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I would, but than
I guess you need to know your audience. I didnt get his perception of the original post, nor when he changed his reply to me twice on his tone. If it was my audience, and i was told i was edgier, i'd start checking my settings looking for technical difficulty. I'm just saying- he seemed happy about it. I would have been apprehensive.
I couldn't agree more with what you're saying than if I'd have written it myself!I've been defending audiences against their (fortunately few) blamers, so I prolly oughta say why.
My theory....
Audiences have spent their lives hearing well-written, well-played, well-sung and well-produced music. From 78rmp LPs to the latest streaming services, that's what they are used to. Same as we are.
They know what's well-done when they hear it. It doesn't matter if they don't know why. The proof is always in the pudding, and you don't have to know how to cook it in order to know if it's well-made.
Any remotely honest musician or other industry pro already knows that national bands are almost always more well-made than local bands, and that Saturday bands are almost always better than Wednesday bands. Better at writing and/or playing and/or singing and/or performing. And usually better at most or all of those.
Audiences determine whether a band goes national or stays on the Wednesday slot. Not bigwigs, politics, or any other denialist excuse. It's audiences.
And no, it's not a matter of "they know what they like when they hear it", because that's how they support or boycott genres. It's a matter of they know what's good when they hear it, because that's how they support or boycott bands within those genres. They take some of them national, and they inexplicably continue being "too stupid to recognize the genius" of the Wednesday losers who can't write, play, sing or perform.
Consider also that most audience members within any geographic area (and within their favored genre) have supported and liked up-and-coming bands who had futures, and who were better than the bands they left behind (at least until they self-destructed).
And yet most musicians in that same area (and genre) have NOT been IN those bands. And many of them are critical of those bands.
The audience is better at picking winners than we are.
Some of us may have all-consuming emotional motives for trying to live in denial of this, but we do so at our peril.
Aaaand that's my theory.
I did. She said something to the effect of, "A vibrating steel cable sound".
I liked that comparison.
thats good audience right there all i got was "i see your fingers move but dont know what sound thats making", great.
Stick around and talk to more of them...you might be surprised what they have to say
How long are you going to continue to whine about my post, dude? We heard your opinion the first 50 times you stated it, I replied, you ignored it and kept pushing your own agenda, and now you're just being irritating for the sake of being irritating.
We heard your opinion 150 times too... and every time you do that you keep assuming we treat the audience as stupids or we are morons that don´t understand what you said... You are decided to insist over and over no matter what.
THAT IS IRRITATING.
EDIT: Sorry if posted in the wrong forum. Had no idea where to post it.
Did a gig last night at an outdoor venue at The Villages in Fla (a big giant retirement community) that I play once a month, and we get a lot of regulars. I've been using my Hammersmith with a very dead set of Dunlop Super Bright Nickels there pretty much exclusively most of the year. Tonight I got a wild hair and brought out my modded 76 Precision with a newish set of the same strings instead. Both these basses have Geezer PJ's, and to me they sound about the same when the strings have comparable wear. Everything else was the same as usual...REDDI into the PA, same pedals I've been using all year set the same way and used in the same songs, same sound tech we usually have there and the same PA, which is a decent but not particularly great PA (a souped-up and somewhat customized Bose PA...one of the bigwigs of the Bose family lives at the Villages and has the ear of the family who owns the Villages).
I probably had 20 people who are regulars at our gigs come up to me on break and ask me how come the Fender sounded so much edgier and aggressive than the Hammersmith. Only one of them plays an instrument, and while most were guys, plenty of women said the same thing.
So if I ever hear any of you jokers try to claim that the audience doesn't know or care about your sound again, I will tell you that you're a very arrogant person who has zero respect for your audiences. Of course, I have been saying that for years, but now I've got proof. A big outdoor venue with about 3000 people there in various states of inebriation, and several non-musicians noticed that the strings on the Fender made it sound edgier.
The lesson I learned is I need to change my strings more often
Happy holidays, everyone!
You signed up on Talkbass to post THAT?
Setup? No, the setup is cooking the pudding (where the proof is), most of them know nothing about that, and the cooking is none of their business. Have you actually had non-musicians voice opinions about your setup?
Sound? Yes, you should care to a point, cause that's part of the pudding (where the proof is), and in an overall sense it is their business. Your bass tone is an ingredient, and an ingredient they don't like won't serve you or the restaurant well. But I think the point at which you should stop caring about their opinions is when your bass tone is right and proper for the genre and for the other instruments in your band. Before that, you risk grating on their nerves; after that, they prolly wouldn't think of an alternative tone anyway.
IIRC Jimmy said that the strings he'd used at previous Villages gigs were a year old and very dead. I use the same Dunlop Super-Bright Nickel strings; they're really cheap and sound soooo good when new, but after way less than a year of use, they definitely are dead, and really aren't right and proper for any genre. The audience didn't notice until he went up to - or above - genre standard. And he understandably decided to stay there.
It doesn't matter if the audience thinks the hihat is making those booming notes. It only matters if those booming notes, and the whole pudding, are up to or above the genre standards they hear from the Big Boys who DO care about this stuff. That's who you're competing against, ya know.
BTW, I really do luuuv new Nickels on my Bird; it's a growl with a shiny metallic bite, even when DI into my laptop. And on Jimmy's Fender, they'll prolly sound like a boom with a shiny metallic bite. They won't work for every genre, but they should work for most.
We are talking bass tone not songs. Sure people notice things but really do not care. Especially the bass tone.
Even me. I don't care about the bass player in any bands I pay money to see. Big or small scale acts. I also have never paid or went to see a band because of "The Bass Player" any of the big names that are in the majority of TBer's heros list. I could give a crap, and I love all music especially good songs. We are not that important to the average listener in a song until we screw it up. Truth.
Well surely he has more important things to do than this thread. I mean really.
If I felt that way about what I do, I would quit immediately. What's even the point of being in a band? Clear out and make way for someone who cares.
Must be some sad and depressing songs. Man, I'll never understand why so many bass players allow themselves to be so beaten down. What a senseless waste of time and money to spend on something you feel is so unimportant. Glad I don't have those issues. Anyone who tries that crap with me will find themselves looking for a new bass player immediately.
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