Acoustic Playing Sweet Spots near the Wall

[David Powell]

This is more about rooms and how they interact with basses. So I'm hoping others will post about situations they have played in that have affected the sound and volume of their bass when played sans amp.

Here's some things I've found and been surprised by. If I get really close (2-3 ft.) to the wall (in almost any room), my bass is much louder at the bottom end. If I increase that to 5 ft., the A string seems to benefit more than the other strings and becomes very dominant. If I move a little farther out, the E and BB strings become the major beneficiaries of the wall proximity effect. When I get out in the room a good ways (7-8 ft.), it evens out with the whole bass just being louder. I'm thinking I'll call this the "wall proximity effect" because I have observed it with just about any wall in any of the venues I play in from plaster, glass, wood or brick. Anyone else observe anything like this when playing without an amp?