Bass Boards

[jazzyvee]

I've been told this week that our upcoming tour gigs will be using IEM systems. I have already got the in ear monitor headphone and the pack was provided by the event, but I wasn't enthused. To be fair it was a rush thing so no chance to sort out individual settings.

I was wondering if anyone has experience with a bass board and what do they do and also are they worth considering.

If so, do you hear the bass via bone conduction or do you just feel the pulse of the notes you play on the bass but no sound.
Basically if you stood on it with plugged into your amp and not have any headphones do you hear the through your body or do you not hear anything at all?

Also if you use a wireless IEM is there a noticeable delay between the bass board and the headphones?

[edwardofhuncote]

I seem to remember that Oteil Burbridge was using something like this with Dead & Co. for a time, to help him 'feel' the bass on the stage at larger venues. I can't find anything specific about it, but I wouldn't know where to look either. Probably the easiest thing to do (in this age of social media connectivity) is just ask him.


This sounds exciting, Jazzy... like some big stages in your future.

[JimmyJ]

Hey Jazzyvee,

Are they actually insisting or could you just ask for a wedge? 

I'm a fan of IEMs in large venues for a few reasons.  One is, the less bass you have flying around on stage leaking into mics or even blasting out of your amp, the cleaner it will be in the PA.  Put that BIG AMP to use if you know what I mean.  Second, the ability to build your mix specifically how you want it (will be traveling with your own monitor person?) is a great thing.  For example, I run a stereo mix with my bandmates panned roughly like they are onstage plus an extra bit of hi-hat in my left ear.  This obviously remains constant no matter where I stand or which direction I'm facing...  You can be standing near the LOUD guitar player and have him completely off in your mix (not that I do that!).

Also, monitor mix consistency from venue to venue is very helpful.  If you get into a terribly boomy or reflective room it has much less effect on what you hear and get to play along with.

I've never tried a bass board but know some drummers who enjoy the throne-mounted "kicker".  I don't think it's really sound you get through these things, just kind of the impact of the attack and maybe some vibration.  It's meant to trick your brain into thinking it's really loud.  Or ... you can just teach your brain that your IEM mix is a beautiful thing.

We hope you have a fun time on this tour and it's an overall great experience.  Making people happy by playing music is a treat!

Jimmy J

[lbpesq]

You can be standing near the LOUD guitar player and have him completely off in your mix (not that I do that!).

“LOUD guitar player”?  Gee, that’s a new one on me! 

hehehehe.

Bill, tgo

[edwardofhuncote]

Here ya' go Jazzy...


https://m.facebook.com/Oteil/posts/10156994735559057


I had to use my "phone-a-Deadhead" pass, to find it, because I'm not on FB...

[edwin]

Another option is the BackBeat. It sits on your strap or on your belt and provides a serious oomph to your sound. Unfortunately, they are not in production now because of supply chain issues, but hopefully soon. I love mine.

https://getbackbeat.com

[jazzyvee]

Edwin i have seen these things around but never tried one. What happens if the battery in the unit goes flat on a gig, does your input bass signal still go through to your amp/di etc?
How would you wire it in to your setup using a series bass and 5-pin?

[edwin]

Edwin i have seen these things around but never tried one. What happens if the battery in the unit goes flat on a gig, does your input bass signal still go through to your amp/di etc?
How would you wire it in to your setup using a series bass and 5-pin?

Hm. Some very good questions. I never had the battery wear out, but I think they have it set up so it won't interrupt the signal to the amp.

As far as Series with a 5 Pin, hm. Maybe use the 1/4" output? You can also run your entire IEM mix through it.

These days I used an ASI/Sensaphonics rig with microphones in the ears, so I can blend in the stage sound and that works well, although it doesn't provide the visceral impact of the BackBeat. I bet it would be exceptional for reggae!

[jazzyvee]

Next update on this situation. We did a gig with the band's IEM system in January and I managed to get the best sound so far from the setup. However I missed the feel of having a bass rig behind me. I after reading lots of reviews I have tried an Eich Bass board but didn't feel any benefit. I decided to go with Porter & Davies Bass Platform. I had a gig last night and took it along to try out, carrying a small bass cab in case there were issues.
 I plugged it into my rack instead of my cab and with my iem earphones, happy with what i was experiencing on the low end. It really does emphasise the bottom end from around C on the E string downwards but above that it seemed to be less potent. That could be the eq/filter settings on my rig. According to the manufacturer, ideally i need to get a monitor feed into the spare channel of my Crown XLS1502 power amp then feed that output to the platform via speakon either with just my bass in the monitor mix or the whole band feed. I may try that on tonight's gig if I can get hold of our sound engineer in advance.

[g-dude]

Another approach is to "roll your own" using a buttkicker and enough wood to stand on.

Used to have a platform at a former church that had a buttkicker mounted, and it really helped with the IEM situation.  I could feel the drums, and even tell if I had a string still ringing out at a threshold that wasn't necessarily noticeable.

Of course, I always had the folks at the sound board set it to "remove dental fillings".

[jazzyvee]

I tried the monitor feed ( whole band) into my spare power amp channel then the bass board and that proved to be the answer. My moulded ones have not arrived yet so still using some earplugs which sounded much fuller with the bass board under my feet. I had a separate monitor mix feed than my IEM mix so was able to get a rough mix before the gig and that meant i could reduce the iem mix and volume and still get a decent sound. It's useful to have the kick and snare stronger in the pad than the in-ears so I can feel the pulse much more. As Jimmy said to me in the past, these IEM setups take a while to get it fine tuned so this will take time again. Still nothing like standing in front of a bass rig and decent floor monitor and feeling the bass through the air. My cabs aren't going anywhere fast. Just good to have options.

[g-dude]

I tried the monitor feed ( whole band) into my spare power amp channel then the bass board and that proved to be the answer. My moulded ones have not arrived yet so still using some earplugs which sounded much fuller with the bass board under my feet. I had a separate monitor mix feed than my IEM mix so was able to get a rough mix before the gig and that meant i could reduce the iem mix and volume and still get a decent sound. It's useful to have the kick and snare stronger in the pad than the in-ears so I can feel the pulse much more. As Jimmy said to me in the past, these IEM setups take a while to get it fine tuned so this will take time again. Still nothing like standing in front of a bass rig and decent floor monitor and feeling the bass through the air. My cabs aren't going anywhere fast. Just good to have options.

How much do you feel the kick? With the buttkicker setup I used to use, I found that having a strong enough signal that it feels like someone is smacking you in the heel with the kick pedal really help.

Certainly not an amp replacement, but frankly something that would be great even with an amp.

[cozmik_cowboy]

OK, these boards sound interesting - but will they make my bell-bottoms wave like a proper bass signal? 

Peter

[jazzyvee]

I tried the monitor feed ( whole band) into my spare power amp channel then the bass board and that proved to be the answer. My moulded ones have not arrived yet so still using some earplugs which sounded much fuller with the bass board under my feet. I had a separate monitor mix feed than my IEM mix so was able to get a rough mix before the gig and that meant i could reduce the iem mix and volume and still get a decent sound. It's useful to have the kick and snare stronger in the pad than the in-ears so I can feel the pulse much more. As Jimmy said to me in the past, these IEM setups take a while to get it fine tuned so this will take time again. Still nothing like standing in front of a bass rig and decent floor monitor and feeling the bass through the air. My cabs aren't going anywhere fast. Just good to have options.

How much do you feel the kick? With the buttkicker setup I used to use, I found that having a strong enough signal that it feels like someone is smacking you in the heel with the kick pedal really help.

Certainly not an amp replacement, but frankly something that would be great even with an amp.

I don't like things too loud on stage so had the kick set up so that it felt like it does when you tap your feet to the beat and the snare just under that level. The strange thing about it is that I had the IEM volume quite a bit lower than normal and it still felt loud. Not sure if those boards affect your hearing in the same way as speakers do. It's something i'm trying to find answers for on-line.
 

[jazzyvee]

OK, these boards sound interesting - but will they make my bell-bottoms wave like a proper bass signal? 

Peter

Bell Bottoms...... what are these things of which you speak?