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Double Bass hearing self on stage (DB forum thread)

C

cpaterso

Jan 4, 2007
127
51
#1
Hi - Last night I had a gig with a piano/bass/guitar trio - and yet again found myself plucking very hard in an attempt to hear myself. I was even using a Markbass 800 head through a 12 in. cabinet!

The issue is being able to hear myself - and since the sound from the cabinet is audible BEYOND where I am standing, I can't hear the bass.

Any ideas? I could tilt the cab, but then the amp would slide off the back! What do others do?

Thanks,

Craig
 
#4
More forward firing speakers ain't gonna help if he's standing next/in-front to the amp and can't hear himself. This ain't an EB rock show, did you get lost? ;)

You might consider putting the amp on a stool, but that might affect your sound.

Not saying that you should buy new gear but having a PBJ flightcase with upward firing speakers, it's usually not an issue hearing myself. :)
 
#5
You didnt mention monitors so I am assuming you had none. Ive found that sending a little of my bass in the monitor helps. In fact, I have almost given up on bass amps and generally just send my signal to the mains and back to the stage from the monitors. John
 
#6
There usually aren't monitors on small jazz trio gigs. My guess is that you guys were playing a restaurant gig?

Depending on stage setup, and instead of going out and purchasing MORE gear, you may want to try aiming the speaker at the wall next time, and see if that helps you to hear yourself better. You may find you actually have to turn down.

Another option is to add some mids to the EQ to "cut" through a bit more.

You could also get a longer cable to connect the amp, put the amp on the floor, and then tilt the cab.
 
#8
jdombrow said:
Tilt the cabinet and lean the head against the side of it. Put the cabinet on a chair or stool. Get a second small "spot monitor" that can be placed on a mic stand as a personal monitor. Or, play really loud.

JD
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I'm curious what pickup you are using? Does it reproduce the tone of the bass especially in the midrange frequencies? Also, some basses that have a dark, neutral tone don't cut through as well and you need to go with a pickup that tends to have more bite like a Fishman BP-100 or an Underwood.
 
#9
cpaterso said:
Hi - Last night I had a gig with a piano/bass/guitar trio - and yet again found myself plucking very hard in an attempt to hear myself. I was even using a Markbass 800 head through a 12 in. cabinet!

The issue is being able to hear myself - and since the sound from the cabinet is audible BEYOND where I am standing, I can't hear the bass.

Any ideas? I could tilt the cab, but then the amp would slide off the back! What do others do?

Thanks,

Craig
Click to expand...

Lots of good ideas here that may help. I've found that tone quality is the major issue in hearing yourself, not necessarily volume. How high is the action on your bass? If it's to high it's hard to dig in, and if it's two low, the bass won't produce enough sound. You have to find the height where the bass projects and it's easier to play. The other thing is to get the amp slightly elevated, for this I use an Auralex Gramma riser for the amp and tilt the speaker with the extra spring loaded handle that EA puts on the bottom of their cabinets. I'd also check out your pickup through another amplifier to see if it's got some kind of issue.

Ric
 
#10
I've been using one of these for many years right up close behind the back of my bass (if your amp isn't too big) The bass acts as a baffle giving the listeners a combination of acoustic bass sound mixed with some ambient amp sound. You have complete control of the knobs with your left hand. I've even used it in studio.
 
#13
Paul Warburton said:
I've been using one of these for many years right up close behind the back of my bass (if your amp isn't too big) The bass acts as a baffle giving the listeners a combination of acoustic bass sound mixed with some ambient amp sound. You have complete control of the knobs with your left hand. I've even used it in studio.
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I use an amp stand, even taller than the one Paul posted. Gets the speaker up closer to my ears. Much easier to hear myself and play in tune. And it projects up and over anything low in front of kit, like drum kits.

You can control the feedback thing, just by making slight adjustments to how close you are to the speaker, and staying off-axis a bit.
 
#15
olivieraleman said:
Paul
Do you have any trouble with the amp causing the bass to vibrate, causing feedback? John
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I've never had that, but I do keep my gain down as far as possible. The biggest plus for me is that with the speaker that close to my left ear and the amp tilted up I'm hearing the worst possible kinda "ampy" sound and if I can live with that I figure the listeners are hearing a good combination of the bass and the ambient amp sound. People whose ears I trust tell me that it sounds good to them. I play a fiver with the low B so I don't get many players who want to sit in, giving me the chance go out in the room for a listen myself. Like I said, I have used it in studio so I don't have to use cans and the playbacks seem to prove this is right on. When I sit in on somebody elses bass and they have their amp on the floor I feel like I'm playing the amp more that I'm playing the bass....plus the ability to just reach back to get at the knobs if needed is a plus to me and gives me the feeling of complete control over what I do need out of the amp. I also sit on a stool and that gets me even closer to the amp sound. When I get the balance just right, I'm hearing good sound coming out of the bass itself and just a bit of beef from the amp.
 
#16
Pat Harris said:
.... you may want to try aiming the speaker at the wall next time, and see if that helps you to hear yourself better. You may find you actually have to turn down.....
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I tried this the other day after reading about it in another thread. Totally works.
Not only does it sort of create some 'distance' for the low end to develop, but the reflected sound sounded more natural, less "amp"ey to me.

It's a pain sometimes having a separate amp/cab when you want to tilt - if I had to do it I'd put a stool or chair beside the cab, just to put the head on. This is provided you've got the real estate available where you're playing.

EDIT: Just to clarify, that's tilted up, about a foot away from the wall, and pointed towards it.
 
#17
In that line-up you shouldn't have much of a problem, unless the guitarist is heavy on the bottom strings. Just to add my shilling's worth, in that situation I would definitely take a 10" to the gig. You could run the vol a bit higher and you would certainly get more punch.
 
#18
hi - so many good ideas about this issue. Will try them. i think maybe getting a stand like Paul's, then aiming it at the wall behind me might work best. and maybe try a 2x10 cab.

Paul - do you have a cabinet up behind you? or are you using a combo? I have a GK combo which i often run into the 12 cab. so i could use the GK as a monitor near my ears, .....

thanks again, says the guy with the sore fingers.

Craig
 
#20
hi again: yes, i was thinking of maybe running a headphone line into my amp! i have seen pics of Vitous with headphones on, playing with Corea, i think. THEN you could hear yourself! but then, harder to hear other instruments? plus perhaps deafening one's self in the process?

Craig
 

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