Bass Question - should LP range be so different?

Actually, your phono stage/line stage combination has a lot to do with it too. I have 3 full function preamps on hand right now and all three sound very different. The SP-11 MKII has big sound stage and great detail and good extended bass. The counterpoint SA-5000 has more mellow sweet and soft sound. It is a more articulate vocal and softer bass. The HK Citation I is similar too SP-11 MKII except the bass is way deeper and more dynamic than both. In fact, on LP playback, the bass is deeper than any of the CDs I've played.

TT: VPI HW19 MKIV
ToneArm: Graham 1.5T
Cartridge: VDH black beauty
stepup Music Reference RM-4

Rwwear and Eldartford are correct, but I'll respectfully disagree with Reb1208. The variability of LP's is certainly greater than with CD's, but to state that, "The 'best' LP's have a compromised balanced sound.", betrays a lack of experience with high quality LP's, or perhaps a lack of experience with high quality LP playback. The best LP's on my system sound balanced, but hardly compromised. Of course I'll freely admit that I may not be entirely 'sane' by Eldartford's standards. ;)

The LP12 is famous for warmth or richness in the upper-bass and lower-mids, which many people find 'musical'. I suspect that's what you're hearing. In addition to the adjustments referenced by Rwwear and Lugnut, you might check that the LP12's suspension is tuned up perfectly. Any looseness or misadjustment there would add to the problem.

If none of this helps, it's possible you've simply outgrown the LP12 sound.

LF is DRASTICLY attenuated when the record is cut (for reasons mentioned above)and DRASTICLY boosted on playback. Just a little error in this process can significantly affect LF playback response. Also, extreme LF is usually "blended" to mono, because stereo would involve vertical modulation of the groove, and would make the phono stylus tend to hop out of the groove (perhaps not a problem with high end pickups, but most records are bought by sane people). You can boost the LF some more with your tone controls or equalizer, so that extension is similar to digital sources, but if you do the rumble will be very bad.

LPs have the bass rolled off and the highs extended so all the musical content can be placed on a 33.3RPM record. The RIAA EQ curve that is built in to a phono preamp restores the bass and reduces the treble to normal. LPs can and often do sound better than their CD counterpoints even with mediocure components.

The amount of information that can be cut into a LP record is fixed. Often the low frequecies are rolled off and many records will sound thin. Also common to have a "dark" analog type sound as the engineer decided to lop off the highs. There simply is not enough room on a LP side for the grooves required. This is not the case with 12" singles as they can reproduce the full spectrum of sound as the song takes up the entire side. The "best" LP's have a compromised balanced sound. A little roll on the top/bottom and some slight compression to fit as much info as possible.

Rwwear & Lugnut thank you for the suggestions and the link!

Audio Asylum has the best discussions I've ever read on turntable setup in the FAQ section. My LP12 has bass that is more defined than my CDP has. Here's the link. Pay particular attention to Jon Risch's post regarding SRA. It's just another, and better way of looking at VTA. The thread title is "VTA once and for all!".

Adjust the VTA until it sounds the way you want it to. Usually a slight downward slope from the pivot point of the arm toward the cartridge yields the best bass.