Where's my bass?

[Bass beard]

Ok so no matter at practice or live I get drowned out big time by two guitar players with tube heads. I got swr working pro 400 solid state and hartke xl 4/10 aluminum cone with horn both rated at 400 watts , schecter 004 bass with active pickups and can't hear myself. Suggestions please. I play metal so no the guitar players will not turn down.

 

[ggunn]

Ok so no matter at practice or live I get drowned out big time by two guitar players with tube heads. I got swr working pro 400 solid state and hartke xl 4/10 aluminum cone with horn both rated at 400 watts , schecter 004 bass with active pickups and can't hear myself. Suggestions please. I play metal so no the guitar players will not turn down.

To paraphrase one of the most memorable lines in movie history, "You're gonna need a bigger amp." And hearing protection, of course.

 

[Gearhead17]

Many factors at work here - don't boost anything tone wise on the bass and start messing with the tone controls on your amp. You are very likely cutting out a large chunk of midrange (200 to 800hz). This section of sound needs to be present in your bass tone to be heard in a band setting like yours. You can also ask your guitar players to turn down the low end content of their rigs - I am assuming they have 412's cranked to the moon. Don't boost anything below 150hz on your rig and you may want to try tilting your cabinet up towards your ears. Download the manual for the amp head and start reading - ask us anything you do not understand. Lastly, post what your EQ settings are on your bass and the amp head currently.

 

[mellowgerman]

^^^^ what he said. The mids might not sound as good to you when you're just practicing solo, but in a band with a thick mix they're pretty much a necessity.

 

[bassrich]

The other guitarists

Many factors at work here - don't boost anything tone wise on the bass and start messing with the tone controls on your amp. You are very likely cutting out a large chunk of midrange (200 to 800hz). This section of sound needs to be present in your bass tone to be heard in a band setting like yours. You can also ask your guitar players to turn down the low end content of their rigs - I am assuming they have 412's cranked to the moon. Don't boost anything below 150hz on your rig and you may want to try tilting your cabinet up towards your ears. Download the manual for the amp head and start reading - ask us anything you do not understand. Lastly, post what your EQ settings are on your bass and the amp head currently.

Good advice here the other guitarists tone may be the problem

 

[Bass beard]

Many factors at work here - don't boost anything tone wise on the bass and start messing with the tone controls on your amp. You are very likely cutting out a large chunk of midrange (200 to 800hz). This section of sound needs to be present in your bass tone to be heard in a band setting like yours. You can also ask your guitar players to turn down the low end content of their rigs - I am assuming they have 412's cranked to the moon. Don't boost anything below 150hz on your rig and you may want to try tilting your cabinet up towards your ears. Download the manual for the amp head and start reading - ask us anything you do not understand. Lastly, post what your EQ settings are on your bass and the amp head currently.

Bass is at the 3 o'clock position, mid level and freq are both about the same around 3 o'clock position , treble is about all the way up, bass intensifier level is about 4 o'clock position an the cut off for it is about the same. The gain is at 1 o'clock and the master volume is about 12 o'clock. The amp won't get any louder than where it is rite now. Guitar players do have 4/12s with tube heads with their volumes on 2 but they crank the level on their distortion pedals all the way( I know that's backward but they won't listen to me, I'm just a bass player what do I know).

 

[Gearhead17]

First off, stop using the Bass Intensifier knob - it will not be helpful in your situation. It is merely sucking up all of the available power on the amp head. Bring the bass knob back to the 5/10 position and possibly reduce it to the 4/10 position. Bring the mid Freq knob to the 600hz zone and boost this section to around 7/10. You can leave the treble knob where it is. Where is your Aural Enhancer knob set to? What about the Transparency knob? I suggest keeping the Aural Enhancer knob at "Min" for the time being. The transparency knob at 5/10 is fine for now.

I am not too familiar with the bass, but make sure you are setting your bass to have some string definition and not just thick low end. Don't boost the bass knob at all on the bass. Yes, we are bass players, but the gigantic low end you hear at shows is NOT the bass rig, it's the PA system pumping it out. Your bass rig is limited to how much low end it can reproduce. When you have more money, speakers and gear, then you can get the massive low end you MIGHT want. The name of the game is to hear yourself.

As the others pointed out - ear plugs. Etymotic ER-15's are perfect for you.

 

[petrus61]

If you guys aren't playing in a rehearsal area any larger than a typical garage/basement, it's probably a combination of way too loud guitarists and a not quite powerful enough amp. If you guys are in fact rehearsing in a smallish room, there's absolutely no reason (short of over scooped mids) that you shouldn't be heard.

Politely point out the discrepancy between the size of the room and their stadium sized volume.

 

[Joe Nerve]

Some guitarists seem to need to feel their sound, and crank their lows to no end. Some rooms intensify this too. I played in a band once where I used to get into all kinds of crap with the drummer because he kept telling me I was waaaay too loud, even after I completely cut my bass off. He couldn't actually hear me at all. All he heard were the low frequencies of the guitars. I'd suggest either working it out with your guitarists, and seeing if they're willing to work at getting a sound that will make the whole band sound great as opposed to them sounding great. Or get a bigger amp.

 

[Zoomaster]

Ok so no matter at practice or live I get drowned out big time by two guitar players with tube heads. I got swr working pro 400 solid state and hartke xl 4/10 aluminum cone with horn both rated at 400 watts , schecter 004 bass with active pickups and can't hear myself. Suggestions please. I play metal so no the guitar players will not turn down.

Just curious if you are playing through a PA and you just can't hear yourself or is the audience not able to hear you as well. If its just you then you can try in ear monitors which can be set up individually for each band member.
OR you could go MY route and build a wall of bass amplifier! The loudest component in my rig is the Carvin B2000
that' s 2050watts into 4ohms, driving 2 Carvin BR410 cabs at 4ohms each creating that 2ohm load to maximize the wattage available. Trust me, this rig doesn't get lost in the mix! You can buy the same setup used with a little research, I bought the head off EBay for $425 shipped and the cabs new from Carvin as blemished merch at $259
And $229 free shop no taxes, so for about $900 you can humble those pesky guitar players for good!

 

[Wookieonbass]

Really do they need a 4x12 for practice? Sheesh. Along with what the other guys said try tilting your speaker up toward you or putting it on some crates to get it closer to your ears.

 

[Zoomaster]

Just curious if you are playing through a PA and you just can't hear yourself or is the audience not able to hear you as well. If its just you then you can try in ear monitors which can be set up individually for each band member.
OR you could go MY route and build a wall of bass amplifier! The loudest component in my rig is the Carvin B2000
that' s 2050watts into 4ohms, driving 2 Carvin BR410 cabs at 4ohms each creating that 2ohm load to maximize the wattage available. Trust me, this rig doesn't get lost in the mix! You can buy the same setup used with a little research, I bought the head off EBay for $425 shipped and the cabs new from Carvin as blemished merch at $259
And $229 free shop no taxes, so for about $900 you can humble those pesky guitar players for good!

Whoops, user error the rating is 2050watts into 2ohms

 

[Bass beard]

First off, stop using the Bass Intensifier knob - it will not be helpful in your situation. It is merely sucking up all of the available power on the amp head. Bring the bass knob back to the 5/10 position and possibly reduce it to the 4/10 position. Bring the mid Freq knob to the 600hz zone and boost this section to around 7/10. You can leave the treble knob where it is. Where is your Aural Enhancer knob set to? What about the Transparency knob? I suggest keeping the Aural Enhancer knob at "Min" for the time being. The transparency knob at 5/10 is fine for now.

I am not too familiar with the bass, but make sure you are setting your bass to have some string definition and not just thick low end. Don't boost the bass knob at all on the bass. Yes, we are bass players, but the gigantic low end you hear at shows is NOT the bass rig, it's the PA system pumping it out. Your bass rig is limited to how much low end it can reproduce. When you have more money, speakers and gear, then you can get the massive low end you MIGHT want. The name of the game is to hear yourself.

As the others pointed out - ear plugs. Etymotic ER-15's are perfect for you.

Aural enhancer is at 1 o'clock which I've read is the best spot and seems ok, transparency is at 12 o'clock and I really don't pay it any mind. The is wide open on everything. I don't like a lot of boom as much as I want a punch, I like trebley punch more than a boomy bass sound. I want some low end rumble but if I go for a chord on the high strings I want to hear it and rite now I can't hear anything but a low rumble. I'm thinking I need more speakers or just better equipment like something from Eden.

 

[Bass beard]

Just curious if you are playing through a PA and you just can't hear yourself or is the audience not able to hear you as well. If its just you then you can try in ear monitors which can be set up individually for each band member.
OR you could go MY route and build a wall of bass amplifier! The loudest component in my rig is the Carvin B2000
that' s 2050watts into 4ohms, driving 2 Carvin BR410 cabs at 4ohms each creating that 2ohm load to maximize the wattage available. Trust me, this rig doesn't get lost in the mix! You can buy the same setup used with a little research, I bought the head off EBay for $425 shipped and the cabs new from Carvin as blemished merch at $259
And $229 free shop no taxes, so for about $900 you can humble those pesky guitar players for good!

Not playing thru the pa, it's usually run what ya brung when we play out.

 

[awilkie84]

Ok so no matter at practice or live I get drowned out big time by two guitar players with tube heads. I got swr working pro 400 solid state and hartke xl 4/10 aluminum cone with horn both rated at 400 watts , schecter 004 bass with active pickups and can't hear myself. Suggestions please. I play metal so no the guitar players will not turn down.

Tell the guitards to turn down. If you can't hear yourself, they're too loud...and that means poopie sound for the audience. There needs to be balance. You shouldn't need to go bigger, or start adding things just to hear yourself.

 

[RoadRanger]

You need two 4x10's or a 8x10 for metal assuming the typical stoopid loud metal guitards. Keep in mind that an original SVT full stack had TWO 8x10 cabs - that kept up just fine with a Marshall full stack .

 

[Geri O]

If they are that loud and won't turn down, they certainly can't hear you. And probably don't care.

Is that really the kind of players you want to play with?

 

[Downunderwonder]

Etymotic 15 are short of protection at your kind of volume.

 

[Smoove-Groove]

Yep. Don't ask them, tell them to turn down.
I hate obnoxiously loud guitars. It's not necessary. It usually sounds like crap and screws up the mix.

 

[f.c.geil]

Many factors at work here - don't boost anything tone wise on the bass and start messing with the tone controls on your amp. You are very likely cutting out a large chunk of midrange (200 to 800hz). This section of sound needs to be present in your bass tone to be heard in a band setting like yours. You can also ask your guitar players to turn down the low end content of their rigs - I am assuming they have 412's cranked to the moon. Don't boost anything below 150hz on your rig and you may want to try tilting your cabinet up towards your ears. Download the manual for the amp head and start reading - ask us anything you do not understand. Lastly, post what your EQ settings are on your bass and the amp head currently.

This is exactly what I was going to say, except that I would tell the guitars to turn down, and in a band like this, you need more amp. Probably more watts, and at least an 810.