Double Bass how loud?

[Guest043]

im a 6 string electric player almost always, but i do have an upright and i love the instrument. ive never really been able to take it out for jams and such though..if i'm outdoors with an acoustic guitar and maybe a djembe, do i have a chance? in genneral, how far can you go before you need amplification for an upright? im sure i'd be fine with just an acoustic guitar but..drumming and precussion is what im not so sure about. piano too..

 

[mattfong]

You're fine against a djembe. I play without an amp against a full drum kit a lot of the time, and they say they can hear me well.

Whether I can hear myself is a different story

 

[Roger Davis]

I know that most folks quote the drums as the yardstick for determining whether or not you need to amp but in my experience as long as the drummer isn't too heavy on the kick drum it's generally ok to go acoustic. The deal breaker always seems to be the keyboard player. Piano fine, but electronic keys generally need the bass to be amped.

 

[Guest043]

interesting...

i remember hearing/reading (i think here on TB) that a thing to keep in mind is that someone standing directly infront of your bass will hear you a lot more than you hear yourself.

looks like im gana be playing out in the park more often

 

[Gearhead43]

Yes, as double bassists we are in the worst spot to actually hear our instrument. Low end sound travels in very long waves and will be heard better at some distance from the source, acoustic and amplified.

 

[Thomas Stone]

I play with drums and bass clarinet/bassoon/bass trombone/contrabassoon (depending who is available) and don't amplify.

That is I use no amplifier for my stage sound (no monitor feed on stage)
We will all mic' to some degree through the house PA though for the benefit of the audience.

I only have difficulty when the bass-wind and drums are really kicking up a fuss. My bass isn't the loudest.

That said the drummer i used to play with made it impossible to play without an amp. A very heavy hitting player. Was no fun hence why it ended.

 

[drurb]

...Low end sound travels in very long waves and will be heard better at some distance from the source, acoustic and amplified.

Well, sort of.

 

[mattfong]

Isn't it also that we are standing/sitting behind the instrument while the sound is projecting away from us, for the most part?

 

[Martin Beer]

I've jammed with a few djembe players, and while it's usually fine, the djembe can have a strong, low frequency boom that might tread on the bass. So whether it works depends on how sensitive your drummer is and how his/her drum is tuned, much like with a kit.