So, who here has found they don't really need an amp at all? One project I play in we are all on ears and I find I prefer to just DI direct into the board and not haul around a bunch of gear I can't hear anyways.
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Ampless Bassist's Club?
- Thread starter RoadRanger
- Start date
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,350
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
Bass playing without an amp is like Christmas without any presents. 
Great! You are now officially "Ampless Bassist's Club #2".Been playing professionaly without a bass amp for the last 12 years , count me in ! ( before that , I was too young and innocent that's why I had a bass amp )
So, have you used ears all them years or floor monitors or ?
Do you just a DI straight in or do you use a sansamp and/or other stomp boxes or rackmount gear? Knowing that the soundguy is going to be messing about with my tone anyways I like hearing my bass's uncolored output straight-up
.For the last two years , I've been using a VB99 processor.
This thing has been a revelation to me. But I don't use the EQs and I don't use the amp simulation.
I use it mostly for the synth sounds, upright bass emulation and chorus here and there.
It has an XLR out for FOH and another output for stage monitoring
Before that , it was : Bass=>TD100 (tube DI)=> Monitors/FOH.
I ran that setup for ten years.
The TD100 is one of the best piece of bass equipement I ever bought.
This thing has been a revelation to me. But I don't use the EQs and I don't use the amp simulation.
I use it mostly for the synth sounds, upright bass emulation and chorus here and there.
It has an XLR out for FOH and another output for stage monitoring
Before that , it was : Bass=>TD100 (tube DI)=> Monitors/FOH.
I ran that setup for ten years.
The TD100 is one of the best piece of bass equipement I ever bought.
That VB99 looks like fun! Can it give you the TD100's warmth - or do you still use the TD100 too?
Sorry, I love having a rig behind me.
Full respect to you guys though if that's what you like!
Do you have a 'colony' or camp, where y'all go to BE naked?
;D
Full respect to you guys though if that's what you like!
Do you have a 'colony' or camp, where y'all go to BE naked?
;D
I'm ampless except at church and in my practice den these days.
I'm very happy with it. The funny part is that right around the time I got my rig sorted, I ended up FOH full time.
I'm very happy with it. The funny part is that right around the time I got my rig sorted, I ended up FOH full time.
I actually use a Tascam "Bass Trainer". It's an MP3 player with a 1/4" jack input for your bass. I use my IEM earphones with it. It allows you to slow down and/or change the pitch of a song, enhance or remove the bass, loop a section. It also has a tuner, metronome, and some FX I never use. I believe it is discontinued now but Tascam has a new combo guitar/bass trainer that can also play and record to SDCards. I do noodle though my amps from time-to-time and use a 1x10 combo to rehearse with another project (a jazz standard jam kind of group with a couple horns evenSoooo do you practice unplugged or something?
) but have played "naked" with them on-stage when using provided sound at festivals.
I played a large festival last year where the two bands before us and one band after us had no bass amp that I could see. No IEM's for either of them; I guess they just used the monitor wedges. I'm not sure I could get used to that. If I can't hear/feel my cab behind me it just doesn't feel right to me. YMMV.
So, the DI box and PA system are amplifying your bass signal.
Anyway, I have played acoustic upright bass occasionally with no amplification at all. Most of the time, however, I am amp'd up and louder than hell.
Yeah but they are bummed from someone else!
Sorry Bass on the cheap is not for me and I also own the PA. Oh yeah and I am in the "Amps" forum. 
Soooo do you practice unplugged or something?
I use two JBL LSR28P + sub to practice at home and a RCF ART310a +RCF ART902as sub with a band.
I don't consider these 'bass amp' , I would call them 'monitoring'.
