Quote:
Originally Posted by William Stephens
I think when a bass is played it naturally produces a lot of extraneous noise that doesn't necessarily carry as far as the instrument's true sound.
If youre playing a section and really thrashing the life out of your bass the sound the audience hears is much softer from the one that you hear sat right on top of the instrument.
I really don't like basses that sound excessively bright - although I have heard some that sound really bright and trebley when you are playing them but much more mellow when you stand back from the same bass when someone else is playing.
My bass is labelled Viennese but looks german in style and the sound is what I have heard some describe as "boxy" i.e there's a lot of fundamental and also bright trebley sound but very little mid range harmonics in the sound - the ones that make the tone rich and warm.
I when I hear a basses sound I tend to "see" it like spectrum. If an instrument's sound ever changes for some reason I can usually tell because, as wierd as it sounds I can remember what the sound "looked" like.
what I'd really like to know is if everyone does this or if it just me...... 
lol |
Visual spectrum? I wonder if others see the same colors when listening to the same Bass.
We usually refer to the sound as complex when we hear more tones and harmonics off of each note. Italian Basses seem more colorful to my ear. English a tad dryer sound. Like Italian but without the smooth Olive Oil behind each note. My Hart however had both the Oil and the Dry crispiness to each note. It is the only English bass I have heard like that. My Gilkes it thick, clear and punchy. My Pollmann is flatter sounding as far as overtones. I hear that similarity with most German and Czech Basses.
The few Hungarians I had and played sounded like they wanted to be Italian but just couldn't' get the Oil to pour out of the spout!
On your Viennese bass looking German, show some pics of it. In later years they did look more Germanic than the old Vienna and Prague classics of the 18th and 19th century.
On the section playing I agree 100% about the 'edge' dying off as you walk further from the Bass. My Storioni, Martini and Hart are the smoothest Basses I have and use in that order. The Gilkes seems way different. A deep boom sound with clear mids which sound almost too bright at times with some bowing parts but bows smooth, deep and clear. In Concert, I sometimes can't hear my pitch all that well in a section of 4-6 Basses with anything BUT the Gilkes. No one has ever said the Gilkes sounds bright unless playing it solo in a small room. On stage, it is your best friend. When I did the Beeth.6th Storm, fingering all the 16ths, I could hear everything I was doing. I think the other 4 Basses heard me better then they heard themselves. Only two of us had C-extensions. My Ext. notes were as easy to hear as those playing an octave up if not heard over them. Playing the 9th was great as well.
Hearing yourself can be good if it helps with the pitch.