Little Advise on Behringer Ultrabass?

[flattop100]

I know Sweetwater doesn't sell it, but I'm thinking about getting a Behringer Ultrabass Pro. I'm thinking it might beef up the bass vocals of an a capella group I work with during live shows, but haven't actually used it.

Any ideas? Suggestions? Substitutions? Thanks in advance!

[Brandon Hook]

I would strongly suggest staying far away from behringer products if you're any bit concerned with the higher qualities of sound.

I could suggest many cheap to very expensive brands of equalizers that would accomplish this goal and sound a whole hell of a lot better (opinion).

also...BBE's sonic maximizer would probably get you in the ballpark of "beefier" bass vocals/entire mix.

Once again, these comments are merely my opinions...but not too many nice things are mentioned about behringer!

I hope this helps!

Brandon Hook

[cmchamp]

Flattop100:
I'm an FOH engineer at the Gospel Barn in Hillsdale, MI (www.gospelbarn.com) and I come accross bass vocalists 3-4 times a month.

First of all, you can't go wrong with a good dynamic or condenser mic that goes down to at least 30Hz. Secondly, don't 'muddy' up the sound by putting a bunch of low end in it.

Here's how I start my EQ with every bass vocalist. I'm using a Mackie 8 bus and the room is as flat (pink noise) as I can get it. (Ok Makie haters, don't get after me - - I recommended the purchase prior to learning it's deficiencies and have learned to compensate for them)

Low shelf +3db @ 80Hz
Low-Mid -3db @ 50-60Hz
Mid-Hi +6db @4kHz with a wide Q
Hi shelf +3-6Db @ 12k

This takes out the 'boomyness' and adds overtones which makes them much clearer. I'll change these settings slightly to match the vocalist's characteristics and his mic. This is especially helpful for vocalists using in ear monitors. You can do the same thing by inserting a parametric, or 31 band EQ on the bass vocalists channel.

[michaelhoddy]

Even the lowest bass vocalist isn't going to get too far down into the range where a bass "enhancer" will do much constructive good, and as suggested above, I would stay away from all things Behringer.

Make sure your mic and PA reinforce well at those lower frequencies (around 60-100 Hz), and make sure that you don't also end up exacerbating plosives, mic handling noise, and breath noise.

A lot of times, due to feedback and PA issues, it's simply not realistic to expect the depth of a studio recording, unless you have a superb PA that is well rung-out and perfectly placed, and a signal chain and room acoustic that allows you to get away with it.