For any amplified instrument, playing at an appropriate volume is part of knowing how to play. "Too loud" goes on the same pile as "can't play."
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.
Oblivious or just Egotistical?
- Thread starter Stinsok
- Start date
People are so ignorant thinking that their amps have to be turned all the way up to get the "perfect sound". Everytime i've played threw a Marshall rig "jcm900, and 1960a cabinet" We keep the head turned up to about 4/5ish, sometimes i notch lower in the jam room, when we play out our amps are almost always mic'd up anyways, so there's no need to blast it on full. it seems that guitarist dont understand that every head/cabinet amp etc etc have a certain "pocket" where they sound the best...and it certainly isnt all the way up...
I say give the guitarist a good ole Dick Kick
Too a point there is some truth in this. Most guitar amps are void of a true master volume knob so the only "control" they can use to adjust their volume is the gain knob. I would equate that to running your bass amp volume wide open and using only your input gain level to control your volume. Sure you can make yourself softer and louder this way, but I would argue that you'd find a more drastic effect on your overall tone as well because your changing the load (grind/crunch/etc) that you're putting on the preamp section. The problem is that guitards buy these 212 or even 412 rigs designed for playing arenas and by the time they're driving the tubes hard enough to get the crunch they want they're also giving people haircuts. If they could just learn to buy rigs sized small enough that they can crunch the tubes without killing everyone else there wouldn't be an issue.
If OP is still around, I'm curious... what exactly DID our guitarist friend do? Nothing? Stand there with no reaction? Didn't speak or move?
I'd really like to know how a person responds to this situation without turning down... really like to know how you just carry on this way with no compliance.....
A Marshall on 11 via a 4x12 is a wonderful experience for the operator but unless the venue is a football stadium, not so wonderful for everyone else.
I play bass in a band, where the guitarists get a decent sound from a 15w combo barely on and a 4w combo cranked. I've done one gig with that band with a Ampeg fliptop reissue.
I play guitar in a very loud band where the keyboard player often complains about my volume. I have a 10w 1x12 combo. He has a 500w combo. My amp starts at 2 before he starts playing and 8 when he fires up the Nord.
A lot of solutions have been offered and a summary is...
Ask him to turn down, angle the cab away from others, at his ears, invest in a decent overdrive pedal and generally think of others.
If that don't work find an excuse not to do the gig, because it wont be pretty.
I play bass in a band, where the guitarists get a decent sound from a 15w combo barely on and a 4w combo cranked. I've done one gig with that band with a Ampeg fliptop reissue.
I play guitar in a very loud band where the keyboard player often complains about my volume. I have a 10w 1x12 combo. He has a 500w combo. My amp starts at 2 before he starts playing and 8 when he fires up the Nord.
A lot of solutions have been offered and a summary is...
Ask him to turn down, angle the cab away from others, at his ears, invest in a decent overdrive pedal and generally think of others.
If that don't work find an excuse not to do the gig, because it wont be pretty.
Yeah, it hasn't been my experience that clients at corporate gigs just want to bask in the glories of the guitarist's half-stack tone when he gooses his rig so that the power amp tubes glow *just* the right shade of reddish orange.
If he can't or won't rein it in at rehearsal, which is a more likely outcome: he'll suddenly grow reasonable on the gig, or he'll either clear the room or prompt the event coordinator to shut you down?
A more experienced player could get a useable tone at lower volume from a half-stack. But if your boy can't, he'll need a smaller rig for the gig. He might as well get it now and rehearse with it.
If he can't or won't rein it in at rehearsal, which is a more likely outcome: he'll suddenly grow reasonable on the gig, or he'll either clear the room or prompt the event coordinator to shut you down?
A more experienced player could get a useable tone at lower volume from a half-stack. But if your boy can't, he'll need a smaller rig for the gig. He might as well get it now and rehearse with it.
The easiest choice is not often the right choice.
+1. No sir, I dont like it.
I've been in situations where a band rehearsed without any monitors and got it done. I sent them an email laying out my concerns. If it's crazy loud next time, I'm leaving. No sense in playing at 200db in a 10x15' room.
