Fender_Greg Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 I keep playing some larger halls for charity or function events but am worried my sound is getting pretty lost and I have a fear of going too crazy with eq or volume in case I just become a noise. Any sorta tips with getting a decent sound? In the halls you just seem to be too tinny or too bassy. I got a 1x15 combo which is probably the problem. Cheers, Greg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Get a Gramma pad for these sort of venues. Big halls are easy to get boomy & it'll help prevent it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JTUK Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 How long is a piece of string..? First thing I would do is get the core sounds right between instruments and then EQ them to fit the band. This means a session on each instrument ..and if the drums aren't tuned well.... you might as well just plug in and hope... If you get in a war of who owns what frequencies, you end up with mush...and there is no way back from that. Don't try and over-power the room either as you'll lose that one as well. Difficult to offer much more than generalities out of context.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 [quote name='Fender_Greg' timestamp='1356983796' post='1916144'] I keep playing some larger halls for charity or function events but am worried my sound is getting pretty lost and I have a fear of going too crazy with eq or volume in case I just become a noise. Any sorta tips with getting a decent sound? In the halls you just seem to be too tinny or too bassy. I got a 1x15 combo which is probably the problem. Cheers, Greg [/quote] i doubt that your combo is the problem. ive heard loads of combos that have sounded awesome! are you feeling its boomy on stage? i always get someone who know the sound i like/want to gimme a nod from the back if its sounding ok. andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted December 31, 2012 Share Posted December 31, 2012 Can you add an extension speaker to the combo? Extra speakers will add extra depth and size to the sound at the same volume, plus added height will make it easier for you to hear. The audience may well be hearing it plenty anyway, as a combo on the floor, most of the sound will be hitting your legs. Plus, as the others said, a Gramma should help with the boom part. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender_Greg Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 [quote name='0175westwood29' timestamp='1356988239' post='1916194'] i doubt that your combo is the problem. ive heard loads of combos that have sounded awesome! are you feeling its boomy on stage? i always get someone who know the sound i like/want to gimme a nod from the back if its sounding ok. andy [/quote] I just always thought that being a bigger cone (15") that it could be lacking definition. I have a 2x10 cab extension but just dont always get the chnace to get it in my car. If I did I'd use it all the time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender_Greg Posted January 1, 2013 Author Share Posted January 1, 2013 The gramma pad looks pretty interesting, I hadn't heard of them before Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Speaker sizes do not have an inherent sound quality. Cab design and EQ does! 10" speakers can sometimes have a better bass response than 15's; all depends on cab design, speaker design and how the power is delivered. You don't necessarily need a Gramma Pad, but they're worth having. Try a gigbag folded in half, or a pillow/cushion first to see if that makes any difference. If it does, then it's clear that a Gramma Pad is the way to go! Secondly, experiement with your EQ. Bump the mids and kill the bass a little. Might sound a little tinny or clangy initially but you'll soon get used to being able to hear yourself and don't worry, there'll still be plenty of the bass frequencies making their way to the audience if if you can't hear them clearly yourself. Another solution could be to find a way to elevate the combo and point it towards your head. I'm not keen on this method because I think it's important for the source of the sound to have a good connection with the floor for the benefit of the FOH; in short it'll be better for you because you can hear yourself, but the audience won't hear a decent bass sound because the floor and walls carry a lot of the lower frequencies for you. Hope this helps! Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mep Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Did one recently. +1 for a Gramma Pad, reduce the bass & boost the mids to suit. It can work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Starr Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 Playing in big spaces changes a lot of things. Obviously a bigger space needs more volume, the best solution is to use the PA as backup but charity stuff doesn't pay, so unless you already have access to a decent PA this may not be possible. If you are playing on a stage with a proscenium arch then there are two problems, the stage may have unwanted echoes to muddy the sound and a raised wooden stage is often something that resonates muddying the bass, the gramma pad may help this but not the other problems. I find high ceilings a real problem. There are a couple of other problems with large spaces. You'll be further away from the walls and ceilings. These normally reinforce your bass sound and you will have to eq differently in each hall. Since the reflections are from further away there will be places in the room where they reinforce (boomy) and places where they interfere (tinny) and you can get both happening in different parts of the room. Finally you have the space to propagate deep bass notes which normally get lost where the room is smaller than wavelength of your lowest notes. You will also have the problem that in a small room you are right on top of your cab but you may be playing with a long lead some distance from your speaker which changes what you hear. Knowing why you are having problems doesn't help much though. First don't panic, The bass may sound weird to you but the audience may be hearing it quite clearly so the problem may not be as bad as you think, ask someone to check. The best way to get extra volume is to add an extra speaker when you need it. There are a lot of cheap and heavy Peavey cabs out there that will help at the price of a Gramma pad, or borrow one, people help out if it is for charity. Finally be prepared to fiddle around with your eq a lot more to adjust for the acoustics for each room, arrive earlier and get someone in the audience area to help if you can. Finally few of us can afford to have the perfect bass rig for every occasion. If the sound is good enough for the audience to have a good time and you are doing your best then just be proud of yourself for helping other people and have a great time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0175westwood29 Posted January 1, 2013 Share Posted January 1, 2013 [quote name='Fender_Greg' timestamp='1357008508' post='1916393'] I just always thought that being a bigger cone (15") that it could be lacking definition. I have a 2x10 cab extension but just dont always get the chnace to get it in my car. If I did I'd use it all the time [/quote] not really, i think thats set by how sensitve the speaker is had an orange, trace elliot and now have a hartke 115 and none of these lacked in defination the orange was slightly less defined than the other two but not bad, some of the guys on here will say you shouldnt mix speaker sizes but if you like the sound of the 115 combo with the 210 ext cab then id stick with that, doesnt mean the 15 is lacking its just the 210 gets the sound nearer to your ear. markbass i think make a wedge that can go under some of there combos to act as a tilt back so the sound goes up slightly maybe try this? as you could be adding more bass than needed as you can't quiet hear the true sound of the cab? could always try tilting the combo back at a practice and seeing if it makes a dif? andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fender_Greg Posted January 2, 2013 Author Share Posted January 2, 2013 Thanks for all the info guys, definitely gonna take a lot of it on board. EQ'ing is definitely a weak point of mine and I'm gonna have to work on it. Cheers! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glefty Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 Put it up on a stand, milk crate or chair; no cost to you, much less boom, easier to hear for you & better "line of sight" for the punters as it will be close to their ear level. Start with eq flat n add judiciously. Always worked for me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dark Lord Posted January 3, 2013 Share Posted January 3, 2013 If you're playing a large hall, then the PA should do all of the work and use your own backline for monitoring. Doesn't really matter if you get "that" sound on stage, just so long as you can hear the notes you are playing. What's important is what the audience hear - check it out via wireless or a long lead from out front, or let the sound guy work on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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