How to hear myself better

[GEAnderson]

The problem:

I play at a lot of jams and informal situations where I basically walk up, plug in to an amp that's already there, and start to play. Most of the time, I simply can't hear myself.


What I'm looking for:

Some sort of gadget that would allow me to put my bass in an earbud in one of my ears without compromising the signal I send to the amp or the board. Due to time and space constraints, it would need to be small, light and easy to just plug in when I walk on stage.


The context:

I'm living in Taiwan where most of the backline equipment is about as crappy as you can imagine. Well-made, big-name gear costs almost twice the US retail price here. Even if I were willing to pay US$1500 for a Markbass 12" combo amp, I wouldn't have the time to drag it on stage and set it up.

* My attempts to bump up the mids on the amp only affect sound out in the room. It doesn't help me on stage.

* I can't lean the amp back because there is nothing to lean it against.

* More bass in the monitors? Monitors? What's that? ;-)


Many thanks for any viable ideas!

 

[Dp1363]

One sample answer is to buy a matching cabinet and stack them so the sound is more ear level. Made a world of difference for me. Just watch your Ohms.

 

[Renaissance]

Get an amp stand (just don't forget it when you leave).

 

[praisegig]

I use a Rolls PM351, and there is the PM50 if you don't need voice for "more me"

 

[SV777]

Try to stand further away from your cab for starters

 

[Coolhandjjl]

IEMs! (In-Ear-monitors)

I wear hearing protection, but I am still able to hear my cab. IEMs also provide hearing protection. While an earbud type of device may solve your immediate issue, they provide no hearing protection.

 

[two fingers]

www.rolls.com

Tons of possible solutions on this site. You can probably find a unit that will work for not only this particular situation, but will be a great practice and/or home recording solution as well.

I have had a Red Square DI made by them for years. It works as a great backup bass somution, but I have loaned it to many acoustic guitarists and keyboard players who love it as well. Quality products. You may have to get a quieter power supply depending on which unit you buy. But that's true for a lot of companies.

 

[Winfred]

Seems like you need half-a-headphone? Is there some way you can plug headphones (or ear buds) into an output on the amp? Then get that signal to one of your ears?

I'm not sure I'm describing this correctly. I hope you know what I mean.

My combo amp has a 1/4" speaker out on the back. I can plug headphones into it, but the main speakers in the cab still put out sound.

You'd need a long cord for the ear buds though.

 

[Lobster11]

I've got to assume that all the other bassists playing at these jams must be having the same problem you're having. Maybe instead of trying to find a solution just for yourself, you should talk to the people organizing the jam and/or providing the back line -- or get together with some of the other bassists who play there -- to see if a solution can be found that will help everyone.

 

[lz4005]

You should be able to put what you need together with a few basic parts. Y cable out of the bass, one side goes to the house amp, other side goes to a battery powered headphone amp or an amp sim attachment for your phone, then your ear piece.

 

[GEAnderson]

I use a Rolls PM351, and there is the PM50 if you don't need voice for "more me"

This looks like a good possibility. Would you mind to explain how it is connected? Thanks!

 

[praisegig]

I plug my bass into the Rolls box instrument jack , run xlr out to FOH either through a di box or to their snake. You also can use the parallel out of the di to a back line. You also can get a monitor feed from house to monitor input on box, and blend volume of monitor feed and your bass.

 

[samson3382]

iRig2?

 

[srcTW]

The ebs micro bass ii will let you use headphones while still passing your signal via di and 1/4". I've done this a few times to solve the same problem you have.

 

[GEAnderson]

...Maybe instead of trying to find a solution just for yourself, ...

I *have* talked with other bassists who show up to this very guitar-centric jam, and while they complain too, none of them wants to make any effort (or spend any money) toward a solution. Whatever I come up with (at my own expense), they will, of course, be welcome to use. Not sure why you'd assume otherwise.



Thanks, everyone for your helpful suggestions! You've given me some good ideas to work with.

 

[AndyPanda]

If you decide to go with IEM ... I'll share some of my experiments and experiences with very loud bands ... but my experience is me being the keyboardist and not being the bassist.

So you can get IEM that have very good isolation (they are rated for isolation the same way earplugs are rated). So if you get IEM with high isolation - and you don't send any signal to them, it's just like playing with earplugs - the stage volume is drastically reduced. And earplugs reduce the high frequencies much more than the low frequencies - so I find that with earplugs (or with IEM and no signal sent to them) I hear a lot of bass and very little midrange and no highs at all. So it would be difficult to hear the hi-hats for example - but you'd hear the kick and rumble of the bass.

And before you start to feed signal into your IEM - be careful, the tendency is to turn it up and you end up damaging your ears. So if you think about it, you now have high isolation IEM (like earplugs) so you only need a very tiny amount of audio feeding to the IEMs for you to be able to hear the clarity. BUT you really need to get more than just your bass into them, you need to get the instruments you use for timing and cues. So I used to set up an omni mic to pick up the stage sound (so I could hear the bandleader calling out a different song from the set list for example) and blended enough of that so I could hear the stage sound blended in with my instruments. I like to hear hi-hat and snare so I'd move the omni mic where it got the whole stage but got more of the hat and snare. (you could also get a full mix from the sound guy - but I don't trust them, they have so much feedback and I don't want to lose what hearing I have left)

This works really well - but it just isn't as enjoyable as playing with open ears and being able to hear yourself and everyone else -- but bands all play way too loud these days and you really need hearing protection.

Anyway ... hope that helps.

 

[madbass6]

Maybe your using the wrong Bass !
Try one of these, no amp needed! Rock on!

 

[GEAnderson]

Maybe your using the wrong Bass !
Try one of these, no amp needed! Rock on!

That's not out of the realm of possibilities! One of the more popular and enduring bands here in Taipei uses a washtub bass (though he doesn't have to compete with electric guitars).

 

[Lobster11]

I *have* talked with other bassists who show up to this very guitar-centric jam, and while they complain too, none of them wants to make any effort (or spend any money) toward a solution. Whatever I come up with (at my own expense), they will, of course, be welcome to use. Not sure why you'd assume otherwise..

Well, you said that you wanted something that is "small, light and easy to just plug in when I walk on stage."

Anyway, I really wasn't intending to be critical or accusatory: I just thought that if there were several of you who all had the same problem, you (collectively) might be able to find a better solution that benefited everyone by pooling your resources. But now that you've said that the other guys aren't willing to do that, I agree that you'll have to solve the problem yourself.

 

[madbass6]

Ok" the wash tub Bass thing wasn't meant to be taken serious..lol. sry bad joke!
On a serious note thou try one of these..
Behringer P1 on stage headphone monitor system! designed especially for Bass! Light, small, very reasonable priced ($49.99) also has a DI on back! clearwater.com free shipping! actually double check on the free shipping considering your location.
gd luck!