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Those of you who have Kingmans or comparable Fender ABGs, I have a question regarding how loud they can get. In a month or so I'll be doing a musical theater gig, in a six-piece band (Keys, drums, bass, two reeds and a trumpet). It won't be crushingly loud -- it's theater, not a big band. I can plug directly into the house if I want. Would a Kingman or comparable ABG be loud enough in that setting? Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
No, you will need to run through the PA. You won’t even hear yourself on stage over a quiet band, the audience definitely will not hear you. Even less so if you were to put tapewounds on it, although to be clear, no strings are going to make a difference so don’t let that discourage you from putting tapes on it.
Thanks Ink. I was planning on running through the house (PA) or my amp. When you said no one will hear me, were you referring to playing unplugged?
Yeah. And I would recommend getting a sound hole cover as well, because it can be pretty tricky to control the feedback and hear yourself.
I have tried and given up on it in a couple of Americana bands: acoustic and electric guitars, me and a drummer. I don’t have a Kingman, I have a BG32, but I don’t think my experience is exceptional. Now I mainly use it at home and for recording.
I would like to try again with a sound hole cover, though.
I'd still like to try to find out how loud you can turn these ABGs up when plugged in, to see if it would meet my needs. I guess I can't really tell unless and until I buy one.
Also, @B-Mac , do you know how you install those lutecovers? Do you just snap it in?
Also, @B-Mac , do you know how you install those lutecovers? Do you just snap it in?
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To answer multiple questions:
I play currently in a band that is "amplified acoustic", meaning we all play/sing directly into the board and PA. For interior gigs (restaurants, etc) we run the board into a Bose L1 and a small studio speaker back at us for a monitor. For outdoor gigs (farmers markets etc) we run the board into 2-12" powered speakers on stanchions with a fold back powered monitor. We occasionally play outdoor stage gigs with sound people not hired by us (!!).
Stage volume thus varies. As a result, feedback into my bass (Ibanez PNE or Kingman v2) is a random factor that may or may not occur, so to simplify matters I installed baffles. Since both basses have controls on the side, the baffles don't get in the way. (In a worst case scenario, I always have a regular electric bass as a back up.)
Gigging at least 3 - 4 times a month in season I tend to put convenience and reliability ahead of pure sound quality. I want to make set up and sound check as idiot-proof as possible (with me as the idiot).
Personally I have never bought a baffle that fit without modification by jigsaw and/or Xacto knife and I fit them so they can be popped in or out without tools. That's just my experience, YMMV.
I play currently in a band that is "amplified acoustic", meaning we all play/sing directly into the board and PA. For interior gigs (restaurants, etc) we run the board into a Bose L1 and a small studio speaker back at us for a monitor. For outdoor gigs (farmers markets etc) we run the board into 2-12" powered speakers on stanchions with a fold back powered monitor. We occasionally play outdoor stage gigs with sound people not hired by us (!!).
Stage volume thus varies. As a result, feedback into my bass (Ibanez PNE or Kingman v2) is a random factor that may or may not occur, so to simplify matters I installed baffles. Since both basses have controls on the side, the baffles don't get in the way. (In a worst case scenario, I always have a regular electric bass as a back up.)
Gigging at least 3 - 4 times a month in season I tend to put convenience and reliability ahead of pure sound quality. I want to make set up and sound check as idiot-proof as possible (with me as the idiot).
Personally I have never bought a baffle that fit without modification by jigsaw and/or Xacto knife and I fit them so they can be popped in or out without tools. That's just my experience, YMMV.
You can get them to fit perfectly if you get them directly from lutehole with dimensions. Cost about $10 extra if they need mods. If you get them off the shelf from a dealer you'll need to modify them with a file and/or sandpaper.
I found that out by buying them from Amazon instead of directly from Lutehole.
Lute Hole Products custom designs, odd shapes, sizes and modifications
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Ok well I’ve semi-solved it. For whatever reason when I bought most of my 1/4” cords I bought TRS or stereo versions. Here’s where the weirdness begins. My cordoba mini bass (acoustic) will not work when plugged into my keyboard amp with a stereo plug. It works fine in my rumble 25 with either plug. If I run it through my pedal (joyo American sound) into the keyboard amp it works with all cables and all combinations. Regular EB also works with all combinations of cables and pedals. Im sure someone in the know could explain this, but my question is should I have just bought mono 1/4” cables? What does everyone else use?
Thanks
Avoid stereo cables. (Except for stereo output.) Use mono and avoid another variable.
Kingman V2 (no hole cover) worked fine here. Playing through a GK MB112 200W amp. BL wanted to do "Man Who Sold the World" Nirvana Acoustic version. Room wasn't too loud, so no feedback that the notch couldn't fix.
Another time I tried it in a loud room, and the guitar sounds caused me to feedback (because I was standing in front of guitar player's amp). I fixed that by picking up a solid body bass.
