Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

Rig advice.


Gripbass
 Share

Recommended Posts

Hi,Could you guys give me some advice on my set up please.
I'm using two SWR Golights,1x12.(Rare I know) with an Eden wtx500.
The problem I'm having is the band I play with are loud & I'm struggling to hold my own volume wise unless I'm Di'd.
It sounds great at more reasonable volume but you know how excited these guitarists get, they get louder as the night goes on.
I'm constantly battling with gain & clip lights. Any helpful advise would be great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I gig with a 1x15 Barefaced Compact and a GK MB500. The rig is incredibly loud. If I had two compacts and I could use the full 500w from my amp, I'm sure it would take the roof off any venue I played.

The Barefaced compact is a very efficient design and the GK MB500 is a very loud amp for it's wattage (not all manufacturers watts are the same I've been told). It is the loudest combination of amp and cab I have ever owned (I've owned, Ashdown, TC Electronic,, Fender, Hartke etc). If you want to drown out your drummer, and make your guitarists wish their amps went up to 11, you could do worse.

Oh and the cab and head are insanely light as well.

Edited by gjones
Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1490731315' post='3267532']
Do you use the enhance control set high on the amp? Apparently that can cause Eden amps to clip at relatively low volume levels because of the low frequency boost.
[/quote]
Thanks for your replies guys.
The enhance isn't set to high, around one o'clock.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm sure there have been plenty of discussions on here already but I don't think it hurts to go over this problem that many of us have with volume/ guitarists volume and tone/how it effects us bassists.

I think some previous advice here went some thing along the lines of this:

If you are near a loud guitarists amp, especially if its distorted guitar, and their eq has that cut mids but boosted lows and highs it can mask bass frequencies so although you are in fact loud enough, you have trouble hearing it. Get them to change their EQ ( good luck with that) to suit the band overall rather than just themselves.

And something along the lines of this..

Boosting lows at a low volume ( if the enhance knob does this it applies here as well) works ok. The cabs work fine. Sonically its all good but as soon as the volume goes up the frequency/ cab threshold ect cant deliver and so it either turns to a muddy mush or its just useless. You can at best hear E string but everything else is no way near loud enough to be heard.
The solution ( at least a good place to start) when playing at louder volume, is to flatten the EQ and turn any scooping eq off. You may even need to cut the lows slightly. The cabs can now work more efficiently and you are back in the room. Because its louder you dont really lose bottom end as much as you think you might.

Ok its not as simple as just the above but I believe its a good place to start. Worked for me. I got these pointers here on BC but cant remember exactly who said what and when but can say there are a lot of experienced players here that know their stuff.

Hopefully more will be along to share wisdom and advice

Link to comment
Share on other sites

+1 for the advice from bassjim. At your next rehearsal start by having all the eq flat on the amp and bass and no effects. Turn up the volume till you can hear yourself. I assume that you stack the cabs one on top of the other rather than side by side as this will give a better dispersion patten. If the room is suitable stand your rig just in front of a wall as this will enhance the bass and help soundprojection into the room from the reflection off the wall. Standing the speakers in a corner will enhance the effect even more.

Buy a long lead or go wireless and get out into the room as the balance may be fine where the audience are. You mention that DI'ing helps. Check your settings and if you are "pre eq" then you are loosing clarity through your amp eq. The pa will also have better sound dispersion and is probably enhancing the mid frequencies.

Then add eq and effects to your taste but if you loose clarity then you have gone too far.

Experimentation is the key to sonic happiness.

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='Gripbass' timestamp='1490730104' post='3267517']
Hi,Could you guys give me some advice on my set up please.
I'm using two SWR Golights,1x12.(Rare I know) with an Eden wtx500.
The problem I'm having is the band I play with are loud & I'm struggling to hold my own volume wise unless I'm Di'd.
It sounds great at more reasonable volume but you know how excited these guitarists get, they get louder as the night goes on.
I'm constantly battling with gain & clip lights. Any helpful advise would be great.
[/quote]been there done it

You need an all valve amp, trannies just dont hack it

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I`ve found that to get a good out front sound I have to have my on-stage sound way more middy and trebly than I would like. This also translates to being a lot easier - if less pleasant - to hear when close up to the amps. Boosting lows can cause a lack of definition, which, if coupled with a couple of loud guitars with their own share of bass frequencies, can cause the bass to slip away into the background.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1490882626' post='3268773']
been there done it

You need an all valve amp, trannies just dont hack it
[/quote]
Absolute nonsense.



[quote]theplumber
Yesterday, 06:37 PM
Tell the guys to get a grip and turn down....[/quote]
This. And turn down any sub/bass/low boosters on their amp. Those are for bedroom noodling but mess up the overall band sound.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If your rig isn't cutting through in this band you have 4 options. Get a better rig, get the guitarists to turn down and/or change their tone or leave.

Assuming you don't want to quit the band, I'd concentrate on what you can easily fix. You need a bigger and better rig. If the guitarists are in your frequency range you don't want to smother them with volume and bass (or they'll be telling you to turn down and the band will sound even worse), but you do need to get a cleaner and more defined sound so you can cut through their racket and be heard in spite of them.

Your amp isn't powerful enough, get a clean 500 watt amp. GK, Genzler, TH500 (there are others but you need a clean sounding amp. Tubes are not the answer here) should all be loud enough and sound better than your current amp. You need good quality, punchy cabs. I'd go for 2 112's or 2 210's. The only 15 I'd go for is the Gen 1 Barefaced Compact in the classifieds, which is a powerful and punchy cab that would do what you need. I would be aiming for 2 cabs though. Do you use pedals? I'd start by leaving them out of the equation to begin with. Get a good basic sound first and add stuff like pedals later.

Oh, and get some ear plugs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote name='gareth' timestamp='1490882626' post='3268773']
been there done it

You need an all valve amp, trannies just dont hack it
[/quote]

or valve/solid but as long as is a CLASS A - class D may look cute and tiny but they lack a certain oomph that only class A amps seem to deliver consistently

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest bassman7755

[quote name='Gripbass' timestamp='1490730104' post='3267517']
It sounds great at more reasonable volume but you know how excited these guitarists get, they get louder as the night goes on.
I'm constantly battling with gain & clip lights. Any helpful advise would be great.
[/quote]

You need to establish a band wide protocol banning adjustment of volume after sound check. If I caught a guitarist doing this in a band I was in I would read them the riot act. Zero tolerance is the only way to deal with such behaviour.

Edited by bassman7755
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...