And where you are, 97% is considered low humidity.
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Yeah. It cracks me up when I hear other places 'gripe' about high humidity-50%! Riiiight.
When I was in Arizona, the weather guy was complaining about 25% being extremely high.
This discussion on the merits of feeding a signal to the front-of-house mixer that's independent of what the bassist has crafted seems to me to be the tip of the iceberg re the larger issue of achieving a satisfactory (if not excellent) sound balance on the part of the band members themselves, as opposed to an external arbiter of taste; i.e., the FOH mixer. Perhaps it's an area that needs more attention, especially since the overall SPL can vary widely from one date and venue to the next due to amplification, unlike natural sound.
During sound check, how do you judge the overall blend and balance of instruments and vocals? Do you make a recording 20 or 30 feet from the stage and listen back? Do you have someone else sit in on your instrument while you walk around and listen from various vantage points in the room? Do you ask your friends or "experts" what it sounds like? Do you make judgements from the monitors?
This is not a trivial question. And bass in particular is extremely susceptible to measurable fluctuations in Sound Pressure Level throughout the venue due to room modes as wavelengths approach one or more of the room dimensions or its fractions: in one spot, the bass can be overwhelming, while in a node 10 feet away it can measure 20 dB lower on an SPL meter, or even more. Add to this physical reality the psychoacoustic fact that bass frequencies are most susceptible to apparent variation with changes in the overall SPL: at low listening levels, bass needs to be boosted to be judged to be at the same relative level as when the overall SPL is high (Equal Loudness Contours and ISO 226:2003).
Since musicians in amplified bands face a much different reality than those in acoustic combos and orchestras, I'd be interested in hearing how some of our fellow TBers achieve a satisfactory balance between all instruments, including vocals and drums.
The places our band play cater to a 50+ y/o audience. We listen to each other and any volume comments from the management. Our drummer sometimes plays too soft(ly).
We load in just before playing-no time for a thorough sound check. We're accustomed to what levels to set for the rooms we play, so we have to 'wing it'. The one venue we used to play(car show gig cancelled by the community-engine noise)that provided sound, was nice but that ended in 2016.
Yeah, it's only 75% today. Nearly 'dry'.
Just wanted to share this quick video from Saturday night, to show off my usage of the OD on my Rumble 500!!
The video is cut off at the end because my wife didn’t know about the stop in the middle of the song (honestly, neither did we, LOL!!).
The video is cut off at the end because my wife didn’t know about the stop in the middle of the song (honestly, neither did we, LOL!!).
Understand, I'm not knocking the OD for those who have a need for it. I want my tone clean.
As do I, for the most part. But as a 90’s grunge rock tribute, there are a few songs we play that require some dirt.
The mistakes in the video above are purely because it’s only about the third time we’ve played that song.
The r500/410 was great. Not too loud for the room and I could hear myself just fine. Gotta say, though, I don’t like having the drummer so far away from me!!
No problem with the mistakes...I'm just trying to get my old head around the "grunge rock tribute" reference.
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We play covers from the 90’s grunge rock period. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, that kinda stuff. Fun, mindless rock.No problem with the mistakes...I'm just trying to get my old head around the "grunge rock tribute" reference.
Whew! You said a mouthful, BO! I'll toss in my 2¢, if I've narrowed down to the crux of your post correctly.
A. I've never had to operate as "the soundman", so I don't have that perspective, at all. At most, I've turned knobs as directed by the PA owner/operator (also singer/guitarist) as he steps out in front of the band to hear the mix in some small bands. As such, I concern myself only with my own sound to me during soundcheck and, more importantly, during the gig (realizing that the addition of bodies to the room changes the room acoustics!).
2. Then my "strategy", if you will, is to play with as low a bass volume as I can bear, then wait for either a request to turn up, or my own perceived need to turn up to suit my needs. In acoustic jams/gigs in boomy rooms, usually without drums, the requests to turn up come quickly and often! But I make very sure to not drown out the rhythm guitarist, but rather lock in with him to reinforce the rhythm for all to hear. In amplified bands, of course, I lock in with the drummer and only use my amp with enough volume for me to do that effectively. I leave it to the soundman to do what he must with my post EQ & post Master XLR Out for the FOH. Usually I must turn up on my own initiative in amplified bands to be abled to hear myself once the drummer gets warmed up, and the FOH invariably bleeds onto the stage. Expecting this, I play louder for "official soundcheck" than I anticipate really needing! Then, I can turn down for, at least. the first set and sometimes the whole gig!
iii. Unfortunately, there are times when I must use earplugs out of self defense! Sometimes I can still hear myself and the drummer OK. Other times this adds complexity to my strategy if I can't hear myself well, but don't want to add to the volume wars. I still concentrate on locking in with the drummer's rhythm, but I just go on faith that I'm playing OK. The whole band always blames the soundman when that happens. I've never experienced that in a rehearsal and I've never been implicated in these situations, AFAIK.
So, that's my take. I'd like to hear others' approach.
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Hey Rumble guys 
, one short question: are those amps (sonically) the same thing ?
Txs
, one short question: are those amps (sonically) the same thing ?
Txs
Does anyone have any experience with running an active bass through a Studio 40?
I was playing my Spector through my Studio and it seemed to have less output than my Bass VI and it didn't seem to change with a pickup height adjustment. Is there a 'built-in' pad for the Active Basses or something?
I was playing my Spector through my Studio and it seemed to have less output than my Bass VI and it didn't seem to change with a pickup height adjustment. Is there a 'built-in' pad for the Active Basses or something?
I connected the 40 and the 100 (both ways) - honestly can't tell what I think about it in my basement... Too much rattling in the house lol - going to have to try it outside
That's a fulsome response that bears the stamp of honesty! In advocating for a return to the musical-group-as-a-self-balancing-unit, I appreciate that we're in a much different world from the big bands of the 1930s and 40s, chamber music groups and symphony orchestras who all demonstrate(d) the ability to balance themselves internally. And it takes a lot of learning and talent to play as part of an ensemble. Handing the balancing act to an outsider such as a FOH mixer seems to me to be a bit of a cop-out, and doesn't work at all, of course, where there is no sound reinforcement system.
Of course, mixing live sound is a relatively recent innovation. It wasn’t so long ago that virtually all pop music acts relied on their instrument amplifiers and the acoustic output of the drum kit to fill a venue, the level of the vocals being brought into balance either via a relatively primitive house sound system or a couple of speaker columns at the sides of the stage. Even the Beatles toured that way. It was only during their first tour of the US and Canada in 1964 that the limitations of this setup became apparent, when their then state-of-the-art 100-watt Vox amplifiers were drowned out by thousands of screaming fans.
My hunch is that it becomes next to impossible to be a self-balancing unit when high SPLs drive the room into saturation, but I'd like to hear others weigh in on this.
To put things into perspective, this being the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, let's not forget that Bill Hanley mixed the entire three-day show using a few Shure 4 x 1 mic mixers, their outputs cascaded into an additional 4 x 1 (see photo). Reflecting on the experience, Hanley said, "The difference between Insanity and Genius is measured by Success."
So, my curiosity was piqued. I just now tested this theory on my Rumble 200c. It doesn't matter where the "drive" knob is set or the "gain". As long as the "level" knob is at zero, and I kick in the OD, nothing comes out of the amp. I even unplugged the cable from the bass with no pop at all! Don't know if I'll ever use it in real life because I like to have the OD available to kick in an out with a footswitch.
Nice to know the "no pop" factor. I might use OD on the open mic/jam thing I do on Sundays, but having a remote "mute" button[footswitch] is even better.
Well today I foamed my Fender Rumble 100 with Sonic Barrier Foam. I was also going to put in an Eminence Basslite S2012, but when I did it sounded fuzzy on the E string so back to Parts Express it goes. I will say though that foaming the cab completely transformed the factory Chinese Eminence speaker. It sounds very nice and I will even say that it sounds louder than before. This is a must have mod for the Rumble 100. I'm so happy I foamed the cab. Oh..... I also debadged my Rumble as well!
