Is that all you got? asked the soundman

[b_carville]

You may want to consider buying your own good quality D.I.box.

A good one's not cheap.They can run about $75 to $150 or even more.A Countrymen or Radial D.I.is a good bet.
There actually is a difference in sound quality on the better D.I.s.They color your sound less & they are better than most of the built in the amp ones.

Some soundguys can have a real attitude though.There's a lot of jokers out there who don't know what they are doing even at established venues.It's not good to tick them off though!

I've found the best sound people are ones that play or have played music themselves.

 

[tmart937]

You may want to consider buying your own good quality D.I.box.

A good one's not cheap.They can run about $75 to $150 or even more.A Countrymen or Radial D.I.is a good bet.
There actually is a difference in sound quality on the better D.I.s.They color your sound less & they are better than most of the built in the amp ones.

Some soundguys can have a real attitude though.There's a lot of jokers out there who don't know what they are doing even at established venues.It's not good to tick them off though!

I've found the best sound people are ones that play or have played music themselves.

I do have a DI box that I bring to every show for the "just in case" moment.

The last line of your post could be changed to sound people who have played bass themselves!

 

[hbarcat]

I would be very careful about being a smart-aleck to the soundman. If you thought your sound was bad before...

There's bad, and then there's inaudible.

Last Sunday, my band was first of three bands to play at a local festival and I noted to my bandmates that the sound guy seemed a little bit "crabby" to me and that we should be careful to avoid irritating him. We're experienced enough to know that ticking off the sound guy is never a good idea. Our set went off without a hitch and the audience reported that the sound was very good and we had no complaints.

I stuck around to listen to the next band and I noticed that the guitars weren't always the same volume level and it seemed to me that it was because both players we're constantly jacking with their stage levels and the sound guy was having a hard time keeping up on the board.

After the third song, one of the guitar players says into the microphone so that all the audience can hear, "Is it too much to ask that we get some decent levels on the guitars? I mean, is it really too much to ask?"

After that, the sound went downhill.

 

[jaywa]

Is there a standard volume signal the DI sends out? Or is it based on your volume levels?

Don't get me wrong this head has done well at many other shows. This was the first time I've had it happen. I have a strange suspicion it was switched to Post.

My understanding and experience with my Hartke 3500 head is that the "Pre" knobs (Tube, and Solid State), as well as the "Contour" knobs (Low and High), all affect the DI out level REGARDLESS whether you are set Pre or Post EQ. The Pre/Post switch only applies to the graphic EQ, and of course the Master Volume doesn't affect the DI signal at all. I loved this about my Hartke head because I could send a compressed, somewhat EQ'd tone to the board and still have the graphic EQ for tweaking my cabinet sound onstage, without affecting the signal to the board.

The idea of bringing your own DI box is good as a backup, but even then you are still at the sound tech's mercy for compression, EQ, etc. Unless you're using a SamsAmp or similar product that integrates some tone shaping vs. a straight DI box.

 

[azureblue]

sound men and bass: I used to have this huge bass cab with an 18, two 6's and a tweet, in a 10 cu. ft. box (and a roadie).. The box was good to about 32 hz- great for my 5 string. And I had a 1Kw amp which got pretty loud. So we played this venue and the sound guy almost went nuts every time I hit the low B. See, the sound booth was 32 feet away from the stage with a hard wall behind it...... I could rattle the sound guy's beer glass from the stage sans FOH sound.. Fun!

 

[moles]

Hmm - in my experience, getting a "is that all you brought?" from a soundguy means that a bass bin has blown, or the pa is s****y and underpowered... I've made it a habit - and I know many people will disagree for whatever reasons - to expect to have to fill the room with my own rig. I strive to dial in a sound that sounds good "out there" rather than 3 feet in front of the cabinet, and then even if I play at a lower volume and let the pa do most of the work the two sounds work together well.
Well that's the theory anyway.
It pays to have good communication skills, and work with your tech. And I'm slowly learning that not all soundguys understand that 90% of Sound Engineering does not take place behind a mixing desk and that's just life. I pick my battles very carefully, but if absolutely necessary I *can* add a little more volume from the stage to counter someone's messed up idea of what a bass should sound like. It's not about being a control freak, or micromanaging someone else's duties - I just don't think an upright bass should sound like Nikki Sixx circa 1985 thankyouverymuch.

 

[Andrew.Glose]

If you haven't already, I suggest doing some research on getting sound.

That way you can fix it yourself. Or at least have an intelligent conversation...be it one way or not...with the sound man.

 

[fokof]

If that happens to you again , just answer the guy ;
" there is a knob on top of your board called GAIN , very usefull sometimes...."

The two " " represents a joke. Just in case.

 

[tmart937]

If you haven't already, I suggest doing some research on getting sound.

That way you can fix it yourself. Or at least have an intelligent conversation...be it one way or not...with the sound man.

Yes I have talked to the tribes elder. It was nice to get advice from a bass player!

At least my guitarist admits that bass is a different animal and doesn't like giving me advice.

 

[EADG mx]

Could it be your bass setup? Technique? Your amp is just one factor to your tone

Try setting everything flat (including on your bass pre) and see how that sounds. This is what I do as a quick test at every venue.

 

[tmart937]

Could it be your bass setup? Technique? Your amp is just one factor to your tone

Try setting everything flat (including on your bass pre) and see how that sounds. This is what I do as a quick test at every venue.

I've played shows before with that same bass setup and technique.

Also another problem is that after a quick test we would have been playing. They gave us all about 2 notes before we started the show.