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Having Trouble Sticking Out Among the Guitars

T

TheGman335

Dec 6, 2007
3
1
#1
Hello fellow bassers! I play in a progressive rock band and I'm having some trouble with tone and sticking out when we play live. I've had multiple people tell me that they've had trouble hearing me after shows. They say it isn't necessarily volume, but just that my tone kinda blends with the guitars and doesn't really stand out. I like having an aggressive Squire/Geddy type of tone. I play a Fender Jazz through an Ampeg BA-115 with a pick and I usually pick the strings in between the neck and neck pickup. My tone settings are typically Bass at 12 o'clock, Treble at 1/2 o'clock, and Mid at 3 o'clock and usually I'll roll down the volume knob for the bridge pickup just a little bit.

What can I do to stand out more without sacrificing the tone that I like so much? Is there anything I can do technique-wise or gear-wise or am I just screwed?
 
#3
Do you have PA support? How the guitars are eq? In my very limited experience you need to know how the guitars are eq so you can take any available sonic space, however, you might ended up with a sound that you dont like.

IMHO cutting through is overrated
 
#4
Probably more than one way to skin a cat here, but something that's easy to do with the gear you all have, is to work with your EQ. If everyone is going full spectrum all the time, chances are the whole thing will sound like mush. This chart has helped me clean things up immensely when I'm doing FOH sound, but this can also apply in your case. What sounds great in the bedroom may not work in a band setting.

In your case, you're probably getting some overlap with the guitars in the 80Hz to 200Hz range. Try having the guitars cut thier lower frequencies a bit and you cut your higher frequencies at bit and see if that helps. Try not to go crazy boosting EQ to compensate. I've found it's generally better to cut EQ than to boost.

NOTE: if you have a keyboard player, all bets are off... better to just mix that out altogether...;-)

editing-audio-for-video1.png
 
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#5
pedroims said:
Do you have PA support?
Click to expand...

^^^^ The answer to this first. If no PA support for instruments or bass, then your band needs to address the sound it produces coming off of the stage into the audience, and work towards blending appropriately to the type of music you play. Drums usually dictate stage volume, but not always (overzealous guitarists?). My rule of thumb is that a band that produces a good mix coming off the stage with no PA support will always stand its best chance of sounding good always, under any circumstance. Even with PA support, this is a good thing to master. The problem may or may not be your rig, but I wouldn't be surprised if a bit more heft in your bass rig wouldn't do the trick.

If you do have full PA support and a sound mixer, then you need to lean on that person to work with you on your tone and balance in the mix, if possible. Are you happy with the way the bass sounds and feels on stage, or do you feel buried?
 
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#6
Get a wireless bass, go out in front during the sound check and hear for yourself.
Assume that when people show up they will change the room sound, but you should be able to figure out if it's tone, volume, frequency, or ...
Or grab a live recording. Nothing fancy, just enough to hear the levels.
 

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