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Is my bass rig enough?

#23
As others here have suggested, start with your EQ flat and go from there. I'd add bass until you can feel it, mids to cut through the mix and treble to taste. That just seems to work for me and my band situation.

As for wattage, I'm of the opinion that your rig is more than enough for your needs. I've played some fairly large clubs where I just relied on my paltry 300 watt head through a 4X10 and I was nowhere near maxed. In fact I'm starting to think about downsizing. After a very long hiatus I started gigging again and it has been a seriously eye-opening experience learning what does and doesn't work with newer technology and equipment. I'd have to say that most of the bassists who had killer tone and could be heard clearly were playing small rigs... I mean sub-300watt 15" Ampeg or SWR combos or a 250 watt head with a 2X10 cab. It seems that most of the large 500W+ heads with 6X10 or 8X10 cabs I've heard in the same venues sounded like poop and were unecessary... especially in larger ones where we went through the PA anyway.
 
#24
when i play in a practice setting i keep my amp away from me. help the sound fill out before hitting your ears. park yourself next to the drummer, and have you amp at least 6 feet away, when i practice in my basement studio i stand almost a full cable (20') away from my rig.
strings can have an impact on tone and overal output aswell. maybe its time for a new set!
 
#25
first off, wooohooo ska-punk! :D

Rick Auricchio said:
My suggestion:

3. Be sure the guitars are not bass-heavy. There is plenty of overlap in your instrument ranges, and having the guitars play the bottom end is a no-win situation. A band must play as an ensemble, with each instrument in its own sonic space.
Click to expand...

if they're playin ska-punk, then the guitars should definately be more treble oriented, atleast with all the skacore bands ive heard.

seesilva said:
thanks for all the quick replies. if i am going to cut most of the bass out, which i do pretty much already, would i not be better off scrapping the 15" and getting some more 10's? But again, I would like to get use what i have vs. buying anything more. the guys I'm playing with both have 2x12 tube combos. so i should get them to adjust there eqing so that we all blend at diffrent frequency levels? yea the master volume was only set to off because the amp was off. sorry. when i am playing with the band it is set to about 1 o'clock. the bass that i just recently finished (the black one) is only a few weeks old, so I probably will not be getting any new basses any time soon. it is pretty much everything that i want in a bass, both tone and looks. i would really like to be able to get that sound out of it. I have never used any effects just play straight bass, would this be an option to bring me closer to the operation ivy sound sound? if so which do yall recommend?
Click to expand...

id definately not roll back the bass that extreme. perhaps part of the "mud" you're hearing is because you don't have the bass in your sound to fill it out, hence its mudding up with the guitars?
when i eqed with my old skacore band, id leave bass and treble almost at noon and boost the mids. then use a pick and leave the tone knob on my pj fender at full. id also use a sansamp with the presence at about 75% or so. slight bass and treble boost with no gain and full blend.
I only use a 100w bassman combo (soon to change to a mesa 400+ tho :D) but it cut fine, hell i used it unmic'ed/DI'ed in auditoriums all the time.
mmm you can always try ditching the 15 as suggested. I personally think 12s are as big as i'd go for punk bass. id also play with the boost on your amp, it will help you get the bright bass sound.

hope this all helped!
 
#27
I have to agree that your amp definitely isn't the problem here. It must be ungodly loud in that garage. If you can't get the guitar players to turn down and remove some bass I'd suggest getting some Hearos ear plugs before deafness sets in. They also really help you hear yourself in the mix.
 
#28
Not to highjack your thread but I now have your exact rig and I was told not to run the 2x10 by itself with the head. I could blow the speakers. Don't know whether this is true or not and have not tried it because I don't want to ruin the cab. I play with 2 guitar players and a heavy drummer in a Rock cover band and love the sound. I play a Squire P-bass. Don't know if that is the difference or not. I started with my eq flat and cut the bass back alittle and boost the 2 center mids. I also noticed that you have the contour all the way to the left. Mine is more at 1:00 oclock. Hope this helps.
 
#30
Rick Auricchio said:
My suggestion:
3. Be sure the guitars are not bass-heavy. There is plenty of overlap in your instrument ranges, and having the guitars play the bottom end is a no-win situation. A band must play as an ensemble, with each instrument in its own sonic space.
Click to expand...

This is the best piece of advice you're likely to get about playing in a band.

Each instrument needs to sit in the right place in the sonic spectrum and you'll notice the difference right away. Everything will be so much clearer - even at high volumes. Individually the guitars and bass might sound a bit thin but once you layer them all up on top of the drums it'll sounds great.

Oh yeah, and get a P-bass :bassist:
 
#32
BassmanAd said:
This is the best piece of advice you're likely to get about playing in a band.

Each instrument needs to sit in the right place in the sonic spectrum and you'll notice the difference right away. Everything will be so much clearer - even at high volumes. Individually the guitars and bass might sound a bit thin but once you layer them all up on top of the drums it'll sounds great.
Click to expand...

i agree, that is good info...but not really applicable when we consider the parameters of his band.

hes in a punk/ska band, ala opIvy, which the guitar sonically borrows heavily from that of old ska bands, such as the Maytals, Desmond Dekker, The Selecter, The Ethiopians, etc etc.

I have a feeling why he is hearing "mud" is because he is (accidently) "treading" into the sonic space of the guitars, which is not giving him the definition that would occur by adding some bass into his eq.

heres some samples of punk/ska bands:

Op Ivy
 
#33
I have been trying some of the eq suggestions that i have heard. I guess it is sounding better. I am playing on sunday and will be able to try to eq with the guitars. I will also be moving my rig to a corner/wall and standing a good bit away from it. found some old egg crate to put on the walls, only one piece but it is a start, also got a couple of furniture blankets. Where are the first spots in the room to use the sound dampening material? Should we be playing with the garage door closed, or does it matter? I will let yall know how it goes sunday. thanks for all the help.
 
#34
Viper027 said:
Not to highjack your thread but I now have your exact rig and I was told not to run the 2x10 by itself with the head. I could blow the speakers. Don't know whether this is true or not and have not tried it because I don't want to ruin the cab. I play with 2 guitar players and a heavy drummer in a Rock cover band and love the sound. I play a Squire P-bass. Don't know if that is the difference or not. I started with my eq flat and cut the bass back alittle and boost the 2 center mids. I also noticed that you have the contour all the way to the left. Mine is more at 1:00 oclock. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...
You will not blow the speakers, if it's an 8 ohm cabinet your amp will use half the power with just one cab. Two 8 ohm cabs = 4 ohms and will max out the amp.


For the original post, I would suggest replacing the 1x15 with a 4x10, turn the bass and mids up. That would move a lot more air. But yeah, as is, it should be enough for almost any gig. Start with the EQ. Good Luck!
 
#35
uh dude, I don't know if anyone else has seen this but why do you have your Decible Pad ON? You lose ALOT of punch that way. I would turn that OFF and reset your EQ. Reset your Bass, bring up your Mid Bass, then your Mids and your highs. Once you hit the tone you like adjust your volume to match who you are playing with.

Worse case, they turn down a little. Best case -your a hell of a loud louder.

I don't see a horn in those cabs either....
 
#37
war. Generally Guitarists could get louder cheaper. Now days of course, watss are cheaper, the speakers ar more efficiant and blistering loud is relatively cheap, especially if we use an inflation calculator.
How does the band sound? Tell the clowns to turn down!
Sorry for the turse response. I have had a couple of beers today, after palcing my mom in hospice.

Best of Luck,
Wesley R.
 
#38
I only skimmed through others responses but a huge issue when practising in garages is the concrete floor. First thing I did when we started practising in a 2 car garage was cover the floor with some thick rugs to stop soundwave reflections off the floor.

As soon as we covered the concrete with rugs/carpet the sound in the room tightened up alot!
 

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