Double Bass Speaker placement on stage

[DB Slidefunk]

Hi,
I'm wondering what your preferences are for speaker cabs on stage? I'll be using an MA45 on a pole at the next gig and blending a mic and pickup. I'm never sure wether to have it behind me at ear level with the back of the bass facing it or put it on the opposite side of the stage to reduce feedback.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

I prefer the cab behind me but not directly behind the bass. But I usually have the cab on the floor or
on a chair, not at ear height, and I don't use a mic to the rig. I would think your experiments trying different locations will eventually define
your preference.

 

[Treyzer]

If you're using a mic, have the cab at least 4 or 5 feet away from you and not directly behind you. That way, you will avoid feedback. If you're also bending a PU, you might want to roll the mids and highs off The PU and let the mic carry those frequencies. I use mostly mic with a little bit of PU for the fundamental.

 

[DB Slidefunk]

Thanks,
I've been experimenting at rehearsal and a little distance seems they way to go. I'm using the new Clarus+ and can get a lot of usable volume from the mic using the lowcut.

 

[robgrow]

Using a pickup such as Full Circle for the low end and a microphone for everything else makes a lot of sense. Using a low cut (high pass) filter on the microphone also is very helpful.

Each speaker cabinet and microphone has its own unique polar pattern, so it's hard to make blanket statements about placement. Most of us have found out what works for us with our equipment in the situations we play in from lots of trial and error and hard-won experience.

 

[Chris Fitzgerald]

I don't generally bother with a mic these days but when I did, I wrote three articles on the subject of blending a mic and a pickup for Bass Gear magazine. If anyone is interested, these can be found on the "Articles" page of my website. The biggest factor for me was making sure the mic couldn't "see" the speaker and the sound coming out of it. My best results were always with a speaker up on a pole and slightly behind me on either side.

 

[Huy Nguyen]

I put my speaker up on a stand with it firing at my back from a few feet away. More important is where I'm standing wrt the other instruments: I need to be in the center back.

 

[Matt Ides]

My little GB shuttle 3.0 8T usually lives in the corner our coupled with a wall. Usually behind the entire band. This seems to work out the best sound wise and getting a good distribution of sound.