Adjusting Sound for Live Outside

[BassTim]

I have an Ampeg B2R with an Avatar B210. I'm playing my first gig and its an outside backyard party. When I practice, I use the Bass, Ultra Mid, Treble knobs set at 2:00, 9:00, 2:00 roughly. I know I'll want to adjust the sound given the surroundings. What should I listen for and how do I go about getting the sound set to fit the surroundings? (The B2R also has an optional 9 channel EQ.)

[jaywa]

Can't really advise you on EQ but I would plan on running your master volume much higher than you do indoors to get the equivalent indoor volume stage volume.

Also my rule of thumb for outdoor gigs is to double the amount of cabinetry used indoors. I.e. if I usuallly roll a single 4x10 cabinet, when I go outdoors it goes to 2 4x10s or an 8x10. You can probably get by with your single 210 cab but a 410 would be preferable if you can beg or borrow one for the night.

[KJung]

There are different 'outsides' also.

If you are playing on a patio with a wall behind you, there's nothing special needed, and most probably you will achieve the best tone you ever have (since you have very nice boundary reinforcement... if I'm using that term correctly..... without all the strange angles and deflections you get from playing inside 'in a box'.

However, if you are on a raised wooden stage with nothing behind you, it is shocking how much rig you will need to be heard. One thing you don't want to do is to crank the bass control and volume to 'try to be heard' with too small of a rig. That can let out the magic smoke

[SurferJoe46]

I've learned that the most powerful combination for me is the 210 combo with either 2 x 410s or a 410 + 115, although using a 115 is usually best indoors or with a back-up wall or building behind me.

Open air sucks a lot of power out of your sounds since a bass amp needs to move massive air to make itself felt and heard. I find I need to get to 2 Ohms with all 600 Watts to make myself felt as well as seen.

We play retirement centers, rest homes and hospital patios. The old folks have diminished hearing - but it's not clear if it's before or after we play.

[AlexanderB]

kjung said:

However, if you are on a raised wooden stage with nothing behind you, it is shocking how much rig you will need to be heard.

+1

I use every last Watt out of my 2x600W PA amp into two big-ish and modern 1x15" cabs during that kind of circumstances. And I am not too loud even then...

If you sacrifice som lows you will "free up" power for some more mids/top to hear yourself better. Your sound will be somewhat "clanky", though.

/Alexander

[Sundogue]

For every gig I play outdoors I bring along a heavy canvas tarp to hang behind my rig (usually on a flatbed trailer with rails, or at least at one end of a tent where the supports can be used). Then I always stack our equipment cases up along the outside of my rig.

This essentially gives me a small "room" outdoors. Amazing how much a difference it makes doing this. I still bring my second cab with me anyway, but it's easy to create a "portable room".

+1 to turning down the lows and boosting mids even more. Let the PA handle the lows outdoors (well indoors too, but not everyone has that option).

[BassTim]

Thanks for the suggestions. I am borrowing a friends SWR Workingman 410 for the gig and will start looking into picking up a second Avatar B210 to add onto my rig as necessary.

[rbonner]

Originally Posted by SurferJoe46

We play retirement centers, rest homes and hospital patios. The old folks have diminished hearing - but it's not clear if it's before or after we play.

Joe, where do I sign up for some of those Retirement gigs? Sounds like a real niche market.

We have a lot of Good Samaritan retirement communities (Homes) around town (National HQ here) maybe I'll just roll the big rig into HQ and bust some of them big glass windows and show them, before rolling into the HOME and scrambling some old folks brains.

DO they have favorite music, like beer barrel polka and stuff? I suppose there's more and more Beatles and Led Zepp fans in the homes these days. Thanks for info in advance. Finally some gigs maybe? Now I just need a loud drummer.

BOB