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[Mac Kerr]

Because the Sans Amp is producing what the bass player wants to sound like. Would you jump out of Eric Johnson's pedal board after the tuner and run that to FOH?

I know if someone wanted to bypass the thousand dollars of gear on my board, I would take issue with them.

Is the bass player Eric Johnson?

Mac

[Tim McCulloch]

Because the Sans Amp is producing what the bass player wants to sound like. Would you jump out of Eric Johnson's pedal board after the tuner and run that to FOH?

I know if someone wanted to bypass the thousand dollars of gear on my board, I would take issue with them.

There are multiple times when I, as BE, made decisions about *how* to acquire the signals I needed to present the performer in the manner in which (s)he desired to be heard.

I'm the man behind the curtain (or console) and my job is to deliver the impression the artist wants and it's my job to pick the tools & methods to best do that.  There are times when the tools and techniques may be different from the way the performer has anticipated, but the audible result is in keeping with the performer's desires.

So yes, if we resurrected Jaco Pastorius, I might have to tell him what I wanted to do differently in order to deliver his signature sound in that room, on that PA, with whatever other variable might exist.

The original post was about the possibility of any negative issues that might arise from the use of the SansAmp box and what alternatives might exist.

[Scott Holtzman]

Is the bass player Eric Johnson?

Mac



[size=78%]ROFL - With regard to the your next thread can we debate Jaco vs Patitucci [/size]

[David Winners]

There are multiple times when I, as BE, made decisions about *how* to acquire the signals I needed to present the performer in the manner in which (s)he desired to be heard.

I'm the man behind the curtain (or console) and my job is to deliver the impression the artist wants and it's my job to pick the tools & methods to best do that.  There are times when the tools and techniques may be different from the way the performer has anticipated, but the audible result is in keeping with the performer's desires.

So yes, if we resurrected Jaco Pastorius, I might have to tell him what I wanted to do differently in order to deliver his signature sound in that room, on that PA, with whatever other variable might exist.

The original post was about the possibility of any negative issues that might arise from the use of the SansAmp box and what alternatives might exist.

I totally agree with this sentiment. What I see too often at the lounge level is the sound man dialing up their go to bass sound, which is usually sub and clack with no mids.

It should be a collaborative effort to faithfully reproduce the sound the musician is seeking. My band plays a lot of bass forward songs. Billy Sheehan / Geddy Lee stuff. I work very hard to cop those sounds and playing styles. To have my investment in time and money wasted by the sound man dialing up "Metallica bass tone" is frustrating.

To the OP: the Sans Amp is a quality piece of gear. Set a low cut on the bass channel and you will be fine. I sometimes play with a lot of distortion on bass and have never had any problems in the FOH or monitor systems as a result.

[David Winners]

Is the bass player Eric Johnson?

Mac

It would be cool if it was

But does it matter? Shouldn't we try our best to make the band sound like they want to sound?

[Ned Ward]

We should try to make the band sound great. Some beginning bands may have a signature tone, but given today's kids, many may have perfected "their tone" listening on headphones - what that sounds like live for a crowd can be a totally different thing.

Good example on the guitar side - the kid who has an amp with the gain dimed, mids scooped and his amp sounds like sonic mud on stage - but sounds "killer" at home or on headphones.

Being able to help people understand what works live vs. what doesn't is one of the reasons I learned to have a much different live tone that was a lot less gain, but cut through the mix and sounded much better, both to me, the band and the crowds.

[Roland Clarke]

I find that this is a very difficult area and much depends on the level of musician you are working with.

Would you argue with the sound someone like George Benson, Eric Clapton, Carlos Santana gets from their amp?  Even with the great session players, their sound is intrinsic too their performance.  Whilst I'm not working with any of the aforementioned players, I work with some that have played sideman to them over the years.  I have to trust what they do, as they have to trust what I do.  I've found that you can say that the sounds a little dull or a bit bright and then leave them to make a quantifiable decision as to whether they want to change it or not, then you work with what you have got, arguments are never going to go well, especially for you.  With pro players a level down from there a lot is about building a relationship and working with them to get their musical idea across.  It's good to remember that sound is so subjective, that even if you don't personally like it a particular way, there will be a load of people who will disagree with you and they might be right.

When it comes to amateur bands and the local musician level they often will appreciate input, however, it should still be respectfully done after all it is their gig and the audience are there to listen to what they do, not what you do, we are just facilitators.

With regards to the using of things like the sansamps, I have heard a load of them and depending on the player, the unit and the set up can yield very differing results.  Often a cabinet/amp can be better, but not always and while a "clean" DI is very easy to deal with from a sound persons pov, there are many very good musical reasons why a player would want a bit more than a clean bass sound and to try and persuade them otherwise is self serving.

As I mentioned above, I truly believe that checking your ego at the door and trying to present the bands musical ideas the best way possible in the way they wish is always the best policy even if you are not feeling it yourself.  If you can't do this, you need to find another area of the industry or another act to work with.

I fully understand that others opinion might be totally different to mine, but I'm just putting it out there.

[ProSoundWeb Community]