As the OP I’d just like to defend myself a little about all the “my sound” stuff. I’m not going for some crazy sculpted sound. I run pretty much flat. I was just talking about trying to get back to that reasonably flat sound in a difficult room. I have also worked as a sound engineer a lot in the past so I’m very aware of those difficulties too.
The engineer has more tools than me to correct those problems though (graphic eq , hpf.....)I’ve got low mid high .
Tbh I think a lot of pro level sound guys fail with the low end at big shows. It’s difficult to get low end definition in a lot of rooms.
Anyway, I think there’s been a lot of valuable stuff mentioned in this thread. Particularly for me thinking about moving the placement of my amp.
Thanks for all the input
Perhaps some experiments are in order. I have a Boss DD7 that can be used as a looper. It's fun to lay down a bass line and a few guitar chords, and then jam out. Another thing that is kind of cool is to experiment with frequency slotting to try and get the different instruments to sound better in the mix.
So if you have a looper or DAW, I would suggest dialing in your bass sound to be perfect and then creating a loop and mix with bass and some other instrument(s) and seeing how you need to re-EQ your perfect sound, and the sound of the other instruments, so everything sits better in the mix. Now to further complicate matters, keep in mind that the idea of perfect sound is entirely subjective and we interpret sound differently when we are playing versus when we are mixing.
My idea of perfect sound (as a player) shifts continuously, even if I am just noodling alone. I'll plug in one of my amps and love the sound. Often I come back a few hours later and find that I want a subtle change. This is partly because my focus shifts to different parts of the frequency spectrum. Another reason I might want a different sound is because I might be playing a different type of bass line or a different style of music.
I have always loved fiddling and getting new sounds, but when it comes time for the gig, I just try to get clear and even tone across the range of the instrument. Often the acoustics are so bad, that it's essentially impossible to really achieve a specific tone and, IMHO, it only leads to endless frustration if perfect sound is your focus.
IMHO, as a player, you should monitor with whatever sound you prefer. Spend a few minutes dialing it in but dont' stress on it. As an audio tech you should take each player's sound and process it as best as you can so it sits well in the mix. Of course crappy acoustics and the general nature of audio bouncing around in a big hall work against a nice bass sound, but I think most audio techs do aspire to do the best job possible.
As an audio tech I typically make adjustments continuously throughout the show. IMHO the biggest problem is typically the players want so much bass in the bass amp and monitors that I can't run the subs and mains loud enough to get over the stage wash. Most bands get louder as the gig progresses.
