Bassists You Can't Hear

[spongebob]

I played a gig last night with our originals band, with two others on the bill (one before, one after).

Sound wasn't bad - but the most noticeable thing were the other bassists - you simply couldn't hear them!

Both were playing Jazz's - but for whatever reason, they didn't give out any tone, or even any bass.

I took my P-bass, simply as I knew I'd get a 'big' sound whatever the acoustics. Must admit, I was really pleased how I sounded.

Didn't think anything of it until our drummer commented on it later, and how the first bands' bassist was apparently open mouthed and staring at me and my gear during our set!

I've found that's one big plus point of the P - I'm pretty rubbish at EQ, but I can get a great sound really easily live.

I was just really surprised that nobody in the other bands seemed to notice what their sound lacked, even the bassists themselves!

[Protium]

One size fits all, not sure what it is about Precisions but they just [i]work[/i]

[essexbasscat]

Guitarist in my current band says he often can't hear me. This is usually after he has turned up the PA and his amp to tinitus provocation levels. Doh.

[Jacqueslemac]

Could also be where you were standing (or wherever whoever set up their sound when he/she did so). The further you get away from the stage, the more the bass cuts through (at least, that's what the sound engineer told me at our last gig).

A bit off-topic, but the first time I used my Jaguar at a gig I thought the sound was a bit muffled and indistinct. During the first set I saw a well-known local bass player come in, so, during the break I asked him what he thought of the tone. His response was "Great. I always love it when I can hear the bass over the rest of the band"!

[ezbass]

Can't hear the bass? Not on my watch One of the best things I like about using a wireless system is that I can adjust my volume or tone so that I'm not over the top or inaudible.

[Spoombung]

Anything on the low B string = inaudible.

[KevB]

I often don't hear my rig particularly well if playing small pubs and I'm very close, the sound just seems to go through me but is fine in the mix where the important people are out front. Don't have a problem being heard with my jazz (though it is an S1 and I frequently play it with the S1 engaged). Been trying out a passive P recently purchased on bc and that does indeed punch through pretty much anything!
As for 'bassists you can't hear' - honourable mention for JPJ on Celebration Day!

Edited December 19, 2012 by KevB

[Low End Bee]

I bet the jazz players you couldn't hear had 'killer' bedroom tones.

[Bilbo]

I never see other bassists. I just realised that I have not seen another bass player playing since I saw Jasper Holby (sorry about the lack of proper grammatical inflection, Jasper) playing with Phronesis (and he sounded remarkably like Jasper to me). Before that, I have no idea but it was probably the bass player with Osian ROberts and Steve Fishwick a year earlier. S***, I need to go see more live music.

[kevin_lindsay]

Low End Bee a that's exactly what I was going to say! It amazes me how many guys boost the low end on the amp in rehearsals and use the sane setting when playing live or in a larger venue.

As bass frequencies are omni-directional, they swamp everything else. That's why when you're outside a venue, it's the bass frequencies that throb through the air. Personally, I set the EQ in my Aguilar DB680 flat to give my bass the best chance to cut through.

As for the comment regarding P-Basses "cutting through", yup, you're spot on. I love my jazz basses, but on larger gigs, I prefer using a P-Bass to get that middle clank. It cuts through the band sound and sits so well

[Lozz196]

Yep, last week I played a gig, and the bassist in the other band used his Matt Freeman Sig Precision through my little Markbass combo. I was amazed at how great it came through. Admittedly it was going through house PA, but there`s something about a Precision that just sits so right in the mix.

[JTUK]

If you couldn't hear everything..I'd say the sound was bad...

This whole subject is funny... you have bass players having to have cabs around their ears..??
People saying they don't care what they sound like as long as it sounds ok out front..??
What about the band not getting off on a sh** stage sound...??

All sorts really...
A band needs the best stage sound it can get... for all and sundry, and if you don't run P.A support, you'll probably do better
to get your 'good'stage sound out into the venue/room..
It isn't likely to magically 'fix' itself

I actually think P-basses work better when mixed and controlled FOH...
They can be a great bass for that.... but if you loose the high notes..or D and G strings, that is a poor choice of bass
for that environment.
But a lot of bands get into fight for the space and make it so hard for themselves

[molan]

Without a wireless setup it's not easy to be sure exactly how you sounded out front.

Maybe the other player's mouth was wide open because he thought you were overpowering everything

I'm not saying that you were but just that you might have been to his ears.

There's a guy I know that insists his live sound kills and all I hear from out front is a dull thud. However, he's happy with his sound so that's cool.

I don't think you can really use this as an example to say J basses can't be heard live but P's can. Way, way too many professional gigging bass players out there using J's for them not to work.

[OliverBlackman]

Rocco Prestia cannot be heard live, although I've heard he's pretty deaf anyway

Edited December 19, 2012 by OliverBlackman

[JTUK]

Really...??? that is a pretty fundemental miss as he is a major component in that band

[Gust0o]

[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1355765247' post='1902444']
Could also be where you were standing (or wherever whoever set up their sound when he/she did so). The further you get away from the stage, the more the bass cuts through (at least, that's what the sound engineer told me at our last gig).

A bit off-topic, but the first time I used my Jaguar at a gig I thought the sound was a bit muffled and indistinct. During the first set I saw a well-known local bass player come in, so, during the break I asked him what he thought of the tone. His response was "Great. I always love it when I can hear the bass over the rest of the band"!
[/quote]
[quote name='Jacqueslemac' timestamp='1355765247' post='1902444']
Could also be where you were standing (or wherever whoever set up their sound when he/she did so). The further you get away from the stage, the more the bass cuts through (at least, that's what the sound engineer told me at our last gig).

A bit off-topic, but the first time I used my Jaguar at a gig I thought the sound was a bit muffled and indistinct. During the first set I saw a well-known local bass player come in, so, during the break I asked him what he thought of the tone. His response was "Great. I always love it when I can hear the bass over the rest of the band"!
[/quote]

Yeah, I've been there before. As Molan notes, unless you have the ability to wander off and have a listen, it's very hard to work out for yourself how you sound anywhere other than on stage.

We normally have a mate or two along for testing that out.

[OliverBlackman]

[quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1355949384' post='1904994']
Really...??? that is a pretty fundemental miss as he is a major component in that band
[/quote]

yep, seen the twice and happened both times. Although the first time was more mystifying as Koko had a great sound mix (apart from the bass) whereas Shepherds Bush was all terrible.

[mep]

I am always heard with my Stingray and the low mids boosted on my TE head.

If you want to know what you and the rest of the band sounds like then during the sound check get right out front. I use 2 leads linked with a double female connector just for that & then change back to 1 lead for the gig. It's a cheap solution top an age old problem.

[thisnameistaken]

It's true. Precision basses make sound but no other basses do. It's one of those unscientific facts.

[gafbass02]

I expect its the scoopy patrol who don't spend their lives on here over analysing like us lot, :-) and who may not realise that their great sound at home doesn't work at a gig.

[thumperbob 2002]

[quote name='gafbass02' timestamp='1355993989' post='1905333']
I expect its the scoopy patrol who don't spend their lives on here over analysing like us lot, :-) and who may not realise that their great sound at home doesn't work at a gig.
[/quote]

Yep- smiley EQ equals fading into the background or bass at ridiculous levels of volume. Mids do it all and no messing. I like to sound honky minus 0.5% all and sundry can hear me. Who cares about the band!! Whoops.....

[Chris2112]

Most people on an upright bass playing in a band at anything over whisper volume. All you get are a peaky few harmonic mids and the highs, the fundamental of the note usually disappears FOH. Of course, to the play standing right next to the instrument and hacking away, it probably doesn't sound as bad.

[Ziphoblat]

I think people need to be careful about stating their experiences as if they were objective facts that would hold true in any situation. Personally I've always had great experiences cutting through with a jazz bass - far more so than with a precision. I found the precision would often get too thumpy/woolly under an overdriven guitar, and had a tendency to disappear completely should I be blasphemous enough to stray any higher than my A string. I use a sort of mid-scooped sound (with a jazz bass) and I think it can work effectively if you do it properly and don't make any boosts/cuts that are too extreme. I tend to cut either side of [color=#333333]~[/color]400Hz rather than just killing all the mids, which creates more of a 'W' shape than a smiley face. Gives a great blend of punch, clarity, and thickness, in my experience, and definitely doesn't get lost in the mix (on stage or out front).

[Delberthot]

When I was 14 I got to see my bass hero at the time who was playing with Eric Clapton at the time - it was Nathan East.

It was my first ever concert and it was at the SECC in Glasgow and I couldn't hear a single thing he played. I was so disappointed

[gafbass02]

I'm all about the jazz live, just can't get on with p basses.