Ed Friedland Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 You can have the best bass, the best amp, great hands, and still get a crappy live sound. What does it take to get your sound across live? How do you deal with the many different types of rooms that you play in? ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Wise Man Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 Some things I've learned over time: 1. Be nice to the sound person before the gig, even (perhaps especially) if he's a completely unqualified blowhard. Apparant jerks can often be disarmed by niceness and calm discussion of your sonic needs, and professionals will appreciate your effort and work with you. Complete morons who will not listen to you at all are hopeless anyway, and at least you will know in advance that it's Marcel Marceau on the bass tonight. 2. Trust only your own gear, but know in advance if it works. Built-in DIs can be wonderful things, but they sometimes fail (Carvins are -- sorry, Ed -- notorious for this). Get your own mike, your own DI and take damn good care of them. Discuss this in advance so that the sound person understands why you insist on using your stuff and not his gaffer-tape-covered 40-year-old Whirlwind that shoots out blue sparks. 3. Keep the stage volume down! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootyquake Posted February 27, 2001 Share Posted February 27, 2001 Other wisdom: 1. Bass frequencies take 15 feet to develop. What you hear next to your amp is not what the audience hears. Believe your soundman or the audience. 2. If you're playing loud music and drinking alcohol, bass frequencies are the first to be diminished in your hearing. As the night wears on, you will be tempted to turn up as the sound gets "thin" in the 3rd or 4th sets. DON'T. It's an illusion and will just overpower the mix. 3. Every room is different. Don't be afraid to change "your" sound to fit the room. The final mix is all that matters. 4. On big stages, a little bass in the monitors might be a nice idea to keep the band grounded in the groove. 5. Love your soundman. Buy him/her professional massages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eric Worthington Posted February 28, 2001 Share Posted February 28, 2001 Good live sound is particularly crucial when there is no soundman, and you're not going through the board. For most of my gigs, my sound is completely up to me. I would first reiterate what someone earlier said; you need to walk out a ways, with a 20-25' cord, and hear how it sounds. I used to not have enough bottom end on my sound, because I'd have it sounding perfect for right where I was standing. Of course, the further the sound travels, the more the bottom falls away. Eventually I realized that it was going to have to sound a little bassier than I'd prefer--for me where I was standing--in order to sound right for most of the room. I play a lot in clubs and bars (what's the difference between a club and a bar? A club charges a cover...) and there's often no stage, and at the beginning of the show, I can usually wander a little bit out front or to the side, and get a good idea of how the bass is carrying, and how it's blending with everyone else. Going through a house system, with some guy behind the board, I usually have no real say. First of all, I think most live sound men suck--especially when it comes to good bass sound (this is a whole other topic in its own right). They're soooo jacked up about getting this killer kick drum sound, it always dominates everything in the low end, leaving the bass guitar to being an indistinct thudding, with individual notes, and any nuances, being lost in the glorious Thor-like thunder of ultimate kick-drum world domination. The only hope there is, is to have a soundman who is more into music than equipment, and I've only ever met one or two (with me being one). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted February 28, 2001 Author Share Posted February 28, 2001 Yes, love thy soundman! Don't forget to send him a "Congratulations on your recent graduation from Roadie School" card http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/wink.gif Have philosophical discussions on whether the kick drum truly IS the center of the universe! Yeah, they make or break the night sometimes. ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 1, 2001 Author Share Posted March 1, 2001 One aspect of this topic I'd like to bring out is cabinet placement. Where you put the box has a profound effect on your live sound. Ssometimes getting it off the floor helps. Although you lose the depth from the speaker/floor coupling, in many rooms, it helps me hear myself better. In a dry, controllable room, I'll put it on the floor, but how often do I play in one of those? Not very. With the upright, I always have the cab on a chair. If I don't hear myself right, I don't play in tune, period. An old student contacted me the other day about a new thing that's being developed. He works for Auralex, an acoustical environment design company. They make studio foam, bass traps, goboes etc. They're working on a speaker stand that isolates the cab from the floor. Sounds very interesting. Anyone else have ideas about this? ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Wise Man Posted March 1, 2001 Share Posted March 1, 2001 One of the things I like about my amplifier (SWR Super Redhead) is the speaker cover/amp stand it comes with, which angles the amp nicely for monitoring purposes, while letting me keep the floor coupling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 2, 2001 Author Share Posted March 2, 2001 Originally posted by Mr. Wise Man: One of the things I like about my amplifier (SWR Super Redhead) is the speaker cover/amp stand it comes with, which angles the amp nicely for monitoring purposes, while letting me keep the floor coupling. I haven't used one on a gig, but that's what is cool about the tilt back cab designs that are common now. Anyone use one of those? ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overhang Posted March 6, 2001 Share Posted March 6, 2001 this question is not directly related to the topic, but here it is...My live sound is really bad. We can't hear the D and G strings and the E and A strings sound like a techno-rap synth and they are way too loud. The sound-tech is a singer (you know how those guys feel about the bassists)so he won't do much to correct it other than practically muting the bass. I have tried with a DI and a mic in front of my amp, I have tried different basses, different pedals, differnent PA system, different strings, active and passive basses, etc....The problem will not go away. Hopefully you guys can help me sort out this problem. I'm looking for a sound similar to Dirk Lance (INCUBUS). Any tips on amp EQ, console EQ, use of pedals, etc....would be very appreciated. In terms of equipement, I usually use a Fender BXR 100 amp, a Godin active 4-string bass, a Vintage passive 4-string, and a compressor pedal. Thanks for any advice... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
profesrgeo Posted March 14, 2001 Share Posted March 14, 2001 overhang, lose the "compression pedal" get an RNC compressor. Also, check your pickup height adjustment, might be a problem there. Best o' luck. geo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted March 14, 2001 Author Share Posted March 14, 2001 While I can see the compressor pedal may have been an attempt at fixing your problem, I agree - get rid of it! Unless it's an EBS compressor, it's probably not good enough to give you a decent bass sound. In general, I am not into compression for live work, I like to have the control in my hands and an amp that ccan take whatever I put through it. In the studio, compression is pretty much a must. If you have to go with one live, it should be a good one with adjustable attack, sensitivity and ratio. Foot pedals are too cheap to give you the control you need, and bad compression can suck the life out of your sound. ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Daddy from Motown Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Very Interesting older thread, some things never change Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jcadmus Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 Having a semi-parametric or graphic eq helps deal with harsh or unwanted frequencies to smooth things out. "Tours widely in the southwestern tip of Kentucky" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davo-London Posted September 5, 2007 Share Posted September 5, 2007 The best use I have for my Sansamp BDDI is to put it under my combo and thus angle the speaker upwards. This helps me hear myself much better. I agree that wedge or tilt-back designs are neat. Davo "We will make you bob your head whether you want to or not". - David Sisk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ninja Posted September 6, 2007 Share Posted September 6, 2007 Having a semi-parametric or graphic eq helps deal with harsh or unwanted frequencies to smooth things out. I think you're right; actually I use a parametric EQ to avoid the hard task to getting through all the buttons, switches and levers I often find on stage on amplifiers I don't know. In case I need it, I bring my little amp with me, a Hartke Kickback 12, which I bought because I can turn it direcly towards me, like a supplementary monitor box. www.myspace.com/fabrizioruggiero www.myspace.com/vanalientribute Who are we? People. Where do we come from? Home. Where are we going to? Home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil W Posted September 7, 2007 Share Posted September 7, 2007 Cab placement! http://philwbass.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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