Help me find my spot in the mix

[tvbop]

U dont need more power or a different bass.

Ive been here many times and I know the truth. If either, or both of ur guitars are playing bar chords with both PU's on full you need to pack up and go home...let them get on with it....you will never compete or dominate them...ever.

Some guitarists just dont get it. The best sound any rock band gets with two leads is they both play on bridge PU only or if they must play neck PU then they pick single strings. Unless you sort them out you are chasing a lossing battle which you cannot win.
Single guitar is a lot easier to deal with. Period.

 

[Marko 1]

It certainly has its uses, I agree.

 

[themickster]

Would each guitarist be willing to lower his gain until they're no longer swamping everything else? I know I know; that's less likely than a tiger going vegan.

 

[squish]

P-bass is where it's at. I know this is the amp forum, but still. Gibson basses always seem to get lost in the mix, so get that p-bass back because although the solo'd tone isn't always the best, the tone in the mix is. Don't forget this.

And good luck in Athens. That's where my son (and my money) goes. Go dawgs!

 

[Arthur U. Poon]

I'm a college student from Athens, Ga. I play in a classic rock band in a college town with ~80 bars and a large Greek life scene. We play bars, frat houses, date nights, events, etc. 4 piece band, lead guitarist on a 3 pick- up les Paul, singer who plays rhythm guitar with a strat, drummer, and me, I recently upgraded from a squire p bass with SD quarter pound pickups to a Gibson SG standard bass. I play it through an Acoustic B300H 300W head to an Acoustic B410C cab.

I don't think my set up is nearly loud enough and I'm wondering what may be the most cost effective option to fix that. I live with the lead guitarist and we are both obsessed with tone. It's very hard to chase a clear punchy tone when you have to run your master on 9 with gain just to hear yourself. I want to be able to actually use my eq and pickups to get some fuzz or get some drive or play clean tones.
My thoughts are maybe I could get another cab? I know the one I have has the parallel out so I could run the same head and just get another of the cab I already have. It would certainly be cost effective. The question is whether or not 300w is enough for 2 4x10 cabs. I've gotten differing opinions in the past. I welcome all input. I just don't want to be stuck sending my master volume to the moon just to find my place in the mix. I could also look at other heads? I love ampeg heads but they get pretty pricey.
Thoughts and recommendations?
thanks so much for all the help!!!

One low cost idea is to consider replacing the SD quarter pounder, (which is a bit mid-scooped IMO) in your P-Bass with a DiMarzio Model P pickup. The Model P has quite an aggressive tone, which excellent for live playing.

Definitely dial in more mids, low mids if possible.

If that doesn't work, add another 4-10" cabinet.

 

[Coot]

A lot of great advice. Personally....I have an HPF ( Mesa WD800)or I set my Traynor YBA 100 to around 60- 80hz for lows. 400hz I find a little boxy so I try to stay around 300-350 or so for low mids. I like 7-800 for high mids . I stay away from 1K area. To me that's where that finger clicky ganky sound is. I prefer to cut rather than boost EQ's. I have various basses which need separate EQ's but my Fender Pre ( with flats or rounds )is king of cutting through and blending in a band mix. This is all my own personal taste in EQ-ing ,so... try it if you like but we each have our personal preferences. I agree though that a good serious chat about the bandmembers' individual space in the EQ landscape without stepping on each others toes is really important. We worked out that when one guitarist was chugging low chords .. the other was in a higher register for leads or chording and they would trade off . Little things like that can reduce overall muddyness . IMHO, I guess its band ego over individual ego that makes a great sounding unit. Best of luck, Rock on and have fun!!

 

[Chris Laarman]

We worked out that when one guitarist was chugging low chords .. the other was in a higher register for leads or chording and they would trade off . Little things like that can reduce overall muddyness . IMHO, I guess its band ego over individual ego that makes a great sounding unit.

Quite! I remember the sessions with members from a Usenet group on guitars, some twenty years ago. I remembered them coming with their "heaviest artillery", so the last time (for me) I had in advance suggested how we could accomodate some eight electric guitars at the same time. Something with high/low, fuzzy/sharp, sustained/rhythmic. (I also suggested keeping the songs simple, like blues or 1-4-5 schemes.) But alas...