Why does the bass sound terrible??

[Pings Bass]

My experience with arena-scale shows in recent years is that modern PAs give eager techs too much leeway to flood the zone with sub bass. I was seated behind the mix desk and could see the analyzer for an EWF show last summer, and there was a huge boost in the sub range. Completely out of balance to my ear, but I assume the tech felt like he was doing the right thing for a band led by a bassist? I dunno, I'm old, but I'd always rather hear the notes everybody is playing than feel an earthquake on every kick drum stroke. It's amazing the kind of clean SPL a modern, well-tuned PA can turn out in the low end, but that doesn't mean you have to use all of it.

 

[Five or Six]

Does the public notice "mud" like us bass players do? I would think we are more critical??

 

[Drredplate]

I have seen several bands at Wembley arena and Hammersmith odeon. No correlation between sh1t sound and venue.
It’s crap sound engineers plain and simple imho

 

[waynobass]

... feel an earthquake on every kick drum stroke.

This is my big complaint about live sound. The kick is treated as the main instrument, followed by snare and vocals, and everything else is background.

 

[bucephylus]

IME, there is a substantial population of sound engineers out there, who came up through the school of Honda Civic with 2000W subwoofer school of listening to music. That sound is their reference. And, they know better than the musicians.

 

[bucephylus]

This is my big complaint about live sound. The kick is treated as the main instrument, followed by snare and vocals, and everything else is background.

Agreed. The inside joke being that the kick occurs on the 1 and 3, creating more of a march sense of rhythm than swinging off the backbeat.

 

[Pyrrho Epoche]

Fwiw...i dislike live music. Studio is where it's at. Sorry this does not help. I remember buying The Cure Bloodflowers (Live) dvd years ago and the recording was impeccable--I was blown away. If the band is not recording a LIVE album LIVE, I honestly think they don't worry too much about the quality.

Again, studio is where it at.

 

[Drredplate]

IME, there is a substantial population of sound engineers out there, who came up through the school of Honda Civic with 2000W subwoofer school of listening to music. That sound is their reference. And, they know better than the musicians.

I have a bad bad feeling that you are correct

 

[drumvsbass]

Clearly this was the work of the sound people and not the bassists.

Are you sure?

 

[Aussie Player]

It really does not matter what could be seen on stage. NONE of us can truly pinpoint what might have gone wrong at this event based on the gear that could be seen. Sometimes, all we see on stage is a monitor for the player and behind that rig there are several floor processors, IR devices, and more all designed for the FOH tone only. You can't come to a conclusion like: "Oh, it's the Ampeg SVT and 810 combo with a Fender P. Must suck for live use!" There are too many variables and none of us have the full story.

The OP is referring to FOH and how modern music is mixed. I have watched and listened to MANY sound engineers butcher the sound of various bass players. When bands bring their own sound person and do actual planning with the sound crew, (Meshuggah comes to mind), the resulting sound can be downright amazing. Unfortunately, the cost of doing preparation work like that is not always in reach of many bands. Plus, some bands have NO CLUE how to approach something like that.

50 years ago the common saying was "the sound guy couldn't mix a fruitcake". I get what you are saying but hoped things were perhaps a little better these days and I have obviously, played in some terrible rooms but tried to explore a bit further first without rushing to judgement.

 

[Mike Caldwell]

Maybe they were brought up on that style of music and apply it to everything

Many times people mix EVERYTHING in the style of the music they like...for better or worse!

 

[JimmyM]

Sounds like a perfect reason to use a High Pass Filter.

It’s not a guarantee against subby sound techs. It helps, but if they want to jack your tone, they’ll do it.

 

[Drredplate]

Make subs illegal and the world will be a better place. I blame class D lol

 

[Slevage]

It would help if you can recall what bass and amps were used.

I’ve heard poor FOH techs ruin countless combinations of basses and amps.

 

[Evanforbass]

EDM / house music seems to be hugely popular. I wonder if this influences mixing for certain techs and venues- less about articulate audibility and more about sensory/emotive experience

Also- subs are not the enemy, they are our friend in terms of great-sounding live music. Poorly tuned systems/rooms and poorly balanced mixing are the enemies

 

[B String]

Local sound person does this to me too. So low you can hear some of the house speaker system farting out. I pointed it out the first time and they got angry and blamed it on me having “fret buzz”. It was so absurd I just shut my mouth and got on with it. Can’t argue with stupid.

Much of the time in churches you're looking at volunteers who might be hobbyists or "for fun" players. You can try to reason with them to experiment taking some of the "problem frequencies" back a touch. But... lots of luck. You may be dealing with egos over knowledge.

 

[SteC]

So annoying when sound guys do this. I feel like they just think well it's a bass and cut everything except the subs. The kick being really loud sucks too.

 

[FRoss6788]

In your opinion, without knowing any information.
I was just asking........you are telling. Big difference.

His opinion is correct.

If you're in a large venue, and you see an Ampeg and fridge on stage, that is not what your'e hearing, at all.

 

[StatesideRambler]

About 30 or 35 years ago I stopped going to big arena and big concert hall shows because no matter how much I may like a band, the FOH sound was almost universally abysmal. I’d have been happier if I’d been hearing the front man’s monitor feed instead. I did notice that only musicians in the audience took any notice of it. The rest of the people were happy to be in the presence of their favorite band/star while they played and sang, poor sound notwithstanding.

I came to really enjoy the “smaller acts” in smaller clubs. I always got my money’s worth.

 

[FRoss6788]

Venue construction

This, so far, is the most accurate answer, IMHO.