Auralex?

[OriginalCrash]

I remember seeing a link on here before to a pad of sorts that went between your cabinet and the floor, to decouple it essentially, and keep it from being too boomy. I also remember seeing someone mention Auralex a different time, sans link... But when I check out their site, I can't seem to track down that product. Does anyone know which one it is (or whoever it may be that makes it)? Thanks!

Brian

 

[onemorebass]

Here ya go...

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[jkdahlman]

The best solution for that prob. IMHO.
I won't be without mine, ever.

 

[vicenzajay]

The best solution for that prob. IMHO.
I won't be without mine, ever.

I own two (often stack both and place the bass cab on top - better height for stage monitoring and excellent decoupling from the stage)....need to find two more for floating the PA subwoofers as well.

I strongly recommend them.

Jay

 

[OriginalCrash]

So question... At my church, the stage and sanctuary just aren't designed well for the bass... Even with my amp set quiet (and the stage volume is pretty reasonable... we try to keep it between 90-95 dB), by the time I have it loud enough to hear myself, I'm cranked too high in the house even without them running me through the system. Does that sound like a situation that calls for this?

Brian

 

[beans-on-toast]

So question... At my church, the stage and sanctuary just aren't designed well for the bass... Even with my amp set quiet (and the stage volume is pretty reasonable... we try to keep it between 90-95 dB), by the time I have it loud enough to hear myself, I'm cranked too high in the house even without them running me through the system. Does that sound like a situation that calls for this?

Brian

I have an Auralex Gramma and find it really useful. If your cab is vibrating and transferring energy to the stage (producing a rumble) the Auralex will help. You didn't say what make of cabinet you are using. If it is small, it would help to put the cab on a stand (2-3 feet high) closer to ear level. Like vicenzajay said, this will help with stage monitoring.


David

 

[OriginalCrash]

Right now I'm playing through a LMII and going direct to the house... For stage monitoring I'm going from the tuner out to the effects return of the church's Fender Rumble 100.

Brian

P.S. Granted, the size, shape, and construction of the sanctuary as a whole contribute largely to the too-loud-in-the-house problem, but the stage we play on is hollow underneath... So that's why I'm hoping something like this may help.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

So question... by the time I have it loud enough to hear myself, I'm cranked too high in the house even without them running me through the system.

Brian

Your problem is caused by boundary reflections that cause the sound of your bass to be cancelled out close to the cab; move farther back where the distances between the listeners, the cab and the boundaries are longer the sound isn't cancelled. Very careful placement of your cab might fix it. Boundary cancellation effects explained here:
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[OriginalCrash]

So in even more layman's terms, you're just advising I put more distance between myself and the amp? I checked out that site, but it seemed to be very frequency-specific (unless I just missed something)... And my problem is overall volume as opposed to problems with certain frequencies.

Brian

 

[beans-on-toast]

Right now I'm playing through a LMII and going direct to the house... For stage monitoring I'm going from the tuner out to the effects return of the church's Fender Rumble 100.

Brian

P.S. Granted, the size, shape, and construction of the sanctuary as a whole contribute largely to the too-loud-in-the-house problem, but the stage we play on is hollow underneath... So that's why I'm hoping something like this may help.

The Gramma may help add clarity if you are hearing rumble but it isn't going to solve the problem of not hearing your sound. The most cost effective fix is to reposition your cab or yourself.


David

 

[uaudio]

Your EQing might also be the problem. I play many gigs on a large, hollow stage and it magnifies the boominess of certain freqs. I find that rolling off some of the low end for your stage mix, then getting it right in the PA can help with this problem. You don't need the low end to hear, you need the midrange.


....and I just reread what you said that its not a frequency problem, so never mind.

 

[OriginalCrash]

Yeah, there's really no problem with boominess, specifically. I guess it's just the design of the room, placement of the amp, and where I'm standing... By the time the sound gets out to the house it's apparently noticeably louder than on stage (either that or the sound guys are just notoriously anti-bass... probably a touch of both ).

Brian

 

[MIJ-VI]

Hi OriginalCrash.

Tilting your amp back so that you can better hear the edge of your sound, and decoupling your rig from a hollow stage to minimize tonal clouding, can be achieved with devices like these:

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[beans-on-toast]

Yeah, there's really no problem with boominess, specifically. I guess it's just the design of the room, placement of the amp, and where I'm standing... By the time the sound gets out to the house it's apparently noticeably louder than on stage (either that or the sound guys are just notoriously anti-bass... probably a touch of both ).

Brian

Think Will Lee's Ampeg setup on Letterman. I use a 44" riser with a 1X15 cab on top. Great for monitoring. I don't know if this sort of riser would be appropriate for a church.


David

 

[jasper383]

I own two (often stack both and place the bass cab on top
Jay

If you use them both, don't they cancel each other out?

I have one, and love it. Great for playing rooms with cement floors, ime.

 

[billfitzmaurice]

And my problem is overall volume as opposed to problems with certain frequencies.

-1. You've got reflections off every wall, the ceiling and the floor. That can amount to enough null frequencies to totally squash your low end. When those distances between the speaker, the boundary and the listener are doubled the null becomes a spike, with as much as 24dB difference between the levels at the two distances. That's the equivalent of going from a 1 watt amp to 256 watts.

Think Will Lee's Ampeg setup on Letterman. I use a 44" riser with a 1X15 cab on top. Great for monitoring. I don't know if this sort of riser would be appropriate for a church.


David

Good example. Will's Ampeg is literally right in his ear so he can hear what he's doing at a very low volume, while the PA carries the room. They turn the audience PA feed on and off, on during commercial breaks, off while on-air, and the difference is beyond huge.

 

[OriginalCrash]

Well, what I meant was that my volume is too low across the whole frequency spectrum of my sound (to my ears anyway)... In other words, I'm not hearing a big boom at 80 Hz or a noticeable dip at 250 or anything like that. I'm just too dang quiet. Looking at the link you sent me, I can't see how to use that to determine where/how far to move, as it says more along the lines of this specific frequency is affected by the distance between the amp and boundary. In real world, practical application, how would I use that? Should I just start by moving the amp back, experimenting with standing in different spots, etc. until I find something that works? Or can that info be used a little more specifically? Thanks again for all your help and expertise.

Brian

 

[billfitzmaurice]

Should I just start by moving the amp back, experimenting with standing in different spots, etc. until I find something that works? Or can that info be used a little more specifically? Thanks again for all your help and expertise.

Brian

Rule of thumb, have the speaker very close to or very far away from boundaries. That means less than 2 feet or more than 8 feet. The same applies to where you're standing in relation to the cab. When you have an 8 foot ceiling and/or a small stage doing so becomes problematic.

 

[JazznFunk]

I own two Grammas and use them both under any stack I am using with electric bass. When I use just one 2x10 cab with both Grammas, I use a piece of wood under the front end of the cab (a cut and painted piece of 2x4 to be precise) as a tilt-back device to get the sound up and out, not at my knees or calves. When using 2 or more vertically stacked cabs I do not tilt them for obvious reasons. After fighting my sound on various stages for years I find the Auralex pads reduce rumble and offer me a studio-like control over the sound, and the tilt-back support allows me and the audience to hear the sound better. I vote YES for the Gramma pads!

 

[Craig_S]

I never gig without mine.