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Why does the bass sound terrible??

paulraphael

paulraphael

Apr 13, 2006
624
302
Brooklyn
paulraphaelson.com
Disclosures
If you heard me play, you'd stop reading what I write.
#1
I've been to 4 live shows in medium-to-large venues in the last couple of years. They included smallish indy acts, Ween, and the Cure.

In all cases the bass sound was insufferably bad, and in the same way: a subwoofery drone that shook the seats but had no definition, and no real sense of pitch. Clearly this was the work of the sound people and not the bassists.

All these shows were in Philly, where I've been spending my time lately, so I thought maybe it was a local thing. But my friend who went to a couple of these shows with said, "no, it's everywhere." He's a former professional touring guitarist, and he gets out more than I do.

What's going on? Is this your experience too?

Apologies if this has been complained about already ... I didn't know how to search for it.
 
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#3
Aussie Player said:
It would help if you can recall what bass and amps were used.
Click to expand...
Given the prevalence of the issue to which the OP refers, what bass and amp seems to be irrelevant.

It’s really annoying to be at a concert with the indistinct rumble bass issue. Not just as a bass player but as a listening pleasure issue, too.
 
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#7
Depends on the genre and venue.

I mainly go to jazz shows in clubs and theaters and the bass is always loud and clear.

When I go to rock shows in theaters, too often it’s a murky mess as the OP described.

Last theater show I was at was extreme metal (went to see my nephew’s band), some of the bands were bordering on hardcore. I saw four of the bands on the bill (there were six in all) and only the last two had good sound. Even then, the bass was buried when the guitarists played chords on their 7 strings.
 
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#8
Many many years ago,

I am speaking of many years ago. Got a compliment from a patron when we were playing in a popular live venue. "Wow, your bass sounds so good, and I can hear your every note". The bassist and the sound guy was me, I ran the board from the stage, and I used a wireless on my bass so that I could do a walkabout and tailor the mix to the room. It does not have to sound terrible.
 
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#9
Sound guy is a drummer. Seriously, this is a FOH problem. A good sound engineer can pull a good sound out of most equipment if he's knowledgeable. When I was Touring our engineer would steer instrument sound during sound checks in order to get the best sound possible for the venue you are playing. Things change as soon as people arrive so he would have to adjust accordingly. I worked with him for 3 years and loved his input. He was also a musician! Every venue is also different sound wise. No 2 places are the same. Mud is inexcusable!
 
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#10
paulraphael said:
I've been to 4 live shows in medium-to-large venues in the last couple of years. They included smallish indy acts, Ween, and the Cure.

In all cases the bass sound was insufferably bad, and in the same way: a subwoofery drone that shook the seats but had no definition, and no real sense of pitch. Clearly this was the work of the sound people and not the bassists.

All these shows were in Philly, where I've been spending my time lately, so I thought maybe it was a local thing. But my friend who went to a couple of these shows with said, "no, it's everywhere." He's a former professional touring guitarist, and he gets out more than I do.

What's going on? Is this your experience too?

Apologies if this has been complained about already ... I didn't know how to search for it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, it's too common, unfortunately. Lots of deep bass, but no definition. It is everywhere indeed.
 
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#13
mcnach said:
Yeah, it's too common, unfortunately. Lots of deep bass, but no definition. It is everywhere indeed.
Click to expand...

Actually, I just remembered something... I recorded a few tracks with this band years ago, and I hated the sound in the initial mix/demo.
The bass was just lots of low end and little definition... and I was playing a Stingray with minimal/no EQ, just the compressor they put me through.

I ended up, in trying to explain what I meant, moving the EQ points on my bass, removing a LOT of the very low end and bringing the mids back up to nearly flat. The sound engineer understood what I meant, he knew what he was doing, he just felt my bass should sound that way.
I suspect this is what happens in many cases. Is it a trend that will pass? SUBs are great when used tastefully. A bit like slap ;)
 
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#14
Lots of potential contributing factors.

Perhaps all of the basses sounded bad.

Perhaps the audio techs made artistic choices you don't agree with. Some people are more concerned with quantity and extreme lows, than quality.

Perhaps the sound systems were poorly tuned or inadequate for the rooms.

Perhaps the bass players were cranked so much that the audio tech had insufficient control over the sound of the bass.

Perhaps the acoustics were super bad.
 
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#15
JKos said:
I have seen/heard all manor of bass and amp, if used, turned into a rumble mess. It is certainly not a particular player, bass, strings, amp, etc. that can be repeatedly identified as the issue. It is a FOH issue.
Click to expand...
In your opinion, without knowing any information.
I was just asking........you are telling. Big difference.
 

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