How important is bass to you?

Onhwy61, actually the band probably had several midrange and treble players and singers. So the bass is vastly outnumbered (but the real answer is: only one is needed--with more than one things would get really messy in a heartbeat).

Bdp24, that's why we have subwoofers, which are closer in size to the speakers used by electric bass. I know you know this and I was surprised by your comment. Did I miss something?

"All parts matter." Bass is no more, no less important than any other voice in the music.

Bdp24, I think you'd have to have similar amps, speakers and room to reproduce a live rock band sound. But personally that's not the standard I would use. Live band soundmen tend to push the bass and drums too loud, leaving too little space for the other instruments and voices. Try understanding the words sung at a live show--good luck. Also the overall volume is usually too loud.
I look for a system that will reproduce acoustic music well and figure it will do fine for the electric stuff. You're right, you can't get all the elements of a live performance in a living room reproduction. But we know there's a wide gap between the systems that come close and those that totally miss.

My speakers (Dynaudio monitors) are listed as going down to 40Hz. When I added a subwoofer I was surprised at how different the sound was for frequencies above the low bass range. Voices went from slightly thin and metallic to very smooth and natural sounding. There seemed to be improvement far beyond the cross-over frequency. And of course the deep stuff is much better. Win/win as far as I can see (and hear).

Yes, too much bass would be bad. That's why you tune your subwoofer frequency and volume. I never intended to suggest that the bass should be in excess of a natural sound.