Weird feedback/brown notes issue plz help

[bdubs16]

So I played a show the other night at this venue called The Social in downtown Orlando. They have a pretty good sound setup with 4 floor monitors, a drum monitor, and then a bunch of overhead speakers. I ran DI out through the DI output on my Genz Benz GBE 600. I run my EQ flat with the exception of the low and high controls turned up 3/4ish and the shape functions (low freq extend, mid scoop, and high somethingorother) all engaged. I played tuned a half step down and with the E string at C#. I was getting this really bad boomy, brown note sound out of what I'm assuming was the house sound system since people commented afterwards about how loud my bass was during some parts. Any ideas on how to keep that from happening?

[agedhorse]

The eq section is very powerful. Combining the boost in the LF eq along with the boost provided by the LF extend tone shaping swich likely caused a really large bump in the low frequency response that may have also exaggerated a low bump in your speakers.

Were you sending the DI pre or post? I recommend pre, so that the sound guy doesn't have to try to compensate for something that you are trying to hear on stage.

In general, unless you have a lack of low frequency response in your system (including your bass being bass-shy), lots of boost can cause this symptom.

You have to listen to your sound in context with what's going on in the room, not just what you are hearing on stage. Maybe if during sound check somebody had mentioned that this was a problem, you would have had the opportunity to correct it prior to playing.

[bdubs16]

Originally Posted by agedhorse

The eq section is very powerful. Combining the boost in the LF eq along with the boost provided by the LF extend tone shaping swich likely caused a really large bump in the low frequency response that may have also exaggerated a low bump in your speakers.

Were you sending the DI pre or post? I recommend pre, so that the sound guy doesn't have to try to compensate for something that you are trying to hear on stage.

In general, unless you have a lack of low frequency response in your system (including your bass being bass-shy), lots of boost can cause this symptom.

You have to listen to your sound in context with what's going on in the room, not just what you are hearing on stage. Maybe if during sound check somebody had mentioned that this was a problem, you would have had the opportunity to correct it prior to playing.

I was playing with the DI post EQ. It wasn't happenening during the sound check because I wasn't playing the notes that it would do it on. Those were mainly from G to B if I remember correctly. Definitely will try turning off the LF extend and see if that helps the problem next time. Figured it was something like that.

[JackANSI]

I'd say you were hitting the subs in the room pretty hard with all that low boom you've added on your amp. When I play in a room that has a nice PA with subs and all that, I prefer to send as flat as I can to the sound guy. If its not a gig where I need effects, I take the balanced out of the X2 and send it directly to the board. If I need effects, I keep a passive DI on the pedal board and take it from there.

Rarely has an experienced sound guy failed to get a tone that pleased my ears. Of course I'm entirely pleased with the tone coming straight out of the bass, so that helps

[RicPlaya]

Yeah, where's the soundguy at? How hard is it to cut some bass at the board, or tweak a parametric.

[Calebmundy]

I used to play The Social. Cool place, weird shape.

[agedhorse]

Try turning the low eq down a little bit, that's a quasi-shelving filter and with a lot of boost on a bass heavy signal, there can be more than you realize being boosted down low.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by RicPlaya

Yeah, where's the soundguy at? How hard is it to cut some bass at the board, or tweak a parametric.

The Social (at least the last time I was there) is a long thin room, and the stage faces the crowd horizontally, which means that it's very easy for a bass amp to overwhelm the room. The wall in front of the stage is pretty close and reflects bass bigtime. There's no soundman on earth who can deal with a bassist who plays loud in that room, especially one who's mid scooping as much as you are (mid scooping sounds much better on a bass by itself than it does in a mix).

Next time you play there, turn down (that goes for everyone), and do the things suggested by people in here (especially agedhorse, who designed those amps). And consider sending a pre-EQ signal to the board. Post-EQ is great if you don't do a lot of tweaking, but if you do, you can create a lot of problems for the soundman. The owners of the Social have given zero thought to the sound in the room, and you're going to have to make a few concessions if you want a good sound in there.

[bdubs16]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

The Social (at least the last time I was there) is a long thin room, and the stage faces the crowd horizontally, which means that it's very easy for a bass amp to overwhelm the room. The wall in front of the stage is pretty close and reflects bass bigtime. There's no soundman on earth who can deal with a bassist who plays loud in that room, especially one who's mid scooping as much as you are (mid scooping sounds much better on a bass by itself than it does in a mix).

Next time you play there, turn down (that goes for everyone), and do the things suggested by people in here (especially agedhorse, who designed those amps). And consider sending a pre-EQ signal to the board. Post-EQ is great if you don't do a lot of tweaking, but if you do, you can create a lot of problems for the soundman. The owners of the Social have given zero thought to the sound in the room, and you're going to have to make a few concessions if you want a good sound in there.

Thanks for the input. I'm def. going to turn off all the shape functions next time and may just go with the EQ flat since the only reason I really use the EQ is to compensate for my Hartke 410 Transporter Series crappy low-end.

[Craig_S]

Might it have been an issue only where you were standing. I've been in situations like that a few times. I play a room, regularly, where it sounds like we're amazingly loud onstage, but people in the room say the mix is comfortable enough for conversation.

[bdubs16]

Originally Posted by Craig_S

Might it have been an issue only where you were standing. I've been in situations like that a few times. I play a room, regularly, where it sounds like we're amazingly loud onstage, but people in the room say the mix is comfortable enough for conversation.

No, after we played some people commented on how I was really loud during some parts which would be when I was experiencing those brown notes.

[OtterOnBass]

Originally Posted by bdubs16

No, after we played some people commented on how I was really loud during some parts which would be when I was experiencing those brown notes.

You do know that the brown note is the one that causes uncontrollable bathroom responses, right? (I had thought it was a myth, but it seems you had it happen multiple times that night.)

I wonder why no one has mentioned room mode. Some notes are accentuated by the shape of the room. In this case, the sound guy should have been able to isolate and reduce the volume of those frequencies. But it sounds like he was using the stage volume instead of the PA, so he was helpless to stop them.

[bdubs16]

Originally Posted by OtterOnBass

You do know that the brown note is the one that causes uncontrollable bathroom responses, right? (I had thought it was a myth, but it seems you had it happen multiple times that night.)

I wonder why no one has mentioned room mode. Some notes are accentuated by the shape of the room. In this case, the sound guy should have been able to isolate and reduce the volume of those frequencies. But it sounds like he was using the stage volume instead of the PA, so he was helpless to stop them.

haha, wasn't too sure how else to refer to them

[TimmyP]

Low B sound problems