What does this all mean?

[Mesmerize-16]

Hey guys, semi-new bassist here. Just wondering about some terms...

cab? half-stack? FOH soundguy? head? difference between cab/amp/half-stack?

and just general amp-related vocab that i will need to know.

for future reference, what to do when my drummer overpowers the band? last gig we had he was playing a jembe (african drum) b/c of space issues and even then nobody could hear the rest of the band. he has volume problems, to put it succinctly, and he wasn't micced either. turn everyone else up?

 

[Foxworthy925]

Cab= speaker cabinet, or, enclosure. Just the cabinet with speakers, no else.

Head= the amplifier part of your stack, that sends your amplified signal to the speaker cabinet to produce the sound

Half-stack= a head/cabinet combination that consists of one average sized cab (one 410, 212, or 115). A full-stack would be the same, but with two cabs or one massive one that would end up being the same size basically (like an 810)

Cab + head = half stack
Cab + cab + head = full stack
Big cab + head = full stack

FOH soundguy= "front of house sound guy". the engineer at the front of the "house" who controls the sound board and is usually in charge of running everyone's signal (whether miced or direct) through the PA system and leveling everything right for the venue- controlling everyone's sound and level so it all sounds good. Not all venues have one.

Hope this helps.

 

[Munjibunga]

Cab: Speaker cabinet. It's the enclosure that holds the speakers. For instance, a 410 cab is a cabinet with four 10-inch speakers in it. A 215 is one with two 15-inchers in it. And so forth, like 212, 115, whatever. As a general rule, cabs have no power of their own, but some folks like Jim Bergantino builds cabinets with amps built in. They still require a separate preamp, though.

Half stack: Usually pertains to guitar rigs. A typical half stack would be an amplifier head sitting on a 412 enclosure for guitars. A full stack would be the same thing, only with two 412s stacked one on the other. I guess a bass half stack might be an amp sitting on a 410 cab, with the full stack being two 410s or an 810.

Head: Preamp and amplifier in one unit. It has no speakers; it is used to provide power to your cabs. A head with built-in speakers is called a Combo.

FOH: Front-of-house. The FOH engineer is the guy who handles the main mix. He's usually sitting at the sound board somewhere about halfway back in the audience. He's also occasionally called A-1. There's sometimes another guy operating a separate sound board for the monitor system. He's in monitor land.

Here's a picture of a head in a road case sitting on a 410 cab. The road case also has a power conditioner and a rack-mounted tuner in it.

 

[Oreomeister365]

Hey guys, semi-new bassist here. Just wondering about some terms...

cab? half-stack? FOH soundguy? head? difference between cab/amp/half-stack?

and just general amp-related vocab that i will need to know.

for future reference, what to do when my drummer overpowers the band? last gig we had he was playing a jembe (african drum) b/c of space issues and even then nobody could hear the rest of the band. he has volume problems, to put it succinctly. turn everyone else up?

Generally an amplifier has the "head" which is a pre and power amp, that amplifies the signal your bass sends, which goes to the cabinet, which is the speakers you see (the round cones), which makes the sound. This is the box with all the knobs on it that you plug your bass into. The pre-amp, in general, shapes the tone, it has the equalizer knobs on it and such, while the power amp is what's inside that makes the signal a higher wattage (which means: louder). The volume controls how much the power amp is putting out. These can be built in the same enclosure as the speaker, but on med to higher end stuff it's generally separate and sits on top of the speakers.

A half stack refers to a head/cabinet combo that goes to about waist high. Generally there is the head (often rack mounted with other goodies suck as a rack tuner, power conditioner etc). The cabinet refers to the speaker cabinet, which is the speakers that the amp sends its signal to. They're those big boxes with all those cones in em...the speaker cones. With the speaker cabinet underneath, if it reaches waist height or so it's usually referred to as a half stack, generally a 212 speaker cabinet (which means a wooden enclosure covered in usually black tolex or carpet with 2 12 inch speakers) or a 410 (4 10 inch) or a 115 (one 15 inch).

Whereas a full stack generally reaches your neck or higher, usually it means either two half stack sized cabs on top of each other, or an 810 or 412.

The FOH sound guy is the guy who is at front of house (FOH) which is generally the side of the club/stadium/wherever you're playing opposite the stage. So when playing on stage, they'll be facing you off in the distance. The control the sound that is getting sent through the venues speakers. You control your own amp/cabinet, but depending on where you play that isn't enough power to amplify the entire room, so they have speakers set up all over that get the whole bands sound out to everyone in the club/stadium/whatever. The FOH guy controls those. He has an interface where he controls the signal of each band member and how it sounds through the "house" (house as in the venue). Ultimately, he controls what the crowd hears, which is why he is where he is, he's hearing the sound from the crowds point of view, and you should know that the sound you hear on stage is rarely quite how it sounds to the crowd.

edit: all that and you guys get two replies in all while I'm typing.

I hate you

 

[baba]

for future reference, what to do when my drummer overpowers the band? last gig we had he was playing a jembe (african drum) b/c of space issues and even then nobody could hear the rest of the band. he has volume problems, to put it succinctly, and he wasn't micced either. turn everyone else up?

What? Your drummer is playing acoustically with a djembe and he overpowers the band?? Was everyone else without an amp?

 

[Mesmerize-16]

What? Your drummer is playing acoustically with a djembe and he overpowers the band?? Was everyone else without an amp?

small, small room. big, big volume control issues. and if we had turned up any higher we would have been killing ears.

thanks a bunch for those guys! new question raised, what is a power conditioner, what does it do?

 

[baba]

new question raised, what is a power conditioner, what does it do?

It's basically a glorified power strip. It takes up rack space. Unless you want a bunch of power outlets in your rack, save your money and get a power strip that has a trip/breaker.

 

[Mesmerize-16]

ah....and one more question...i was reading the PA tutorial on some website (see sticky in Live Sound forum) and it sounded like the amps were being run through the PA. presumably this is just for large gigs, correct? and how exactly is this done? do they mic the amps?

 

[JimmyM]

ah....and one more question...i was reading the PA tutorial on some website (see sticky in Live Sound forum) and it sounded like the amps were being run through the PA. presumably this is just for large gigs, correct? and how exactly is this done? do they mic the amps?

You can do it for small or large gigs. Bass is either DI'd with a direct box or the bass amp is mic'ed.