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Am I Missing Something??!!

Discount Saint

Discount Saint

Bassist for the music in my head
Jan 26, 2007
1,613
1,055
Victoria, BC, Canada
#1
At present my amp rig basically just consists of my GK Backline 600 head and 410SBX cabinet - I plug my bass directly into the head and just play away.

I am curious, after reading these forums for awhile and also seeing a lot of pictures of people's rigs, if I am missing something here that might make a difference to my tone, etc. There seems to be a lot of people with various boxes, rackmount units, etc, that I can't always identify, and I've heard talk about using a DI to get a better sound out of amps. Not really sure what to make of it..

Obviously a lot of people have various rack-mounted processors, tuners, pre-amps, etc.. not really sure if I would need an outboard pre-amp though, as my head has one built in.

Can anyone tell me if I am missing out on something important here?
 
#2
if you are satisfied with your tone and power.. i wouldnt worry about it, theres so many different things you could add and whatnot... to me, if im going to use rackmount gear, i think it should sound good on its own, and shouldnt require any outside gear to make it sound "good", not to say that some things dont really complement a good piece of gear... but really , no matter how much stuff you cake onto a piece of crap, its still gonna taste(or sound) like crap
 
#4
I'm more just wondering if there is some common piece of equipment (a DI??) that I totally didn't think of using.. I like the power and tone of my head, though if there is something in the actual hookup that I am not doing that I should be I'd want to know about it.

At some point I need to get a decent compressor and what-not, but I'm not talking so much about that sort of thing.
 
#9
My Korg Tuner and Furman Power Conditioner really bring out the tone of my WT1205.:smug:

Rule of thumb for me is, if you have to ask about a compressor you don't need one. I got one because, well, everyone else did. Was an expensive spaceholder. Sold it to someone who knew how to use it.
 
#10
::Saint:: said:
I'm more just wondering if there is some common piece of equipment (a DI??) that I totally didn't think of using.. I like the power and tone of my head, though if there is something in the actual hookup that I am not doing that I should be I'd want to know about it.

At some point I need to get a decent compressor and what-not, but I'm not talking so much about that sort of thing.
Click to expand...

Depends on what you're doing.

If all you're doing is jamming with your buddies you really don't need a DI. A DI is short for direct injection. It's only needed to plug into a recording or mixing console to bring the sound of your bass (not amp) to either the recording or to the PA.

Compressor. It not a bad thing to have, but not necessary. It controls the dynamics of your sound and will make a solid state amp sound a little more punchy. Good for slap style and pick style. It's a better tool for the studio, but it works great in amps too.

Rack guys. In a rack set up you will usually see a Power amp and a pre-amp. It's really nothing more than two separate components that happen to be in a head. Every amp head/combo has a pre-amp and power amp. it's just built into one unit. With a rack unit you will have a lot more flexibility with which components you can choose but will also have a lot less money in your pocket when everything is said and done. Believe me I have a rack set up.

Boxes. Usually effects pedals. Nothing more than noise makers. Try'em out, see what you like.

I agree with everyone though. If you're happy with the way your bass sounds, don't change a thing.
 
#11
I've been the whole route with a rack with tube preamp, seperate power amps, crossovers for bi-amping, expensive compressor and a good D.I.

I'm back to playing through just a very good combo amp and I sound as good as ever. The only thing I kept was a D.I. The compressor just helped cover up for sloppy technique.

Continue working with what you have and play the amp to your limit. Then if you need to move up to something better you can.

The big racks look impressive but in my opinion aren't needed. I haven't hear anyone playing through those elaborate rigs who has sounded any better than he would have through a decent amp and cabinets.
 

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