bass_ferret Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Someone said on another thread that we all use DI so it does not matter if our backline sounds sh*t - so I thought I would find out. I dont think we do and most of the bands I see in pubs locally dont. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
el-gnomo Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 In my experience bass through the monitors sounds sh*t ! I like to hear a nice bass sound on stage, it makes me play better ....!? Plus some smaller gigs we play we don't take the subs for the PA, and the bass doesn't go into the desk at all, so I always take backline. ...on the other hand, no loading/unloading, no lifting heavy cabs.......... hmmm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 It completely depends on the gig.. I voted all three anyway. For a pub: Backline only. Art centre, small theatre: Backline and FOH. Festival, big theatre: Backline, FOH and monitors. There'll never be a situation where I'll do without backline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MythSte Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Im a little confused by the options (this isnt a dig bass ferret, being real here!) More often than not we'll have FOH, monitors, and a backline - though not necessarily using the backline as monitors. is this option two? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bass_ferret Posted May 24, 2008 Author Share Posted May 24, 2008 Doh - knew it would be wrong. I guess it depends on whether you put the bas through the monitors making the backline superfluous even if you still use it just to look good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JakeBrownBass Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 Backline to feeeeeeel the bass, in ears to hear everything! -Jake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jase Posted May 24, 2008 Share Posted May 24, 2008 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='205716' date='May 24 2008, 09:40 PM']It completely depends on the gig.. I voted all three anyway. For a pub: Backline only. Art centre, small theatre: Backline and FOH. Festival, big theatre: Backline, FOH and monitors. There'll never be a situation where I'll do without backline.[/quote] Same for me too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stag Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 We use the whole caboodle for most of ours gigs. Can be a bit of overkill in some places. Definitely need backline though, all the drummers ive played with like to hear a thudding bass tone like a metronome on stage, a bit like me wanting to hear the snare and bass drum all the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnylager Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 What WAT & Jase said. Our sh*te PA does vox, bass drum and maybe snare. But we tend to play the less salubrious venue as we're pretty sh*te TBH Big PA and spot-on soundman at Havant Arts Centre in a couple of weeks though, woo-hoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlosfandango Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='205716' date='May 24 2008, 09:40 PM']It completely depends on the gig.. I voted all three anyway. For a pub: Backline only. Art centre, small theatre: Backline and FOH. Festival, big theatre: Backline, FOH and monitors. There'll never be a situation where I'll do without backline.[/quote] +1 I like the idea that everyone in the band has their own backline so that the band can play together no matter what happens to monitor systems...keys included! Obviously not vocals... :0) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whynot Posted May 25, 2008 Share Posted May 25, 2008 PA and backline for my main gig of the past 3 years. I'm quite lucky in that our sound tech is bass friendly so always seems to get a good sound out front whenever I've checked it. Must have my own sound through the backline though. As someone already said, if not happy with the backline sound then my playing suffers. Went through a phase sometime back where I didn't own a bass rig for about 5 years. I went direct into a Digitech BP8, to mixer/PA. We all used In ear monitoring so no backline required. Only downside was when I had a dep gig I had to borrow backline, but that was very rare because we were so busy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tauzero Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='205716' date='May 24 2008, 09:40 PM']There'll never be a situation where I'll do without backline.[/quote] I tried it with the barn dance band for a few gigs. I think it might have worked had it been an all-electric band, but it's actually an all-acoustic band (but with pickups on the various instruments) plus me. I just use the backline to effectively bring the bass up to the same level as the acoustic instruments, and then run it into the PA, so I don't run it at huge volumes. For the covers band, I just run backline without it going into the PA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Bollox, I clicked on the wrong one coz I mis-read! Discount one vote for option 1 and put it on option 2..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merton Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 [quote name='wateroftyne' post='205716' date='May 24 2008, 09:40 PM']There'll never be a situation where I'll do without backline.[/quote] I've done it twice, when I turned up at a gig being told backline was provided only to discover the promoter was talking out of his a**e. So I just DI'd. Both gigs were horrible and I hated the bass sounds I could hear Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
molan Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 We always have bass in both the FOH & monitors. However the monitor mix is not for me, just for the guitarist who's generally the other side of the stage from me. Always have bass Di'd intot he FOH but relative amount is flexible depending on venue. Small gigs would probably be backline online. NB - Did anyone read the Gary tallant interview in this month's Bass player? His backline is purely for show at gigs. They use it for sound check and as a back up but the speaker is completely disconnected when playing ive. He relies on in-ear monitors only. Personally I like to have a bit of trouser flappage behind me - but then I haven't been playing 3 hour Springsteen gigs for the past 35 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Speaking of backlines. Went a jam/open mic type night the other day. The house band had a bass player using some very nice kit, didn't look in detail but mostly ampeg stuff, probably about £2K's worth. I eventually got given the nod to run through a couple of songs and was interested to hear what my US jazz would sound like through that sort of rig. Made my way to the stage and...a farty little ashdown combo had mysteriously appeared. Only the house band's bassist got to use the decent stuff! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ianrunci Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I use a trace elliott combo and DI it through FOH, I wouldn't fancy putting it through the foldback. Hoever I have been thinking recently of buying a Bass Pod XT and trying that through FOH and foldback without any backline. I would be really interested to know if anyone has tried this and what the results were. Our guitarist uses Variax's and a Pod XTL straight through the PA, no backline at all and he gets a great sound but not sure it would work as well for the bass. Plus I would think I would need a much better quality monitor for this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geilerbass Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 Due to the type of gigs I've been playing, I've generally been forced to use borrowed/hired backline and when DI-ing out of the amp, I've found I'm getting ground loops, causing a hissing/buzzing noise to come through both the backline and the FOH/monitors. As such, I've been forced to go through a DI box, rendering the backline somewhat superfluous. Which is a shame, as I don't have a Pod or Sansamp/equivalent and only have the basic compression and eq from my old Pandora to rely on, meaning my sound is far from optimum. If I use my own gear, I'll make good use of backline, since my Trace head has both ground and earth lifts and sounds great. Though a Pod/Sansamp may still be a worthwhile investment, particularly if I keep having to used borrowed/hired gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 In my experience, no on stage, in house monitor can tickle my balls when playing the low b. We need backline! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I'd be happy to go without backline if using really good monitors. But until the venues I play start including big Meyer sidefills and the like then I'd rather have a bass amp onstage. Even though stage monitors don't need to produce a lot of bottom because of the bleed from the main subs, they do need to be able to handle the dynamics of a bass guitar without nasty distortion and few I've heard can. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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