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Can't hear ME on stage?

C

CGrant

Feb 14, 2010
22
0
Oklahoma
#1
My singer/lead guitar puts his amp in front of him as a guitar monitor, it's so loud and in MY face I can't hear me or our other guitar player and I have literally played some songs not hearing me and (feeling) the stage for my timing but he doesn't want to move it...
Most of the gigs we play are smaller and we don't have subs in the PA.. I was wondering if I could line out from the headphone jack on my GB STL 6 into a power amp and floor monitor to bring just the bass back to me?? I don't want to just turn up louder cause then the bass would be to loud in the bar..

Any ideas or welcome! thank you
 
#6
Smallmouth_Bass said:
Try having him put his amp behind him facing the audience. That way you can stand back with the drummer and not get blasted.
Click to expand...

Gosh almighty, yes! Why isn't he doing this now? If asked, I'm 99% positive he'll say "I can't hear myself". If that's the case, the last thing you want to do is turn up anything and, instead, look at ways at reducing overall stage volume and "notching" vocal and instrument EQ's to fill their prescribed sonic footprints.

On a negative note, some musicians tend to be resistant to change and happy to carry on with the status quo in which case the problems will persist and the band will sound like crap. Just my 2 cents...sorry to be a downer!

Riis
 
#8
It's not uncommon for a guitarist (or any musician for that matter) to aim his cab at himself. The problem is he's got it up too loud.

I assume you have PA support, so he doesn't rely on stage volume projecting to the audience. If that's the case, his amp/cab is his personal monitor.

He needs to make it "personal" and not fill the whole stage with his volume.
 
#14
CGrant said:
I use a GB STL 6 and a 410 Ampeg cab, he uses a Fender Princeton, I don't want to over power him. I have asked him to turn down and/or move his amp, he will turn down "some" but he wont move his amp..
Click to expand...

This is a great object lesson in cabinet placement. He's using a 15 watt, 1x10 combo facing his ears (and yours). You are using a 375 watt head with a 4x10 cabinet facing your a$$. But because of cabinet placement his 15 watts are overpowering.

Raise or tilt your cabinet so its energy is focused towards your ears and not wasted on your ankles. You'll be able to hear yourself better without waging volume war with your guitar player.
 
#16
testing1two said:
This is a great object lesson in cabinet placement. He's using a 15 watt, 1x10 combo facing his ears (and yours). You are using a 375 watt head with a 4x10 cabinet facing your a$$. But because of cabinet placement his 15 watts are overpowering.

Raise or tilt your cabinet so its energy is focused towards your ears and not wasted on your ankles. You'll be able to hear yourself better without waging volume war with your guitar player.
Click to expand...

Funny… I tried to get my old guitard to position his amp more like a monitor so he can hear it better, as opposed to behind him facing the front, blasting it into the audience and screwing up the FOH mix.

My rig is typically on the side facing across the stage, and tilted if necessary.

If the guitarist has it positioned like a monitor and he’s still stoopid-loud, he’s probably lost his hearing, at least in those certain frequencies.
 
#17
I used to have this problem. I think every one with a little mileage has. Loud ass noisy guitar players with big egos.... they make the world go round, in their own minds.

2 guitar players in a band, both miked, coming the the mains and the monitors. (Oh and btw, the sound man says, " our monitors can't handle bass frequencies without farting out or distorting, so you'll have to turn up")

The solution ? Ampeg SVT4 with the 8x10 classic cab.

Now you can vibrate legs and arm hair at any bar, and be loud enough that you can bleed through the drum mics and totally f*** the stage mix. When they ask you to turn down, tell them you can't hear yourself. When they beg, make them turn down the 6 string primadonas so your participation in the nights music is of equal consideration.

This bully approach is tried and true.
 
#18
After I ruined my 212 cab (now fixed) trying to hear myself, I brought this out... (grabbed this amp that I only use in the music room.)


DSCN0456.jpg


Then I became a problem, as well.

Long-story-short, he and I don’t share a stage anymore.
 

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