• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Biamping

#2
biamping is technically just that, two amplifiers. Now, what is meant 99% of the time is that after the preamp section of the amplifier, an active crossover (external or contained within the head or preamp) will split the signal at a certain frequency (usually adjustable). From there the two signals (highs and lows) are sent their seperate ways to two power amplifiers (generally two in the same "stereo" head or to the two sides or a "stereo" poweramp). After that the two amps send the amplified signals to cabinets that in theory are optimized to those frequencies.

This works great for PA applications, and many PA systems are triamped or even quadamped with very specialized cabinets for each frequency. In bass amps the cabs are almost never truly optimized for the frequencies sent to them by biamping, and almost always sound "better", "fuller", and louder when run full range. Most amp manufacturers will tell you this when asked, but in the '80s the biamping craze took off and many amps needed to add a crossover in order to be competitive.
 
#3
IvanMike said:
biamping is technically just that, two amplifiers. Now, what is meant 99% of the time is that after the preamp section of the amplifier, an active crossover (external or contained within the head or preamp) will split the signal at a certain frequency (usually adjustable). From there the two signals (highs and lows) are sent their seperate ways to two power amplifiers (generally two in the same "stereo" head or to the two sides or a "stereo" poweramp). After that the two amps send the amplified signals to cabinets that in theory are optimized to those frequencies.

This works great for PA applications, and many PA systems are triamped or even quadamped with very specialized cabinets for each frequency. In bass amps the cabs are almost never truly optimized for the frequencies sent to them by biamping, and almost always sound "better", "fuller", and louder when run full range. Most amp manufacturers will tell you this when asked, but in the '80s the biamping craze took off and many amps needed to add a crossover in order to be competitive.
Click to expand...


+1... biamping was mostly used with bass rigs to compensate for very poorly designed and executed bass cabs 'way back when'. With all the wonderful, full range bass cabs out there that easily reproduce 40 or 50hz to 10Khz+, I don't really see an advantage to biamping... and per above.... there can be significant disadvantages.
 
#7
yellofury said:
I had a BBE 383 preamp with a crossover into a Crest Stereo 900 watt power amp
I had hopes of using my 2X12 cab for mids and highs and a 15" for the lows
but they are right when I bridged the amp to MONO the sound was just fine especially if you have a decent EQ section
Click to expand...
Most people don't get the best out of bi-amping because they don't use it properly.
If you put a 100 guitar amp side by side with a 100 watt bass amp the guitar amp will blow the bass away, you will need around 300 watts on bass to compete; the same applies to bi-amping, the low mids to highs should be attenuated back and then the overal volume increased to get the true benefits of bi-amping, this priciple works particularly well in the 1x15 + 2x10 configuration where turning the bass up in a full range system could harm the 10s but turning the bass up in a bi-amp setup only affects the 15.
This site has a more in depth insite into the joys of bi-amping.
Link Removed
 
#8
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=213019

look at post # 13 for a couple of pics of my biamp rig. Thunderfunk Uncle AMP 420 below. AMP 250 up top into an ampeg pr1528he. I find the flexibility of tone the real benefit as the 420 has an adjustable crossover and timbre setting and you can adjust the eq and volume of the top separately, plus you can use effects in the top end only w/o losing the bass. the pr1528he was designed to biamp, so that may be what helps this work. many posters on the topic feel if you don't have proper cabinets the effort isn't worthwhile. the same cab can be played full range and sounds great--just less tonal flexibility.
 
#9
Bassman62 said:
Most people don't get the best out of bi-amping because they don't use it properly.
Click to expand...

Well, that's PART of it. but a big factor is that hardly anyone has chosen or designed cabs that are especially suitable for it AND bass stage amps, or amps that give more power to the subwoofer section, and a lot of preamps don't allow one to cross over low enough or at a steep enough slope. Or give the option to try the top cab in full-range mode (though with many cab combinations this may cause problems sometimes it's a way to get some extra oomph).

Really, it's questionable on many stages if that amount of low freqeuncies at high energy is desirable for several reasons (mechanical coupling with stage, interaction with mics), and if there is subwoofer support in the PA, whether another high-energy low frequency source should be around but not in mutual coupling on the same plane as the PA subs because of phase cencellation.

For solo performers or those working mostly with small PAs though, it can be a great boon to have something that can make equivalent SPL below 100 Hz as their rig can above that. But again, it's hard to find the right set of components that can deal out as well and stay compact too.
 
#10
I have biamped my rig for a long time. Like watspan mentioned it can be very flexible. The main reason most of us did it is because of the super clean deep sounding lows it provides.

My first biamp setup was a GK 800RB with a Bagend AF1C (?). The Bagend was a small refrigerator with a horn, 10' and a 18' driver. It weighed in at about 120lbs.

Next I chose an Alembic F-1X because of the biamp option and paired it was a SWR 2X10 and a 1X18 just to make it more portable.

Both awesome set ups in my opinion, but like mentioned it's pretty much "old school". I used these through the eighties and nineties. I still have the 2X10 and 1X18, but if I were to start gigging on a regular basis again I am going to get rid of the SWR's and go for a Epifini 4X10. I would also love to here the Schroeder 21012. Both are known for having some real good lows.
 
#11
Bassman62 said:
Most people don't get the best out of bi-amping because they don't use it properly.
If you put a 100 guitar amp side by side with a 100 watt bass amp the guitar amp will blow the bass away, you will need around 300 watts on bass to compete; the same applies to bi-amping,
Click to expand...

Kind of like this, eh? :D

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


I used this rig last night. It kicks major ass and neither amp has to even break a sweat. It's overkill for small rooms, but in a big place it rules. No crossover.
 
#13
nysbob said:
Kind of like this, eh? :D

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


I used this rig last night. It kicks major ass and neither amp has to even break a sweat. It's overkill for small rooms, but in a big place it rules. No crossover.
Click to expand...

God, if I had my hands on that rig... it'd get so rediculously loud i'd probably kill someone. You & John Glascock are the reason i'm now GASing for a vintage SVT, although I'd still use my Sceptre on top.
 
#14
greenboy said:
Well, that's PART of it. but a big factor is that hardly anyone has chosen or designed cabs that are especially suitable for it .
Click to expand...
I use separate cabs for biamping (1x15 + 2x10+horn) with separate level controls then via an Ashdown pre-amp with a variable crosover that goes down as far as 30hz, I don't crossover that low its usualy 100hz (around G string)-120hz from then on the 10s+horn are more than capable.
 
#16
The 0x said:
God, if I had my hands on that rig... it'd get so rediculously loud i'd probably kill someone. You & John Glascock are the reason i'm now GASing for a vintage SVT, although I'd still use my Sceptre on top.
Click to expand...

The sceptre would work very well. I had the marshall on less than 2 and it about tore my head off. You have to be very judicious with this stuff unless you think the only person that should be heard in the band is you. :eyebrow:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back