Volume complaints

88persuader · #1 09-18-2007, 10:50 PM

I run either ampless with a line-6 BassPodXT or with an Ampeg amp. When I use my Ampeg Pro-V head and 4X10 cab I get a lot of complaints from the soundman that my sound is too rich and omni-present and interfers with his ability to mix. When i run with no amp the drummer uses Roland V-drums so we get a great out front mix with no problems with loud stage volume but when the drummer uses acoustic drums and i use my amp i get crap all the time for being too loud on stage. I'm ONLY playing loud enough to hear myself, I'm simply mixing my stage volume with the drummer and on stage it sounds great but the sound man always complains my sound is too loud and rich. (My amp is 1350 WTS but I run it low and simply have a lot of headroom) Have others here put up with the same crap?

88persuader · #2 09-19-2007, 03:32 AM

Wow 11 hits so far and nobody has any comments? I can't believe i'm the only bass player here who gets crap for being too loud on stage by the sound man. (When i'm only keeping up with the drummer)

Bard2dbone · #3 09-19-2007, 04:37 AM

That's because your problem is every bit as shocking as announcing that you sometimes eat cereal in the morning.

It's hard to get excited about saying that the people in the band complain about your stage volume when you can barely hear yourself.

Soundmen will always complain about your amp if you aren't using a DI and no amp. They'll still complain if you do. They'll just complain about something else.

phat daddy · #4 09-19-2007, 04:42 AM

I get more complaints from guitar players then soundmen. I've even moved to a Markbass 2x10 amp that faces at my head like a monitor and doesnt' put low end across the stage and they still complain. Which is funny because in all these bands I play in it's usually the guitar sound onstage that takes your head off, but I'm not a complainer unless they get so I can't hear myself and they're giving me crap-- then they get it back, and I make no bones about it.

Joe Nerve · #5 09-19-2007, 04:59 AM

If it's different soundmen all telling you the same thing, then I think ya gotta take a look at what you're doing. If you travel with the same sound guy, could very well be his problem, not yours. I have to deal with a drummer in one of my bands that's out of his mind about my volume. If he can't hear his drums the way he wants to hear them then I'm too loud. It's annoying as crap, but I get a lot of work with these guys, they've been together long before I joined up, and I had to learn to compensate. I cut the bottom and crank the mids and highs a bit. I also try to get as close to the amp as I can. After a while I can get accustomed to it.

One other thing - check what your guitarist is doing cuz some guys load their sound up with bottom and when mixed with the bass - WE wind up taking the "too loud!" hit. It's hard to distiguish where the boom is coming from when there's a mess of low end happening. It's also harder to hear yourself if the guitarist is a bottom heavy player. If they keep in their treble zones, we cut through a lot more clearly with a lot less volume.

Joe Smithberger · #6 09-19-2007, 05:53 AM

Have you tried sidewashing the stage with your amp? If you are blowing across the stage from the side, you will interfere less with the FOH and many times it allows you to get further from your rig.

Another option is getting the cab off the floor or tilting it up so it's aiming at your head instead of you knees. Usually the mids allow you to hear yourself clearly. Unless you are tipping the cab or standing 10' from your amp, you aren't hearing what it is putting out into the audience. Guitars with Fender twins tend to have the same problem because they are low to the floor.

88persuader · #7 09-19-2007, 06:34 PM

I actually tilt the cab up facing me from the front like a vocal monitor. The problem (I'm told) seems to be how rich my sound is so this coming weekend I'm going to lower the lows and crank the mids a bit. I HATE that honky sound but if I can hear myself and it makes the sound guy happy I'll give it a shot. BTW it's the same sound guy and the same guitarist complaining. And as you would expect the guitarist never lacks stage volume. OH and the soundman is also a guitarist! Go figure!!

88persuader · #8 09-22-2007, 02:04 AM

I'm sure this thread will die soon ... probably already mostly dead! :-) But just a funny update for those who have put in their ideas and opinions. I giged this evening, fairly average size club, big sound system, loud drums, etc. I told the soundman i was going to try to lower the untra lows of my amp and push the low mids a little. I tried that the 1st set ... he was fairly happy, no problems. I told him it was loud to me but a bit honkey so I was going to bleed a little bass back in during the 2nd set. Told him to give me the eye if it becomes a problem. I did and it was getting better ... he had no problem. I did a little more adjustment during our last set to where i liked it. He came up to me at the end of the night and told me it was great ... no problems. Sounded nice, he had no problems mixing it and he was very happy. Here's the funny part ... at the end of the night I had the amp set up EXACTLY how I always set it. Maybe even a little louder then i usually play it. ............... Just goes to show you ... every room sounds different and what works in one room doesn't in another. I'll just have to do what I've done since the 70s ... balance myself to the stage sound and hope it's agreeable with the sound man.

Lazylion · #9 09-22-2007, 07:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 88persuader

... every room sounds different and what works in one room doesn't in another.

+1 Just so.