You don't realise how loud you are until..............

[barneyg42]

........you get a wireless link and walk out into the audience!
So normally we just rely on the singer checking the balance and I'm usually standing onstage (ie corner of the pub by the toilets!) just cranking up to what seems an acceptable level and leaving it at that. So I got a wireless and during soundcheck I had a wander out to singer territory and beyond. Holy crap, TC Electronic BH500 into TC 2x10 and Barefaced Compact 1x15. It was a monster sound, the bottom end from that Compact was shaking the whole pub. I never knew, honest! It was a total revelation. So in true bassist tradition I said to the singer do you think that sounds ok to which she answered yup fine, really good, so I left it as it was! We then played a great gig only tempered by my bloody cough which had screwed my throat so I couldn't add any barking vocals at all which was a shame as we were recording the gig. Needless to say I had a wander round the pub during the bass bit in The Chain. Guitard is thinking of getting one now, he says to check his out front sound, tbh I think he's worried I'll out pose him
Of course there's no chance while I've got my landing lights on my Status and I don't think he'll butcher any of his PRS's to keep up!

Edited January 20, 2013 by barneyg42

[Truckstop]

Sounds to me like you gave loads of 'barking vocals'!

Truckstop

[steve-bbb]

i need to do this too - i only have a 250w hartke head but it is ample for average pubs and clubs - at a gig last summer i had the 410 and the 115 hooked up to it thinking i would need the extra oomph - standing on top of it you can only just hear it - friends over the far side of the pub told me it was shaking the windows and everything

[dmccombe7]

What kinda wireless are you using ?
I'm interested in one but don't know much about them ie which is best but not most expensive and doesn't discolour the sound etc.

Dave

[dave_bass5]

I've been using cheap AKG systems for years, specifically so I can go out front and do the mixing. When I first started doing this I too was shocked at how loud I was. It's been a real boon having the wireless system as we only use a small PA and don't play public gigs so its always down to me to make sure the levels are balanced.

Saying that, the rest of the band normally hold back during sound checks so it all goes to pot anyway, but at least I know I'm at the right volume for the venue.

[lowdowner]

Stageclix are brilliant - digital, no lag, great sound... really, really, rate it

http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Stage_Clix.html

[Blademan_98]

I usually only use 250w head with a 2x10 cab.
I plugged a 15" cab into the other port for a 'rehearsal' and the chaps asked me to un-plug it

It was so loud, I thought the studio would fall down!



Edit: I wear ear plugs but no one else in the band does. Perhaps they should

Edited January 20, 2013 by Blademan_98

[barneyg42]

Line 6 G30......only one gig in......so far so good! £265

[Prime_BASS]

[quote name='lowdowner' timestamp='1358709536' post='1943836']
Stageclix are brilliant - digital, no lag, great sound... really, really, rate it

[url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/Stage_Clix.html"]http://www.bassdirec...Stage_Clix.html[/url]
[/quote]

TBH I had this system from bassdirect, Mark has been a top guy about the whole thing aswell. But I totally didn't get on with the stageclix.
Don't get me wrong it works wonders for a lot of people, and it did sound awesome. However only when 'I' played really lightly with 'my' bass.

For some reason it distorted loads, and I tried everything possible to not get this distortion but it appeared to be there most of the time while I was playing so it wasn't any use to me.

I have a sony wireless system fro him now to test out so hopefully it works a lot better. But it seems to be accepting my loud output volume a lot better than the stageclix. Also it has a input attenuation aswell.

Can't wait to get using.

[thepurpleblob]

I was listening to a band the other day and the bass player's sound was thunderous. A proper window rattler. I turned to my wife and commented that the bass was incredibly loud. "Yeh", she says, "nearly as loud as you!". Ho hum.

[Gazm]

I play in 2 bands. In 1 the guitarist always says I'm too loud, in the other the soundman tells me to crank it up more.

[nottswarwick]

I think I'd tend to believe the sound man lol.

I mix our sound. Used to use wireless, but now use a long lead, does the job.

I too find the bass carries more than you think. But we try to keep our back line down so I can put eveything in the PA and control it better.

Plus I never listen to what's anyone else says unless I know their ears aren't shot. Which our tow singer/guitarists are. Yet they still won't use earplugs

[EBS_freak]

I got the Sony unit imported - it really stomps on the other digital systems and the body pack is a proper metal unit. Great stuff.

[Telebass]

I've used a Samson Airline rig for years now. It's been flawless, and has no pesky body pack to worry about.

[Norm]

Recent sound check, I was going through the pedal board one by one & then in the combinations for particular songs when the barmaid asked me to turn down as they were doing a comedy juggling routine behind the bar trying to keep glasses on the shelves!
Was the octaver, q-tron, overdrive combo I suspect, mmmmmm chunky!
I took it as a compliment but I did turn down.
A tiny bit.
Then turned back up when we went on, ha HA!

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Blademan_98' timestamp='1358710974' post='1943878']
Edit: I wear ear plugs but no one else in the band does. Perhaps they should
[/quote]
Or you could play more quietly?

[Blademan_98]

[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1358785016' post='1944930']
Or you could play more quietly?
[/quote]

I could........?

I had to pull the second speaker and turn down!

Usually for rehearsal I would use my 50w Orange combo. I just wanted to try the big rig in my studio.
First and last time it will be used there by me

(I have to give up gigging so it will stay in the studio and only get used by visiting bass players)

[mcnach]

Oh, I so love to play at low levels!!! (not actually low, but it seems a lot of people feel that if it cannot deafen you, it's too quiet).
Why is it so hard to get people to play at reasonable volumes where our hearing is at our best and we can better judge what we sound like?

[HartkeUK]

[quote name='Telebass' timestamp='1358756859' post='1944385']
I've used a Samson Airline rig for years now. It's been flawless, and has no pesky body pack to worry about.
[/quote]

Made by the company who invented wireless systems two years before anybody else. This is still available at a retailer near you.

[KevB]

The last time I checked it looked like the Samson bass version had been discontinued but they were still doing the guitar model, could be wrong though and I've often wondered if they weren't pretty interchangeable in any case.

[Japhet]

In my experience, if you can just about hear yourself your volume is about right. Having said that, the 2 cabs I now use in different situations are a TechSoundsystems 2x12 or a Barefaced Compact. Both cabs have very good sound dispersal and cut through the mix so you can hear yourself much better. It also depends how much of your bass frequency is being nicked by other instruments, meaning you need to turn up to be heard in the mix.