Big rig vs. Small/Regular rig! What's necessary?

[DWBass]

I did a sub gig a while back and as I was reflecting, I remember them looking at my rig and saying..."Is that it?" Their regular bassist rig consists of 2 4x10's, a rack with a Power Amp, A Preamp and a wireless unit among other stuff. They said it takes him almost an hour to fully setup and that he plays loud. The rig I brought with me was a single Genz 4x10, my Genz 6.0 and my wireless. Fully set up in 15 or so minutes. I recall the guitar player looking and staring at my amp. He was astounded! He asked 'how many watts?' I told him 600w and he was like They complimented me on my sound and thanked me for not assaulting their ears!

[nostatic]

Depends on the gig. No matter the size I can be set up and ready to play in under 5 minutes. 100+ gigs a year will make you efficient.

Small gig: single cab 1-12 cab. Puma 500 head and cables in a bag, pedal board in another bag, music stand in a third bag.

Larger gig: pair of 1-12 cabs. Otherwise the same. FOH takes a feed off my head.

Literally 5 min or less to set up and play. Same to tear down and clear the stage. It is about being organized and focused. I once watched a drummer take 40 min to set up. And this was for a single 45 min showcase set. They did 2 songs. I would have fired the guy on the spot. Well, actually I would never have hired him. This is a pet peeve of mine, especially when you're playing a club with multiple bands.

0. know the material
1. show up on-time
2. have your gear organized and in working order
3. know your gear and set up quickly
4. play your arse off
5. tear down and get off the stage
6. now you can schmooze, talk with fans, etc

Your job begins before the gig and you're not done until you're clear of the stage. This is assuming you don't have a road crew to handle logistics (which I assume few here have - I certainly don't).

[johnpbass]

I haven't played a venue in many years where I really needed 2-410s. I've scaled way back over time. Went from the big rack setup, to Eden WTs, now to Genz Shuttle 6.0 with 2 Focus 115s for medium/larger gigs and, for small places, restaurants, etc., my "coffeehouse rig" which is a GK MB200 and Aggie GS112 cabinet.

[JimmyM]

I never need anything larger than a 210 or 115. I just like the sound of bigger rigs so I use them most of the time, although for the past couple weeks my Micro VR and single 210av have been seeing a good amount of action. Even us raging tube snobs get a little tired of the schlep now and then

[HMZ]

Small gig one 1-12 Genz Benz cab mark bass LMII II amp line 6 wireless
Larger gig same set up with two 1-12's
Set up time 15 mins or less.

My only compliant is the keyboard player and drummer get to the gigs earlier
and hog all the room on stage.

[Bass_Pounder]

Originally Posted by DWBass

Their regular bassist rig consists of 2 4x10's, a rack with a Power Amp, A Preamp and a wireless unit among other stuff. They said it takes him almost an hour to fully setup and that he plays loud.

Wow................

My small rig is a Carvin BX500 head into a 2X12

My big rig is a Carvin B1500 into either a Mesa RR 2X15, or a Mesa RR1516BE

Both amp seups consist of two racks. Each amp rack contains the head and a tuner. The second rack is all the outboard gear that runs through the FX loop.

Any of my setups are ready to go in 5 minutes.

[SilkyStrings]

'My only compliant is the keyboard player and drummer get to the gigs earlier
And.hog all the room on stage.'

+1

Yes they do!

[BigEarl]

My 6 piece swiss army knife...

Duo - Small Venue - MB200/Markbass NY121
Duo - Large Venue - MB500/Markbass NY121
Full Band - Small/Medium Venue - MB500/Accugroove Tri-115
Full Band - Medium/Large Venue - MB800/Accugroove Tri-115
Full Band - Large Venue - MB800/Epifani UL2-410 (4 ohm)
Full Band - Colosseums- MB500/Epifani UL2-410 + MB800/Accugroove Tri-115 = (1000 watts stacked!)

[bgavin]

For our intimate gigs my bassist uses one E140 and an LM-III head.
I use a Frontman 25R for my keys, 12-string and lap steel.
The keys suffer a lack of bottom, but this is the price paid for easy transport.
The guitar player uses a 1x12 Line6 for all gigs.

Our outdoor gigs replace the E140 with a Peavey 1820 and same LM-III head.
We wanted a slammin' big sound for our Halloween gig, so I trailered in a bass horn and big amps.
All our gigs are voice-only PA.

[Russell L]

Gimme five minutes (or less) to set up my Markbass rig:

Small gig, 121H combo.
Medium gig, Little Mark III head with Traveler 151P cab (1x15). Sometimes in the PA.
Large gig, add another 151P cab and PA.

Except for when I want two cabs I can walk in with everything in one trip (all on my MagnaCart handtruck, except for my bass on my shoulders in its gig bag). Silver briefcase for my head, small gig bag for cords and stand.

I used to work with a drummer who took an hour-and-a-half to set up or tear down. Damnest thing I ever saw. No one would ride with him to gigs.

[CL400Peavey]

Takes me 5 minutes to set up my rig with any of my amps. I don't need the full potential of my rig every time but most if the time there is no replacement for headroom.

[hdracer]

Originally Posted by CL400Peavey

Takes me 5 minutes to set up my rig with any of my amps. I don't need the full potential of my rig every time but most if the time there is no replacement for bedroom.

Sure there is
The back seat of a car during a brake can work just fine!

[soulman969]

Quote; "My only complaint is the keyboard player and drummer get to the gigs earlier and hog all the room on stage."

Well that one of the best reasons I can think of for having a smaller rig. I'm done with hauling 100+ lbs of bass gear around just because it looks more impressive.

I use a combo these days. In smaller rooms you don't need anything larger and in the bigger rooms or outdoor gigs there's always sound reinforcement. The wedding and private party gigs don't require or even desire much volume.

I'm not against bigger multi cab rigs but I can't find a personal need for anything bigger than my combos any longer.

[Downunderwonder]

Nobody takes an hour to set up a bass rig. Sound checking takes as long as you allow.

[ransombass]

Small rig = Aguilar AG500 + one GS112.
Medium rig = Aguilar AG500 + one GS112 and one GS112NT.
Medium/Large rig = Aguilar DB751 + one GS112 and one GS112NT.
Mondo rig = Aguilar DB751 + one DB412.

I use the Mondo rig a lot due to the number of big dance halls in the area. I also use Medium rig a lot in the pubs that I frequent.

[CL400Peavey]

Originally Posted by hdracer

Sure there is
The back seat of a car during a brake can work just fine!

Lol that's what happens when you post from a phone!

[mam1862]

My small gig rig is my Streamliner 900 with one Markbass NY604 cab. My big rig set up would be a second NY604 cab. I am good to go in 5 minutes.

[fdeck]

Take two bassists, same music, same gig, same everything, and ask them how much power and speakerage they need. Their answers will differ by 4x or more. Same goes for setup time, how much spare **** they carry, and so forth. Both will sound great.

[Sav'nBass]

I have found that generally when we do larger stuff there is a house system so I use my SL900 and Tri115 for everything..

[Baird6869]

Originally Posted by DWBass

They said it takes him almost an hour to fully setup

Holy crap! That is crazy!

Takes me 10-15 min. 2 trips from the car, plug in amp, attach to cab, get my cables out, attach to tuner, play a few notes and tune... Then get a beer. Done!

And bassists that use 2 x 410s are dumbdumbs unless they are playing an outdoor festival or an arena.