Off Topic On Playing Bass....

[adouglas]

"See all that out there? - That's ME they're running away from!"

Fixed it and applied it to myself....

 

[Butch Snyder]

Soloist and virtuosos aside, there's generally no flash or spotlight moment for the bass, no accolades, no "great solo" or "wow" moments - just the solid and steady foundation that everything else is riding on. And the pleasure and confidence comes from knowing, really knowing within that you're making it all happen.

Creates a very peaceful and powerful place to hang your hat.

That's one thing I like too. For not playing too awfully long, I think I'm a decent bassist. The players I play with and the vocalists like when I play bass. What I like is that when the guitarist is soloing, it's the drummer's and my groove he's soloing over. If one of us quits, he's done.....

 

[five7]

If you are going to play bass--watch out now--some sound guys and the other dudes(band members) may just want you burried in the mix. We have a new soundman as of last month. He says I'm too loud. I've been in my band for going on 4 years and have never turned my amp passed 12 oclock. We've worked with 4 or 5 different sound companies. None of those guys have ever said a word. The best guy of all of them had me so stinkin loud on stage I had to call him up there and tell him I thought it was too loud. He said" NO--I have it sounding great! Don't turn it down!" Go figure.

I hear alot of Pop Rock lately that has the bass pretty much burried.

Drummers make good bass players.
Bass Players make good soundmen.

That's why I am a good sound man, not from mixing 1000s of shows. Go figure. The soundman works for your band, set him straight!

 

[TGL]

Workerman Soundguy Dude

I figured out at our last gig what goes on with our sound.

Our first song right out of the gate our sound was killer--the drums were killin and my bass was killin--the guitar was right there along with the keyboards. Our vocals sounded like a horn section they were so clear.

Then it happened. The owner came up and told the soundman "TOO LOUD".
So naturally the soundman turned down the bass drum and the bass guitar.
We are a loud Heavy Rock band. It's loud. They hired us. The owner says he doesn't want to yell to talk to someone. I say don't hire a loud frickin' Rock band then. In the passed the owner wasn't at our gigs at his club. We had free reign and it was loud and proud. Not so when the boss is there.

So our soundmans answer to "TOO LOUD" is to turn down bass frequecies and rob me of the bass I crave to be able to perform properly. So now it still has the other frequencies going at a good clip but with no bass to counteract it. Instantly it was so loud to my hearing that my ears just got conjested up like water against my eardrums.

The rest of the night it was work trying to hear my bass right and get the feeling going. You play those songs so many times that if it(the sound) doesn't have something to get you "up"--- well then it's frustating and a bit upsetting. It has to be fun so it's not like a boring job-you know?