2 things that got me going down this path. 1. During our jam sessions I cant get my mids to cut though. I have read a lot on here about this but just cant get them right. During live shows the FOH handles it and sounds great.
2. The P Bass is $400 on Facebook so while researching I found the Aerodyne and I love the looks of it.
Those aerodynes are awful pretty aren't they? I'd love to have one.. but it's just not practical for me personally, I have a 4 string P bass I like and I've moved on to 5 strings.
I wouldn't fault you at all if you bought an aerodyne. It's a sleek looking bass and it's like having a P-bass with a little extra at the bridge.
You say you sound great through the FoH but not during jams. What kind of setup are you guys using during rehearsals and jams? Amps only? Floor monitors? noise cancelling headphones? In-ears?
IF it's just your 2x12 + head, is it sitting on the floor? Flat, or angled upward? Are you in the direct line of fire of any of your band member's amps? Because you'd probably be hearing that better than they're hearing it if you guys stand close to your amps. Vice versa.
So while you're thinking EQ and volume levels and things... also look at the layout of your jam space. If you're 2 feet in front of your amps and they're flat on the floor.. your knees can probably hear it pretty well but your ears may struggle. They make stands, or you can even get creative on getting speakers closer to ear level.
Or say if.. you have a bass player and a guitarist across the room, and without realizing it the guitarists amp is pointed at the face of the bassist from 8-10 feet away, and the bassist has his amp pointed at the guitarist's face, but both are standing 2 foot in front of their own amp flat on the floor.. dirty looks get spread.. guitar volume goes up, bass volume goes up rinse and repeat. After rehearsal, everybody's ears are ringing, potential hearing damage... might have slipped into a flashback there.
On stage generally the amps are pointed in the same direction. Where at home, we end up in a circle facing each other.
Solutions - Elevate speakers closer to ear level - aim amp at players ear rather than a fellow band member's face - stand farther away but in front of your amp - use hearing protection - get a nice mixing/pa solution with monitoring solutions.. floor wedges can be cool but I'm spoiled on personal headphone monitoring lately, which with the right kind of headphones, or in-ears aslo doubles as hearing protection.
That stuff gets expensive though.. where moving yourselves or your equipment that you already have around a little can be done without much monetary expense.
If you guys have already accounted for what I've described then yeah.. EQ.. volume levels.. make sure you aren't rolling the tone completely off even though it sounds yummy at home.. and snag that Aerodyne only if you want it.. you might enjoy it.. and if not there's a return period unless you buy used.
