Yet, while listening to bass at venues with good acoustics at good places, bass is not overly tight - it’s just right. A good SET can deliver that, the bass that has a good likeness of both texture in the bass and the right tightness. Overly tight bass representations bleed out the texture of the bass.
You are my brother from another mother. 😊
I have been making this point seemingly forever. I have been attending live (Usually smaller/intimate) jazz clubs for 30 years. Often they don’t even bother with microphones on the stage as they’re not necessary. You are hearing pure untampered with acoustic instruments. And you know what? Those upright beautiful wooden bass instruments are not tight!
Certainly not in the overdamped,dry artificial sense that some audiophiles seem to demand. What they are is very full bodied with undeniable warmth, plenty of texture and a natural present bloom. The sound is not slow, flabby or bloated either. There is control but tight and overdamped is no where to be found when playing without the mic.
Now in those circumstances where the acoustic bass is played with an attached microphone through the club’s electronic sound system, all bets are off.
I have had various solid-state amplifiers and a couple of very good PP tube amplifiers. In terms of presenting what sounds like the most authentic acoustic bass, and all other instruments for that matter my 8 watt SET comes closer to that live acoustic vibe than any of the other amplifiers.
It isn’t flawless and speaker choice is critical. But what it excels at just happens to be what matters most to me. Naturalness, realism and emotional/musical connection.
Charles