Members msmooth Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 The bass player in our band has 2 cabs with 15" in each. over the years he has become a bit hard of hearing and likes to put both cabs on stands so they are closer to his ears. I feel that he should put one on the floor and stack them so the second cab is higher. I have always heard that bass cab should be on the floor to help increase the bass response, am I correct? He also wants to set up far stage left, with me (lead guitar) bewtween him and the drummer. He has a reason for this, he doesn't want to whack me with the head stock of his bass, which I appreciate. However, I have usually seen the bass right next to the drums so that they can lock in better. Any thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Detox Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 Next to the drummer is OK, or further away if set up as below. Bottom cab pointing at the band, top cab pointing at bassist's ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members perrydabassman Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 Introduce the old fart to something called a monitor..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 21, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 21, 2011 What? Speak up! Stop mumbling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jazzneck Posted August 21, 2011 Members Share Posted August 21, 2011 Why he would put two 15" cabinets on stands to begin with is beyond me. He'd be way better off with the stack and on the other side near the drummer. Yeah, monitors would help, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 22, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 22, 2011 And while it is true that bass cabinets on the floor produce more bass, that is not necessarily a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Perfessor Posted August 22, 2011 Members Share Posted August 22, 2011 Make giant earphones out of 'em. Why do I have to think of everything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Marko Posted August 22, 2011 Members Share Posted August 22, 2011 I would definitely stack them vertically, which would also help him hear them better. I stand stage left, and always place mine to my left facing across stage, as it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RevRomansky Posted August 24, 2011 Members Share Posted August 24, 2011 Place it anywhere. The reason your bassist can't hear himself is because bass tones take about 10 feet to really set up, the wave is that long. Yes, a monitor would help, kick up the mids and reduce the bass in the monitor, then he'll hear himself much better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JohnMCA72 Posted August 25, 2011 Members Share Posted August 25, 2011 Place it anywhere. The reason your bassist can't hear himself is because bass tones take about 10 feet to really set up, the wave is that long.... Which, of course, is why you can't hear any bass through headphones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted August 25, 2011 Members Share Posted August 25, 2011 Some speaker and cab designs need distance for the sound to develop. I used to have a 2x15 that I could barely hear myself out of 3 feet away, but would rattle beer bottles off tables on the other side of the room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 25, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 25, 2011 I guarantee that, if you put your head in front of the cabinet, you will find that it doesn't need distance for the "sound to develop". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted August 25, 2011 Members Share Posted August 25, 2011 Which, of course, is why you can't hear any bass through headphones. Get better headphones. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted August 25, 2011 Members Share Posted August 25, 2011 I guarantee that, if you put your head in front of the cabinet, you will find that it doesn't need distance for the "sound to develop". In my case, my shirt would move, but I couldn't hear what note I was playing. The "sound" was there, but it was just a big whoosh. Speaker throw is a real thing. That's why you use near-field monitors for mixing and a different cabinet design for PA applications. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted August 26, 2011 Moderators Share Posted August 26, 2011 In my case, my shirt would move, but I couldn't hear what note I was playing. The "sound" was there, but it was just a big whoosh. Speaker throw is a real thing. That's why you use near-field monitors for mixing and a different cabinet design for PA applications. Sure, speaker throw is a real thing. It's directly related to polar response. But the notion that sound doesn't develop before a certain distance is pure BS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RevRomansky Posted August 26, 2011 Members Share Posted August 26, 2011 Which, of course, is why you can't hear any bass through headphones. Headphone speakers are much smaller, John. Typical bass speaker starts at 15". Physics, son. In the past, some bass cabs came with a bunch of 6"-8" speakers to try and overcome this issue. As for BS, that's BS, it's established sound support knowledge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lz4005 Posted August 26, 2011 Members Share Posted August 26, 2011 But the notion that sound doesn't develop before a certain distance is pure BS. "Develop" was a poor choice of words on my part. How's this: Some speaker cabinets, particularly those with 15" or 18" speakers, can be so muddy sounding at 3 feet, that it can be difficult to discern pitch. Subjectively this can be perceived as a lack of volume in a band situation. In terms of SPL the volume is indeed there, but it isn't particularly useful to the human ear. Farther away, the sound is much clearer, and subjectively this can be perceived as louder. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ezstep Posted August 26, 2011 Members Share Posted August 26, 2011 "Develop" was a poor choice of words on my part. How's this: Some speaker cabinets, particularly those with 15" or 18" speakers, can be so muddy sounding at 3 feet, that it can be difficult to discern pitch. Subjectively this can be perceived as a lack of volume in a band situation. In terms of SPL the volume is indeed there, but it isn't particularly useful to the human ear. Farther away, the sound is much clearer, and subjectively this can be perceived as louder. This is exactly why, back in the 80's, we used one folded horn and one front-loaded horn onstage. The band could hear one, the crowd in back of the building could hear the other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members rovito Posted August 28, 2011 Members Share Posted August 28, 2011 Be thankful you have a bass player and let him do what he wants. He likely knows more than you and just doesn't want to explain everything. IMHO. While your at it. Turn your damned amp down! I guess what I'm really saying is. Why do you feel a need to change what works for him? If he is happy this way he will play better... If he has played long enough that he has suffered some hearing loss he likely knows what works for him. If I told you to change the way you setup ( Turn your amp down!) because I like it another way. you would likely get a bit peeved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members chunky-b Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 Anyone ever tried |_/\// cables to help your speakers "throw" their sound better? ? ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members walkerci Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 I like to be above 10 - 15 feet (3 - 5 meters) in front by my rig so it can "bloom" before the sound hits my ears.Unfortunately I usually get half of that. In my current band, the drummer and I lock on 1 or 2 at the latest. I usually like to be able to see the kick drum with new drummer or one that has kinda erratic time, but 10-15 feet is fine. I have played in bands where the drummer liked to hear the bass loud and up close, I can usually oblige with either an additional cab or aiming 1 cab in that general direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ModmanQ6 Posted August 31, 2011 Members Share Posted August 31, 2011 I agree with getting a bit of distance for clarity for my rig as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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