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Playing live issues

P

pfactor2

Jun 18, 2008
83
6
#1
I don't believe I still have Issues after 30 years of live performance. Maybe I'm losing my hearing. God forbid ,spit out those words. Anyway, I currently work with a 10 piece which includes, two vocalists, horn section, standard rhythm section plus percussionist and pianist. Small rooms are not a problem, but large stages present a hearing problem. I have trouble hearing myself. I us a 410 cabinet, 400 watt head, passive bass. I elevate the cabinet to chest level and generally stand close to the cabinet which I place directly next to drummer. I do hear the bass and of course if the engineer is knowledgeable it can be heard from the mains. What I need to hear is every note distinctly other-wise I play to hard which effects speed and endurance. Not really looking for magic hear, just your experience with live performance. Thanks
 
#2
Sounds to me like you need to cut your lows and boost your mids and highs a bit so you can hear yourself better. I tried this and even though I don't like the way my bass sounds when I play by myself, it sounds much better when the entire band is playing and I never have trouble hearing myself.
 
#4
pfactor2 said:
I elevate the cabinet to chest level and generally stand close to the cabinet which I place directly next to drummer.
Click to expand...
Are you standing directly in front of the cabinet, or off to one side?

A 410 tends to be very directional in the mid to upper mid range, making it difficult to hear any definition in your notes if you aren't directly in front of it.
 
#5
I'm with Kmonk. Quite often the best sounds in a mix are really not wonderful when you play by yourself. It will be a win win for you and the band if you dial in some good low mids and maybe roll back the ultra lows. You will cut through better and the sound guy will have more control over your tone. And you will be able to hear it better as well. Good luck!
 
#6
Hi,

Certainly tone can be an issue. Can you have the sound man give you some bass back into your monitor? I keep my stage volume pretty low and when I walk too far away I can't hear my amp so well. I just get some bass in my monitor so I can hear myself better up toward the front of the stage when I'm singing, dancing, or otherwise showing off. ;)


Thank you for your indulgence,

BassCliff
 
#7
Kmonk said:
Sounds to me like you need to cut your lows and boost your mids and highs a bit so you can hear yourself better. I tried this and even though I don't like the way my bass sounds when I play by myself, it sounds much better when the entire band is playing and I never have trouble hearing myself.
Click to expand...

For myself, boosting highs leads to too much clankyness. Cutting lows/boosting mids is the way I go. I used to use only passive basses but picked up an active 1982 Ibanez Musician with a 3 band eq on board. Now I can control my tone from the bass which make changing tone for various tunes really easy.

I also might suggest and programmable EQ pedal that would do the same type of thing an active bass does.

As far as your cab goes, possibly replacing it with a multi-size driver cab like a 15/6/1 that maybe responds more precisely to EQ adjustments.
 
#10
Stumbo said:
For myself, boosting highs leads to too much clankyness. Cutting lows/boosting mids is the way I go. I used to use only passive basses but picked up an active 1982 Ibanez Musician with a 3 band eq on board. Now I can control my tone from the bass which make changing tone for various tunes really easy.

I also might suggest and programmable EQ pedal that would do the same type of thing an active bass does.

As far as your cab goes, possibly replacing it with a multi-size driver cab like a 15/6/1 that maybe responds more precisely to EQ adjustments.
Click to expand...

What exactly is the 15/6/1?
 

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