Is tone that important live?

[bassmonkey]

I was at an Iron Maiden gig last night. It was a typical stadium affair.

The bassist had a P bass. Everything was really loud. It got me thinking about playing live and tone. Now this guys tone was totally irrelevant, due to the noise of the other instruments. I have rarely been to a gig where I noticed any subtleties in the bass tone. Sure, I've seen the bass player fiddle with his knobs between numbers, but it didn't make a jot of difference to the tone heard out front.

So guys, what say you? Does tone really matter when playing live?

 

[DKWilkins]

It matters to me... I know that I feel better about my performance and "feel" the groove better if I am getting good tone out of my gear. Now it might not matter to the house out front, but I can't control that- that's the soundman's territory.

 

[shamus63]

I'm 100% with David on tone...the better my stage tone and mix, the better I groove!

 

[bovinehost]

Agree with Dave, too.

If I feel like I sound good, then I play better (um, by my standards, anyway).

I realize that Bubba in the back booth, busily hitting on the barely legal waitress while his wife's at home watching Roseann reruns, will probably not be in tune with my heavenly bass tone. That is really okay with me.

 

[Kirby]

I could not agree more. If I am happy with my tone then I can concentrate on the small points of the groove and where to place the note in terms of the kick.

Makes life a whole lot easier and more enjoyable with good tone.

 

[Psycho Ward]

The tone I heard from a StingRay on a stage at a small blues club is what made me buy one. A big arena is not the best place to hear anything... it's more of an event. IMHO.

 

[shamus63]

The tone I heard from a StingRay on a stage at a small blues club is what made me buy one. A big arena is not the best place to hear anything... it's more of an event. IMHO.

That statement nails it to a tee!

Arenas just outright suck for sound...that's why I only go to club shows now.

 

[GassieBall]

Sometimes, however, I feel that I have to sacrifice tone to be able to cut through the mix. More mids on the eq live compared when I'm playing solo or low volume when I like a little more scooped. Anyone else feel this?

 

[kakobass]

Most stadiums are not built for concerts, and amplifying music accurately over a large space is challenging at best (whether an enclosed space, or outdoors).

But chances are that if you are playing in a stadium, you are using in-ear monitors, or a good monitoring system. With a nice and accurate-sounding monitor system your bass tone is full represented.

Smaller places, say smaller than 5,000, you can hear the bass sound nuances, if the system and engineer are good, and if the place has some kind of acoustic treatment.

And as mentioned, if you (and your bandmates) can hear your bass well and you have a good sound, you will play better - and the band will sound better.

 

[jeffrey]

Tone = everything

(that goes for Guitar too!)

 

[strummer]

Well, it does sound nice on stage, so I guess I like good tone too. I never ever worry about the house sound, that´s for that other guy (the one who occasionally carries struff, complains a lot and get's paid the same as us, if any).

 

[Narcosynthesis]

As people have said above, its not as much tone for the audience, but for you playing and knowing yourself you sound good, and if you are happy, you play better, have more fun on stage and put on a better show

With a band tone always has a bit of give and take in it, you can have a brilliant sounding setup at home, full bass sound that is perfection to your ears, but when you take that into a full band context, half the time you will either dominate or be hidden behind all the other instruments, so you have toe reset your 'tone' to fit in perfectly with the other instruments in the quest for a better band sound out front.

Regardless of all that, most of the audience are not musicians, and don't give a damn whether you are playing a sterling or squire p, as long as the songs sound decent and the band as a whole look good they are happy, only the tiny % of people in the audience are actually musicians who could tell the difference (and hell, playing live I have heard Squire p's that sounded stunning when heard in the band mix, alone it could still be a different take altogether)

I own nice basses and gear to create a tone I am happy with, and as long as me and the guys I respect (ie the guys I am playing with or know well) think it is fine, excellent

David

 

[NoFrets80]

...

Sometimes, however, I feel that I have to sacrifice tone to be able to cut through the mix. More mids on the eq live compared when I'm playing solo or low volume when I like a little more scooped. Anyone else feel this?

That's pretty much common knowledge... the tone that sounds all pretty and nice in a solo setting will not cut through in a band setting in most cases. I wouldn't agree that it's a sacrifice, it's an adaptation. The nice thing is that the core tone of your bass is always there, only with certain parts accented more than others, depending on your needs. Ideally, your tone should be more mid-heavy to accomodate the band. Tonal needs change depending on the setting.

 

[DJBenzBass]

It matters to me... I know that I feel better about my performance and "feel" the groove better if I am getting good tone out of my gear. Now it might not matter to the house out front, but I can't control that- that's the soundman's territory.

I totally agree. I am insane with getting my tone. I have tried so many amps, cabs, basses, etc. When I bought the SR5 HH, I found the tone that I have been searching for. Now it gets fine tuned with whatever preamps or heads I'm happiest with at the time. I want that tone on stage! If the crowd can hear it too, even better!

I also forgot to mention another quote from my drummer when he first heard my SR5 HH: "Wow! How long have you been playing that line? I've never heard that before! Now I hear everything! Does Ernie Ball make drums too!?!"

That does bring me to a followup question though: For those of you that are very happy with their gear tone, what output setting do you send to the soundguy when he wants to run you direct, do you use PRE or POST EQ on your preamp output? I would assume POST to try to get your tone to the board, but I am interested in hearing differently on that, and why.

 

[bovinehost]

I would assume POST to try to get your tone to the board, but I am interested in hearing differently on that, and why.

I generally run it PRE in order to give the sound guy some room to tweak for FOH sound.

 

[shamus63]

I usually run it from a passive D.I., basically because I'm not too concerned with the sound off-stage...I can't hear it anyway...trusting the sound guy to make it right...

...or not.

 

[Rano Bass]

I send the signal with the POST switch engaged.

 

[tkarter]

I send the signal pre. Sound guys love the bongo sound and make it sound just like your cabs do LOL

tk

 

[Psycho Ward]

I send mine post office.

 

[Lazybite]

tone is paramount to me.. whether listening or playing... if a band's tone is terrible (Even outdoors can be accounted for).... then I don't feel like I am getting my moneys worth (assuming i paid for it)...