Why Can’t I Hear My Instrument On Stage?

How is it possible that even with the volume cranked up to number 7, you still can’t hear the guitar notes you play? The bass sounds weak and thin. While the drummer pounds so hard believing that everything’s okay.

Balance.

Your band is probably not in balance.

For example, if your band has two guitarists - rhythm and lead (guitar soloist), and you can’t hear any of your notes except noise, chances are your guitars are sharing the same tone or pitch. This makes the notes "bite" or clash with each other.

If your bass is not “fat” enough to support the kick, the low frequencies in the sound spectrum is probably not fitted in to the punch.

Am I making sense?

Sound is shaped by frequencies.

When playing on stage, you have to understand and know when to play the high and the low pitches especially in small venues. Know what range of highs and lows as well.

If you’re familiar with a choir's basic vocal setup – bass, tenor, alto, soprano – the logic is exactly the same.

You see, the sonic spectrum can be viewed like a graph of sine waves. The lower portion supports the low frequency (bass), the middle part supports the mid-range (sometimes it is split in high and low mids), and the top portion of the sine graph delivers the high notes.

In the studio for example when recording, the cymbals are “assigned” to the top portion of that sound spectrum. The kick drum is brought down low and should be “locked-in” with the bass guitar.

Similarly on stage, if there are two or more guitars, each should agree on the tone quality (one should be high, the other should be the opposite). With this idea, both guitars can deliver the music clearly.

In other words, you don’t have to be literally loud to sound heavy.

The trick is simple about assigning the right frequency to the appropriate spectrum. Know your sound, your guitar’s distinct tone (and if it needs to shift between songs then understand that too).

Secondly know everyone else’s tone in the band.

This is how you get your sound to cut through without having to crank the gain control too high. Loud is good but harmony is much much better. This explains why one can still distinguish the notes of even the noisiest metal band in record.

Am I making sense? Let me know…