700w amp rig can't keep up with guitars.

[Maxfenderbass]

I wear industrial ear muffs at my band practices. I love it, I want to feel that s**t

 

[Kukulkan61]

I would walk, my ears and hearing are more important to me than a couple of guys trying to compensate for something they don't have by using overkill gear and having who's the loudest competitions..

 

[Laurent]

I would do a SVT head into two Ampeg 810 paired with some very serious ear protection.

 

[codycon96]

I would do a SVT head into two Ampeg 810 paired with some very serious ear protection.

at ten. all gain. with a big muff.

 

[JW56789]

Bail out, now. These clowns are clueless. You could walk in there with a 5000 watt rig with 8 cabinets, and guess what? It's gonna STILL be too g*******d loud.

 

[Rich Fiscus]

If the problem is too much volume, adding more seems like a poor solution.

 

[Joshbazz]

Best advice I ever heard from a pro player when I was young was, "When it stops being fun, it's time to leave".

I've followed that advice, and it works out every time. More of the older players (myself included) know that there is one thing that you cannot get back in this life, and that is TIME. Do not waste it, the only person who loses is you; especially spending time with others you clearly have little respect for, and that have little or no respect for you. Staying with the band is lose-lose situation, even if you advance in the competition – which sounds pretty unlikely considering your guitarists are too loud, with poor tone quality and mediocre playing abilities - as you described.

Every day, hour and minute you spend with this current band (that you dislike) is 1 day/hour/minute away from the band you could be happy in. I'd rip off the bandaid and move on - it's inevitable.

 

[interp]

Get out now.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

Nothing a couple cans of beer in the guitar amp heads won't take care of....

 

[TrevorR]

I agree that BoB generally aren't worth it. This one has a payout even if you lose, but if you win, you get to compete in a larger one with all expenses paid. So it is a pretty serious opportunity.


We use a recorder when we are writing new songs. They remain unaware of their garbage tones. The one that dimes gain is very noodly and makes many mistakes. Clean tone is garbage. The other one is not bad, but his guitar is not intonated and constantly out of tune, but you can't really tell with the extra lows.



Hey I have a Kickback amp with a 15 in it. It is loud when mids are boosted, but I had to upgrade because it wasn't cutting. I got an acoustic 200w amp and a matching 410. The one guitarist got a tube amp, and I got lost in the mix with any eq setting. So I got the Firebass and not long after that, I got another 410 because the other cab had faulty/loose jacks. Then the other guitarist got himself the combo amp.

Wow! You really set out clearly every good reason to leave that band and form/find another one!

 

[Korladis]

I am annoyed AF at the guitarists in my one band. One just got his first tube amp ever and his tone is garbage. The lows sound dimed. It's a 50w Bugera into some garbage cab. Our other guitarist who is on the other end of the practice room has an EVH 5150iii combo which is also going into an oversized 5150iii 412 cab with excessive gain. They are playing really loud. I had pain in my ear at the last practice and my ears rang for days. I started using ear plugs because they will not turn down. Another problem is that my rig can't keep up and I have trouble hearing myself. I have a Peavey Firebass 700w and a GK neo 410 (8 ohm) stacked on an older acoustic cab. The Acoustic is not being used because of faulty jacks on the back. When I do use both, there is little perceivable difference in volume.

Lows are at 2 o clock, mids are at 11 o clock, highs are at 3 o clock. Contour is dialed up all the way. The active input setting is off, speaker protection is on, I am using a compressor. Sound only cuts when I use overdrive. My cab appears to be clipping with a clean sound with gain at 10 o clock and master dimed. Help!

All else fails, I will just get vengeful and direct into PA with full volume, both cabs. Seriously, the practice mix is so bad, I hardly hear the drums or vocals. It's just guitar distortion, mostly the EVH one.

The problems are in bold.

You need more mids, less lows and highs. Contour is usually a mid scoop.

Also I wear ear plugs whenever I play with a drummer who's playing with sticks (as opposed to brushes or rods) on a full kit. I've gotten just as much hearing damage from folk rock as from metal.

The Acoustic cab probably wouldn't be adding much. Also in my experience, bass 410s struggle to keep up with 412s.

I would dime gain and set master to taste. And I'd use overdrive all the time with that rig.

 

[Korladis]

I will try playing flatline. If I use an EQ pedal, can I "scoop the mids" there without this problem?

At this point I have been considering quitting for a while. I have some criticisms of the music we're writing and they're just not listening to my suggestions or willing to change anything. That coupled together with personal problems, and problems like this are going to lead to my exodus. I am kinda trying to wait it out through this Hard Rock Cafe battle of the bands competition before I do that, though. For me, that's the make it or break it for this band.

No. Scooping midrange frequencies tends to make you less audible regardless of where in the signal chain you're doing the scooping.

 

[Korladis]

I know this is the amps and cabs section, and this won't be the answer you want, but for your long term health, what you need to do is get out of this band and find people willing to play at a reasonable sensible volume.
Tinnitus is no joke, and has ruined a lot of people's enjoyment of music and life.

Ear plugs have existed for a long time. Only idiots insist on playing in loud bands without them.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Our vocalist is the guitarist with the Bugera rig. I guess he can hear himself because he never complains about it. I am closer to the monitors and I can't hear it! The drummer is wearing noise cancelling headphones lol. He is the rose between two thorns with the way the practice room is set up. Of course he can hear himself. He usually has a problem hearing everybody else. He also plays louder to accommodate the louder amps, but I can't really hear anything at that volume except for the clipping noises from the guitars.

I think I am the ONLY person who listens to the whole mix. In fact when i speak to the other members individually, they admit they only listen to themselves. Big problem!

Easy way out is kinda expensive. Get a IEM setup and some single 12 guitar cabs to mic.

Let the guitards overdrive the single 12 as much as they lIke but they pay for the replacement drivers, until they get smaller amps that don't blow drivers.

 

[Korladis]

Won't my amp be significantly louder (than guitar amps) if I turn the mids all the way up, bass off, use an overdrive with full gain? Maybe that will get my message across.

Well, it will be louder. Mids are the frequencies our ears are most sensitive to.

I actually use a 180 watt head through a 2x15 with a doom metal band. It works fine because I have a lot of midrange in my sound.

What overdrive pedal are you using?

 

[DiMarco]

Fire the guitard players or find another band before your ears are permanently damaged.

 

[vin*tone]

Try this:

If you can mime your way through an entire song without anyone noticing then your bandmates are not listening. Get new ones.

You shouldn't have to be altering your tone or playing style just to be heard.

 

[dmccombe7]

Been playing in rock bands for many many years and have always found that volume isn't the way to get a good sound. Turn the amps down to match drummer volume and that is where they should be left. Its far easier to get a good metal or rock sound with controlled volumes because at the end of the day when gigging the PA will provide the FOH volume.
I understand the need to have a reasonable volume to "get into" the music but you will only damage your hearing and the overall sound will just be mush. Either they buckle down and work on sound and tones or you need to move on.
First step is get a good quality set of earplugs before damage has been done.
Dave

 

[bass71]

Read this.
Next time this happens the ringing in ur ears will take longer to subside then one day you'll notice it hasn't gone..that is the first day that it will be there for the rest of ur life and it will get worse as the yrs go by.

 

[DiMarco]

All answers require the guitarists to come about and cooperate. I guarantee you they won't. When it comes to braining the too noisy guitarists always fall short. They are just that ********.

Find another band.