Is my hearing bad, or is my guitarist an idiot?

[Funkee1]

Hey all. Here's the situation. I play a Genz Benz GBE 600 through a 2x10 XB2. I run a line direct to the PA. I have aanother 2x10 that I use for bigger stages.

I usually use the bass boost feature, and the bass and treble knobs are dimed. I think this sounds great, but my guitarist says there isn't enough bottom end.

No one seems to complain about my tone but him. Now, I am self conscious.

Last night, we played a club for the first time. It had a really big stage, but one of my cabs is being reconed, so I could only bring one. For the first couple of songs, my cab sounded buzzy and overdriven.

I turned the bass boost off and lo and behold, clean bass tone!!!! and It seemed to me, like more bass than with the booster on!

I finally got that Marcus/ Nathan tone I seek.

What's the deal? Should I trust my ears and tell guitar boy to STFU? or am I hearing things wrong?

[WalterBush]

Sounds to me like your guitarist wants to be surrounded by subwoofers. My guess is your bass has plenty of, er, bass. Tell the guitarist to shell out for his own personal set of powered 21" subs if he wants to be swimming in bass so much.

OTOH, telling a bassist that they need to in essence turn up the bass frequencies is not a complaint usually heard from guitarists...maybe this isn't such a bad thing.

[Funkee1]

Thanks! Any others?

[7flat5]

Originally Posted by Funkee1

Last night, we played a club for the first time. It had a really big stage...

I think this is the key. Low/mid bass sounds very different in different rooms with the same settings. You definitely have to adjust. You were clearly overdriving your little 210 in the big room, trying to get the volume you were used to, while you might not have been doing so wherever you practice. Also, what your guitarist was after might not be what you get when you "use the bass boost". What you might need is more midbass and punch, which is not in the low bass.

What you really need is a third party whose judgement you trust to tell you both how it sounds.

[ii7-V7]

Originally Posted by 7flat5

What you might need is more midbass and punch, which is not in the low bass.

+1

Bass eats watts! If you boost the bass on your EQ you are essentially losing power. You'd probably do better with a mid boost. Also, some bass frequencies won't sound good in certain rooms. The size of the room can either "amplify" the sound or swallow it up entirely. Experiment with lower bass eq settings and see if this doesn't make you both happier. Just remember what sounds good to you alone is going to sound completely different in the mix with guitars, and drums.

A low B with a boosted bass seems like the way to go, but in most settings you'll actually hear it better if you boost the mids. Low mids if you like an old school R&B sound, upper mids if you like a more modern sound.

[john turner]

when in doubt, it's usually a safe bet that the guitarist is an idiot, at least until proven beyond any doubt otherwise.

[Edwcdc]

Originally Posted by john turner

when in doubt, it's usually a safe bet that the guitarist is an idiot, at least until proven beyond any doubt otherwise.

Just to expand on what Mr. Turner said, it is a proven fact that 9 times out of 10 your guitar player is wrong. Look it up.

[ii7-V7]

Originally Posted by Edwcdc

Just to expand on what Mr. Turner said, it is a proven fact that 9 times out of 10 your guitar player is wrong. Look it up.

true, but in this case he may be right. It probably sounds strange to him because running an amp with the Bass EQ cranked, and then boosted is inefficient. Therefore it probably sounds more quiet than it needs to. This is even further complicated if you're playing a room that swallows bass frequencies.

Notice I said he *may* be right.

[Edwcdc]

Originally Posted by chaddukes

true, but in this case he may be right. It probably sounds strange to him because running an amp with the Bass EQ cranked, and then boosted is inefficient. Therefore it probably sounds more quiet than it needs to. This is even further complicated if you're playing a room that swallows bass frequencies.

Notice I said he *may* be right.

I will go along with what you say but you have to understand that if I get a chance to bust on a guitar player then I must do what I must do.

[Funkee1]

So here was the final result: I boosted the low mids, scooped the mids, and got the desired sound.

what I discovered was, by going out front, I could hear what he was heariong. On stage, I was sounding fat and funky, but all thew low end my cab was putting out was getting absorbed by the stage.

Sounds kinda funny to me , but when I stand cord length from the cab, It sounds a lot better.

The other thing I did was to blend the tube and SS preamps.

[7flat5]

Thanks for the update, Funkee. Now we all learn something.

[TL5]

After reading the posts, it appears you may have your solution.

otoh, on my initial reading of the opening post, I immedaitly thought the problem is not enough bass, it's not enough mids.

'scooped' mids or the smiley face EQ can sound great when solo'd but often doesn't come through in a full mix.

Godspeed..

[Funkee1]

Originally Posted by TL5

After reading the posts, it appears you may have your solution.

otoh, on my initial reading of the opening post, I immedaitly thought the problem is not enough bass, it's not enough mids.

'scooped' mids or the smiley face EQ can sound great when solo'd but often doesn't come through in a full mix.

Godspeed..

Well, in my case, it seems to have been just what was needed. I have always stayed away from the smiley face EQ, but addition by subtraction sometimes works!

[Mach1FT]

Originally Posted by Funkee1

Is my hearing bad, or is my guitarist an idiot?

Well if you've been playing for a while you may Have bad hearing, now on to the other thing, you'll find that "guitarist" and "idiot" are one in the same..