Provided Gear

[Gearhead17]

Provided gear – just a little commentary

Certain Rehearsal spots ($11 to $15/hr.) typically are lopsided on the bass rig. Almost every place I play, the provided bass rig in each room tends to be some sort of combo amp while the guitarists get a 412, a tube head or an obnoxiously loud solid-state head. Every time I end up using my rig just so I will not run the risk of killing the combo. I don’t understand why certain people think a bass combo is great for a hearing yourself when facing a 412….. Granted, I don’t need to be super loud, it’s just the combo amps do not get very loud and I tend to find the limit within seconds.

There was also a gig I did with a backline – bass rig was an Eden WT800 head and two Eden 410xlt cabs. The guitarists all got 50 watt solid state combos with a single 12 on them. They sounded AWFUL. I sounded thunderous!

So I came to the conclusion:
Scenario 1 – Guitarist bought the gear
Scenario 2 – ANGRY bassist bought the gear.

[Astreaux]

+1 Need more of the angry bassists provisioning the equipment!

[Raymeous]

The owner is obviously a guitarist, but yes this is pretty common.

I've also been to one place years ago that had dinky kick amps for bass and guitar, and Portnoy size beater drum kit. Drummer/owner maybe?

[dtripoli]

Guess it depends where you live.
Here in LA, all of the rehearsal studios, 6 at least, that I have been to, have massive bass rigs. Have not come across any combos yet

[Russell L]

Last backline I got was a little Peavey 115 something-or-other. The best was when we fronted the Atlanta Rhythm Section, and we got to play through all their stuff, using their FOH guy! Woohoo!

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by dtripoli

Guess it depends where you live.
Here in LA, all of the rehearsal studios, 6 at least, that I have been to, have massive bass rigs. Have not come across any combos yet

Ever rehearse at Hot House Studios in Santa Fe Springs?
They have one or two rooms with bass combo rigs, and every room has a Marshall half stack.
The combos actually hold up surprisingly well, its the Marshalls that I find annoying.

Originally Posted by Russell L

Last backline I got was a little Peavey 115 something-or-other. The best was when we fronted the Atlanta Rhythm Section, and we got to play through all their stuff, using their FOH guy! Woohoo!

My rig is a Peavy 115 (not little, by any means) and I never have issues with being heard.

[Russell L]

Oops, I didn't mean it to sound derogatory. Sorry. I had trouble with the Peavey 115only because it was an outdoor show on a huge stage and the monitor mix was insufficient, so I couldn't hear myself well enough with just 200w and a 115 ten feet behind me. Don't get me wrong, though, Peavey 115 combos are good stuff. Just sold my old Combo 300, and I also used to play through a Mark IV head and one or two 115s. It's just that it wasn't enough at that one show. Had it had an extension 115 it woulda been fine, I bet.

[floridagatorfan]

i usually ger provided an 810 acoustic at the guitar center rehersal rooms here and a 600 watt head

[thisSNsucks]

Roxy Studios in Queens, NY has a 8x10 in one room, a 4x10 and a 1x115 in another, and 2 4x10's in the last 2 rooms. Each room has 2 or 3 different amp heads as well, mostly GK RB heads, but there's an SWR, Ampeg portaflex and a few peavey and hartke heads too.

Its not all high end boutique stuff but it gets the job done. The guitarists usually get to play through a Marshall or Soldano head and 4x12.

Best rehearsal studio in NY IMO.

[dtripoli]

Originally Posted by MatticusMania

Ever rehearse at Hot House Studios in Santa Fe Springs?
They have one or two rooms with bass combo rigs, and every room has a Marshall half stack.
The combos actually hold up surprisingly well, its the Marshalls that I find annoying.

Actually, yes I have been to Hot House about 10 times. Always gave us a big rig for bass except one time when we were recording, then it was a combo rig.
As for the Marshalls, our guitarist and keyboardist would push them to the side and use their own amps.

[throughthefire]

When we rehearse, I have an Acoustic B10. We don't have any PA or other amps running, and the drums are either played with brushes or we use a cahon. We could practise in a library...

Yeah - we're all old guys. We rehearse in order to sort out arrangements, not make each other deaf! ...we save that for the gigs

Pete

[MatticusMania]

Originally Posted by dtripoli

Actually, yes I have been to Hot House about 10 times. Always gave us a big rig for bass except one time when we were recording, then it was a combo rig.
As for the Marshalls, our guitarist and keyboardist would push them to the side and use their own amps.

Ive been telling my band that we need to rehearse with OUR OWN GEAR more often.
I have no problems dialing in proper sound on my rig, but our singer/guitarist, well he doesnt have his own amp at the moment. He goes from borrowing one amp to another, and he never gets a consistent sound out of any of them. It gets even worse when one Marshall Hafstack sounds different than the next, and he starts adjusting his effects settings...

[seanm]

I have used that many rehearsal studios (too expensive). But if they had a bass rig, they have always had a good bass rig.

But a 1x15 combo should be good enough. If I can't hear myself at practice, I play the songs I can, and sit out songs where I need to be able to hear.