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Why does louder foold people to thinking it is better?

troy mcclure

troy mcclure

Mar 5, 2007
3,299
931
Central Florida
#1
I have a few basses of various quality (ok 9 or so). no longer have anything high end sold my alembic so I could buy a car.

It seems to me when i ever I play a Hot bass, listeners jump to the conclusion that it is automatically better.

My passive basses don;t get much love from my BLs though the sound the most natural to me.

Any thoughts
 
#4
It's not automatically better, but A) passive basses are not necessarily quieter than active ones (my Yamaha BB415's pickups are very hot), and B) volume CAN be a legitimate tone tool. I'm not an audio expert, but I've heard there are undertones and overtones that become audible and make the tone "richer" at higher volume that your ear wouldn't pick up at low volume. Doesn't have to be ear-splitting loud, of course. But then, sometimes what people enjoy IS the music being just plain loud, regardless of tone quality.
 
#10
troy mcclure said:
I have a few basses of various quality (ok 9 or so). no longer have anything high end sold my alembic so I could buy a car.

It seems to me when i ever I play a Hot bass, listeners jump to the conclusion that it is automatically better.

My passive basses don;t get much love from my BLs though the sound the most natural to me.

Any thoughts
Click to expand...


My thought is, if it's actually a volume difference they react to, why do you play your basses at different levels?

Other than that, it's a psychological effect when comparing two sounds; people tend to choose a slightly louder sound over a more quiet sound.

It could also be that the sound from your active basses are "punchier", has more attack, and people would choose that for the same reasons they choose a high contrast image over a lower contrast image, or a smiley EQ curve over a flatter curve. It just makes a stronger impression at first glance (or listen) even if means they pick the less natural version.
 
#11
FretNoMore said:
My thought is, if it's actually a volume difference they react to, why do you play your basses at different levels?

Other than that, it's a psychological effect when comparing two sounds; people tend to choose a slightly louder sound over a more quiet sound.

It could also be that the sound from your active basses are "punchier", has more attack, and people would choose that for the same reasons they choose a high contrast image over a lower contrast image, or a smiley EQ curve over a flatter curve. It just makes a stronger impression at first glance (or listen) even if means they pick the less natural version.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. Also learning how to listen to a bass soloed and knowing how it will probably sound in a band mix is a learned art that takes time and experience.
 
#13
My passive bass is much hotter than my active ones. I have one that is push/pull active/passive and the tone passive is very cool, the active can be used to work as a boost for it so some people will think it sounds better because they are hearing more of the frequencies they want to hear. If you make it so your passive matches volume with your active then the band mates can really decide tonewise what they like. If something is harder to hear they often think it's more dull sounding.
 
#15
Man I never use "my listeners" as my judges for what's better. I can fool them with a simple twist of a knob. The mention of the added dynamics and overtones is really the only thing that added volume provides, I think. But I can give "the listeners" that just as easy with my low output basses. Overwound pickups also provide mainly more low frequencies at the expense of the highs. Let the amp do the work, I say.
 

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