After 9 pages of various people bitching about supposedly "qualified" sound engineers that's an interesting suggestion.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why does the bass sound terrible??
- Thread starter paulraphael
- Start date
After 9 pages of various people bitching about supposedly "qualified" sound engineers that's an interesting suggestion.
You asked the question, I gave you the answer.
In a venue where you need to go through the house system, that's your best bet.
If the the sound guy sucks, well, you're screwed (unless you simply get lucky).
I'm not sure what answer you were looking for....
Last edited:
How about "What can a bass player do to provide a fat, firm & articulate signal?"
EQ? Filtering? Compression settings? Optimal level?
or
"What can someone @ The Board do to provide a fat, firm & articulate FOH mix?"
EQ setting? Filter settings? Crossover point to subs? Compression settings?
Pretend you're the one sitting @ the FOH board
How can you make the listening experience more enjoyable to the ones who are paying for you to be there?
"Send a clean, unaffected DI signal to the board and let the (qualified) sound engineer take it from there." is what generated 9+pages of complaints...
Thanks for responding...
Me, the bass player, pretending to be something I'm not (sound engineer) is not going to solve anything.
All those "solutions" you mention are venue specific, no two situations are going to be the same so it's essentially farting in the wind to throw out specific settings.
Last edited:
So, you do not know of a way to improve the situation?
Thanks anyway.
Perhaps someone knowledgeable will chime in.
I read all of page 1 and all of page 10 and nothing in between.
Some buildings are designed to destroy a mix. If the ceiling is that high and/or the walls are shaped to bounce bass frequencies in an unpleasant manner, all the sound engineers can do is turn the bass down down down.
Some buildings are designed to destroy a mix. If the ceiling is that high and/or the walls are shaped to bounce bass frequencies in an unpleasant manner, all the sound engineers can do is turn the bass down down down.
If you send them a clean, unaffected signal, that's just the best chance you have.
If they can't make that sound good, then there's nothing you can do to help.
I've jumped to the end of thread to get my complaint in. Recently saw Living Color in Sydney with Exteme. First several songs a total mess, all I could "hear" was thump from the kick drum and a wall of indeterminate noise. The band looked p_ssed off cos they could hear the mess too.
Ditto for a Beyonce arena concert in Auckland. Wanted to hear the band. Nawp, no chance. Couldn't hear her singing either except on a couple of slow numbers.
There must be a school of sound engineer that thinks volume and sub-bass "drunk at a nightclub" vibe is the height of excellence. The big PA rigs let them do this. But a concert is not a nightclub.
On the positive side, James Brown at a theater was the loudest concert I've been too, but you could hear everything. Stevie Wonder at the same venue as the Beyonce concert was amazing, and you could hear everything.
Ditto for a Beyonce arena concert in Auckland. Wanted to hear the band. Nawp, no chance. Couldn't hear her singing either except on a couple of slow numbers.
There must be a school of sound engineer that thinks volume and sub-bass "drunk at a nightclub" vibe is the height of excellence. The big PA rigs let them do this. But a concert is not a nightclub.
On the positive side, James Brown at a theater was the loudest concert I've been too, but you could hear everything. Stevie Wonder at the same venue as the Beyonce concert was amazing, and you could hear everything.
Did they send a clean, unaffected DI signal to the board and let the (qualified) sound engineer take it from there?
Maybe you should spend less time on talkbass and more time figuring out how to effectively use your gear in a live situation.
