D.I the bass. Can it work??

Dirty_G · #1 01-20-2007, 08:00 AM

Hi all. Been a while.

I play in my band and we have these self powered speakers http://www.eddiemoorsmusic.co.uk/sho...roducts_id=437

Anyway since they are all connected together e.g the 12" Bass speakers and the mid and horns are all together in one box then do you think I should D.I my bass into these as it could blow the other two speakers that the 12" is connected to?? My bands Guitarist says it could happen. Should you only ever D.I a bass through sub woofers?? Let me know as I'm annoyed as we put the drummers Bass drum and snare thorugh it and obviously the guitarist and vocals go through it and im stuck on stage with just my normal amp which isnt as richly distributed as the other instruments. Lets face it bands that go through their P.A sound a load better than those that do not.

Cheers

thumpbass1 · #2 01-20-2007, 08:14 AM

Looks like a normal full range cab to me. I've run my bass
through a lot of p.a. systems with no trouble and this being
an active cab only means that it's self powered. Sounds like
your bandmates are paranoid on this one. You'll only really
need to worry about your e.q. in the mix and getting enough
stage monitor.

Dirty_G · #3 01-20-2007, 08:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thumpbass1

Looks like a normal full range cab to me. I've run my bass
through a lot of p.a. systems with no trouble and this being
an active cab only means that it's self powered. Sounds like
your bandmates are paranoid on this one. You'll only really
need to worry about your e.q. in the mix and getting enough
stage monitor.

Are you telling me I should be able to turn up my Top End and Mid more on the E.Q if I D.I my Bass and have no fear of blowing the Mid Speakers and the Horns??

spade2you · #4 01-20-2007, 08:34 AM

Here's my DI sound. No complaints here.

http://queuemusic.com/current_installation.htm

vindy500 · #5 01-20-2007, 08:39 AM

your guitarist doesnt have a clue what hes talking about. can you play cds through the speakers? of course you can. cds have bass in them, how would a live bass be any different?

Dirty_G · #6 01-20-2007, 08:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vindy500

your guitarist doesnt have a clue what hes talking about. can you play cds through the speakers? of course you can. cds have bass in them, how would a live bass be any different?

If somehow your Hi Fi had a jack input into it and you put a bass guitar into that Hi Fi you would blow it up straight off. You get bass cabs as they are made differently from Guitar cabs. Yes all songs have Bass in them when you play your hi fi or stereo but that bass you hear has been mixed by a porducer in a recording studio. Its not coming out raw direct from a bass guitar.

vindy500 · #7 01-20-2007, 09:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty_G

If somehow your Hi Fi had a jack input into it and you put a bass guitar into that Hi Fi you would blow it up straight off. You get bass cabs as they are made differently from Guitar cabs. Yes all songs have Bass in them when you play your hi fi or stereo but that bass you hear has been mixed by a porducer in a recording studio. Its not coming out raw direct from a bass guitar.

well either way ive played through plenty of pa's with no subs at various churches.

paintandsk8 · #8 01-20-2007, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty_G

If somehow your Hi Fi had a jack input into it and you put a bass guitar into that Hi Fi you would blow it up straight off. You get bass cabs as they are made differently from Guitar cabs. Yes all songs have Bass in them when you play your hi fi or stereo but that bass you hear has been mixed by a porducer in a recording studio. Its not coming out raw direct from a bass guitar.

Not. If your stereo had a input jack that was @ the correct impedance and sensitivity for an instrument then there would be no reason you couldn't play bass directly through it. You see speakers have these really cool things called crossovers that determine what frequencies can and can't be delivered to individual drivers. I play through my stereo on a regular basis as I don't always have my amp @ home. There's nothing magic that they do to bass on CD's that makes it safe for stereo's. Go record your bass on your computer and cut a CD w/ no editing, your stereo is still going to play it no problem.

paintandsk8 · #9 01-20-2007, 09:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty_G

Are you telling me I should be able to turn up my Top End and Mid more on the E.Q if I D.I my Bass and have no fear of blowing the Mid Speakers and the Horns??

Yes.

Dirty_G · #10 01-20-2007, 09:49 AM

I have put a Bass through a guitar amp and blown it up. Yes you can put a bass through a little stereo but at any reasonable volume it will blow up. I thought that was common knowledge??

paintandsk8 · #11 01-20-2007, 10:04 AM

Blow up isn't exactly a technical term your going to have to be a little more specific than that. What did you do? Tear the speaker cones, fuse the drivers, overheat the amp? Any signal can destroy an amplifier/speakers if it is put through at too high of an amplitude. This gets easier to do as the signal gets lower in pitch because the lower frequencies require more power and speaker extrusion. The only other thing that raw bass has going against it is increased dynamic contrast, e.g. the signals peak amplitude is very high compared to the average amplitude. This is the only foreseeable reason why you could destroy a stereo with a bass signal.

As for destroying a small stereo, put in a rap cd and crank it all the way up, this should be no worse for it than playing bass @ similar volumes.

The guitar amp is a very special case. It's amplifier and speaker were designed to amplify a very specific frequency range @ very specific volumes. These systems may not even have crossover protection or filtering since they were designed for a specific instrument. It takes ALOT more wattage to produce the same volume levels from a bass as a guitar, so trying to achieve the same volume is going to end badly.

Double Agent · #12 01-20-2007, 10:14 AM

You will not blow up the PA with a DI from your bass UNLESS you go crazy with the low end EQ. A typical PA speaker starts to roll off at about 50-55hz, some higher, some lower. This speaker is able to go do to 39hz, which is deeper than most bass cabs and some subs I have seen. A low E string has a fundamental of 41hz, and I believe a low B is 37 or 38hz if you play a 5 string. As long as you dont send it a clipping signal, or boost the bass EQ too high, I can't see how you could possibly blow the speaker.

FWIW, ask your guitar player why most bass cabs have tweeter in them if playing a bass through them will blow them. Be nice about it, but a speaker is a speaker. The reason you blew up a guitar cab is because those speakers are not built to handle low frequencies. If it is voiced to handle low end (and the speaker in questions is), then you will not blow it.

vindy500 · #13 01-20-2007, 10:16 AM

doesnt the ox (talkbass member) play through big ass guitar amps?

Double Agent · #14 01-20-2007, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vindy500

doesnt the ox (talkbass member) play through big ass guitar amps?

Not sure if those Sunns he uses are bass or guitar amps...but he plays them through 2x15 bass CABS.

Dirty_G · #15 01-21-2007, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Double Agent

Not sure if those Sunns he uses are bass or guitar amps...but he plays them through 2x15 bass CABS.

Thanks for the help with the P.A speakers. I was always under the impression that playing a Bass through anything but a bass cabinet was bad for speakers due to the fact that Bass Cabinets are specially constructed. 2*15 speakers?? Thats atouch Bassey? Wouldnt he rather have the ole 1*15 and 4*10?

dancehallclasher · #16 01-21-2007, 05:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty_G

Thanks for the help with the P.A speakers. I was always under the impression that playing a Bass through anything but a bass cabinet was bad for speakers due to the fact that Bass Cabinets are specially constructed. 2*15 speakers?? Thats atouch Bassey? Wouldnt he rather have the ole 1*15 and 4*10?

I use 2 15s, wouldn't trade 'em for anything. Mine are very punchy.

vindy500 · #17 01-21-2007, 07:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dirty_G

Thanks for the help with the P.A speakers. I was always under the impression that playing a Bass through anything but a bass cabinet was bad for speakers due to the fact that Bass Cabinets are specially constructed. 2*15 speakers?? Thats atouch Bassey? Wouldnt he rather have the ole 1*15 and 4*10?

heres a pic of his rig

Dirty_G · #18 01-25-2007, 05:58 AM

Im sure thats a very Bass heavy rig but does he get much top end? Then again depends what style he plays dosnt it.