You think the audience doesn't notice? Think again!

[Drgonzonm]

Maybe your guitarist is trolling you and paid those 20 people $5 each to come ask or comment about your tone.

I'm not saying you aren't right, I just think it's odd that anyone would want to talk to the bass player.

Since when is a guitarist going to spend $100 to inflate the ego of a bassist?

 

[logicman69]

Hey @JimmyM, I'll be down in the Villages for a week in Feb (visiting inlaws). Hope I get a chance to catch the band.

 

[2cooltoolz]

Didn't read the entire thread, so forgive any unintended repetition.

I don't think the guys in my band can tell the difference. I've showed up with Precisions, Jazzes, an L2K and about 6 weeks ago switched to 5 strings. Crickets.
I always use Chromes, but Jeez......

 

[TheCouchBassist]

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 The lesson YOU should learn is that if you think your audience is so stupid that they can't tell the difference in your sound no matter what you use, maybe they're not the stupid ones.

Happy holidays, everyone!

JimmyM - would you say The Villages is Florida's friendliest home town?

 

[Nev375]

Since when is a guitarist going to spend $100 to inflate the ego of a bassist?

Maybe to get him to shut up. Mind you i'm just theorizing here for the sake of speculation.

Step one: pay a bunch of people to compliment the bassist.
Step two: bassist comes back with a See? I told you so.
Step three: guitarist busts bassists bubble by explaining the ruse.
Step four: drummer and guitarist high five one another saying it's the best $100 they ever spent.

Probably not. But it seems like a semi-plausible scenario in my mind.

It may be worth noting that I've met a lot of pretty terrible people and have a really cynical point of view because of it.

 

[rickwolff]

Ugh. I played a show last night to a regular crowd but using a fretless for the first time and no one said a word. Some guys get all the luck

Just be glad no one bitched about your (bad) intonation.

A lurker from the dark side.

 

[Drgonzonm]

@JimmyM, my guess on the posting location is bass humor and gig reports.

 

[Not yet]

The Villages!!!! OMG!!! Don't get hit by a wayward golf cart while you're there.

For those of you who have never been to FL and visited this place, it is beyond description.

Indeed it is. Just spent 4 days on a trial visit checking it out for retirement

It's an alternative universe

 

[High Camp]

IMHO, JimmyM is right in this matter, and, he knows how stir up the conversation.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think the point of the matter is the attitude of the player.

I am not a pro, but I always aim to deliver the perfect performance, to be professional, and the secret to me is in the details.
One part is studying your bass lines to perfection, another part is effort in dressing up and giving a show (that's suitable for the occasion).
But another part is your sound.
A guitar player spends lots of time on his sound for good reason, experiments with different effects.
A drummer can favor one kit over the other for the same reasons.
So why not a bass player?

If you add up all the details (choice of strings, amp, bass, and so on, and doing your homework and giving your best performance), then every crowd will notice, maybe subconsciously, but they'll notice.
And I also believe your mindset should be that your crowd will notice it consciously.

IME, changing from solid state to tubes (and changing to Ampeg ) has made a whole lotta difference, which is very noticeable to the crowd in my book.
And choice of strings makes a big difference too (which I changed too about two years ago).

I am also on the side of bass players who will give the soundguy not just a thump but also mids and brights for him to work with (which makes one bass notes more audible IMHO)

With or without crowd response (but I too have some very positive comments on my sound from time to time)

 

[Eric ER]

I am not making the claim that the majority of people noticed a difference. However, those who are making the point that only 20/3000 people noticed being an accurate number are ignoring an important fact about audiences and people in general.

I would argue more people noticed than 20, perhaps many more (still not saying a large percentage by any means). 20 people actually said something to Jimmy. How many people noticed and didn’t approach the bassist? I notice things and notice others converse about music, and we don’t necessarily have the time or desire to always go up to someone and say “Hey, your bass sounds edgier today.”

Again, maybe 50-100 people noticed out of 3000, maybe more, maybe only 20. I just bet if 20 people actually went out of their way to say something, probably many more noticed (though still a significant minority of the audience).

 

[JGbassman]

I pretty much get a great tone regardless of which bass I bring to the gig. How much of that sound gets out front depends on the sound engineer, club, or pa. All are variables that change the sound. Not to mention styles of music played. 80s hair metal places the bass in the mix a lot differently than funk.

My sound is good, but I also know my instrument isn’t the main focus of the mix.

 

[MDBass]

I never once took it that way when anyone said the audience can't tell the difference. People like me who often say something similar do not use this as an excuse to be lazy or not strive for the best, but rather are stating that even though we do, we ourselves are the ones who notice, not most others. I am a FIRM believer that most audience members don't care and can't tell, but in NO WAY am I still not using the best gear for me or am not still trying my best on every level. Personal satisfaction is a pretty big deal here. We want to feel good about what we are doing, in performance and song and groove, etc. But I am also a realist in knowing that most of our gear choices fall silent on deaf ears. Also realizing that improving my playing, or choosing better notes is going to magnify GREATLY any differences in the final result more so than any differences in gear that I am using. It is hard to quantify but roughly what comes out of the PA is going to be 75% hands and 25% gear.

Don't see where we are in disagreement here - "it can be well intentioned advice to stop people from buying gear they don't need"

 

[DirtDog]

I have to say that the one time out of how many gigs you ever played does not add up to everytime (even though you did not state that). So I would not overthink this. I am glad someone noticed your sound but for for the other 100,000 gigs going on that night the rest of the boozed up people didn't care about how the bass sounded, as long as they could hear it.

So, is this a case of the exception proving the rule? Or the falsification of the statement: "No one cares about the sound of the bass"?

 

[JPaulGeddy]

Seems a lot of people expect to hear a softer scooped tone... My tone is more mid range focused, paired with a B7k it sounds gnarly but does very well at cutting past competing synth backing tracks.

Here's where the rubber meets the road, IMO. Most of the time when I get notices, it's after I've replaced someone, or fill in, and they had the smiley face or other muddy EQ'ing going on. LPF, and know your mids. You get heard, *and* sit in the mix. Ya know, apart from Doom & Dub and whatnot.

 

[FugaziBomb]

Just be glad no one bitched about your (bad) intonation.

A lurker from the dark side.

Yeah, especially because the first half of the first set had poor monitoring on stage and I was really sweating it. This was my first time using a fretless outside of a jazz gig (reggae) and stage sound between the two is vastly different.

 

[smogg]

IMO/IME when performing for people whose generation actually grew up "listening" to music they do notice what's going on. They may not be able to put into words what they hear but can tell if something is not right. IMO many musicians underestimate the audience. IME when I play a gig that I can cover the room with my gear I almost always get compliments on my tone and playing. When FOH carries the room not so much. I'll leave my theories about that for another thread. I don't believe I've never used the statement "the audience can't tell anyway." If that fell out of my mouth I would have to consider retiring from live performances. Bottom line for me is I assume they can tell and do listen so I try to always give 100%.

 

[Eric Swaim]

So, is this a case of the exception proving the rule? Or the falsification of the statement: "No one cares about the sound of the bass"?

Other than musicians at the gig or musicians in the audience, most drunks or non-musical people don't care.
Do you care about having great tires on your vehicle or average tires? Do you care if someone is wearing $150 pair of Nikes or a $25 pair of Walmart tennis shoes? I would say probably not unless uou are in the tire or shoe industry. The same with people in the music business.

 

[Govner22]

It helps me relax before going onstage to remind myself the entire audience won’t notice every little imperfection. So the idea has a useful purpose. It just shouldn’t be taken too far, that’s all. These people made an effort to get to a venue and hear live music and so chances are they’re good listeners.

 

[BazzaBass]

I thought I was on Twitter. Comment made & first response was negative

 

[JimmyM]

Other than musicians at the gig or musicians in the audience, most drunks or non-musical people don't care.
Do you care about having great tires on your vehicle or average tires? Do you care if someone is wearing $150 pair of Nikes or a $25 pair of Walmart tennis shoes? I would say probably not unless uou are in the tire or shoe industry. The same with people in the music business.

Right...that's why so many non-musicians said they noticed.

I thought I was on Twitter. Comment made & first response was negative

Typical for TB. I'm used to it. That attitude has run some people off of here, but it's the main reason I've stuck around for so long. This place needs more people to encourage taking a little pride in what we do as bass players and to encourage a lot more respect for their audiences. I'm convinced that disdain for the audience is the number one reason why bands don't go over.