Bass bloat? Well, there are a few comments which I can only explain by some shortcoming in the ancillary equipment. Once again, with a Sennheiser HD 560 I've never noticed any treble graininess, nor bass bloat for that matter, when recording live music with either a Revox or, on one occasion, a Nagra IVS. Obviously, you must take into account its SPL capability, which is necessarily limited compared to real instruments. I may be insistent, but having the real thing before you is, I believe, as tough a test as can be. I'm not saying that this transducer is perfect, I'm just stating that it is so neutral as to be a judge for the other components, including the microphones and, of course, the tape itself: comparing the sound off-tape to the direct input from the microphones is one of the most disheartening experience you can make, as you find that the carrier itself is at bay... Mind you: digital is still worse!