Placement of Bass Amp

[masterforrest]

I saw a fusion quartet where the bass player had a combo amp on an amp stand. While I know amp placement can start up a debate, don't you want the amp to be on the ground so the bass would distribute better?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

[bherman]

Originally Posted by masterforrest

I saw a fusion quartet where the bass player had a combo amp on an amp stand. While I know amp placement can start up a debate, don't you want the amp to be on the ground so the bass would distribute better?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

Two reasons to elevate the cabinet: first, its easier to hear what you are playing (putting the speaker closer to ear level) and second, sometimes the floor/stage can resonate too much - the sound needs to go out towards the audience, not through the floor. I was playing this weekend outdoors on a platform stage, with my cab on the stage it sounded boomy. I put a small piece of wood under the front edge of my 2x12 cab and it sounded better - more clear and dispersed.

[craig.p]

Originally Posted by masterforrest

[...]don't you want the amp to be on the ground so the bass would distribute better?

Another possibility: Did they have the bass running through the PA as well? If so, then the less coupling of the stage amp to its surroundings, the better.

[nashvillebill]

Originally Posted by bherman

....on a platform stage, with my cab on the stage it sounded boomy. ...

I've also had instances where the mic stands on a wooden stage would pick up kinds of low frequency vibrations, even just having people walk across the stage would come through the mics as a low rumble. I'm certain the bass amp would've been transmitted through the mic stands as well.

I wound up putting pieces of carpet under each mic stand, that helped decouple them.

[Russell L]

One club we play regularly has a large hollow stage. I always joke, saying I'm gonna cut some ports in the sides of it, lol. Anyway, every note I hit on my 4th string booms wildly because of the resonation with that hollowness. It's kinda fun, but really, it gets in the way. I've thought about bringing something I can put my rig on that has four feet to get most of my rig off the floor. What's really bad is if we put the mains on the stage. That is a nightmare of rumbling going on.

[carl h.]

Originally Posted by 77PBass

Hmmm...the sound guy should high pass everything above say 500 hz on the vocal mics to avoid this problem. The human voice is roughly from 300 hz to 3500hz.

Not quite. That is the sound of a voice through the phone lines. Human voice sounds like canned crap when limited like that.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by carl h.

Not quite. That is the sound of a voice through the phone lines. Human voice sounds like canned crap when limited like that.

Not by a long shot. Most high quality mixers do have high-pass filters to reduce rumble in the mic channels, but they're usually set at either 80 or 100Hz. At the other end of the range voices go past 12kHz.

I've thought about bringing something I can put my rig on that has four feet to get most of my rig off the floor.

Boom tends to occur between 100 and 150Hz. Lifting the cab about three feet will help reduce output in that range, with little to no reduction above and below that.

[will33]

Originally Posted by 77PBass

Hmmm...the sound guy should high pass everything above say 500 hz on the vocal mics to avoid this problem. The human voice is roughly from 300 hz to 3500hz.

That would thoroughly suck, IME. Works for Alvin and the Chipmunks I guess. The human bass voice can have fundamentals down to 60-80hz. That means presence and power in the 150-300 range...good on some voices, not so much on others. Other folks voices are soft spoken or thin and need some body/fullness put in them.

IMO, low 75-80hz rumble filtering makes sense on about anything other than kick or bass. 500 is way too high unless you want to sound like an AM radio.

My 2cents. Sign o' the times.....there's no cent sign on keyboards anymore....they're worth nothing.

[nashvillebill]

Originally Posted by will33

That would thoroughly suck, IME. Works for Alvin and the Chipmunks I guess. The human bass voice can have fundamentals down to 60-80hz. That means presence and power in the 150-300 range...good on some voices, not so much on others. Other folks voices are soft spoken or thin and need some body/fullness put in them.

IMO, low 75-80hz rumble filtering makes sense on about anything other than kick or bass. 500 is way too high unless you want to sound like an AM radio.

My 2cents. Sign o' the times.....there's no cent sign on keyboards anymore....they're worth nothing.

Since on those gigs I was the sound guy...I always keep the rumble filters on the mains on, I think they are set at either 30 or 50 Hz (I don't run bass through the mains). On the monitors I didn't have rumble filters per se, but I rolled off everything below 63 Hz.

[billfitzmaurice]

Originally Posted by nashvillebill

Since on those gigs I was the sound guy...I always keep the rumble filters on the mains on, I think they are set at either 30 or 50 Hz (I don't run bass through the mains). On the monitors I didn't have rumble filters per se, but I rolled off everything below 63 Hz.

Those with a system capable of it usually use auxiliary fed subs. The only channels to go to the subs are those sent via an auxiliary out to a buss that goes to the an input of the crossover which drives the subs, typically only the bass, kick and floor toms. The vocal mic channels only feed the mains, and as they only run above 80Hz or higher that makes an effective rumble filter as well.

[chaosMK]

Probably an on stage monitor. I've heard the best mixes that way, but that was for pop stuff.

[77PBass]

Originally Posted by will33

That would thoroughly suck, IME. Works for Alvin and the Chipmunks I guess.

Whatever

[carl h.]

Winchester Cathedral anyone?

[BLDavis]

Originally Posted by masterforrest

I saw a fusion quartet where the bass player had a combo amp on an amp stand. While I know amp placement can start up a debate, don't you want the amp to be on the ground so the bass would distribute better?

Thank you in advance for your answers.

These days I almost always set my amp on a stand, whether its a small combo amp with my bluegrass gig or my 410 cab with the blues/rock band. It helps me hear better at lower stage volume and reduces the aforementioned stage rumble problems.
So far, I can't find any downside to using a stand. Unless you count having to carry an extra piece of gear.
Don't be tempted to use drum cases or any kind of equipement boxes. They can add all kinds of bad overtones.
I use an old wooden chair with rubber feet and painted flat black. It blends in or disappears on stage and doubles as a handy step when rigging overhead gear.
B.

[JHAz]

Originally Posted by 77PBass

Hmmm...the sound guy should high pass everything above say 500 hz on the vocal mics to avoid this problem. The human voice is roughly from 300 hz to 3500hz.

I tend to have trouble hanging onto frequency versus note, so I keep this reference nearby

Online Tuning Fork

Has a piano keyboard and shows the frequency in upprer right hand corner when you play a note.

The B above middle C is just about 500 Hz, and is pretty high. You'd want vocals to have content down to 100 Hz normally, I think.

[carl h.]

Originally Posted by JHAz

I tend to have trouble hanging onto frequency versus note, so I keep this reference nearby

Online Tuning Fork

Has a piano keyboard and shows the frequency in upprer right hand corner when you play a note.

The B above middle C is just about 500 Hz, and is pretty high. You'd want vocals to have content down to 100 Hz normally, I think.

Originally Posted by 77PBass

Whatever

Some folks are right regardless of being wrong.

[C47]

I've had that hollow stage resonant rumble thing before.. the stage vibrated badly every
low D that I played. Was really nasty on some songs. After the first set I set my cab on a stand and it was fine. Setting the crossovers at 100 hz helped too.
now I always use a stand.