Monk Rocker Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 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..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 depends what model yer using. shitty combos sound like planky toasters either way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest texjamm Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 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' date=' and others say you should raise it up despite bass being omnidirectional. Confused.....[/quote']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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraemeC Posted September 13, 2006 Report Share Posted September 13, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
britheguy Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Gold Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 Play it safe and put it on a table? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuartmaxwell Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 those little laney combo's that sits at an angle. 1x10. jesus christ they're crap! /xfart machinesi think they could actually be the worst sounding "bass amp"s in the world Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Gold Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 fart machinesi think they could actually be the worst sounding "bass amp"s in the worldMontrose Academy's 'Badger' amps.Nuff said. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spoonie Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 fart machinesi think they could actually be the worst sounding "bass amp"s in the worldquite 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 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lime ruined my life Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 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' date=' and others say you should raise it up despite bass being omnidirectional. Confused.....[/quote']it depends exactly how omni-directional your speakers are. Obviously the lowerr in frequency you go the more evenly diffused the bass will get, but bearing in mind that speakers are not perfect models. Sub woofers will be more omni directional, speakers are inherintly directional, just less so at lower frequencies. The answer i'd give is 'aim your speaker cabs to an extent'. and 'it doesnt really matter about woofers'(i always think of dogs when i say woofers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest lime ruined my life Posted September 14, 2006 Report Share Posted September 14, 2006 oh yeah, i forgot one other thing.While bass is omni-directional, a bass guitar produces a range of frequencies. Therefore unless you plan on rolling the tone controls down on your guitar and bass amp (urgh), then the omni directional theory falls flat on it's face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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