I’ve recently started playing on an outdoor stage that’s all wood, with an angled roof.
I’m having MAJOR sound issues, which I may have resolved but would like any advice you guys have. This seems to be a fairly common situation.
Pics to follow…
- I initially placed the L1 at the back of the stage, in the center, allowing me to sing about 7 feet in front. Serious bass or lower midrange honk and resonances, which I could alter but not remove using the T1, different settings on my guitar (Fishman Aura Ellipse) and different picks. Just awful.
- Tried moving the B1s much farther away from me, and only 5 feet or so away from the front of the stage. This helped some, as far as guitar feedback/resonances. But I went to play there today and it was garbage (temp/humidity?).
Also, as I removed volume and bass, improving the on-stage sound, my offstage sound deteriorated, mostly in volume and bass (to be expected I guess). They kept telling me to turn it up.
- Finally, I tried moving the B1s to the very front edge of the stage, a fair distance from me, and moved the L1 array up to only 3-4 feet from the front, and several feet to my side, about 8" behind my ear. Then I boosted the volume and bass a fair amount beyond what it was. Many complements on the sound (I guess they could hear now!), and while not perfect, the sound for me was substantially better…I wasn’t blasting my ears with volume and annoying resonances, and I was actually able to use one of the Tonematch presets for my actual guitar model (could never do that before - too much bass).
I probably have the volume louder that it needs to be, but they all want to hear the music (about half an acre area), and I need to boost the bass since it’s outdoors. Anyway, it seems to work.
It’s a cheap, very resonant wood stage, and of course has the usual ceiling problems.
As I said, I’ll post pics of before and after, but in the mean time, any other ideas for this type of scenario?
Thanks!
Okay, here are some pics…
The basic stage:
Previous L1 setup:
Initially I had the B1s in their typical position next to the array. This picture is actually scenario 2.
Final solution:
Any ideas?
And one more, for clarity:
I’ve had to do similar things that you’re doing. Every stage like that has its own quirks though. I would have done just what you did - moving the subs forward and then moving the tower until it sounded right.
Hi Tres,
Thanks for writing this up to tell us about your experience.
Like you, I would have set up in the ideal way with the L1® and B1s behind me. And like you, if that didn’t work out well, (rare), then I would have started experimenting, just like you and Tom.
No pun intended, finding the ideal sound can be an organic process as you work the L1® into its surroundings. Most of the time it’s easy, and sometimes you have to minimize the effect of the surroundings. That’s what you’ve done here.
I might have tried putting the B1s directly over one of the support posts supporting the stage. I would hope that the stage would be more solid (less resonant) there.
That was my next move! I thought about it when I got home.
I’d like to move the array more forward, but I’m standing as close to the front as I can with the laptop and micstand in front of me, so…but it seemed to be working out.
Just thought if I could tweak anything else, I would.
Thanks to you both!
PS to ST: Congrats on the new guitar! 
(I just noticed your new avatar).
I have extra long B1 cables to move them off stages like that. Normally in front.
This is a long shot but wouldn’t take long to try. Put the B1s on the ground behind the stage. Don’t stack them. Since the stage is hollow underneath it might work. Stranger things have happened. Good to see you playing.
Nice Rug.
We are headed that way first of February. Will try to see you maybe for lunch on the way home.
I will try that. My cables aren’t long enough to put in back, but I could try under the stage in front. Might even make the bass cover more area, being on the ground where they’re designed to be.
The rug isn’t mine, it’s part of the stage setup.
It would be great to see you guys again, email call or text me. Normally, I’m free all day every day, so I should be able to meet you.
Great discussion guys! Thank you.
Just one question - perhaps this is assumed knowledge. But is it the raised stage that’s causing the bass to resonate or is it the sloped ceiling?
If it’s the wooden floor / raised stage - then do we have to think about flooring at every location before we play?
In most buildings how would you know what’s under the carpet or its construction?
Hi valvenerd,
quote:Originally posted by valvenerd:
Great discussion guys! Thank you.
Just one question - perhaps this is assumed knowledge. But is it the raised stage that’s causing the bass to resonate or is it the sloped ceiling?
I’d suspect the wooden floor / raised stage.
quote:
If it’s the wooden floor / raised stage - then do we have to think about flooring at every location before we play?
You probably don’t have think about it at every location, but when things sound weird in the low end, then I start looking around for things in the environment. A raised stage that vibrates when you walk on it would get my attention.
If I know that I’ll be on a raised / hollow stage, I bring a long cable for the bass modules so that I can experiment with different placements (on the floor, over a support, away from walls and corners). In a pinch I have used a moving blanket folded several times to make a pad to isolate the bass module from the stage floor.
quote:
In most buildings how would you know what’s under the carpet or its construction?
You don’t know, but in most places I’ve played the permanent floor doesn’t vibrate when you walk on it. In contrast, lots of stage floors do.
Does that help?