If you’ve ever wanted to know what it’s like to be a bassist in a band, one Redditor has shared a video recording from their Steam Frame, and it turns out it’s purple and filled with strange costumes. Yeah, bassists live strange lives.
Shared to the Steam Frame subreddit, user midtech took a 28-second clip of them playing Them Changes by Thundercat at a live gig. They reportedly wore Valve’s latest VR headset for a full 45-minute show, with a power bank tucked into their left pocket to keep it charged.
Midtech says, “Interestingly, only one guy asked me about the Frame.”
The bassist says it was a Halloween-themed gig, which probably explains why one member of the band appears to be wearing a onesie, and another is wearing wings. I suppose in that lineup, a Steam Frame on the head likely gives more of a Daft Punk vibe.
If you’re wondering how midtech got colour passthrough on their Steam Frame, they have the Arcturus Vision Camera, a plug-and-play passthrough accessory attached to the headset. The Frame itself is in performance mode, with a 144 Hz refresh rate, and the camera is recording at full resolution at 60 fps.
Midtech says, “I really enjoyed how light the Frame was, I barely noticed it when I was playing. The FOV was great when recording my bandmates, but I did have to look down more to see the frets on my bass.” They continue, “The Frame itself does get pretty warm while and after recording (but not uncomfortable).”
As for the purpose of taking a Frame onstage, they say, “I thought it was a neat way to document my band’s performance, plus it was a lower stake gig.” They say in a different comment that it also means they get to experience it spatially later.
Midtech also says they like the idea of having tabs, lyrics or a score on the display in the headset, “instead of flipping through them on a music stand (I definitely knocked my iPad off the stand too many times)”.
I can’t see this becoming a trend given the battery life of the Steam Frame, and the general uncomfortability of wearing a headset on stage, but it is a fun oddity, and a neat way of viewing life through the eyes of a bassist. We just have to see it from the crowd’s point of view next.