anyone use a powered sub?

[B E A D G]

I played a gig last week and drummer borrowed a powered sub to use for the gig and try out. (We are a reggae band so low end is key!) We hooked up the my bass and the bass drum to it and it was one of the best sounding gigs we have played! Now I find my self wanting to get one of these powered subs just for my bass! So my question is, is their anyone who uses one of these as part of their bass rig?

[uglyrumor]

I would if I could afford it. They are nice. Meyer makes the best, followed by Bag End, JBL, and EV. What kind was yours?

[B E A D G]

The one we used was a JBL. Im thinking of pooling up all the money from my next few gigs and just buying one. Im pretty sure that im never going to be happy playing now unless I have that low end powered sub sound!

[rpsands]

fEarful cabinet for stage monitoring, subs for your FOH

[JimInMO]

That's what I'm using most of the time. SansAmp VT to Countryman DI to the board to a JBL EON 18" sub crossed over to JBL EON 15" mains. Not mine, belongs to the drummer. The whole band is mixed through this system. It rocks.

[newbold]

Dedicated subs are awesome. If I can pull myself away from a portable modular full range DIY design then that's number 2 on my list...

Serious bass rig or a do it all approach?

Lots of thinking to do.

[B E A D G]

I have the SWR working pro 700 with a 2 15s and hopefully soon a sub.

[thombo]

Oneida James used a powered sub along with her eden rig with joe cocker.
JMJ said he occasionally used a powered sub along with his rig w/ beck.
Collin Greenwood uses a powered sub along with his rig w/ radiohead.

It is pretty standard for drummers to have a sub and a wedge on stage when playing medium sized venues.

[modulusman]

If your band has a PA then I would get a pair and use them for there intended purpose as part of the PA rig.

[lowphatbass]

Using a powered sub for onstage use as part of a bass rig could be problematic. Besides the "boomeness" factor, it's hard enough to dial-in an appropriate volume for the room when your on stage, the probability that your bass could "wall-up" and overpower everything in various parts of the room would increase a lot.
Having a powered sub in the van to augment the FOH sound system at venues you happen to be playing may be beneficial, however some engineers might find it insulting and pretentious that you think their set-up is insufficient(even if it is).

[baron665]

I asked a similar question, and everyone said it wouldn't work. I see this thread, and now everyone wants a powered sub for gigging. I wanted to run my combo amps line out into a powered sub, and almost everyone who answered said that it would only get the sub frequencies. Some tried to correct me saying I can't power a speaker cab with the line out. And some thought I was talking about a home entertainment subwoofer.

[modulusman]

Originally Posted by baron665

I asked a similar question, and everyone said it wouldn't work. I see this thread, and now everyone wants a powered sub for gigging. I wanted to run my combo amps line out into a powered sub, and almost everyone who answered said that it would only get the sub frequencies. Some tried to correct me saying I can't power a speaker cab with the line out. And some thought I was talking about a home entertainment subwoofer.

You would only get the sub frequencies. If it is a powered speaker it should work from your line out.

[modulusman]

Originally Posted by lowphatbass

Using a powered sub for onstage use as part of a bass rig could be problematic. Besides the "boomeness" factor, it's hard enough to dial-in an appropriate volume for the room when your on stage, the probability that your bass could "wall-up" and overpower everything in various parts of the room would increase a lot.
Having a powered sub in the van to augment the FOH sound system at venues you happen to be playing may be beneficial, however some engineers might find it insulting and pretentious that you think their set-up is insufficient(even if it is).

If a band is playing places where the soundman doesn't have subs already they need to get some better gigs or hang it up.

[jnewmark]

Originally Posted by baron665

I asked a similar question, and everyone said it wouldn't work. I see this thread, and now everyone wants a powered sub for gigging. I wanted to run my combo amps line out into a powered sub, and almost everyone who answered said that it would only get the sub frequencies. Some tried to correct me saying I can't power a speaker cab with the line out. And some thought I was talking about a home entertainment subwoofer.

Don't know if this is what you are talking about, but Roland makes a powered 15 cab that can be used as a sub or full range cab, and be paired up with their DB line of bass combos. I belive there is even a frequency range setting on the back. I was thinking about getting one for my older DB700 combo, but it won't stack on top. The newer DBass models will. Here is a link : http://www.rolandus.com/products/pro...7&ParentId=417 Also, you can use the line out from any combo with this powered cab.

[Lync]

Yes (now and then). I use my Ampeg B100r and then run the line out into a Carvin 700 watt powered sub with an 18" speaker (funny thing is that it weighs about the same as the B100r). I set the crossover in the sub for 80hz. It is pretty cool, just more than I like to carry.

[Bassmec]

I have an old acoustic 408 for a sub in this rig I used in a reggae band:

its not self powered but I was thinking if you found an old 361 cab thats got a built in power amp.

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by baron665

I asked a similar question, and everyone said it wouldn't work. I see this thread, and now everyone wants a powered sub for gigging. I wanted to run my combo amps line out into a powered sub, and almost everyone who answered said that it would only get the sub frequencies. Some tried to correct me saying I can't power a speaker cab with the line out. And some thought I was talking about a home entertainment subwoofer.

Welcome to TB, or the internet for that matter, where half the threads are Just Wrong. The hell of it is trying to determine which half.

[Bluesbob]

Originally Posted by modulusman

If a band is playing places where the soundman doesn't have subs already they need to get some better gigs or hang it up.

Jeez, the places we play we're lucky there's a stage.

[rpsands]

Originally Posted by baron665

I asked a similar question, and everyone said it wouldn't work. I see this thread, and now everyone wants a powered sub for gigging. I wanted to run my combo amps line out into a powered sub, and almost everyone who answered said that it would only get the sub frequencies. Some tried to correct me saying I can't power a speaker cab with the line out. And some thought I was talking about a home entertainment subwoofer.

Powered subs almost always have built in crossover so anyone who told you you couldn't send a line signal to the powered sub from your bass amp is wrong, obviously.

That doesn't change the fact that putting a subwoofer on stage is a waste of time when you can hear it just fine from FOH, and then everyone can hear it

Better to just get a rig that suits your needs on stage (usually requiring a lot less sub-lows than a subwoofer can put out, but still sounding as bassy as you need) and run your subs out front.

[Mr. Pickles]

You won't be able to set an appropriate level for the sub from your position on stage. What you think might sound great to you onstage is no way to guage the effect out in the room. That's better left to FOH engineers. IMHO.