FUQ (eff -yu - cue) - FAQ's with an EDGE

Tagged As: Upright Bass Amplification

Question:
I bought my upright bass about a year ago and have recently had a couple of opportunities to gig with it in the house band for a local blues jam. When I play at home (un-amplified), I can hear everything fine, and am becoming quite comfortable with fingerings and intonation. The two times that I have played live, I have had a terrible time hearing my bass clearly, and thus have struggled to maintain good intonation (and also struggled to remain relaxed). I can't blame the other band members, as they generally play amplified acoustic guitars and the drummer uses brushes or a nice light touch. I have been using an Eden D210XLT cabinet with an Eden head. The Eden preamp allows me to get great tone with the upright. Last night I titled the speaker cabinet back so it was pointing up at me, and I could hear a little better, but with two amplified guitars and drums my sound kept getting lost. I am looking for ideas on what to use as an on-stage monitor to better hear myself. Has anyone tried in-ear monitors (like singer use) for this?

Answer:
have wrestled with upright bass amplification issues for years. It's a lot trickier proposition than electric, especially at band volumes. I've never tried headphones, but in bigger rooms if my (Eden) amp is in the PA mix, a little bit in the monitors also helps, along with some kick drum. In general, I think you might want a bigger cabinet, probably a 15, and getting it elevated makes a big difference for hearing it. Some cabinents sound good with upright and some just don't. The sad truth is you have to know where those notes are already, because there isn't time to track them down while playing. I've been playing for 25 years and am still always working on intonation and attack, and on staying relaxed!