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DI or MIC it up
- Thread starter rich007
- Start date
Actually, in a room, the SVT's better, but I was surprised by how well the B-15 carries in a theater or ballroom. You won't blow people out but it'll hang. It's not a quiet amp.
they normally take the one out of my amp. any other time, it was a cheapo DI.
i refuse to BUY a DI. ill bring a mic, but id rather them not have the option of a DI. really wish there was some way to make it look like they CANT use a DI.
I don't know about you but I like my sound full range.I like that people hear whats I hear in my monitor.Every bit of it.
I would hate that people at the back of the room only hears only low end garbage.
I'll try to find a way to mic my IEM.......
Yes because that's all they ever hear if you mic an amp.
:scowl:
I think you're just trying to be outrageous.
Not at all !
If a bass amp onstage is very loud , you will loose the top end of it the farther you go. Nothing outrageous there. It's physics.
Same principle as a PA.
And of course the usuall IME , IMHO , etc, etc....
EDIT ; I'm sorry , something I haven't tought of saying first hand; In big "room".
I do both. As far as a mic, I use an AKG D112 and also DI. Our soundman put's more low through the mic and mids and highs with the DI.
We might get along. IME, out in the room all one usually hears of the bass rig is an indistinct 80-to-200 roar. On the channel strip I often have a large boost somewhere between 600 and 1k so folks can hear the melody, and (if the subs can handle it) a boost around 35 to make 'em feel good.
if something is going to be that low, id rather it be a kick. little isolated booms, not a steady destructive wave of LF. i want to be cut around 60hz. 5 string or not. i want the warmth to come from a really low mid, rather than any sort of low. just enough low to make it a bass.
i set my amp accordingly, and i can think of 10 mics a good club would have to facilitate this.
There's less deep stuff in the kick.
Even when gated as tight as is possible, many rooms will make the kick "hang", and the more lows, the more hang.
Sustained deep stuff is much more visceral and euphoria producing than are stabs of LF.
You've likely never had anyone do it right. I certainly don't run across it very often. (IME if there is a problem of too much of something, it's nowhere near as low as 30-50.)
Even when gated as tight as is possible, many rooms will make the kick "hang", and the more lows, the more hang.
Sustained deep stuff is much more visceral and euphoria producing than are stabs of LF.
You've likely never had anyone do it right. I certainly don't run across it very often. (IME if there is a problem of too much of something, it's nowhere near as low as 30-50.)
the biggest problem is the 80-150 hz boom. but 30 hz at a "reasonable" level is still going to be harmful. i dont care that drunk people want their insides shaken, i dont want to go deaf, i dont want to pay 100+ dollars for flat attenuation molded ear plugs, and i want to be able to hear the bass as notes.
you're right, ive been to less than 5 professional shows in my life that had a good mix with proper low end. 2 of them were say anything shows. one at the orlando house of blues that was becoming notorious for silly low end (to an extent that it gave the vocals a 'talking into a fan' sound).
Quite the opposite. The more visceral the bottom, the more you can back the rig down without loosing the feeling of power. Less harm to the ears, and more fun.
We use the same two soundmen for almost every gig, and they are both very competent at what they do. I'd love a blend between mic and DI, but I'll generally leave it to them to decide. In most cases we go DI.
The way I see it, my job is to make sure I play and sound good on stage, then their job is to make us sound good for the audience.
And for the "audience don't care" statement - that is irrelevant. Most of the audience don't care if you are in time or not either, that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. People know when it sounds good, they just don't know why it sounds good. That is our job.
The way I see it, my job is to make sure I play and sound good on stage, then their job is to make us sound good for the audience.
And for the "audience don't care" statement - that is irrelevant. Most of the audience don't care if you are in time or not either, that doesn't mean it doesn't matter. People know when it sounds good, they just don't know why it sounds good. That is our job.
Unfortunately if some ape is your soundman, your signal can be mid-scooped regardless of whether it's a DI or mic'd cabinet.
If I were using a SVT, B-15 or other tube amp with some characteristic sound, I'd most likely prefer a mic. If all I need is clean thump, then a DI is fine.
My M.O. and preferred method at the moment is to use a Sansamp VT Bass pedal to a DI and FOH. I either monitor with an IEM or I split the signal at the DI sending the same signal to FOH and to whatever I'm using as a monitor. For me, It's kinda' like the best of both worlds.
IMHO, YMMV, tax, tag, and title separate..
Last Saturday I went to a Christmas toy drive at a local mall. They had live music on a stage. The sound guy was micking the bass cab with an SM58. I saw 4 bands play and all of the bass amps got micked and it sounded really good.
The third band had their own mic, a Sennheiser 421, which they used to mic a Ampeg SVT-2PRO with an 810. I have to say it sounded really good, having the tube sound out front.
I talked to the sound guy, and he said he prefers to mic the bass cab as it gives him a better quality sound compared to a DI. But if the bass player wants a DI, he just gives him what he wants.
The third band had their own mic, a Sennheiser 421, which they used to mic a Ampeg SVT-2PRO with an 810. I have to say it sounded really good, having the tube sound out front.
I talked to the sound guy, and he said he prefers to mic the bass cab as it gives him a better quality sound compared to a DI. But if the bass player wants a DI, he just gives him what he wants.
most i deal with do both actually. i dont understand how so many people have problems with the sound man. start talking gear to a sound man..... he will be on his knees in no time.
