first and love when someone is playing with a sound completely different than mine but still sounds good.
 
#392
JimmyM said:
Did you by any chance do a gig with MPire? Pretty sure their bassist has been using that rig since they came out. He has an SVT and 810, though ;) Love Meredith...we go way back to the early 2000's.
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I don't like to name names but you are correct on this one. For as big as Orlando is it is a small community of musicians :D. I knew of the bass player from his previous projects and he is a monster on bass. Plus his vocal work is really good. The band sounded great. I felt bad that I didn't offer him my bass rig to use when he was having issues with it but they had another set later in the day and I needed to leave before they would have finished.
 
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#394
JimmyM said:
100% agreed. Any idiot can tell the difference between a boombox and a line array PA...what makes people think their audiences can't? Arrogance. That's the only answer I can come up with.
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It could be that some folks think 'tone' means their own gear + settings and not everything from fingers to audience ears.

OTOH, some people might compliment a player's tone because their settings + rig were good, but they played like crap that night. :D
 
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#395
First, EVERYONE cares a out your tone, the band, the audience, you......everybody.

I had learned long ago that no matter "your" tone when playing alone, riffing, practice...whatever, has zero to do with your tone live. Your tone live consists of 2 things, 1 your rig and 2 setting your tone to compliment and cut through the other instruments. If you play live with different musicians and bands often, your rig needs to be flexible and so does how you set it up.

In regards to the response of having the sound guy handing the bassist a DI.......hell no!!!! I didn't lug all my gear to be ran straight into a board. Toss that crap back at him and use your watts! I'd laugh if I was handed a DI, crank up the amps and let that sound tech work the house around my rig.
 
#396
Abull78 said:
In regards to the response of having the sound guy handing the bassist a DI.......hell no!!!! I didn't lug all my gear to be ran straight into a board. Toss that crap back at him and use your watts! I'd laugh if I was handed a DI, crank up the amps and let that sound tech work the house around my rig.
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Honestly, if you have a rig that can handle the room and nobody in the band complains about stage volume, I don't see what's so bad about letting the amp take over the room. Sure, it still has to be balanced with the rest of the band in the house, but it can be done because I've heard it be done. Sounds good to me. I could never do it in a big room but I'm no stranger to vocals-only PA's and my amps always sound quite good when they take care of the room.
 
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#397
Abull78 said:
...
In regards to the response of having the sound guy handing the bassist a DI.......hell no!!!! I didn't lug all my gear to be ran straight into a board. Toss that crap back at him and use your watts! I'd laugh if I was handed a DI, crank up the amps and let that sound tech work the house around my rig.
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I know a lot of people have done and still do this but it's not the best way in my opinion. Leads to loud volume on stage and no control of the mix from FOH, and it really only works decently in smaller rooms where you hardly need a PA for much else than vocals and keyboards. Better learn how to use the PA to your advantage so you can keep the backline levels moderate; it's better for your own comfort and hearing on stage, and it's better for the FOH mix.
 
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#398
FretNoMore said:
I know a lot of people have done and still do this but it's not the best way in my opinion. Leads to loud volume on stage and no control of the mix from FOH, and it really only works decently in smaller rooms where you hardly need a PA for much else than vocals and keyboards. Better learn how to use the PA to your advantage so you can keep the backline levels moderate; it's better for your own comfort and hearing on stage, and it's better for the FOH mix.
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In my particular case, I play with the same guys, same band and have a specific sound. It wouldn't just be me shirking the DI the guitarist wouldn't play that game either. Vocals and drums obviously need the PA. Another specific is the guitarist and I don't downsize, ever. I'm lugging 8x10s and SVT Classics and he is swinging 2 full Soldano stacks. It has to be a big damn venue not to be heard. If a venue can't mic me, the tubes are gonna be glowing.
 

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