Live DB sound: A poll (or two)

[Beedster]

A bit nerdy I know but I'm interested to get a quantitative summary on the above questions. Add any thoughts below.

Cheers

C

Edited September 21, 2010 by Beedster

[51m0n]

Oh Chris, you may just be beginning to over analyse the hell out of this thing - just go out there and play it!!!

[Beedster]

[quote name='51m0n' post='963595' date='Sep 21 2010, 05:56 PM']Oh Chris, you may just be beginning to over analyse the hell out of this thing - just go out there and play it!!!

[/quote]

Hey, it's a slow Tuesday evening, and my fingers are still sore from Saturday

All joking aside mate, there's a lot of knowledge and experience in relation to these questions, but it's scattered over a lot of threads. So, as it's all inter-related, I thought I'd perform a mini meta-analysis!

C

PS hope you voted....?

Edited September 21, 2010 by Beedster

[velvetkevorkian]

Not done that much amplified playing, but I've used a pickup going to FOH only with no onstage monitoring- all acoustic instruments and only hand drums, so not massive onstage volume. Never had a problem with feedback, but to be honest I've no idea what I sounded like out front.

[Cat Burrito]

Pickup & in through the PA - feedback only comes when I have an inexperienced sound engineer which depends on the gig /venue

[Gareth Hughes]

My feedback usually results from band leaders wanting a double bass used in an electric bass setting - ie: with loud drums and guitars. When the feedback inevitably comes they ask can I do anything about it - to which I happily reply 'this is one reason the electric bass was invented'.

[keeponehandloose]

The question is,how loud do want /need to play.
I also use my patent pending anti feedback device on all my gigs,it enables me to use the EQ to get a nice sound instead of just fighting the feedback.

[bassace]

Useful topic Beedster.

The holy grail has got to be mic to FOH plus monitor(s). However this could lead to fedback problems with a (DB) inexperienced sound engineer. So a nice compromise is mic to FOH and pickup to back line. Only two drawbacks here; I find that most DB gigs don't have FOH unless I'm in a good theatre or the gig is a big outdoor one. Also, you're unlikely to hear the beautiful sound from your bass if the speakers are in front of you.

So most of the time I go out with backline and pickup, plug and play and concentrate on making music. Strangely I never experience feedback. Well not in the electronic sense anyway.

[slobluesine]

buy this Chris...

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=103721"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=103721[/url]

problem solved

[bassadder]

Hi Chris

My best answer is it all depends, does the venue, band, festival etc. have a good FOH with a professional engineer not just some one who owes a PA, it can drastically alter your approach with a good engineer you can use just a mic and experience a beautiful sound both out front and on stage depending who you are playing with of course, if not and they are stressed and inexperienced they'll either want to take a DI direct from your piezo easiest for them the worst possible scenario for you or if there's room, from an on stage amplifier of your choice. If it's a gig in a pub or restaurant you'll probably want to use a piezo in to an amp as you'll be cramped for space you get paid to play not to mess around trying to deal with a mic that's feeding back but in saying that my colleagues and I have done some interesting experimenting using a sabine FBX 820 and behringer FBQ EQ we've had some good results with a mic in to an RCF 312A, but that's in a rehearsal or sound check never on a gig

I have a DPA 4099B mic which is wonderful I use FOH 100% of the time at the moment, I have Realist pickup and an Erhlund contact mic and pre-amp and mix and match depending on the venue and who I'm playing and what the gig requires, sometimes if the music is dense and there are a lot dynamics I use Realist only, my amp has notch filter and I can eq out any feedback that might happen. Now my bass suits the new style Realist, I had a lot of trouble with the old one and used a Full Circle and Wilson for a long time but I couldn't deal with the boing or quack you get from certain piezo plus I use Olives which are gut cores which sound dreadful with certain pickups. I do folk gig where I use mic only and had the best sound I've ever had so again it all depends.

One final thing is this is personal to me the why I play my bass and the way I want to hear music so these are my experiences there are other players on here that have great results using other gear.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Laurence

[geoffbassist]

Great post laurence.
I'm going to buy a dpa to send to FOH, but I can get a great sound with a pickup/amp. In my experience the simpler the better. If u can make a mic to an amp work consitantly gig to gig, then great, but not many guys can.

It's really hard work amplifying an upright sometimes, but occasionally I get a great sound and really enjoy playing. If it's not so great othertimes I just get on with it. :-)

[TPJ]

[quote name='geoffbassist' post='963838' date='Sep 21 2010, 09:49 PM']It's really hard work amplifying an upright sometimes, but occasionally I get a great sound and really enjoy playing. If it's not so great othertimes I just get on with it. :-)[/quote]

And a good point is the sound you are after too. For the most part the stuff I play lends itself to a big, fat, supportive tone that holds it's own because there is only ever a guitarist and sometimes percussion. The tone of the BassMax on my bass through the Walkabout does that great. But when I have a jazz gig, that tone doesn't work and I have to really use the eq to get a more suitable tone, and sometimes go for a different rig. The hard thing about DB is the cost involved to find "your" sound and how far you will go. Each bass is different, each player plays differently. You never know until you try equipment with your setup.

A Full Circle is next on my "to try" list. I'm bypassing the mic thing for now.

Edited September 22, 2010 by TPJ

[BobVbass]

Mag Pickup into a Fishman Platinum pro into a 1kW stack - no feedback however loud I play - anythink piezo just hums straight away at half the volume I need unfortunatley

[thisnameistaken]

I've been using a Bass Max into a Fishman Plat Pro EQ into my BG amp (Hartke head, Schroeder 1212) and from there DI'd to FoH. So far I haven't had any problems with feedback, it's not exactly a pure DB sound I'm getting but it's near enough for what we do.

[TheRev]

Hmm. I've ticked the 'I generally have trouble with feedback' box because if I'm with the blues band and space in stage is limited forcing me to stand in front of my amp, then Barbara is going to squeal like a piggy. BUT, If I have enough room to stand behind & to one side of my cabs, then it's much less of a problem and I can be heard above the harp player's fender Bassman (which is no mean feat...). I'll be rooted to the spot but at least I can be heard.

No problems with feedback with the jazz/soul band unless we're playing a function in which case the above applies.

[Mateybass]

The feedback question might have thrown up an interesting point with regard to solid versus ply construction. I've had this theory that ply basses will generally feed back less because they are stiffer in their resonating parts... wondered if that might be born out by player's experiences... or maybe I just think too much and should go and have a lie down in a darkened room.

[endorka]

[quote name='TheRev' post='964383' date='Sep 22 2010, 12:39 PM']Hmm. I've ticked the 'I generally have trouble with feedback' box because if I'm with the blues band and space in stage is limited forcing me to stand in front of my amp, then Barbara is going to squeal like a piggy.[/quote]

No idea if you've tried this already, but elevating your speaker really high in this situation, such as on a small table, or even better, a milk crate and a table, will really help reduce feedback as you will not be firing all these bass frequencies right into the body of the instrument.

Jennifer

[Gareth Hughes]

[quote name='Mateybass' post='969065' date='Sep 27 2010, 01:40 AM']The feedback question might have thrown up an interesting point with regard to solid versus ply construction. I've had this theory that ply basses will generally feed back less because they are stiffer in their resonating parts... wondered if that might be born out by player's experiences... or maybe I just think too much and should go and have a lie down in a darkened room.[/quote]


That's been my experience. I ended up selling a gorgeous carved bass that cost almost £4000 and replaced it with an £800 hybrid that works so much better for gigs. I was heartbroken selling the carved bass, but there was no point in keeping something that didn't do the job I needed it to do. If I recorded more than I gigged it would be a different story tho.

[Gareth Hughes]

And +1 for Jennifer's suggestion of raising the cab up out of the firing line from the bass's body. This helps more than you might imagine. And don't forget to dampen those after-lengths!!!