Hi there,
Like I said in my original post, bass especially in reggae and dance music is an essential part of the mix. But, it is 'mix' that is the key word. I have heard loads and loads of examples of live bands who honestly sound like crap because the bass drowns out everything else.
Also anyone who has listened to a lot of reggae, especially dub reggae, will know how effective it is to drift the bass in and out sometimes and not have it set on overkill all the time.
As Mr. Dave mentions above, it can be bad sometimes when a manic lead guitarist is trying to take over. The thing is, the bass sound with it's very low and long sound waves is a lot harder to control and is more non-directional than higher frequencies. That's why we get the 'muddy' effect when the bass is too prominent and it drowns out the higher frequencies. It's usually in the mid to higher frequencies where the guitar solos or vocals live, the detail that makes the music interesting, and all I'm saying is that it's really disapointing as I mentioned above, I went to see U2 hoping to hear Edge playing live and honestly, it was lost in the mud of the kick drum and the bass guitar.
Not just U2 but loads of live music today at all levels is sounding crap because of the excessive bass volume in the mix.
Gordon.
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