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I CANT HEAR MYSELF

W

WayCoolJr

Jan 20, 2006
28
0
#1
I have the problem of not being able to hear myself when we practice (my band, that is) We play like Dream Theater Mixed with Motley Crue. Normally my Hartke 120Watt Kickback 10 does the job but now we have 2 guitarists with 60 watts each and 2 drummers who play louder than most on their own. They both use double bass and both have invested huge amounts of money in their sets. So I am obviously looking to upgrade my rig. I really like Gallien-Krueger and am trying to decide between the Backline 250or the Backline 600, or maybe even the Behringer BX300 head (450 watts for 250 bucks is awful intriguing). And to top that what cabinet should I get, The GK410 or GK115. Or do I go with The Behringer and get one of their cabs to handle the power. Someone please help! :hmm:
 
#2
You want to stay away from Berhinger in my experience. They sound fine but are unreliable. While GK puts out some great products, the Backline series is not a line that has gotten great reviews. What is your price range? Perhaps there is a good alternative to both. Also, you guys are practicing too loud. Turn down if you want to keep your hearing.
 
#4
my price range is extremely being that I'm only 16 and have parents that don't hand out gifts. I can go to around 400 bucks for both cab and head. Oh and I can;t help but practice loud. We usually practice in one of the drummer's gargage and i plug in a 30 foot cable and walk outside the garage. It honestly probably gives me a better feel for the music. But Yea most of our gigs are outside. Our last one was a Kiss cover concert at a halftime show of a football game (powder puff). I have over 300 hours experience running and setting up and tearing down live sound gear and own a lot of it. So di is no problem for me. I just want good tone thats loud enough to make the neighbors mad and hear during practice.
 
#5
Unless you come up with some of the greatest used scores ever, you aren't going to find anything that will compete for $400.

If you've got all that PA gear, just get a SansAmp Bass Driver (if you like the sound - try before you buy!) and run into the PA.
 
#6
Yea those are really nice and my PA gear includes a mackie 24 channel board with phantom power, 2 ev monster speakers, idont know what they are. Crown amps, dbx eqs dbx compressor, lexicon effects and so on. The thing is, I cant fit all that into the garage. As I said, 2 drummers with massive sets. All i can fit is my 1986 peavey something with 2 all in one cabs PA system and quite frankly, i dont like the tone it puts out. If i really buckle down and save I could prolly come up with $600. But id loose some old PA gear but who cares!
 
#9
Well, grab those EV speakers, and a Crown power amp, and just add a bass pre-amp and you'd be set. :cool:

I don't see how with even with $600 there's hope of competing with two loud drummers the way you describe it.

What are the guitarists using? If it's two "cranked to eleven" 60 watt amps with full stacks, that's going to be a bit louder than two 60 watt amps with a 2x12 each, set to about four.
 
#10
One Uses a behringer v-amp 2x10, (never had a problem with it except fr the power distorts the sound at wierd times) and the other Uses a fender frontman combothats 60 watts. I thought the rule was 4x the watts of the guitars. Maybe i messed that one up. I dont think i need that much power. if it makes any difference, I play an epiphone thunderbird. Oh and i like the spinal tap reference
 
#13
Look for a nitrobass head

You could get 2X 212 cabs, start off for oen and it will be around 400 or so. With one cab at 4 OHMS your pushing 300 watts, with another cab, the nitrobass pushes out 450 with more speaker area. I have found the 12 in speakers have great mids which is awesome for rock and funk. YRMV
 
#16
at about 500Hz and below frequency wise, it can take up to 15ft for bass waves to form properly (depending on temperature and humidity and all that kinda thing) for the time being, save up and try positioning your amp at head hight facing towards you about 10-15ft away, and you should be able to find a 'sweet spot' where you volume is highest, also your tone will be improved here. The best advice i can give is aim for an amp that is twice as good as what you can afford, do whatever it takes to save up for it and then get it. You can waste alot of money upgrading your gear every year. Skip a few steps. ;)
 
#17
WayCoolJr said:
One Uses a behringer v-amp 2x10, (never had a problem with it except fr the power distorts the sound at wierd times) and the other Uses a fender frontman combothats 60 watts. I thought the rule was 4x the watts of the guitars. Maybe i messed that one up. I dont think i need that much power. if it makes any difference, I play an epiphone thunderbird. Oh and i like the spinal tap reference
Click to expand...

That's not nearly as loud as I was anticipating.

With $600 it's very do-able. These other guys will have better suggestions than what I can give.


For the guy who said bass waves take awhile to develop, this is very true. I've found that in my band's small practice space my amp is much higher than it would be at a gig. But the volume just isn't there at rehearsals without the amp being a full "level" (out of ten) higher - I run it at three (nine-o'-clock) at gigs, but at practices it's at four (ten-thirty).
 
#20
get earplugs!

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if you are waiting to save for longer, the qsc rmx850 paired with a bbe bmax is a great combo. some people go for the sansamp over the bbe. then of course theres the question of speaker cabs. your local shops will probably have some good used deals.
 

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