Playing bass like a bass, not a guitar

[J Patrick]

Originally Posted by Brent Hahn

There was a period when pop records were arranged and produced to work well on a tiny transistor radio. Built from the top down rather than the bottom up, so to speak. So players like Jamerson and McCartney and arrangers like Brian Wilson could indulge themselves without fear of yanking the moorings out from under the song.

It’s hard to believe that they were arranging and producing popular songs to work well on tiny transistor radios…..is that a verifiable fact or conjecture?

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by J Patrick

It’s hard to believe that they were arranging and producing popular songs to work well on tiny transistor radios…..is that a verifiable fact or conjecture?

Verifiable fact - I've read a couple of accounts of Motown's mixdown process, how they went through a highly sophisticated (for the day) system of EQ, compression, et al. while listening to the cuts over both studio monitors and transistor-radio-type speakers, until they found a mix that sounded good with both...

[J Patrick]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Verifiable fact - I've read a couple of accounts of Motown's mixdown process, how they went through a highly sophisticated (for the day) system of EQ, compression, et al. while listening to the cuts over both studio monitors and transistor-radio-type speakers, until they found a mix that sounded good with both...

..whooda thunkit?…I ask that because many vintage recordings from that era sound so darn good on quality hi-fi gear, it’s hard to believe they weren’t going for…THAT sound….but it makes sense that they would be concerned with what listeners were listening through….as I recall, most televisions incorporated low-fi sound and good quality audio hadn’t really made its way into automobiles yet…although the massive Grundig console in the living room rocked!!…..that’s what I grew up with so I was taking note of those glorious bass lines of the day…