suggestions to improve setup?

[Execut1ve]

I'm putting some thought into some changes to my setup that would give me good improvement for a small to moderate investment in capital... at least not an arm and a leg

The relevant information:
I play bass in the praise band at my church on Sundays. The band is composed of: me, acoustic/electric guitars, piano, sometimes keyboard, electronic drums, 5-6 vocalists, and some weird blend of horns/winds/violins. I have a Schecter 5 string tuned to A E A D G. I don't hit the low A frequently, but I use C, D, Eb quite a bit being that it is church music. I've been using my ampeg BA115 combo as my monitor with the PA powering the house. Lately we noticed that in some parts of the auditorium the bass is overpowering while in others it's barely audible, which turned out to be caused by my amp bleeding out past the front of the stage. To solve this problem I picked up a pair of DJ headphones which I plug into the headphone out on my amp.

This seems very backward and involved to me, any better ideas? including but not limited to changes to hardware and configuration

[Rick Auricchio]

Try these ideas:

- Put your amp up on a stand or a chair to get it closer to your ears;

- Put your amp facing you, tilted up like a floor monitor;

Either arrangement should let you turn down quite a bit. Also EQ out some of the bass. The house is hearing your tone in the PA, not from your amp. In fact, your amp is causing the problems in the house. Live with a less bassy tone on stage.

[JimmyM]

with all due respect, i have to admit i'm having a hard time believing that a little bleed from a ba115 is causing cancellation zones and power alleys. how is your pa set up? are the subs clustered in one area or are they spread out? if spread out, how far apart are they? also, how reflective is the room? churches are somewhat known for being highly reflective, which can also monkey with your bass.

of course, if you're playing pretty loud through your amp, it could definitely be a culprit, so if you've figured out for sure that it's the amp, never mind and do what rick suggests

[Execut1ve]

the subs are 2 15's under the center of the stage. For a time I wasn't going into the PA at all but was driving the house exclusively with my amp, so I was probably generating the necessary volume then.

[B-string]

The Church subs could even be out of phase with your amp. Turn the back of your amp to the front, in front of you, facing you. If the cold spots are gone, the house subs are wired out of phase.