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line out vs mic

#101
DI vs. mic:

I can't help but wonder if more people used mics, would they then be more conscious of their amp settings, especially boosts?

I've noticed that amateurs and maybe even some pros will boost frequencies a lot, creating a very unnatural and unbalanced sound.

A mic will in my opinion make that evident.

So maybe what Jimmy is saying is that he has a good tone coming from his cabs, and that's the tone that he wants to send to FOH?
 
#105
wade_b said:
Not really. The tone could be better though, but that's an acoustic drum setup issue and not a PA issue. I'm pressuring him to get a front head on his kick, and maybe change the tuning. If it doesn't sound good acoustically, it won't sound good mic'ed up either. Plus, our drummer has a hammer foot - he's our resident rockstar, having been signed to a label with a hardcore metal act and a few tours under his belt.

I see you're gettin' em all riled up over here. Some things never change LOL

Hey, I'll say this: you're consistent in your approach. :)

I can't wait to get back to playing some gigs - this month off has got me bouncing off walls...

I would say I hate modulus basses too but I've never had the chance to play one. SO instead, I'll stretch and say that the one graphite neck instrumet I did play (a washburn guitar) had a terrible fretboard feel and tone. LOL
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We just now entered our busy season. :hyper: This week and the 4th of July week are our two best paying weeks of the year. Playing a street dance for maybe a 1000 people on July 3rd. Hopefully it won't rain,last year it poured and even though we were undercover most of the crowd wasn't so our audience was maybe 200.:bawl:
 
#107
Dude...Modulusman...don't.....uh....u....play modulus basses thru a Genz Benz head and Cab? Thanks for the advice bro! I'm gonna run right out and get me some oh that magic!! Jimmy...if only u had your very own Modulus dude. That's the secret he has been withholding from the pawns this whole time. A Modulus...I can hear the angels sing!! Unicorns are spewing rainbows from their...well... corns!! Thanks modulusman!!!!
 
#109
well....me too (play a GB Neox 2x12 alot), but after much anticipation....drumroll please , THIS is what we got from modulusman....

"Well if you played a modulus bass you would have good tone. A Genz Benz rig wouldn't hurt either."

I was waiting for modulusman to reveal the secret to the universe or something. I thought the magical secret of killer FOH sound was about to be unveiled for all the world to see (or hear)! If I had feelings....they would be hurt modulusman. Its like saying Breyers is the key to great ice Cream, or Ralph Lauren is the key to an amazing shirt. A Modulus? And to think it has been just that simple for all these years..... Makes me question all those amazing bass tones that i hear every day on those pre 1977 recordings. Is it possible that Modulus secretely existed and was used by Jamerson, and the rest? I sit here just baffled beyond belief...just....baffled by that neomaxiezoomdweebie.
 
#110
modulusman said:
You probably should. Just curious Jimmy, do you consider yourself a professional soundman. D.A.R.K asked how many people run sound systems professionally. Then you replied I have experience on both sides of the board So tell us about your career as a soundman.:rollno:
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You might be able to get the Mix of the Gods but I sure as heck hope I never have to work with a soundman who has an attitude like yours on a gig. I'd rather sound like crap than to have to eat so much of it.
 
#111
One Drop said:
You might be able to get the Mix of the Gods but I sure as heck hope I never have to work with a soundman who has an attitude like yours on a gig. I'd rather sound like crap than to have to eat so much of it.
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i like how i gave him a direct answer to his question, yet he 100% completely dodged my question back. typical internet bully. they'll (figuratively) punch you in the face until you punch back, then they run.
 
#112
btw, i am so sick of this arrogant soundman "unless you've run sound you can't have an opinion" crap. just grow up and shut up. i most certainly can have an opinion, and my opinion is that if you can't handle a mic'ed bass amp, you suck.
 
#115
this is a fun discussion, btw. in the end, the result will be a much better understanding of what people go through on either side of the board.

and i will say this...if you're a newb or you're not sure about how to get the best sound out of your gear, and you have the opportunity to work with a really good soundman, listen to what he/she says and go with it. some of the greatest advice i've gotten about tone, especially in my early days, has come from soundmen. they've had me do things i wasn't crazy about at first, but a lot of times their advice worked out very well. even with the experience i have under my belt, i'm never above taking advice from a good soundman.

of course, there are soundmen out there who see themselves as the be-all and end-all and treat musicians as their enemy, and sometimes there's nothing you can do about them except do the gig and leave immediately. but if your scene is at all like mine, it's pretty tightly knit and people talk and word travels fast. so if you're an arrogant soundman who treats bands like dirt, word will get around. and one day your cush house gig will come to an end and you will be looking for work. i guarantee you that many of the musicians you abuse will be in a position to help you get more work, or not. so bear that in mind the next time you treat someone poorly just because you think you're so great and you think the musicians are dopes.
 
#116
Some of you guys need to lighten up.:confused: If you can't tell that my post to Jimmy about Genz Benz and modulus was made as a joke. As far as being a dick and hard to work with well the band i'm in now has been together for almost 15 years and the one I started before that lasted seven. I'm the same age as Jimmy and have been playing bass for 33 years and started running sound for my bands and others about 25 years ago. This line vs mic topic comes up every few months and always gets heated. The sad thing is some posters who have years of experience doing sound get shouted down by some members so they quit posting. It is actually the forums loss because you will need to go elsewhere to find some help about PA /sound issues.
 
#117
JimmyM said:
this is a fun discussion, btw. in the end, the result will be a much better understanding of what people go through on either side of the board.

and i will say this...if you're a newb or you're not sure about how to get the best sound out of your gear, and you have the opportunity to work with a really good soundman, listen to what he/she says and go with it. some of the greatest advice i've gotten about tone, especially in my early days, has come from soundmen. they've had me do things i wasn't crazy about at first, but a lot of times their advice worked out very well. even with the experience i have under my belt, i'm never above taking advice from a good soundman.

of course, there are soundmen out there who see themselves as the be-all and end-all and treat musicians as their enemy, and sometimes there's nothing you can do about them except do the gig and leave immediately. but if your scene is at all like mine, it's pretty tightly knit and people talk and word travels fast. so if you're an arrogant soundman who treats bands like dirt, word will get around. and one day your cush house gig will come to an end and you will be looking for work. i guarantee you that many of the musicians you abuse will be in a position to help you get more work, or not. so bear that in mind the next time you treat someone poorly just because you think you're so great and you think the musicians are dopes.
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I just want to state that it works both ways. Bands that are hard to work with can be black-balled by sound men as well.
 
#119
JayAmel said:
OK. Now please gentlemen, let's get back to the topic of this thread : line out vs. mic.
.
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For me the answer is either. It comes down to whether the sound from the bass going in to the amp is the tone that is to be reproduced or the sound coming out of the speakers of the cabinet is to be reproduced.
The former dictates a DI, the latter a mic'd cabinet. The decision should be that of the one holding the instrument being reproduced in the FOH.
 
#120
The below makes a lot of sense. Some people like the sound from their bass, and buy fancy preamp/EQ/D.I. boxes that go to FOH. Those things can be expensive and sometimes that's what a player is happy with. The stage monitor, whether a bass amp combo, or a venue's monitor is just a monitor. There is no desire to mic it. The desired sound is what is coming out of the D.I.

That same player, with a different bass, a different band and going for a different sound, may on another night bring in a favourite amp+cab combination and want it mic'd because on that night the cab is a part of the sound. However, the cab has to be worthy of this attention, and the mic has to be well chosen and well placed to work right. Some thought also has to be taken as to what the mic is being plugged in to, and how it will handle the signal.

There are issues of pleasure/pain to deal with too.
For the pleasure of a high paying gig, we can deal with the pain of hauling our favourite gear to the gig, even if it's heavy.
For the limited pleasure of a low pay /freebie gig, we can choose to lessen our pain by leaving heavy gear at home, and going with our favourite D.I. box. This Less pain option, means the less pleasure is still a net gain of fun.

A lot of these different options can sound great. There is more than one way to do these things well.
 

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