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Double Bass active/powered speakers?

K

klem.gote

Jan 18, 2009
259
25
New England
Disclosures
Bass Player
#1
Hello,

Still trying to figure some things out sound wise. I get a little lost sometimes reading about all the brands and makes of amps, pre-amps, speakers etc. My question is, does anyone here use just a powered speaker with a pre-amp instead of bass heads/amplifiers? Any particular pros or cons, and what kind of gear are we looking at? Thanks!!!
 
#4
I recently bought some JBL PRX-512's for PA - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I tried my bass through one and was very impressed. They're lightweight and powerful, and have a very neutral 'studio monitor' sound, thank to the on-board digital processing. Much smoother than any of the other powered PA speakers I've used (Mackie, EV, RCF), and don't have any of the colouring you get from 'bass amps'.
A nice bonus is an XLR/jack input connection, and a mic/line level switch; because my EUB has a built-in preamp, I have done gigs where I took nothing but the JBL box and the bass.
 
#5
Hi! That JBL sounds like what I might be looking for. I played through something like that a while back and it was great, very natural sounding top to bottom, no coloring at all, and just a very little bit of tweaking with my Fishman Plat. EQ. I found one close enough for me to try out. I also heard that Fishman makes a PA system that's supposed to be very good as well but the local Guitar Center just sold the last one they had. Thanks for the info, might be just what I need!!
 
#6
Passive Bass ---> Groove Tubes Ditto (DI.Tube pre) ---> Carvin LS1503a (powered speaker).

Absolutely heavenly tone. Defined, articulate, warm with awesome range. I recommend the 3-way approach with a mid cone so much more than a 2-way with just woofer and horn. The tone suits my playing 90% of the time - it'll work for anything but funk imo.
Crazy good with fretless.
Hope this helps.
 
#7
ToneRanger said:
I recently bought some JBL PRX-512's for PA - [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
I tried my bass through one and was very impressed. They're lightweight and powerful, and have a very neutral 'studio monitor' sound, thank to the on-board digital processing. Much smoother than any of the other powered PA speakers I've used (Mackie, EV, RCF), and don't have any of the colouring you get from 'bass amps'.
A nice bonus is an XLR/jack input connection, and a mic/line level switch; because my EUB has a built-in preamp, I have done gigs where I took nothing but the JBL box and the bass.
Click to expand...
Yes thanks for the info. Interesting.
 

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