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[Monk Rocker]

Should you raise a bass combo off the floor so it's nearer ear level on stage if you are playing with a full PA?

I can't seem to get a satisfactory answer - some say that decent combos are designed to work with the floor, and others say you should raise it up despite bass being omnidirectional. Confused.....

[stuartmaxwell]

depends what model yer using. shitty combos sound like planky toasters either way

[texjamm]

Originally Posted by Monk Rocker

Should you raise a bass combo off the floor so it's nearer ear level on stage if you are playing with a full PA?

I can't seem to get a satisfactory answer - some say that decent combos are designed to work with the floor, and others say you should raise it up despite bass being omnidirectional. Confused.....

If your using the combo with a PA handling power duties, you should only need it for monitoring so you can raise it off the floor. As long as you can hear yourself fine then thats OK.

If however you are using the combo on its own or to supplement the front of house sound then you may want to place the combo (or amp speaker set up) on the floor to take advantage of the "close coupling effect" and get a deeper bass sound. This can cause you problems depending on the stage you are on - the sound could become too boomy or muffled at certain frequencies.

If your PA is powerfull enough and has subs and monitors you may want to consider just walking in with "a pre-amp of your choice", DI'ing direct into the desk and getting your sound out of the monitors. Saves the poor bass players back no-end as well as reducing on-stage sound and crosstalk through mics!

Hope this helps

Mike

[GraemeC]

personally I would always elevate a combo whether it be guitar or bass, if you think about it, for the amp to have any effect through being in contact with the floor it would have to be running at a fantastic volume.

[britheguy]

I've heard it said that the frequency of the bass notes don't really 'gel' until you get about
4-6 metres away from the cab, hence why bass players sometimes play too loud. IE they can't really hear what they are playing. I know that whenever I change over to play bass, it always seems to be quieter than it was when I was standing at the other end of the stage. So raising your combo would probably make no differance to what you were hearing (unless you were 4-6 metres away). I presume.

[Old Gold]

Play it safe and put it on a table?

[Spoonie]

Originally Posted by GraemeC

for the amp to have any effect through being in contact with the floor it would have to be running at a fantastic volume.

and for that reason, you need to have your amp cranked to the rafters all the time!! saying that, i played my last show with quixote on tuesday and i was coming through one of those little laney combo's that sits at an angle. 1x10. jesus christ they're crap!

/x

[stuartmaxwell]

Originally Posted by Spoonie

those little laney combo's that sits at an angle. 1x10. jesus christ they're crap!

/x

fart machines

i think they could actually be the worst sounding "bass amp"s in the world

[Old Gold]

Originally Posted by stuartmaxwell

fart machines

i think they could actually be the worst sounding "bass amp"s in the world

Montrose Academy's 'Badger' amps.

Nuff said.

[Spoonie]

Originally Posted by stuartmaxwell

fart machines
i think they could actually be the worst sounding "bass amp"s in the world

quite possibly so! the place we jam at in cumbernauld had them and i went in one day and they're replaced it with a behringer head and an 8x10 cab. that was the first time in recorded history that someone was actually pleased to be faced with a piece of behringer equipment!

/x