Cant hear myself when playing with the band

[taranoch]

Hi guys. I have an orange sp210 with Eden wtx550 head. I'm in a 6 piece band and am always having problems being unable to hear myself. Any tips? Thanks!

[Baron Von Vik]

Turn up until they complain. Then back off a smidge.

(BTW, are you being serious?)

[Mirios]

Put the speakers closer to your ears? EQ so you have more mid presence from the cab? Or just turn up. Way up MWA HA HA HA (insert evil look of bassdemonology here).

[erock138]

buy a set of in ear monitors. That's all you need.

[B-string]

Buy a second 210 and TURN UP till they complain

[Jazzdogg]

Originally Posted by taranoch

Hi guys. I have an orange sp210 with Eden wtx550 head. I'm in a 6 piece band and am always having problems being unable to hear myself. Any tips? Thanks!

Sounds like your cab is probably aimed toward your ankles instead of your ears. If you play with your cab on its side, try standing it vertically. Tilting the cab back a few degrees can help, as can elevating your cab on something like a milk crate or stacking one cab atop another.

You may also want to experiment by changing cabinet placement, and your listening position on stage, relative to room boundaries like, floors, walls, and ceilings; room acoustics and cab placement can wreak havoc on bass frequencies. Bassists benefit from learning everything they can about the acoustics of bass frequencies.

You may also be able to hear yourself better in the mix by changing your EQ. When you adjust your bass and amp to create your ideal bass tone in a quiet environment like your practice room, the sonic real estate occupied other instruments can't be taken fully into account. I EQ my bass to achieve "my band sound” (as opposed to my solo sound), and EQ my stage rig to compensate for room anomalies.

In order to give the audience a sound worth paying to hear, he band mix must take precedence over the wishes of any individual in the band; holistic EQ, if you will. I think of band-wide EQ as a space allocation problem involving sounds instead of widgets. Sometimes, this means asking the drummer to re-tune, play a little quieter, or use different cymbals; guitarists are usually the most territorial about "their sound," and the least likely to compromise in the interest of an overall mix. When most bands are first starting out, the tendency is to turn up if you can’t hear yourself, which usually makes things worse. Instead, listen to the entire mix, and decide what to turn down, and what to re-equalize.

Good luck!

[Marko5657]

All of the above, but I’d say to add another cab…

a matching one would be most effective.

[bassinplace]

Wear earplugs. Chop off the highs.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by erock138

buy a set of in ear monitors. That's all you need.

BLECH! They work for some, but not for me.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Jazzdogg

Sounds like your cab is probably aimed toward your ankles instead of your ears. If you play with your cab on its side, try standing it vertically. Tilting the cab back a few degrees can help, as can elevating your cab on something like a milk crate or stacking one cab atop another.

You may also want to experiment by changing cabinet placement, and your listening position on stage, relative to room boundaries like, floors, walls, and ceilings; room acoustics and cab placement can wreak havoc on bass frequencies. Bassists benefit from learning everything they can about the acoustics of bass frequencies.

You may also be able to hear yourself better in the mix by changing your EQ. When you adjust your bass and amp to create your ideal bass tone in a quiet environment like your practice room, the sonic real estate occupied other instruments can't be taken fully into account. I EQ my bass to achieve "my band sound” (as opposed to my solo sound), and EQ my stage rig to compensate for room anomalies.

In order to give the audience a sound worth paying to hear, he band mix must take precedence over the wishes of any individual in the band; holistic EQ, if you will. I think of band-wide EQ as a space allocation problem involving sounds instead of widgets. Sometimes, this means asking the drummer to re-tune, play a little quieter, or use different cymbals; guitarists are usually the most territorial about "their sound," and the least likely to compromise in the interest of an overall mix. When most bands are first starting out, the tendency is to turn up if you can’t hear yourself, which usually makes things worse. Instead, listen to the entire mix, and decide what to turn down, and what to re-equalize.

Good luck!

Glad Jazzdogg typed this so I didn't have to

[johnk_10]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

BLECH! They work for some, but not for me.

+1
i'm not comfortable with them either.

[steveksux]

A single 210 isn't going to stand up to a loud band. Get another cab, stack them vertical into a 4x10 stack. That gets the speakers closer to/pointed more towards your ears.

The other option is to get them to turn down.

You can get louder if you don't scoop the mids out, you should do the opposite if you want to cut through and maximize volume with the available watts. The lower you go, the more power it takes. Cut under 50-100 and get the mids boosted a bit.

Randy

[steveksux]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

BLECH! They work for some, but not for me.

Hmmm.... curious what was the problem? I'm loving mine.

The hard part is getting a good mix. And finding earbuds that give you a decent bass response so your bass sounds good.

Randy

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by steveksux

Hmmm.... curious what was the problem? I'm loving mine.

The hard part is getting a good mix. And finding earbuds that give you a decent bass response so your bass sounds good.

Randy

Well I guess you answered your own question there, Randy, although I'd also add feeling like I'm playing bass into an MP3 player. I'll tell you...if my band decided tomorrow that we were going IEM and that's all there was to it, well, I guess I'd go IEM but given the choice, nah. I like air movement too much.

[wideyes]

I'd like to hear the OP chime in again here. Is it indeed just a volume issue? Is he hitting what he feels is the max he'd like to push his amp and cab? Or is he looking more for EQ or logistical feedback? Whaddaya say, OP?

One simple thought: when I first started out, I had no idea pickup height made such a difference in volume output. I was playing through a Hartke B60 combo and never feeling like it was putting out the volume it should. Over a year into gigging and always trying to make do, I had a lightbulb moment and raised my pups a lot closer to the strings (they really had been quite low) and boom! In your face. Night and day difference in volume and presence.

Needless to say, epic facepalm. Maybe it's something as simple as this. Don't rule it out.

[taranoch]

Thanks for the help guys. How would I connect an extra cab up? Would the Eden wtx550 do it or would I need an amp upgrade?

[JimmyM]

No amp upgrade needed. Just hook it up. For best results, a second identical cab is the ticket.

[taranoch]

How would I hook it in? Since it only has 1 speaker out connector

[JimmyM]

Doesn't the cab have two speaker jacks? You could daisy chain off the first one.

[Derek Kiernan]

I'm mildly concerned about the isobaric design. I've seen Bill Fitzmaurice comment that a 2x10 isobaric has as the same output capability as a standard 1x10, since the limiting factor will be xmax. I would avoid spending $780+ to get to standard 2x10 volume :/