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Stage setup question

B

bassdog

May 23, 2005
840
561
Atlanta, Ga
#1
Is there an etiquette for guitarists setting up their amp so as not to blast away the bass player who is trying to hear him/herself?

I constantly battle with guitarists over this. I can't play with a guitar amp in my ears and insist on them being on the other side of the stage as much as possible. They seem not to take me seriously over this and will tilt their amp up or turn it towards me anyway. Pisses me off! I don't want to hear much fn guitar at all ever.

Rant over.

Bob
 
#3
Friend of mine played bass with two guitarists that had full Marshall stacks. He ran a GK RB-800 into two Trace Elliot 15's and a Hartke 4-10. He just turned up until he could hear himself. Was unbearable stage volume and I think I have permanent hearing loss from working those gigs. (I was muscle and guitar tech)

At our church the sound guy has his little meter and he tells each person how loud they can be on stage. If you need more, it has to be through monitors. He is the db nazi. Works good.
 
#9
My preference is for guitarists to have nothing bigger than a 2x12 combo. Any more than that is overkill. But the problem isn't the amp, it's the inconsiderate player. I sometimes sub for a band with two guitars, both with 100 watt 4x12 cabs. I usually have to ask them to turn up. If someone can't compromise they're not worth working with.
 
#10
Guitars cabs are more directional than most bass cabs. If he sets it up to blast forward, then he beams the crowd and the soundman, if he turns to fire across stage, he beams the band. If you have to share the same side of the stage as a guitarist, its going to be a struggle if he likes his stage volume. If it's a big cab, he really can't lay it down and have it firing up at his head. Your best bet is to try to position yourself to be behind that thing if you can...or have him turn down, which he probably won't do. Turning up will only make him turn up, then you will turn up more, and the whole band will sound like crap. Now you know why IEMs were invented! Good luck!
Wes
 
#13
Hey bassdog - Have you asked your guitarists to aim their amps away from you? Have you asked them to maybe tilt their cabs back to fire up at their ears? Have you told them that they are really loud and are drowning out drums, bass, and vocals?

If you have, and they don't care, then they are bad musicians and you should find a better gig.

If you haven't, and just expect them to know this without you telling them, that's on you. It's possible they are in the Spinal Tap school of thought to crank it to eleven, and they just don't know any better.

I was able to convince my guitarist that a tilted-back 50 watt 1x12 on '7' had way better tone and much more manageable stage volume than his 100 watt 4x12 that was on '2'. There's sonic separation now, and people right up against the stage. Which is nice.
 
#14
We played a gig where the lead guitar was so loud I could not hear anything but him and the drums. At the next practice I let him know in a nice way that I was only using a fraction of my rig's available volume and if he wanted to compete with who can play loudest I'd be happy to show him who'd win.

Hasn't happened since.
 
#15
bassdog said:
Is there an etiquette for guitarists setting up their amp so as not to blast away the bass player who is trying to hear him/herself?

I constantly battle with guitarists over this. I can't play with a guitar amp in my ears and insist on them being on the other side of the stage as much as possible. They seem not to take me seriously over this and will tilt their amp up or turn it towards me anyway. Pisses me off! I don't want to hear much fn guitar at all ever.

Rant over.

Bob
Click to expand...

You want the guitarist to be in their own sweet spot. That is crucial. You have to discover where that spot is, and put them there, so they are blasting their own head off.

This never fails.

And of course, you need to be in YOUR own sweet spot!
 
#16
Since this will contribute to permanent hearing damage, etiquette would dictate that your polite request to avoid this should be heeded.

A plexiglass shield in front the guitar player's amp might help. I played with a guitarist who had trouble getting the tone he wanted out of his Super Reverb at low volumes, and the shield helped manage that. We were a 3 piece blues band, and played mostly small gigs with only vocal in the PA. The shield also helped with the beaming, so the audience got a more even mix that didn't vary so much based on where you were in the room.
 
#17
You might find some footage of really great guitarists playing with their amp a long way away (ie almost offstage), and with it facing directly into a curtain. I don't have time to find it right now, but there is certainly some footage on YouTube of Roy Buchanan (was there ever a sweeter 'nothing but hands' player? But I digress :) which shows Roy absolutely commanding the stage with a tiny Fender combo tucked way out of sight pointed at the backdrop.

Somebody stop me before I go on a huge rant about how I valued that man.

Anyway :)
 
#18
I also work with a guitarist who refuses to turn down. He believes he is the star of the show and the singer is just some nonsence in between his solos.

Have you looked at the way your amp is set up? Have you found a great sound within the band or by itself?

I have found that a sound that is amazing when solo'd doesn't work in a band setting. When my band sound is solo'd it doesn't sound great but within the band context sounds great and cuts through so I can hear myself.

I have moved to having the eq flat with a lower mid boost.
 
#19
This is an age old situation that never ends well for the rest of the band. If the guitarist had the capacity for reasoning, he'd be a bassist. Since he is the guitarist and not the bassist you have two options: A) find a new band or B) suck it up and deal with it.

We as bassists must understand we are placed on earth for one purpose.......to b*tch bout how loud our guitar players are!
 

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