Room acoustics & tone, just some thoughts..

[project_c]

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I play through different amps in the same rehearsal space, and I've come to some conclusions about amps, rooms and tone in general. Not sure if this is useful to anyone else, just some of my thoughts on the subject…[/size][/font]
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I play mostly jazz on 2 different basses. One is a USA p-bass with SD Quarter Pounders, the other is a fretless USA p-bass with Fender Custom Shop 62 pickups. My tone is standard no frills p-bass, lots of dynamics.[/size][/font]
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Here's what I've been playing through at various times: [/size][/font]
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- Ampeg SVT head, Ampeg 410 cab - sounds undeniably awesome.[/size][/font][font=Helvetica][size=3]
- Laney tube head, Ampeg 410 cab - fine, sounds like an SVT rig[/size][/font][font=Helvetica][size=3]
- Trace Elliot head (cant remember what model), giant Trace Elliot 810 cab - overkill, but it sounded amazing[/size][/font][font=Helvetica][size=3]
- Ashdown 410 combo - the one I struggled with most, chunky tone, not ideal for jazz[/size][/font][font=Helvetica][size=3]
- an older Warwick ccl combo - nothing special, but kept up without issues[/size][/font]
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None of these amps made my bass sound crap, or out of place. This shouldn't come as a surprise, but the amount of negative stuff you read online about certain makes and models would suggest otherwise. [/size][/font]
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Having said that, all of the above have also sounded terrible at times, and this is kind of where I'm trying to make my point. The single biggest difference in my tone came from where I put the amps within the rehearsal room. Place any of them too far to the back of that particular room, and without fail, they all sound awful. No amount of eq, compression or anything else will fix the bad sound. Bring them too far to the front, same again. You know that hollow, 'wet bucket' tone everyone hates? Not even the 810 was immune to it. But move them closer into the centre, where the ceilings are lower and the other musicians are closer to you, and they all suddenly sound exactly how you want them to. So my point is that in my experience, the room, and where you are within that room makes a much bigger difference to your tone than the amp you're playing through. It's not rocket science, I know, but it does make you wonder about the hunt for tone perfectionism, and the futility of it because of the nature of our instrument. [/size][/font]
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I wonder how much perfectly good stuff I've got rid of over the past few years because of bad room acoustics…[/size][/font]

[alexclaber]

The room does make a huge difference - but a cab with good dispersion and a smooth low frequency roll-off curve will be much more resistant to bad room acoustics than a cab with poor dispersion and uneven bass response.

[No lust in Jazz]

I respect a man that plays jazz with a P bass through an SVT.

[project_c]

[quote name='alexclaber' timestamp='1447245367' post='2906029']
The room does make a huge difference - but a cab with good dispersion and a smooth low frequency roll-off curve will be much more resistant to bad room acoustics than a cab with poor dispersion and uneven bass response.
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You'll get no argument from me about that, it's very true.

[project_c]

[quote name='No lust in Jazz' timestamp='1447245554' post='2906034']
I respect a man that plays jazz with a P bass through an SVT.
[/quote]

Haha I don't even play it politely, not full out nosebleed but I like it punchy, and I dig in for my solos.