GK NEO410 mid-gig impressions

lowendgenerator · #1 05-27-2011, 09:26 PM

First set in a 4 set night. Having a bit of a hard time dialing my sound in. The tone was reminiscent of wet blanket until I pulled my TU-2 out of the line. Dead battery perhaps, but it seemed to give me more sustain and life. Could be the battery in the bass too. Gonna try a different bass next set.

Fender MIM deluxe
GK 1001RBII biamped
NEO410

lowendgenerator · #2 05-27-2011, 10:47 PM

Second set break. I'm thinking it might be the room. I've never had a good sound here now that I think about it. These are not proper test conditions.

lowendgenerator · #3 05-27-2011, 11:55 PM

3rd set break. Turns out it was the bass. Glad I brought a spare. Those single pole pickups in my 2000 MIM deluxe just ain't cutting it. The "Noiseless" pups in my 2008 are doing a much better job of laying down the fundamental.

pedulla1 · #4 05-28-2011, 01:18 AM

Wow! This man is dedicated to the cause for us TBers. great job. I had a GK 410 Neo but never gigged it. It sure sounded great in my living room.

lowendgenerator · #5 05-28-2011, 01:26 AM

Home now. It was partially the bass, but I think a lot of factors went into tonights public meltdown.

The room sucked.
The stage was hollow and vibrated like mad.
My bass tone sucked.
It was my maiden voyage with a strange new cab.

IDK. I need a few days to decide whether or not this cab was worth the ridiculous coin I spent on it, or if I should start looking at the classifieds for something used.

babebambi · #6 05-28-2011, 01:40 AM

very cool!!
live blog from a gig

sorry I have no experience with that cab so can't give any suggestion
but I enjoy reading these posts

bugsy · #7 05-28-2011, 05:18 AM

did you do a sound check before you started playing?

lowendgenerator · #8 05-28-2011, 09:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bugsy

did you do a sound check before you started playing?

Yes, I tweaked it for a few minutes before we started. It was a small Irish bar, with a 6" tall stage tucked in the corner. I just made sure everything was functional and that my levels were good. It wasnt until the band kicked in full force that things started to sound amiss.

Ozzey · #9 05-28-2011, 10:14 AM

Hey man, I've got a NEO410 as well, so it's great to be able to see opinions from someone who is also trying to use it for gigging. I find it works amazingly in small to medium sized rooms, but after that, you may need some help from a PA system or another cab. If I didn't want a new bass so badly this summer, I would get a second 410 to increase my sound. I've found that rolling back the bass, boosting the low mids a bit, and fiddling with your treble/high mid controls really helps to give the tone some punch with a nice wooden bite as well. Of course, it depends on the bass, but tell us some of your findings! I would be very interested in seeing what you think.

Slowgypsy · #10 05-28-2011, 10:22 AM

Just my own experience... but... I've made always putting an Auralex foam pad underneath my cabs a standard part of my setup. I know they'll be folks who'll have other thoughts, but I play out a lot. And I walk into different room situations. With everything that can change/be different/go wrong... I'm simply trying to level the playing field as much as I can. And putting the pad underneath my cabs has always helped clear up my tone when I set up on a hollow stage that would otherwise add "mud and boom" to the sound. Just my $.02.

bugsy · #11 05-28-2011, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lowendgenerator

Yes, I tweaked it for a few minutes before we started. It was a small Irish bar, with a 6" tall stage tucked in the corner. I just made sure everything was functional and that my levels were good. It wasnt until the band kicked in full force that things started to sound amiss.

That's not a sound check
If you Are doing 3 sets then I take it your the only band, so you had plenty of time to sound check
You should alway check you sound with full band.
You have found out the hard way

thatbasskid597 · #12 05-28-2011, 05:39 PM

I too have a NEO410 and a 1001RB-II. I find it to have a deep low end, and a little mid-scooped. I just picked up a NEO212 as well, and find that the two complement each other very well. The 212 seems to have more of a midrange-aggresiveness to it, so with both, the sound is fat, while being punchy. I run the horns off on the cabs, and the tweeter knob all the way down on the amp. It seems to be working well. If I were only going to be running one cab though, it would probably be the 410 due to it sounding fuller by itself IMO. I play a passive Am. Std. Jazz.

lowendgenerator · #13 05-28-2011, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bugsy

That's not a sound check
If you Are doing 3 sets then I take it your the only band, so you had plenty of time to sound check
You should alway check you sound with full band.
You have found out the hard way

The first song IS the soundcheck at 90% our gigs. We've done this enough to know roughly where we need to be and what we need to be doing. The only thing we check thoroughly is the vocals/PA, everything else is on the fly.

Why? A few reasons. The owners don't want the band to show up before 8pm. Half these places are restaurants during the day. Also, because songs cost $.75 on the jukebox, and I don't need the customers getting pissed off because we played all over their picks. Besides, 30 minutes of a band pretentiously fiddling knobs at gig volume will drive people out of a bar faster than tear gas.

Now if we had the bar to ourselves for an hour, I would GLADLY do a full soundcheck, but let's face it. We don't live in a perfect world.

Thanks for the input though. From all of you.

lowendgenerator · #14 05-28-2011, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thatbasskid597

I too have a NEO410 and a 1001RB-II. I find it to have a deep low end, and a little mid-scooped. I just picked up a NEO212 as well, and find that the two complement each other very well. The 212 seems to have more of a midrange-aggresiveness to it, so with both, the sound is fat, while being punchy. I run the horns off on the cabs, and the tweeter knob all the way down on the amp. It seems to be working well. If I were only going to be running one cab though, it would probably be the 410 due to it sounding fuller by itself IMO. I play a passive Am. Std. Jazz.

That sounds like a fair assessment of the 410. I was having a hard time reigning in the ultra-lows, and I think that might have been part of my problem. I love being full and dubby on the bottom end, and ZERO highs, but this cab seemed to do that TOO well lol. I'm gonna play with it more before I throw in the towel.

If it helps, I'm used to gigging with an Ampeg 810 or a 1970s Acoustic 301/370. Both big, wooly, huge sounding rigs.