[Dixielandjazz] Electric Bass and the sound man

[Patrick Cooke]

>>any bass players have any suggestions/thoughts?<<

Gordon...
       Gee Whiz, Gordon, I thought you'd never ask!
       The problem of the bass volume is ever present because of all the
variables involved.  If I play in a place I've played before, it's a little
easier to deal with.  The variables of the room itself must be
considered...the size of the room, the general acoustics of the place, and
the placement of the bandstand have to be dealt with.
       I played at a little jazz club for a few months where the bandstand
was in a corner of the room, and the ceiling was lower than the rest of the
room.  The booming on the stand was terrible, and after a few weeks, I
finally got them to move the bandstand......Sounded much better.
        As for the amp, I must hear what is coming out,  especially on
stand-up bass, or intonation will  suffer.  I place a chair in front of me
so I can get the amp off the floor, with the speaker FACING ME.  I like to
play a little harder with minimum amp volume, and I sometimes get requests
to turn the bass UP! Also a lower amp setting helps keep the bass out of the
other mikes on the stand.  If the amp is miked, the sound man can adjust the
level for the audience.
        I use an amp with a 12" speaker.  I have larger amps, but with a 15"
speaker or larger, the sound doesn't develop till about 35-50 feet in front
of the speaker.  I have no idea why this is so, I just accept it as truth.
If you have a bass man with a big amp who puts the amp in front of himself,
facing the audience, he usually has to crank it up higher before he can hear
it himself.  Result..the audience is blasted out of their chairs.
         I usually find that miking the amp speaker is better than using a
direct box.  The direct box with a speaker on the stand frequently results
in gonzo feedback.  I haven't figured out why this is, either...probably
some phase reversal somewhere.
       Pat Cooke


----- Original Message -----
From: <GWW174@aol.com>
To: <barbonestreet@earthlink.net>; <dixielandjazz@ml.islandnet.com>
Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2002 10:56 AM
Subject: Re: [Dixielandjazz] Electric Bass and the sound man


> It's been my experience that mic-ing the bass amp is not always
necessary -
> depends a lot on the venue size and the strength of the band.  For sure,
an
> accoustic bass, sans amp, needs help.  I have found that many of the bass
> players have a heavy foot to the pedal so to speak - i.e.  too much volume
on
> their bass amp.  At least once every other festival, someone in the
audience
> comes to the sound man and asks us to turn down the bass microphone only
to
> find that the microphone was OFF.   It seems that a lot of bass players
have
> their amps louder than necessary for a good sound blend at the audience.
>
> However, I can understand that when you play bass.... your sound is coming
> out of a little box (bass amp) in front of you and down at your
feet......the
> drummer is in your left ear.... the piano in your right ear..and the front
> line is blowing the melody away from you.....you might just have a little
> problem hearing your own plucking.  The tendency would be to turn up your
own
> volume so you can hear what you are doing.
>
> Might try an experiment on the next festival to provide a special monitor
> near the bass player so he/she can hear the front line and their own
sound.
>
> Any bass players have any suggestions/thoughts.
>
> Gordon
>
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