We hear a different version

[BassAdder60]

Standing next to my cab at last nights gig ( used GK Legacy for first set ) I thought it was an ok but not great sound.

Some phone clips showed it sounded really good in the mix. 
Second set used my ABM600 and this felt and sounded nicer to my ears standing by cab.

Vid clips I heard later sounded a good mix ( more like what I was hearing standing close ) but overall it sounded about the same out front 

 

It can really make you doubt your settings when standing close yet seems to sound so different to the audience which is what matters. 

This was without PA support in a large pub venue. 
 

Edited July 10, 2022 by BassAdder27

[gafbass02]

I took my IEMs out for about thirty seconds at last nights gig. 
 

put ‘em back real quick! 
 

Yup. Veeery different in the real world to the perfect sound I was hearing 😂
 

Like you say though, the next morning video from the engineer is always comforting!

Edited July 10, 2022 by gafbass02

[BassAdder60]

Bass frequencies travel a long way and in all directions but close to your cab seems to be the worst place to hear them ( especially if a good sound makes you play well ) 

[Len_derby]

A similar happened to me on Friday night. For the first time I heard someone else play through my rig, Markbass/Barefaced. The EQ settings were the same as I’d used earlier and from about 12 metres away he sounded great, much better then when I’m standing right in front of the cabinet.

 

Disclaimer: I fully accept that it might not sound that good when I use it. Wherever you stand 😆

[Cliff Edge]

When I read that I first thought you were leaving a gig in a taxi. Then I read some more

Edited July 10, 2022 by Cliff Edge

[chris_b]

Yesterday I was playing in a marquee in a field and in the interval a member of the audience came up and complimented me on the bass sound. It's always nice to have confirmation that what you intended was actually being heard by the audience.

[Downunderwonder]

2 problems with hearing yourself on stage.

 

Mids and highs are directional so the backs of your legs get the best sound.

 

Lows reflect off ceiling and walls sometimes arriving at your ears out of phase causing certain frequency dropouts that won't respond half as well to EQ as the unaffected ones. They can also boom.

[miles'tone]

16 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

Bass frequencies travel a long way and in all directions but close to your cab seems to be the worst place to hear them ( especially if a good sound makes you play well ) 

Yes. Also the curse of the double bassist!

[PaulWarning]

the other week I played a gig where the previous band left a big 4 x 12 cab for me to stack my gear on, it meant that my top cab was literally at ear level, I've never heard such a clear trebly bass sound before, really easy to hear what I was playing, it was going through a FOH PA as well, so I wasn't concerned that it sounded that trebly out front.

At a gig at the weekend someone else used my rig, took the treble off and was using a Jazz bass (I use a P), to me it sounded horrible, all booming low end, again going through FOH PA, hope I didn't sound like that

[TimR]

12 hours ago, Downunderwonder said:

2 problems with hearing yourself on stage.

 

Mids and highs are directional so the backs of your legs get the best sound.

 

Lows reflect off ceiling and walls sometimes arriving at your ears out of phase causing certain frequency dropouts that won't respond half as well to EQ as the unaffected ones. They can also boom.

 

This is why I have 2 2x10" cabs stacked vertically. You can turn it right down and still hear everything perfectly. 

 

Plus it's a lot easier to carry around. 

[BigRedX]

And that's why I have ditched my traditional amp and cabs in favour of a wedge-shaped FRFR as a personal monitor and PA does the bass (and all the other instruments) for FoH.

[gjones]

It's a cross bass players have to bear. It's one of the reasons I like active basses, as I can go out front and adjust the sound from a distance.

[Lozz196]

Yeah, when I was gigging a lot all my sound for audience came from my Sansamp Para Driver via FOH, on stage amp purely for my own ears.
 

I’ve found over the years that when having a rig which covers the venue that having a middy/twangy on stage sound translates to a really good in the mix sound out front. 

[BassAdder60]

20 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

Yeah, when I was gigging a lot all my sound for audience came from my Sansamp Para Driver via FOH, on stage amp purely for my own ears.
 

I’ve found over the years that when having a rig which covers the venue that having a middy/twangy on stage sound translates to a really good in the mix sound out front. 

I think you’re right about the middy sound. 
Although the ABM600 sounds deeper standing in front it might sound too boomy to the audience 

The GK amp seems excessive in the mids especially near to the cab but out front it cuts through well