Cranking The Bass Knob

[chadds]

I accidentally had the bass knob cranked once and it made my friend’s wife vomit.

Are you sure that’s why?

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

Are you sure that’s why?

Yeah. She said the bass was too loud and went outside and puked.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Some like turnip and bass, it could affect others in a bad way.

 

[chadds]

Yeah. She said the bass was too loud and went outside and puked.

Uh huh. I repeat the question your honor.

 

[Blues Bass 2]

I tried it at practice last night . Sorry Jimmy , it just doesn't work for me .

I usually play my Talman passive with the blend rolled towards the P pickup some and the highs rolled off a little . I switched to active and left the controls the same except I turned up the bass knob . It was just too much even when I turned the volume down . The mids that I rely on to hear what I'm doing were pretty much gone with both guitars and the drums going . I guess I'll stick with my usual non-eq . We played a cover of Cinnamon girl for fun and my usual low end kind of killed anyway on that . At least I tried .

 

[JimmyM]

You wouldn't have to if you'd use an amp bigger than 50 watts.

Used a 75w amp for my gig earlier tonight. Solid state, no less. BA112 v2 for those scoring at home. Honestly, I could have run the whole joint with stage volume, but it might have been a tad too loud onstage for the guest singers if I did that. Cool show...Johnny Contardo, the main lead singer for Sha Na Na in their heyday, Johnny Tillotson, who had songs like Poetry in Motion and It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin', and Ron Dante, the guy who sang all The Archies songs including Sugar Sugar, plus he sang a ton of classic commercials in the late 60's and early 70's and produced all of Barry Manilow's hit albums. Cranked that bass loud and proud, too. And I got out of the theater like a sax player when we were done. I hate to admit it being such an SVT fan, but I love getting out of a gig like a sax player!

 

[JimmyM]

I tried it at practice last night . Sorry Jimmy , it just doesn't work for me .

I usually play my Talman passive with the blend rolled towards the P pickup some and the highs rolled off a little . I switched to active and left the controls the same except I turned up the bass knob . It was just too much even when I turned the volume down . The mids that I rely on to hear what I'm doing were pretty much gone with both guitars and the drums going . I guess I'll stick with my usual non-eq . We played a cover of Cinnamon girl for fun and my usual low end kind of killed anyway on that . At least I tried .

I never expected it would work for everyone so no need to apologize.

 

[TomB]

Used a 75w amp for my gig earlier tonight. Solid state, no less. BA112 v2 for those scoring at home. Honestly, I could have run the whole joint with stage volume, but it might have been a tad too loud onstage for the guest singers if I did that. Cool show...Johnny Contardo, the main lead singer for Sha Na Na in their heyday, Johnny Tillotson, who had songs like Poetry in Motion and It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin', and Ron Dante, the guy who sang all The Archies songs including Sugar Sugar, plus he sang a ton of classic commercials in the late 60's and early 70's and produced all of Barry Manilow's hit albums. Cranked that bass loud and proud, too. And I got out of the theater like a sax player when we were done. I hate to admit it being such an SVT fan, but I love getting out of a gig like a sax player!

Yeah, sax players get to me too. Our horn section guys used to compete to see who could get off the gig the quickest - while I knocked down the PA .

 

[DavidEdenAria]

How you use your amps has certainly changed over the years. Tone requirements tend to change, a different sound helps invigorate your playing.

If you are playing at a lower volume, cranking the bass helps make it sound better. Years ago Marantz stereo systems had a Loudness Button that would turn thin into full. The frequency response of our ears is different at low and higher volume levels.
At lower volume levels you are more sensitive to mids than low and high frequencies. The Loudness Button compensates for that when the volume is set lower. That’s kind of what you are doing when you crank your bass EQ.

Maybe ultra-hi and ultra-lo can be used to address that at lower volume levels.

There were also many other hi fi and car stereo amps with this feature.....some would gradually diminish the loudness boost as you increased the volume... a welcome feature!

 

[Wisebass]

She said the bass was too loud and went outside and puked.

Hi Manti

She made it outside? I am disappointed man!

Ain 't no heavy metal, when she makes it to the door!

Wise

 

[BadExample]

Used a 75w amp for my gig earlier tonight. Solid state, no less. BA112 v2 for those scoring at home. Honestly, I could have run the whole joint with stage volume, but it might have been a tad too loud onstage for the guest singers if I did that. Cool show...Johnny Contardo, the main lead singer for Sha Na Na in their heyday, Johnny Tillotson, who had songs like Poetry in Motion and It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin', and Ron Dante, the guy who sang all The Archies songs including Sugar Sugar, plus he sang a ton of classic commercials in the late 60's and early 70's and produced all of Barry Manilow's hit albums. Cranked that bass loud and proud, too. And I got out of the theater like a sax player when we were done. I hate to admit it being such an SVT fan, but I love getting out of a gig like a sax player!

Mmmmmbow, bow, bow!

Barry Manilow had hit’s?

What a cool gig!

 

[rtslinger]

Guilty

but the 160 Hz not the 60Hz

 

[MrLenny1]

I am going to admit something that may get me raked over the coals...I love cranking the bass knob! Didn't always...took me a long time to warm up to the idea. But now I'll turn the bass up all the way if I need to. Gotta be judicious about it sometimes...don't want to overcrank the lows in a dark sounding room with a lot of natural reverb or anything dumb like that. And mids are still important if you want some note definition as well. But over the past years, I've gotten less shy about warming up the room real good, and I think it's working out great, and I don't get why so many people on here tell bass players not to do it. The lows are what people mostly hear out of your bass in a mix. Might as well let them have it. rolling back the bass knob.

There. I said it. I do something considered wrong by conventional TB wisdom, and I do so unapologetically. Take that.

I recently covered a Blues Jam for a friend using my rig, I set the bass knob half way,played one set. A Pro Blues bass player sat in after. I set him up with the amp & tuner and then he said turn the bass all the way up. He played a Nash P Bass and my rig sounded great. So much for for too much bass.

 

[craigie]

I recently covered a Blues Jam for a friend using my rig, I set the bass knob half way,played one set. A Pro Blues bass player sat in after. I set him up with the amp & tuner and then he said turn the bass all the way up. He played a Nash P Bass and my rig sounded great. So much for for too much bass.

I always wonder about how much of it is the difference in sound being near the rig on stage and out in the audience (and have read lots of interesting stuff on TB in that regard).

 

[DigitalMan]

Ok, this might be a bit obscure, but boosting at 40Hz which is approximately where many cabs start to fall off a cliff reminds me a lot of Stephen Hawking’s solution to information being lost forever at the event horizon of a black hole.

 

[MrLenny1]

I always wonder about how much of it is the difference in sound being near the rig on stage and out in the audience (and have read lots of interesting stuff on TB in that regard).

It does sound different from in front to out back in the room. I listened from about 40 feet away
and the tone was nice and balanced with a 4 piece band.

 

[Xandrell]

Ok, this might be a bit obscure, but boosting at 40Hz which is approximately where many cabs start to fall off a cliff reminds me a lot of Stephen Hawking’s solution to information being lost forever at the event horizon of a black hole.

Boosting 40 Hz in front of a Black Hole will create a Stellar Core Collapse Super Nova that causes an Apparent Horizon instead of an Event Horizon forming a singularity by way of Quantum Gravity, creating a Quantum Bounce instead of a Big Bang that tunnels out of the Atomic Nucleus collapsing and bouncing into an explosion of 40 Hz Singularities. However the Radio Bursts of 40 Hz wavelengths will need a converter to correct for the Cosmological Redshift.

 

[mapleglo]

Boosting 40 Hz in front of a Black Hole will create a Stellar Core Collapse Super Nova that causes an Apparent Horizon instead of an Event Horizon forming a singularity by way of Quantum Gravity, creating a Quantum Bounce instead of a Big Bang that tunnels out of the Atomic Nucleus collapsing and bouncing into an explosion of 40 Hz Singularities. However the Radio Bursts of 40 Hz wavelengths will need a converter to correct for the Cosmological Redshift.

Surely you mean the gravitational redshift.

 

[Wisebass]

Stephen Hawking’s solution to information being lost forever at the event horizon of a black hole.

Boosting 40 Hz in front of a Black Hole will create a Stellar Core Collapse Super Nova

It all depends on "strings" and is very relative

Wise(b)ass

 

[Xandrell]

Surely you mean the gravitational redshift.

A common misconception.

The larger the distance to the system, the longer the emitted photons have travelled through expanding space and the higher the measured cosmological redshift. Cosmological Redshift: the wavelength of the emitted radiation is lengthened due to the expansion of the Universe.

In astrophysics, gravitational redshift or Einstein shift is the process by which electromagnetic radiation originating from a source that is in a gravitational field is reduced in frequency, or redshifted, when observed in a region at a higher gravitational potential.