"HELP".........I cant hear myself over the guitars

[nzscott]

Hey TBer's . I have recently started playing in a covers band which includes two guitarists .
my problem is that I loose the ability to hear my bass when playing some of the songs we do . I am starting to think that it's because the rhythm guitar is over-riding my bass frequencies and somehow mudding up my hearing .
I also use hearing protection ,musician ear plugs that supposedly cut the volume level by 12db without loosing any of the overall sound quality, which I find very hard to believe .

our set up is a HK audio pa including a 2x12 sub, a ceriatone 36watt guitar amp a fender silverface 22watt amp and my warwick profet 3.3 300watt bass amp with one 411pro 4ohm bin with the bass being di'ed and the guitar amps mic'd for sound reinforcement.

If anyone has any suggestions or has experienced the same problem and overcome it I would appreciate your input and help on the matter.

regards Scotty

 

[RoadRanger]

Make sure your bass cab is raised up off the floor and/or tilted so that it is somewhat pointed at your ears - unless you are an ex-guitarist (guitarists have their ears on the back of their knees so don't need their amps raised and/or tilted LOL).

 

[lowplaces]

Turn up your mids ?

 

[nzscott]

Make sure your bass cab is raised up off the floor and/or tilted so that it is somewhat pointed at your ears - unless you are an ex-guitarist (guitarists have their ears on the back of their knees so don't need their amps raised and/or tilted LOL).

I have my cab sitting off the floor on top of another speaker cab which is only being used as a stand for my cab and head .I'm also a midds man ,as to say I don't like hi's or low's too much and I prefer to boost my midds and cut my low and hi's end frequencies .

 

[SVTX]

I don't know what kind of budget you have but pretty much the best audible experience I've witnessed were three 112 cabs stacked on top of each other. Then, a bit of compression can always help to make your notes more audible and distinguishable. But none of that beats a good MIX imo.

 

[Lobster11]

I have my cab sitting off the floor on top of another speaker cab which is only being used as a stand for my cab and head .I'm also a midds man ,as to say I don't like hi's or low's too much and I prefer to boost my midds and cut my low and hi's end frequencies .

Well, that would seem to rule out the suggestions from @RoadRanger and @lowplaces. I believe the only remaining explanation is simply that you need to somehow turn up, or your guitarists need to turn down. If you're already using earplugs, I suggest the latter. But if they won't listen (and they surely won't) you probably need to add another cab.

 

[woodyng2]

I put no preference.
My hope is always that whoever i play with,they have the ears to know what,when,and how loud to play.
Unfortunately, i don't always get what i hope for.

 

[Lobster11]

Ha. The post by @woodyng2 reminds me that I didn't respond to the poll question; I was focusing on his problem of not being able to hear himself.

My situation is weird, in an interesting way: I play in one band with a single guitarist and another with three guitarists, and I have more trouble hearing myself in the former than the latter. In that band, the drummer is stupid loud -- I'm tempted to wear hearing protection just because of him -- so the guitarist cranks up the volume and I have to follow suit. In my other band, all three guitarists are sensitive to the volume-wars problem, and everyone behaves themselves.

 

[b/o 402]

Guitar amps should be on stands too.
They're cranking way louder than needed because they can't hear the amps, but that's the nature of open back amps on the floor.

 

[WayneP]

A common problem is the guitarists dialing in too much low end, which puts them squarely competing for your sonic space. To the audience the sound will be muddy and the bass indistinct and buried in the mix. You might try doing a recording of a rehearsal with by setting up a good full-range mic out on front of everyone, and try a song as “normal” and with the lows in the guitars dialed down. The point should be made clear when you play it back. If not, your only option is to crank it up.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt


Administrator, Pedulla Club #45
Administrator, Tobias Club #133
Fretless Club #943
Big Cabs Club #23
My Basses
Pedulla Club #45

 

[baxter_x]

Turn up your mids ?

That's is mostly the issue: Mids.
If you don't here yourself or can't cut through, tweak the mids. I've always done this with great results

 

[jsolberg]

I agree with WayneP. When we have a pro sound company do our sound, the guitar player to my right always whines about his sound being too bright. I tell him the low end is my domain in the mix, but he will have none of it. I sit on a stool and have two stacked 115 cabs behind me, so hearing myself is no problem at all.

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I think the drummer is the problem here..

 

[oren]

One counter-intuitive move that sometimes work is to turn down your volume. I find that if the other players realize that they can't hear the bass then they'll turn down too, which can lead to all the sounds having more definition and clarity. This assumes you're playing with people who are actually listening - YMMV.

 

[ERIC31]

One guitar. I don't like sharing my stage and sonic space with a second guitar. A trio is my preferred group. Lots of space for all three to be heard.

Boost your mids, that should help, maybe some grit in your tone will also help you cut through.

 

[Jrussblues]

I play in a to guitar band now, and have traditionally played in a 1 guitar band but I've never been able to hear myself. I got in ear monitors, problem almost solved. I have relied on the sound guy to run my ears and it has been crazy the differences. I just rerouted everything this weekend to run my preamp direct into my ears and send the other signal out of my ears as a direct to the sound guy then cut all of the other instruments into my mix. This was suggested to me by the one sound guy That consistently does an awesome job with my ears.

 

[Frank77]

None of the above...I prefer playing in a band with no guitarists!

 

[bigboy_78]

I find I have a much harder time hearing myself in a 2 guitar band. Its definitely because one the of guitars always ends up in my sonic space.

Whenever I'm thinking I can't hear myself, I'll play an intentionally wrong note. If I can't hear the error, I'll make some changes to my settings. Most of the time I realise I can hear myself, I just can't distinguish the bass from the guitar as much as I'd like. Staking 2 cabs and standing next to them so they are playing in my ear works well, and setting up on the other side of the stage from the guitar with the most low content.

 

[obimark]

I will never play in a band with two guitarist again for this very reason. For whatever reason every rhythm guitarist is a closet bassist who wants to chug along with your bassline with lots of bass in their tone.

 

[Mr. Sound]

Acoustic rhythm guitar can totally wipe out the definition of notes for me.
Solved by (carefully and diplomatically) losing the bottom on the acoustic..
You tell them they need a brighter tone..not for your sake, but to "cut through the mix!!"
Then they turn down (the tricky part)

Good Luck!