warwickhunt

I've an inherent distrust of units that rely on wi-fi to operate. Added to which, the band that this will be used with will effectively want to plug into and leave it to me to sort out and monitor mixes will be set once and forget. I like the idea that the A&H has auto functions which will set and monitor gain settings and feedback suppression (especially as I'm playing on stage when 'stuff' might need sorting).

Yep. I've not owned a 'full band' PA for 20 years but researching it this week, I can get a laptop sized mixing desk for £500-£800 that can do stuff that Pro studios spent £10,000's on 20 years ago!

Just when I think the Zoom L12 is what will do for us... I check out the CQ12.

VERY generous... you have a message (somewhere/elsewhere).

Zombie resurrection! I'm likewise thinking an L12 will suit my (zombie) resurrected band project; have you any further thoughts/regrets re. this Ped? I could go the full digi interface but I'd utilise 10% of the capability 90% of the time, this just seems to be the logical extension from a trad analogue mixer... as used by old folk!

That's cool, I'm not poking a stick and expecting a 'correct' answer. Everything you've said is about in line with what I'd do as/when we get a sub to add to the QSC K10s. We are looking at a good 12" as opposed to an OK 15" (RCF QSC... maybe FBT) but constrained by the physical size and weight as ultimately someone has to load / unload it at home (bodies to help at a gig). I've read enough around subs to get the gist when adding them to an existing system but the overarching info seems to revolve around placing subs at/near rear walls or rear corners, which is just not going to cut it in ANY scenario that I'm likely to encounter. The only options are really; A). centre of front edge of a stage/performance area, B). under a mid/top speaker or C). at a side wall (to take advantage of a boundary)... but the side wall is looking less and less like a viable option so it is A or B. I just have to ensure the distance to a wall isn't of a distance (iirc approx 7-8ft) which is going to cause a dip in a particular frequency that would rob us of the benefit of the sub. The joys of live sound.

As a personal monitor, a QSC K10 mounted on a speaker stand to the side of stage worked well for me. Plenty loud enough, great dispersion (especially at ear height on a stand), easy lift and the added bonus of 2 inputs; I fed one input with a direct feed from my pedal and the 2nd with a feed from the PA of the rest of the band. This way I got to mix a bit more of me without having to go via PA mixer. I can't imaging that I'd ever need anything much bigger unless on a 'big' stage and then I'd need to be relying on engineer et al. I tried the K10 on the floor as a wedge and it works well but so much better on a stand off to the side (added benefit that the drummer liked it there as well). I tried the Alto 10" before that and too harsh, also tried the RCF310 which was better than Alto but the QSC beat the RCF.

So placing the sub front left/right of the stage with a 10" mounted on a pole above (getting no reinforcement/lift from being placed next to a wall or corner) is preferrable to positioning a sub elsewhere near a wall/corner? I realise it is a single sub so I don't need to worry about length of wave et al but I thought the consensus was that a sub benefits from placement next to a boundary. BTW this is NOT for my acoustic duo, this is purely for a 4 piece band inc kick/snare mic'd.

I should say from the off that I've done live band PA mixing for over 40 years and most of my practice has been 'suck it and see', with a fair degree of success. However, as it has invariably been pairs of 15's on poles with no sub (Peavey passives through to RCF actives... and most stuff in-between). I find myself in a scenario where I go out as a low volume 'acoustic' duo with 1 or possibly 2 QSC K10s; no problems or more gear required. Enter, old band starting back up and my K10's are not going to do justice to full band; 3 vocals, kick, snare, bass and possibly guitar but they could work well if adding a single 12" sub but I'm having to factor in where is best to use it in an average room. All rooms are unequal is my starting point, so my example to follow will have lots of ifs and buts to be decided on arrival. I'm trying to decide 'figuratively' where might be the best place for a single 12" sub in a rectangular room, with band at one end and audience spread across the other 7/8ths of a room. It can't go behind the drums on a rear wall as the drum mics will be a mare. Centre of stage front is obvious position but it is nowhere near boundaries to benefit from that boost. Hence, could a side wall parallel with the front baffle of the tops be used? If it is placed on the left, anyone on that side will get excess in comparison to the opposite side of the room. So where to go?

Quick question... or not! Small to medium size venues, utilising a single 12" sub (to be determined and purchased) and a pair of QSC K10s on stands. Reference is often made re. 'rear/back wall' indicating rear to be the wall behind or where the band are setting up, leading to the assumption that front wall being effectively behind the last audience member (does that make sense?). If a sub (I'm phrasing this as per my band using a single 12" sub) is omnidirectional does that then mean that a sub can be placed either facing toward/parallel/out from a side wall running the length of a room? I'm aware that a sub can be placed anywhere in a room but practical purposes mean it can rarely be the wall or corner furthest from the band (behind the audience) and the wall behind the performance area would lead to the sub bleeding into a kick/snare drum mic, hence my musings on best offset 'side wall' placement.

I use an Electro Harmonix Small Stone phaser + a little chorus and I've been assured by other bassists that it pretty much nails the sound... but other options would work equally as well!

Yes I agree. When I got my first Cali II bass (roadworn) I noticed immediately that the overall body size was reduced; when stood back to back with a Fender the difference is marked!

That's great to see; all under 8lb!

Yeah but they are like hen's teeth 'used' and I'm not convinced a SL will have equal tone to buy one new! I have a pair of Lionel basses (1 of which is very light) but I'm needing to find if the 34" scale basses can be sub 8lb.

Sandberg California V / VS owners. What does your bass weigh? I'm absolutely loving my Cali V (sunburst roadworn & marley blue) basses, especially since stringing with some heavier gauge strings but I find myself wondering how light this range of basses might be and could I find source an even lighter one? I have a couple of Lionel basses which are even lighter (but I find I lose punch and definition in certain higher ranges and yes I've tried upping the gauge on the strings) and I'm aware of the 'Superlight' series but I'm unsure if the different body woods (paulownia) will adversely affect the tone that I'm enjoying from my current 2 basses. For context my RW bass is 8lb 6oz and my JJ pup converted MB bass is 8lb 1oz... is this as light as they get?

I could be wrong (often am) but as it doesn't mention VAT I'm fairly sure that UK residents have to pay the VAT on top of that price.

Is that + VAT?

It could be the fit or equally the tone of that particular IE that needs sensitive EQing but I've found work-arounds now and I can find ways to get what I need using multiple options; so all good.

I might have been having an off day with the early IEM experiments but I was finding that I needed to have the volumes up more than I felt comfortable with to offset the drums. Oddly when playing with backline and regular attenuated plugs in, I found it filtered everything uniformly and attenuated the drums better.

I think it is difficult for drummers to embrace the SS idea because trad acoustic kits have a different feel to electronic or 'flats' kits and if you maintain a full acoustic kit with no backline I think (or experienced) that it is fraught with problems.

Old story but I got tired of being the only band member who knew how or would set up the PA so I gave each band member a job, from putting stands up and speakers on to putting out the 2 floor monitors and associated leads etc. I would do the actual sound and levels. 2 gigs in with new regime and I found the singer hadn't bothered to plug in the monitors (power and lead)... well I certainly wasn't going to so we did the whole sound check inc the obligatory "Can I have a bit more vocal in the monitor" AND gig ,with no monitor! Nobody even noticed when we were stripping down. Not a word of a lie but it happened at EVERY subsequent gig for about 15-20 gigs. It was only spotted by the guitarist and when asked I just shrugged and said "That's not my job, have one of you not been doing it?". Conclusion to this fine story: you'd think would be that we'd have had a more thorough system; nope the singer decided if we'd managed without monitors then there was no point in having them... thus absolving himself of a job! Genuine story.

Were they 'identical' cabs (drivers and physical dimensions) other than the port position? That is an all together different matter. Agreed in which case the OP liked the tone of the cab potentially/partly/possibly due to the size as opposed to the porting location. You could equally get a larger cab that was rear ported and that could/might sound as good OR a front ported cab that was smaller and it might sound worse!

Why front porting specifically? It has no impact on sound projection etc.

Natural discolouration from daylight; the finish under the guard never sees the light of day. The extreme of this used to be when smoking was allowed in venues. Your bass would have a yellowish tinge in no time regardless of finish or colour... and your case stank of it.

LOL indeed. When I clocked the pics I was 'Having that!'... then I saw the weight.