your onstage rig, is it "your sound" "just a monitor" or "carrots"

[Kmonk]

Originally Posted by TheRealKong

+1

I didn't pay so much money and time for having a fine sound, my sound, and than going DI.

I use a GenzBenz GBE 1200 through a SWR Workingman-cab, moddet with two Beyma-Neodymuim-speakers, now 700 Watt @ 4 Ohm. The bigger the venue, the bigger the cab: Tecamp L 810, 2,400 att @ 4 Ohm, only 86 lbs. This is my favourite cab.

I go DI and microphone, our tech mixes a fine sound out of this two channels. It happened two times last year that the tech didnt get me through the FOH because the venue was too small, and the sound was fine without going FOH.

I have two more bands, I use different gear in all of them, but the way of getting my sound in the FOH is always the same.

I am doing 6 - 8 gigs a month.

So sayed Kong

Cheers

Uwe

Very Nice! I am not a fan of Genz or SWR but I like your logic and what you are doing. Makes sense.

[themacinator]

I think I will always use some form of amp on stage just to hear myself. We don't currently use in-ears. BUT I've used a bunch of different amps and cabs, still own most of them. I have vintage tube stuff, 810's, 410's and a QSC PLX 1804/SansAmp rack set up.

I just bought an SWR Super Redhead combo here of TB. I think this is going to be my stage rig now. Small enough for me to deal with on some of the small stages we play. I hear the volume is great and tone is bananas good.

Plus it has a tube D.I. built in with all kinds of tone shaping on it. Since I run our PA and we have nice Yorkie subs I think the SWR Super Redhead combo D.I.'d into my PA is how it will be going forward.

[shadven]

Most of the time I use the DI provided by the sound man or I my built-in DI. So my amp is the monitor for me and the band. I play through different rigs according to the size of the room and the band I am playing with.

Whenever I can get away with it, I will use my 1969 Ampeg B-15n, but unfortunately that's not very often, though I always bring it for studio work. For rehearsals I use a Ampeg Rocket Bass amp, for live gigs my rig is a USA made Ampeg SVT VR with either the Ampeg 410HLF cab or the 810 AV cab.

After owning many different amps, the Ampegs just sound the best. I was pretty hard-core SWR for years, but Ampeg is just the best. I play vintage P-basses most of the time, and my settings are very mid-range oriented. The the Ampeg / Fender combination really works for me.

[JamesGoodall]

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

Post EQ feed from my SansAmp. When I get my SVT 4 Pro I will mic my cab.

Same. Though I also run it through a compressor in my effects loop, and out the DI on my head. I still get "my" sound through the PA, and I still have me on the stage, which works for me.

As an added bonus, the sound guy at a venue I frequent both DI's and mic's the bass. He's the best live sound engineer I know of. He once said, "your bass sounded amazing tonight, man! Take a picture of your settings. Don't change a thing!" That is still one of the greatest compliments I have received to date.

[lowphatbass]

My amp is both my sound and a monitor for myself and often my bandmembers. When I need FOH support I usually get DI's and Mic'd. The rest is out of my hands.

[iridiumrocks]

I always run a DI direct to the board and the whole band uses IEM's. My stage amp is just a monitor and gives the in-ears some thump.

[Jazz Ad]

If there is a full PA, I set my amp so I hear myself well on stage and let the sound guy do whatever he wants. It's his job to make me sound good, not mine.

Now most of the time I play small venues in which we either don't have a PA or the PA doesn't amplify the bass.
In these cases I take double care to make sure I don't sound muffled or too bassy for the sparse crowd.

[rimbaud]

Passive bass - effects - Markbass LMII - Genz Benz Focus 112 T, one if it small, two if it's bigger. No mike, just DI from the LMII, if soundman wants it clean (i.e pre-EQued), just a jumper to move and it's ok. My amp is just a monitor for the band, if I could play direct in PA (already done many many many times) it would also be fine !!

If the soundman thinks he has to mike the cabs, right, do it, to me the soundman's always right, cos' he knows what's better for the audience.

[Ajak]

When we play through a PA I use two different sounds (one per band).
The first one is played with an active bass through a boss LMB-3 and then either in a Fender Bassman 400 with a 410 or in an Ashdown MAG 600H with a 410. With this sound I feel comfortable with placing a DI after the LMB-3, since it sounds pretty clean anyway and I just use the LMB-3 for scooping and more click. In that case I have my amp as a sidefill (my band set it up with the soundguy before I arrived) and it worked. Soundcheck was awesome but at the gig it was really weird. It was like nothing came out of the amp (volume at 2-3 o' clock!!!). Luckily I heard myself well enough through the stage monitor so it wasn't all bad.

The other sound I use is a passsive bass played through a Boss ODB-3 and into an Ashdown MAG 300 115 combo (at the moment). When I first set this rig up I was amazed by the tone and I can't imagine having anythign better. When we did some recordings once I tried everything that came to my mind: bass -> DI -> ODB-3 -> DI -> amp -> DI-out -> speaker -> mics (Audio Technica AT-2035, Sennheiser e 902 and a Shure Beta 58A)
The first DI sounded pretty lame and hadn't a slight bit of punch. The second one really just sounded horrible. DI-out of the amp was a little better but still far too fizzy. The mics sounded...awesome!!! So this is definitely my way to go with that sound. I only use the Sennheiser e 902 now.
I maybe have to say that I use the amp's controlls rather unusually. I have my gain set normally and my eq-knobs around 2-4 o'clock. So the VU-meter is pretty much all the time in the red zone. I've tried other settings but alway came back to this. After all it sounds just great.
That's why I want this rig miced.

[ozzyismetal]

Originally Posted by Kmonk

I always run both. I use a DI and mic the cab. Best of both worlds.

By the way, I would take all polls more seriously if everyone of them didn't have a reference to "carrots" or something else that is non musical. When I see that I won't even vote.

It's just a way of saying "other", a.k.a - the vegetarian option in a poll

[lbbc]

I use a Carvin BX600 thru a Genz Benz 212 Neo...also, korg rackmount tuner, AT Wireless, Furman Power Conditioner. The sound is what I've been looking for, for a long time. Typical backline setting. Large festivals....it's mic'ed thru pro audio company. Other than that, I don't run thru PA....it's got plenty of power and sound for small to medium gigs.

I used to use a SansAmp DI only for duo work...but really didn't like not "feeling" the sound.

[Fuzzbassian]

My amp is a very large part of my sound.We play heavy stoner grunge,and we play with a high volume.9/10 my amp is the monitor for the rest of the band,and half the time,my amp is pumping out what the crowd hears.My bass was not going through the P.A at all,due to the soundman having complications with his D.I box,and I was told it sounded fantastic out the front.Since then I have got a sansamp,which I use in conjucntion with the P.A

[Floyd Eye]

Originally Posted by JamesGoodall

Same. Though I also run it through a compressor in my effects loop, and out the DI on my head. I still get "my" sound through the PA, and I still have me on the stage, which works for me.

As an added bonus, the sound guy at a venue I frequent both DI's and mic's the bass. He's the best live sound engineer I know of. He once said, "your bass sounded amazing tonight, man! Take a picture of your settings. Don't change a thing!" That is still one of the greatest compliments I have received to date.

We always use a full PA set up. I have my own soundguy, who isn't the best by any means, but over the course of the last 10 gigs or so I have been able to fine tune most of his stupid misconceptions and I pretty much have him at the point I need him to be. I always sound check out in front and pretty much am in control of what I want to sound like in the FOH. I also use an Ampeg 8x10 so no doubt the sound from it is leaking out front as well.

While I can't say my tone is the same FOH as it is coming through my cab, it is close enough to make me happy enough too let him just have a DI signal. If I could afford a real good mic, I would use it, but I would rather DI than use a 57 or some other low budget mic.

Once I get the 4 Pro I will sell off a lot of my other gear ( including the RBI) and get me a Beta 52 or some other appropriate bass cab mic.

[guy n. cognito]

Originally Posted by domdec314

My amp is a monitor for the drummer, as he's the only one without in ears. As soon as he gets in ears, I'm not going to use an amp on stage. Both of my guitar players are using Line 6 pedal boards for their "amps". I'll eventually replace amp with a preamp DI pedal.

You are living my fantasy!!!

[Sartori]

I'm playing my amp as much as I'm playing my bass.

[tekdiver500ft]

I run my bass through a tuner into a DI box into FOH and receive back IEM mix, as does everyone else in the band. We keep two wedges in front as backup in case someone's IEM fails, but rarely need the wedges.

[jaxstarke]

I couldn't hear anything in particular whenever I used to play live so it didn't really matter. Was just a huge wall of awesomeness pounding peoples faces. But anyway, usually DI because sound guys usually preferred it and I'm not one to argue with the sound guy.

[jacojbass]

My amp is my sound, I hope that is what comes out of FOH....

[SteveC]

Originally Posted by tekdiver500ft

I run my bass through a tuner into a DI box into FOH and receive back IEM mix, as does everyone else in the band. We keep two wedges in front as backup in case someone's IEM fails, but rarely need the wedges.

This is the only way to go - IMO. Great mix for yourself. No hearing damage. Great FOH mix. Less to haul around.

[tekdiver500ft]

Originally Posted by SteveC

This is the only way to go - IMO. Great mix for yourself. No hearing damage. Great FOH mix. Less to haul around.

Exactly. My recording rig, on the other hand...