Chrismanbass

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1466985474' post='3080286'] Re the OPs question, yes I've come across this also - I think it may be a pa EQ issue - I don't do the sound but notice the master graphic is often set as a smiley face with the mids slightly cut and the bass and treble boosted giving quite a scooped sound. Not sure how much the individual channels can override it but my sound relies on mids. [/quote] The FOH graphic should be there to make the PA system have a flat frequency response as possible that way what you are putting in through the channel strip is what is coming out of the speakers sometimes it gets used for feedback fighting but that rarely makes for good results and is only worth doing if you have no other option (including turning down) if you cut 3dB from say 100hz on the graphic EQ of the system that takes that out of the entire mix however if you boost 100hz by 3db on the channel strip it then has the effect as if the graphic was at 0 and the channel strip was at 0 too but only for that channel so you'll still have lost 3dB at 100hz on every other channel (sorry if it feels like I'm teaching you to suck eggs but I have no idea what your knowledge level is) so IMO starting with a smiley face EQ on your FOH graphic and then building a mix from that means that you'l end up chasing your tail and using a lot more EQ than you actually need to which is why i hate walking into a venue where the house sound engineer says "don't worry they graphics are set already and I'd rather you don't touch them" better of to start from flat and then use the graphic to shape the sound of your mix

[quote name='hiram.k.hackenbacker' timestamp='1466957429' post='3079988'] Why did you go pre-eq? I always use post. [/quote] not this again FWIW post EQ sometimes makes sense if you're mixing your own band as it means you get a roughly similar sound to whats coming out of your rig most of the time (the EQ for your rig may not be appropriate for the FOH mix as sometimes you're cutting what you want to boost in the PA and so on and so forth) it also depends on how much isolation there is between the PA and the backline if you're doing a small pub gig with little PA support needed then Post EQ is okay because the majority of the bass sound you're hearing is the bass amp however if you're doing larger gigs then you have a lot more factors to consider than just your bass sound i've done too many gigs (as an engineer) where i've been given a post EQ DI signal which is completely unusable and not appropriate for where it sits in the mix of the band and you end up with a bass sound that is unnecessarily subby to the point of not being able to tell what note the player is on or even worse a very middy tone which leaves the mix sounding completely empty in the bottom end this is why I'll always if given the option ask for a Pre EQ DI line (possibly paired with a nice bass cab mic where appropriate) just a little disclaimer I am one of those very rare creatures.... a nice sound guy. I do actually care about how the band sounds and each players tone i'll try and get things right at the source rather than fix them at the mixer end of the multicore however if my hands are tied by a player insisting that i use a Post EQ DI signal then experience tells me that i can't make the band sound as good as possible because you're limiting my options on how I fit people into the overall mix In terms of the OP's question I doubt its a systemic thing with your sound or your playing so you may want to look at the use of EQ and compression (compression in essence will make your bass more present in the mix but be careful not to over compress it otherwise you'll end up with lots of subby overtones made artificially louder making the bass less present in the mix i would look at how you're EQ'ing the bass the vast majority of basses have nice fat bottom at around 80 - 170 hz, presence at about 400hz and string clank and cut about about 2.3khz these will vary from bass to bass so experiment with the numbers a little bit and see what sounds good but that should arm you with a good starting point to build the tone that you want fwiw i also use a HPF to about 100 when i have the choice as this helps to define between the bass drum (which i like to fill out the bottom of the mix) and then have a present bass rather than the other way round where you end up with indistinct mush again none of this stuff is a hard and fast rule because simply there aren't any its all about personal taste and judgement ps. heres all the punctuation I probably should have used ..,,.,...,...,...,..,,,...,,.,...,..,., I'm sure you can do the rest Chris

Medley!!!!

[quote name='AndrewJordan' timestamp='1465927683' post='3072219'] I often tell the sound guy if I think a mix needs something. Doesn't often get a good responce though. [/quote] it depends massively on how it's said i've been on the opposite side of that conversation and my responses vary from "F**k of"f to "actually yeah i think you're probably right" this depends upon a number of factors, chief among which is how right think you are a very close second is how nice you are about it sound engineers are fickle creatures who respond kindly to gentle treatment and encouragement with beer with regards to festival sound those bands will have sound engineers that mix every single gig they do so i have no doubt that the gig sounded amazing in the sound tower. however a few things to bear in mind is that you have no time to soundcheck on a PA system that you're not familiar with most of you're mix is based on the feedback you're getting from a couple of nearfield monitors at the mix position and what you can hear where you are you're entirely at the mercy of the people who provide the PA and how well they have set it up mixes at the start of festival slots are basically educated guesswork on previous experience

I'm lucky enough to be a house engineer at a fairly famous jazz club and we use the DPA 4099 on the bass as well as taking a DI signal from the realist pickup on our house bass I wouldn't recommend the DPA for use with an amp as its far too likely to start feeding back if you are trying to get significant amounts of volume from it however if you want a mic that you can send to FOH and will sound great no matter what then its the mic for you I've heard other mics come through with different artists and used a few on various gigs and nothing has sounded close to me just bear in mind it is a mic and has the limitations of a mic, it will pick up other stuff on stage and feedback if you crank the gain too high

If you couldn't lift your bass amp into the car would you ask the sound man for help? how would you react if he said no because it was your gear and its "what you are getting paid for" EBS_freak has hit the nail on the head if you want to not help him then be prepared to pay for someone to help him. I used to work for a band leader who provided PA ect for gigs and you had the option of either turing up and helping to set up and break down or turning up for soundcheck and leaving straight after the gig finished if you wanted to, however anyone who stayed to help got paid £40 extra and if no one stayed then the bandleader made more money maybe worth implementing something like this?

[quote name='bornagainbass65' timestamp='1462222501' post='3041305'] I was there too - and it was a fantastic gig. Tony Momrelle smashed it (as the young folks say), and the whole band were excellent. The song that Tony did with just piano accompaniment was an absolute show-stopper. I took my 15 year old son, who hasn't been to many gigs yet, and now he has extremely high expectations! We were sat in the raised seats just behind the sound desk, centre right. The sound was great, although once or twice I thought Tony's voice had a smidge more reverb on it than it needed - although this may have been to do with the venue. I would also have taken the snare down a little, but that's just personal preference. [/quote] thanks to be honest I'm not sure if he cares but it entertains me to see what other people think I'll put this out there now he is as well as a badass engeineer ......... a drummer too

actually Marcus uses his own engineer not the festivals as does Tony Momrelle they don't rehearse in the space before the gig (its not practical in reality they don't even get a soundcheck in a festival situation) to be honest the artists on stage have absolutely no control over the mix thats why they bring their own engineers with them people they trust to mix the gig well rather than the in house engineer who's seen a lot of different artists over a few days

one of my best friends and colleagues at my venue doing FOH for Tony Momrelle at Cheltnam be interested to know your thoughts on the mix

It has the dreaded B word written on it you'll be fine as long as it works just don't expect it to last long or hope it breaks before the warranty runs out other options include soundcraft UI [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/soundcraft_ui16.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/soundcraft_ui16.htm[/url] rcf M18 [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/rcf_m_18.htm?ref=prod_rel_356321_10"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/rcf_m_18.htm?ref=prod_rel_356321_10[/url] qsc touchmix [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/qsc_touchmix_8.htm"]http://www.thomann.de/gb/qsc_touchmix_8.htm[/url]

137db with -28db earplugs in means that he's still being subjected to 109db which is still way above the threshold for hearing damage especially for extended periods of time. So i agree -28db earplugs were insufficient in this case if he's being subjected to those noise levels for extended rehearsal periods

[url="http://www.read-audio.com/"]http://www.read-audio.com/[/url] Have a look at these guys they all used to work for ACS but have now set up their own company they're excellent value and their 48 hour turn around is the fastest you're going to find anywhere

Thanks for the info fwiw every van i've ever toured with has had deadbolts on it although i've never looked into the anti drill ones

I'm Chris........ no literally that is my name! what is it i've done now? Chris

[b]Basses [/b] Bachus 5 string super jazz overwater by tanglewood jazz 5 [b]Amps [/b] little mark 3 traveler 2x10 markbass std 1x15 [b]Pedals[/b] Visual volume pedal polytune 2 Sansamp bass driver di bachus is my main bass it sounds lovely feels completely comfortable to play for the gigs that i do i need a 5 string for the lower notes (tributes and Musicals mostly) Overwater 5 - Backup to the bachus as well as being used on some songs where i need a slightly deeper bottom end (its 35" scale rather than the bachus which is 34") which imo gives it more balls down the bottom end which is perfect for songs such as its my life and wanted dead or alive which involve a lot of B string action Little mark 3 never let me down yet and i like the markbass sound 2x10 perfect for throwing in the car or onto a trolley for around town gigs where i don't need massive amounts of noise behind me 1x15 - where i want to stack something below the 2x10 for the look of using a large amp (doing 80's tribute bands with a small amp doesn't really look right) but is still light enough not to break my back carrying it around volume pedal - pretty self explanatory really for silent tuning and getting rid of extraneous noises during quite parts where i'm not playing mostly used as an on off switch but is nicer sounding to fade in than just using the mute on my tuner polytune - because playing out of tune is overrated sansamp - when i do foreign festival dates this is the main part of my bass sound (i set the backline as flat as possible and use this to shape the sound) also DI'ing from this means that i know i'm sending the di sound i want out to front of house and that its consistent (to a point) between venues also the one i have has two inputs so that i can have both basses plugged in at the same time any questions?

[quote name='Maude' timestamp='1455654383' post='2981251'] You should be sentenced to three months in the 'Bad Jokes' thread. [/quote] [quote name='Maude' timestamp='1455654432' post='2981252'] And you can join him [/quote] objection m'maude

such a tragic loss, however i've seen far too many posts recently on industry forums asking people to Tour manage, Do FOH and drive for a band which IMO is what leads to things like this happening. Of course theres no official word on what actually caused the accident yet and there probably never will be apart from that "the barriers and signals were working at the time of the accident" I'd like to share a post written by a friend of mine to this thread which talks about the kind of things these bands go through on early tours and trying to "make it" [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][i]Let me break this sort of day down for you:[/i][/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][i]Gig in the evening on Friday to gig in Guildford on Saturday.[/i][/font][/color] [color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif][i]Save some cash, fly out on the day to Sweden, get the cheap flights (as no one booked in advance), so let's say the 6am/7am flights from Gatwick to Stockholm. So up at 4am.[/i] [i]2 hour drive from Stockholm to Norrkoping (the festival venue). Check in at hotel would be 2:00pm unless they paid for early check-in (unlikely as budget wouldn't stretch for it). So straight to venue, they're low on the rung of bands so probably no dressing room (or if there is one, it'll be in a loud place with no sofas/anything to catch up on sleep).[/i] [i]Rough estimate, they're on stage around 7:00pm. It's their first non-UK festival, they're young lads.. Couple of beers.. Let's say if they do get back to their hotel it's around 1:00am for lobby call at 4am to make the drive back to Stockholm for their flight (again early because it's cheap).[/i] [i]The amount of sleep these young men and their manager would have got is roughly about 6 hours each over 2 days, give or take a few hours either way as the band might have got some kip on the way over or in the car.[/i] [i]Now imagine being the manager driving the car on the same amount of sleep. Imagine driving in a foreign country on that amount of sleep. Imagine falling asleep for a second only to wake up crashing over a bridge with four terrified young men in the back of the car.[/i][/font][/color] [i][color=#141823][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]My point is this: we are not machines. Do not assume that we are machines and will just power through. Because when you do, accidents can and will happen. Make your schedule sensibly. 95% of the time, everything is ok. But the other 5% of the time.. Is it worth it?[/font][/color] [/i] My point is that this sort of thing is far too common in the music industry these days at all levels so please be careful out there no gig is ever worth dying for

admittedly i'm watching on my macbook but the mix sounded pretty shocking from here not enough vocals generally and generally pretty mushy but yes a pretty forgettable halftime show rescued by some old favourites coming back to steal the show

[quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1452907186' post='2954734'] Most of the promoters we deal with do a great job, have obviously read our T&Cs - there's often a problem with the tech rider but that might be local availability issues...but this current dude - never played in portugal before so new promoter.....he hasn't a clue what he's doing, it seems. [/quote] twigman would you mind PMing me the promoters name as i have a suspicion i know who it is and it isn't the first time its happened cheers chris

[quote name='Bobthedog' timestamp='1452256842' post='2948115'] Apart from Radio 3 I believe. Certainly they never used DRC in the past. I enjoyed the programme although there was nothing new in it for me as a former audiophile. [/quote] Radio 3 definitely do having been responsible for overseeing a few OB things from the venue I work in but they certainly don't compress as much as other radio stations in the same genre

the irony being that everything gets compressed for radio anyway when broadcast............

maybe i just haven't drunk the cool-aid ....... but i don't buy a bass amp that sounds good when I put it in a particular position at a particular angle, oh and it must be in a corner otherwise it won't work I'd quite like my amp to sound good wherever i decide to put it down...... and it does. but i think you'll find i said put it closer to your ears not right next to them however if i have my amp right next to my head and its too loud thats okay because it has a volume knob on it too I guess my point is I don't really know what you gain by having this funny little box on a mic stand next to your head as opposed to other methods of hearing yourself

looks to me like someone trying to re invent the wheel...... can't hear your cab maybe move it closer to your ears?

I've heard that you can get a mono M80 in a bass safe but you just can't put anything into the pocket at the front. Why don't take your bass safe to the shop and try it? doesn't need to be your bass inside the case just something that will fill it to test with?

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1444837698' post='2886562'] Not all deps have notice. I have had many calls along the lines of.... 'Gig'? 'When'? 'Now'. [/quote] In which case the bandleader knows you're stepping in last minute and they're usually more forgiving of stuff if you've had time to prep then thats an entirely different matter.