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Bassists who enjoy playing LOUD!!!

FunkyLemz

FunkyLemz

Oct 17, 2005
1,393
45
Los Angeles, CA
#1
Not necessarily loud in the mix, but moving crazy air along with a drummer/guitarist.


Having the ability to have no cap on my volume comforts me. I have an 1100 watt eden and I use every bit of it. My drums are very present acrylics and the bass is like a cannon so I need to compete with that and my guitarist stack. It's not like we can't play lower, but it so much more fun for us to rock out hard. We all wear earplugs every session and why not play loud since we're paying for a rehearsal space. No neighbors = One happy :bassist:

Got to throw up a pic of the rig - Stingray just traded for a Roscoe LG 3000 :D
102-0267_IMG.jpg
 
#2
FunkyLemz said:
It's not like we can't play lower, but it so much more fun for us to rock out hard. We all wear earplugs every session and why not play loud since we're paying for a rehearsal space.
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Your band would get along great with my guitar player. He likes it loud! We actually rehearse at louder volumes than many of our gigs. And for the same reasons you do. Fortunately, I have the firepower to keep up with any situation inside or outside of the rehearsal room. :cool::)

M. M.
 
#5
i love playing the loudest i can go
i run my bass amp through two 300 watt speakers and both are at the loudest they can go,i hate when you cant hear the bass so we all just play really loud :bassist:
 
#8
My rule is that my amp needs to be able to move my pantlegs when I play an e chord....
:bassist:

Though we rehearse at my drummers place who has completely flipped out about the sound & just tore down the jam room & rebuilt it with a wide assortment of materials he feels will help quiet things down. (Some rather bizarre choices too...)


Though I dare say that his hands & feet coupled with the big ass DW drumset may be the root of our problem.....
 
#10
Mcrelly said:
I like playing loud, but my ears don't always agree.

ear aches, trouble understanding what people are saying, tinnitus at night when I'm trying to sleep.....

sorry for being a killjoy, just the facts maam' sp?

p.s. I'm 41 playing bass for 10 years.
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+1. Playing that loud is just plain stupid; I don't know how else to say it. The problem is that if you don't realize it now you will when it is too late. Do your ears a favor and turn ot down or get dome earplugs.
 
#11
mrjim123 said:
+1. Playing that loud is just plain stupid; I don't know how else to say it. The problem is that if you don't realize it now you will when it is too late. Do your ears a favor and turn it down or get some earplugs.
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Good advice, for sure!

Disclaimer: When I say that our band rehearses at loud volumes I don't mean 'really loud'. Not anything like the metal bands that rehearse where we do. I can only imagine what those young folks are doing to their hearing. Even at big outdoor gigs our stage volume is reasonable. And when in doubt I wear earplugs...which is most of the time. :eyebrow::)

M. M.
 
#12
Onhe o' my bands rehearse LOUD too. I DON'T usually wear earplugs ,but I find it a necessity for these prax. BUT trouble is we cannot hear the VOCALS!!! So drummer HAD to turn it down(ie. play quieter!!) Great for me-as I don't like wearin ear plugz. NOW- at a softer overall vol. we can hear the "nuances' & work on DYNAMICS of the MUSIC- IMO THE most imprtant aspect!!!! ANYONE can play LOUD_just turn up... It's actually HARDER to be able to play the same stuff quietly- so it's an informative exercise-AND it saves yr ears! DYMANICS- a thing MANY bands DON'T seem to either understand or care about. I';ve ALWAYS loved it when on our recordings, the VU meters actually hit the ZERO(or the far left "no register" point) before jumping back up to oprating levels!!! FUNK SHOULD display this sorta thing regu;arly.
Same as playing a real SLOW song- blues like "Black Coffee", or soul like "U make me feel like a natural woman" need 2 be SLOW. Playing slow is - IMO/IME, far harder thsan playing fast. Making the song sound good etc..................
I once heard a story about Ray Charles' band- some of the band would be in the toilet, & they'd hear RAY starting the 'count in' for the song- a slow blues & it was SUCH a slow tempo that they'd be able to make it to the bandstand in time!!! :-)
eg. "a - ONE, a - two, A - One, two three, four. this whol;e count in took somewhere near 20 secs!!!! ha ha!
 
#14
rodl2005 said:
at a softer overall vol. we can hear the "nuances' & work on DYNAMICS of the MUSIC- IMO THE most imprtant aspect!!!! ANYONE can play LOUD_just turn up... It's actually HARDER to be able to play the same stuff quietly- so it's an informative exercise-AND it saves yr ears! DYMANICS- a thing MANY bands DON'T seem to either understand or care about. I';ve ALWAYS loved it when on our recordings, the VU meters actually hit the ZERO(or the far left "no register" point) before jumping back up to oprating levels!!! FUNK SHOULD display this sorta thing regu;arly.
Playing slow is - IMO/IME, far harder thsan playing fast. Making the song sound good etc..................
Click to expand...


Wiser words have never been spoken, that's the difference between someone who plays music and a musician. Not to knock cranking it now and then, I like it too and in some music it just fits but when you crank it to blistering levels, then put in ear plugs, then crank it some more so you can hear it through the ear plugs it's kinda like stepping on the gas and the brake at the same time. Of course if everybody's rig is the house volume and your PA is doing all it can to throw vocals and maybe some drums out there..............
 
#15
smeet said:
Hey FunkyLemz - nice rig!
I think you've swapped out every piece of bass gear since I saw it!

I like playing loud too, but I never play without my custom-fitted plugs, which take it down 25dB.
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Hahaha...this is true. No more glock, swr, or eden 2x10. Now the stingray is gone. It's all for kicks - my drummer is on tour so I want to build my arsenal prior to his return. Still got another 3 weeks.....
 
#18
While I can say that I have enjoyed the rush that playing a big amp backline can give as a bass player in my youth, you will pay eventually for that kind of fun. I'm 52 and lucky that my tinnitus is pretty mild when compared to the hurt that some of my peers have suffered. A good drummer, and friend of mine had to give up playing for good because his tinnitus is that severe. He's not my only friend and peer to have tinnitus bad enough to impact their music careers. The band I'm in now can still get good and loud but we play to the size of the venue, pack our earplugs, and both guitarists have gone to smaller combo amps, leaving the Marshall stack mentality behind. I also like the fact that I can do most of our gigs with my single 15 Ampeg combo amp these days. It's fun to be loud when you are young, but all of those decibel level warnings that some amp gear makers used to have stamped on the back panel of their amp heads were quite truthful.
 
#20
i love playing loud and i have a bunch of big cabs and lead slead amps to do it. part of the fun of playing bass is the physical sensation - feeling your pants flap and your innards resonate. :bassist:

JR
 

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