Bassists seem to always crank both pickups...

[Chad T]

^Right on. It depends on context. At least in my experience, with a fairly sparse mix, this mid frequency cancellation isn't as much of a factor. But put it into a denser mix with keys, multiple guitars, vocals, etc. (which is usually what I'm dealing with) then it becomes more of a potential problem. And like you said, the particular bass (and how they have the EQ set on it) & the player can further compound the issue.

Also, as I'm learning in this thread....the room, the stage, speaker placement, etc. I'm thinking those are the factors that are compounding it in our sanctuary. Gonna investigate into that stuff further as time allows.

To answer some other comments:

• HPFs are being used. However, we are moving to a digital board soon, which will give us more flexibility in that area.

• I know at least one person thought the notion that somebody can hear different pickup settings from FOH is hysterically funny and impossible. But yes, I can hear different pickup settings. Can I guess with pinpoint accuracy where a player's knobs are set? No. That *is* pretty much impossible/ridiculous. But neck and bridge solo'd have fairly distinct sounds. If there is noticeable lack of mids, I can guess they have an even blend. 60/40 blend? No, I can't tell that, but I can say whether it has a more bridge-like or neck-like sound. As far as EQ, if there is a massive amount of bass coming from the stage, I'm gonna guess they have cranked bass EQ on their bass. Can I tell if they bumped bass EQ a couple clicks? No. The point is that I can guess basic settings with a pretty good level of accuracy. FWIW, I can usually guess where the worship leader has the 5-way switch set on his Strat as well.

 

[tfer]

I can adjust my attack, and where my right hand is plucking the strings enough where you would have absolutely no idea what my pickup blend is...

I go from fat and pillowy during a country ballad (Girl Crush) to the midrange honk of 70s classic rock (Stuck in the Middle With You) and don't do anything except move my hands and the pressure of my fingers.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

A thread tangent, FWIW: bass can be particularly hard to slot in mixes (such as the typical volunteer P&W team mix) where the bottom is crowded by the low end of multiple guitars and keys. In a volunteer worship team, the playing styles of the acoustic guitarists and keyboard players often make the busy low end worse. Acoustic players who aren't used to ensemble playing often give you a lot of bass-string heavy strumming on every subdivision of every measure, just as keyboardists used to playing solo often lean on too busy left-hand parts. The resulting band "arrangement" doesn't leave much room for the bass guitar to be intelligible in the mix until you have it too loud.

While the real cure in those cases is to coach better ensemble playing and arrangements, an intermediate treatment is to put a high pass filter on keys and guitars, and trim away as much of the bottom end of those instruments as you can without cutting into their core full-mix voicing. That is, when one of the high-passed instruments is soloed you might notice that some bass frequencies have been cut away, but you won't miss that instrument's trimmed low frequencies in the full mix. Once you've dealt with keys and guitars, high-pass the vocal mics, too (but be careful not to cut your bass vocalists off at the legs). You'll just notice way less murkiness in the full band mix, and you should find that the bass can now be mixed more clearly without dominating the mix.

Spot on. I've noticed lately when watching episodes of "The Voice," whenever there's a singer who simultaneously plays acoustic guitar, you NEVER hear what the guitar is playing. The engineers wisely zero that feed. Acoustic guitar and especially two-handed keyboard players are notorious for stepping all over the bass slot.

 

[Downunderwonder]

I play with both PUP's at 100% at church because all of the effects lighting makes a heck of a buzz if I don't have the blend dead center.

sold my Jazz, couldn't deal with not having that juicy bridge pickup down a nudge sound due to said lighting interference.

 

[Downunderwonder]

Spot on. I've noticed lately when watching episodes of "The Voice," whenever there's a singer who simultaneously plays acoustic guitar, you NEVER hear what the guitar is playing. The engineers wisely zero that feed. Acoustic guitar and especially two-handed keyboard players are notorious for stepping all over the bass slot.

Half of them couldn't busk out of a paper bag. Look good, check, sing good, tbd, play guitar while singing, mmkay.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

Spot on. I've noticed lately when watching episodes of "The Voice," whenever there's a singer who simultaneously plays acoustic guitar, you NEVER hear what the guitar is playing. The engineers wisely zero that feed. Acoustic guitar and especially two-handed keyboard players are notorious for stepping all over the bass slot.

There's a spot right around 200 - 250 hz that both bass and acoustic guitar often fight over. Bass usually wins the fight just on sheer volume, but if there's too much of a bump there on either instrument, you can get a weird interactive effect that can cause a low-mid roll on certain notes. The other big difficulty with mixing acoustic guitar, IME, is it often gets lost to frequency masking by the cymbals if it's mixed with too much emphasis on the highs.

A well-done acoustic guitar sound in a mix with electric instruments is a very awe-inspiring sound and well worth the effort though, IMHO.

 

[N. Kentucky Bass]

There's a spot right around 200 - 250 hz that both bass and acoustic guitar often fight over. Bass usually wins the fight just on sheer volume, but if there's too much of a bump there on either instrument, you can get a weird interactive effect that can cause a low-mid roll on certain notes. The other big difficulty with mixing acoustic guitar, IME, is it often gets lost to frequency masking by the cymbals if it's mixed with too much emphasis on the highs.

A well-done acoustic guitar sound in a mix with electric instruments is a very awe-inspiring sound and well worth the effort though, IMHO.

You're right. On the other hand, the vast majority of those Voice "performers" are strumming away with a rhythm that is nothing like the rhythm of the song they're singing. So I know what they're doing is total B.S. (sorry to go OT!)