Its something I would tell a guitarist to do because its gets it nearer to his head and he's more likely to turn it down, but would you do it to bass frequencies? I'm considering it because I probably hear myself better but what would the audience hear?
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Lifting the cab off the floor?
- Thread starter Pbassred
- Start date
You'll experience a definite loss of low frequencies when you get it off the floor. That floor coupling does quite a bit.
Sometimes floor coupling can cause problems, particularly on hollow stage IME. I use a Gramma pad and it is perfect in isolating my cab from the floor
I thought that if you were within a quarter wavelength there would be no difference. I'll wait for those more educated than I to confirm or disconfirm that.
The reason for guitarists to lift [or tilt] their cabs, is because higher frequencies become more linear in their projection, where lower frequencies become more omnidirectional.
What you'll end up doing by raising a bass cab is just making the higher frequencies hit your ear more easily. It could make a slight difference in how easily you hear yourself. But not enough for me to care. I can usually hear myself just fine on stage. It's really not going to make much difference to the audience either. All the frequencies all already be coming out of the PA for them.
What you'll end up doing by raising a bass cab is just making the higher frequencies hit your ear more easily. It could make a slight difference in how easily you hear yourself. But not enough for me to care. I can usually hear myself just fine on stage. It's really not going to make much difference to the audience either. All the frequencies all already be coming out of the PA for them.
Yes this I've read this here in the past. Lately, I've been sitting my GB NX2 212 cab on a milk crate. I know some (jimmyM) hate us to use milk crates. But at least I lay my navy blue speaker cover over the crate so it can't be seen.
It more helps to have my micro-head, STM-900 or Shuttle 9.2 up closer to eye level for quick adjust if need be. And I can see knobs better and I feel I do hear my cab better too. Friends in crowd have said no loss of lows, sounds great. And this with no PA support. So works for me. OP, just try it n see.
My input is based on personal experience on a very solid wooden floor, not what people have said. I just got a GK 112, which has a 12" woofer mounted smack dab in the middle of a rectangular cabinet. Even with the tweeter turned off, my wife doesn't like the difference in brightness when it's standing on its end vs. laying down lengthwise on the floor. I agree that the lows are more accentuated when it's not on end, and I'm actually surprised at this difference because it has a slot port right at floor level when it's laying down.
But the best thing is you can test this easily. Have somebody sit some distance away in a chair facing away from you. Alternate between playing your bass with the speaker on the floor, and with the speaker raised. See if the person can easily distinguish the difference. To make it even more even, have the speaker angled slightly upwards when on the floor so that in both positions the cone is facing directly at the listener's head. Do this, and you can make up your own mind about what the dominant factor is between all the various contributing physics.
But the best thing is you can test this easily. Have somebody sit some distance away in a chair facing away from you. Alternate between playing your bass with the speaker on the floor, and with the speaker raised. See if the person can easily distinguish the difference. To make it even more even, have the speaker angled slightly upwards when on the floor so that in both positions the cone is facing directly at the listener's head. Do this, and you can make up your own mind about what the dominant factor is between all the various contributing physics.
Are you sure having the drivers closer to your ear isn't the reason for the added brightness when rotating the cab?
Meant to add I sometimes tilt my 2x12 cabinet with a 2x4 (painted black) or a rack lid.
Maybe psycosematic but going to a GKMB00, I have not needed to do this.
Maybe psycosematic but going to a GKMB00, I have not needed to do this.
My Genz 10t cabs have a kickstand. When I use just one, it's tilted, and when I use both, I tilt the top one.
Mostly I just use this:
Mostly I just use this:
Anything's possible, including an altered interaction with other nearby objects in the room. In fact, that makes more sense. Like I said, this sucker's new so I'll have more time to fiddle with it in different settings.
Mind you, the change in perceived bass response isn't dramatic, and it's nothing that a little tweak of EQ doesn't balance. I like the idea of getting the speakers up higher, and plan to make a tall vertical stack so I can better hear myself next time I play with the stupid loud band.
I hate having my cabs on the floor. I like them as high as I can get them Right at my head if possible. I don't care what my cabs sound like to the audience. That's what the PA is for. I want to hear myself as clear and directly as possible
Last edited:
Most of the time I run a pair of Baer ML112 12/6 cabs. I've experimented a bit (they can lay horizontal or vertical), and the best has been a vertical stack. I don't perceive much difference in bottom end, as opposed to horizontal, but I do hear the mids a bit better when the 6 in the topmost box is closer to my ears. (We play smaller rooms, and don't put the instruments through the PA or monitors.)
Been using a Gramma iso pad under the stack lately. On some stages, that makes a huge difference in clarity; way less mud at the bottom.
Been using a Gramma iso pad under the stack lately. On some stages, that makes a huge difference in clarity; way less mud at the bottom.
I put my 2x15 on the stage and have my 410 sitting on top of a 2.5ft tall rack. Easier to load in and I get plenty of reference sound. Many times the sound guys have pulled the di out of my amp and had me turn up a bit. 410 on the floor sounds good as well but the elevation of it is all about what I prefer for monitoring.
+100%. Expressly above 2ft (24").
Personally, I dislike bass cabs on stands.
OP: Instead of using a speaker stand and losing bottom end - use two stacked identical 8ohm cabs.
Last edited:
Hi.
Assuming NO PA support.
(If the bass rig is just a stage monitor for the band, the PA sound won't be affected at all. Not in a bad way anyway).
You will hear what the audience has been hearing all the time.
If anything, by elevating a cab, as an added benefit the early higher frequency reflections from the floor are reduced, so the audience will get a more focused sound.
Yep, and even if the cab is at a higher level, the decoupling still doesn't affect the second harmonic that's the strongest on MI bass.
Synth is a whole another ballgame.
Space restrictions aside, IMO/IME if a person has to rely on floor coupling in order to acchieve strong lows, they have cheaped out on the cab(s), amp(s), or both.
Regards
Sam
Assuming NO PA support.
(If the bass rig is just a stage monitor for the band, the PA sound won't be affected at all. Not in a bad way anyway
).You will hear what the audience has been hearing all the time.
If anything, by elevating a cab, as an added benefit the early higher frequency reflections from the floor are reduced, so the audience will get a more focused sound.
Yep, and even if the cab is at a higher level, the decoupling still doesn't affect the second harmonic that's the strongest on MI bass.
Synth is a whole another ballgame.
Space restrictions aside, IMO/IME if a person has to rely on floor coupling in order to acchieve strong lows, they have cheaped out on the cab(s), amp(s), or both.
Regards
Sam
+1. My cab on a hollow stage was a real nightmare, but the Gramma is just a terrific addition to my kit.
