Live synth bass
 

I was wondering if anyone uses synth bass live? Is there a rack mount unit I can control with a midi controller and feed threw my effect loop? I want to be able to play bass and synth bass live without having a 2nd amp or 2 things plug into my amp. Is there anyway to do this?

Moog Taurus 3 or the rackmount Minitaur. So much bass...

Not sure if this meets your criteria, but I play both bass and synth live, and I use an A/B/Y box to switch between the two while using only one amp. I treat the synth like another bass anyway, so I don't have to change any settings on the amp (I also use IEM's so my amp's EQ means nothing, as I use an unprocessed signal). I use my amp's DI to send the signal to FOH. I would DI both the bass and synth anyway, so it works really well.

+ 1000 to the Mighty Moog Taurus III!

I do run a 2nd amp for mine in larger venues, but you can get away with sending them straight to the board in smaller clubs.

Do you switch in the middle of songs? I would like to use regular bass on a verse and switch to the synth on the chorus.

I was thinking all out one amp. We just play very small gigs and also would like one amp at practice.

power amp summing two channels
 

some power amps have the capability to sum the left and right channels and send both inputs to a single output channel.

Mackie M800 or M1400 can do this for instance, i think they call it "dual mono mode." You could use a rack pre for your bass guitar, or a line ouput if your amp head has one. then your synth device can plug into channel 2, and both of them can be summed to a single channel for output to your existing cab.



as an experiment, I used my allen and heath zed10 mixer to hook up my keyboard through the fx loop of my amp (Markbass LMII). Not too difficult I figured

bass ----> amp -> fx loop out -> mixer channel 1 --> keyboard ---> mixer channel 2 ----> output of mixer ----> amp fx loop in.

it worked, but geez, what a pain to hook up, and everything sounded a little noisier. I wouldn't bother with that kinda setup!

It's usually song to song, but I could absolutely switch during a song if necessary. We go from song to song so quickly that I usually have only about 5 seconds to set my bass down, hit the switch and start playing synth. If I were to leave my bass strapped on, switching between the two would be super easy.

EDIT: BTW, my setups is as follows-

Peavey GV > Line 6 G30 wireless > Korg Pitchblack tuner > Channel 'B' of the A/B/Y box
Roland Lucina Synth > Channel 'A'
Output of A/B/Y box goes straight into the input of my GK 1001RB-II which powers a fEARful 15/6 cab. I use the head's DI, set to pre-EQ, so whatever I send to the output is what i get in my ears.

You can get away with this if you are only playing either your synth or your bass - play them together & they tend to cancel each other out. I play both at the same time, thus the need for two separate amps.

If I ever need this in place with my bass rig, hey my GK Fusion 500 has two channels, clean and dirty, so I would use the clean for an external synth. Not that piping the synth through a PA is more practical.

This probably doesn't really help with your predicament, but just for fun you should see if YouTube has any concert videos of the ~1986 King Crimson Three Of A Perfect Pair tour.

When they played the tune "Dig Me" Tony Levin switched back & forth between bass guitar, Chapman Stick, and keyboard synth...it was almost comical watching him juggle all those instruments! I don't recall how he switched inputs to his amp, I just remember thinking he was going to saw his own head off with the straps by repeatedly slinging the bass & Stick around his neck!

Same here, although I do have several options if I were to want to use only one amp. Easiest thing to do, is get a small mixer. Plug bass into one channel, synth in another, and run the output to your amp. Both channels are active, so either instrument can be played at any time, or both at the same time if you have that kinda skill.

bass synth
 

Anyone check out the Novation mini-Nova? I am also making the job to dual bass duties and recently ordered one,wfter reading the reviews and watching the videos.

Any input on this?