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Another Church players topic-Post: amplification

#301
Pako said:
Oh yeah? You ain't got nothin' on my Crate BX100! So there...


:hiding:



In all seriousness, sounds like a awesome setup and would love to hear it. My little Crate actually does OK in my situation. Smaller church, we average about 200-250 for both services with little to no FOH support for the bass (no subs). They have a good start on the PA, but they need a little more help in that area but they're waiting for their new facility. What's nice about the Crate is that I only paid $100 for it, I can leave it at the church for the youth to use on the Mid-Week service and not have to worry about them hurting it and I don't have to pack gear back and forth.
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Doh! I think you got me there! :D Hey... if the tool does the job, that is all that matters! I played through an old TKO80 for years until I had the cash to upgrade. And trust me... a better amp doesn't make you a better player! I'm proof of that. In all seriousness, I am very lucky to get to play with some very nice equipment. And hey... if you're ever in the Seattle/Tacoma area, give me a holler! I'll let you give it a spin any time! :cool:
 
#302
my church spoils us :) i play through either my Yorkville XS800 head or through the churchs Ampeg 450(its a ss 450 watt) which goes through an Ampeg 810. this is my stage monitor :-p then either head is DI'd and sent to the house. we have two JBL dual 18 subs crankin out the bass, plus maybe 10 more PA speakers. then each band member has aviom personal mix and a monitor. we are just really blessed at our church and we love makin music for the Lord :) God loves bass....think about thunder :-p
 
#303
God loves bass....think about thunder :-p
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That's great!!

I'm amazed at the length of this thread. Pretty cool!!

I have a small rig that consists of three pieces: 1: Head: Eden Navigator and Aphex 204 exciter, 2: Amp: QSC 1602, 3: Cab: Avatar 210. The "Head" and "Amp" are in separate racks so I can pull just the head for use at church and go direct from the Nav to the house PA.

For Church,
I pull a direct line off the Nav and then a 1/4" out to a "house" hartke amp that works great as a bass monitor for myself and the drummer. House system is more than enough and mixer is a new Yamaha digital that all but wipes your nose.

Wedge monitors on stage are all Yamahas.

Only real issue I have is it seems I really have to keep the Navigator very low to keep volume and hiss down through the mains. I wonder if that might be the aggressive preamp in my Stingray MM5??

Anyway, playing Sundays is always the high point of my week.
 
#304
When I'm lazy, I just play through the GK Backline 115 (which makes me NEVER want to be lazy again..) but sometimes Part or all of my EA rig IAMP/NL210 and maybe a CXL112L (aimed at the drummer). Most of the time though, I just use my Radial Bassbone and have a really nice JBL monitor aimed back at me (others use in-ears). The Bassbone has just been awesome for me at church.
 
#305
I play through a ampeg SVP PRO, QSC1604 Power amp, and a Ampeg 410HE cabinet. Its alright.....gets the job done, but I want something else. I've also owned the Ampeg 210sp.....that was cool for the effects.....except for the analog bass effects.....but the thing was too heavy and it didn't pump out enough watts for me. I've owned other gear too...but don't feel like going back that far.....lol.
 
#306
The church I play in has a very nice sound system. Originally I was just filling in now and then to help out a friend. Now I seem to be in the regular rotation. They have an SWR Workingman's 15 amp but it doesn't sound very good and has a strange rattle. Too much high end and very harsh but I have to admit, not having to load in an amp has been very nice.
I am thinking of bringing rmy Eden WT-550 head and one of my D112XLT cabs this Sunday. I have been trying out a few different basses to play in this situation and think I have finally decided on a Lakland Skyline 44-01. It sounds good and plays very nice. Looks cool too.
In this situation I have found that stage volume and clutter are of the biggest concern. The soundman is fairly new and still learning. I have worked with better but can't complain because I know I could not do any better. I have to have faith in his ability. No pun intended.
I really enjoy playing in church and really enjoy the people I have been working with. Not your typical musician (late, drunk, stoned, attitude). It has been a lot of fun and I hope that I can keep doing it.
 
#307
My church has an "ok" rig... it's got a rack with a korg tuner and an Eden head - not sure of the model... going into an older SWR WM410. It sounds all right - but doesn't bring me near the joy of playing my GK 1001RB-II & NEO412 rig... yummy!

The church rig is for monitoring only as the FOH subs are usually cranked pretty loud - and our building is very "gym" like... so it's easy for things to get pretty messy!
 
#308
MichaelVee said:
Our church meets in a convention center lecture hall. ... I usually just use my Eden CXC-110 combo by itself.
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Since that post, the church moved to the basement of a hotel convention center next door to the previous location. This room is much smaller than the lecture hall room. The ceiling is about 12 feet and it seats usually around 250.

I've since sold the Eden combo and gone to a Genz Neo-Pak head, with either an EA M-Line Wizzy 12 or a Bag End S15 cabinet. Works great. The Neo head is terrific and easy to carry in the shoulder bag. Either cabinet is lighter weight than the CXC-110 combo, and rides on the luggage dolly I use very well. One trip in and out.

The sound I get with this setup is big. Since everyone else is using monitors except one of the guitar players, I don't turn up much - usually no more than 3-4 on the master volume. The EA sounds good no matter what, but the S15 starts sounding its best around 4.
 
#316
sk8 said:
Any of you people using the Low DOwn? I'm thinking of getting the LD300 for use at home and church.

Anyone used the Lowdown for church etc?
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I was using the LD300 at church for the last 7 months or so. Out sanctuary holds ~400-500 people and is not particularly well-designed for praise music (too much bare brick wall to bounce around). We don't run direct, so I relied on the LD300 for projection and personal monitor.

GOOD: plenty of volume for this setting. Decent warm, vintage sounds with the A & B presets. Easy switching from model to model between songs. Can run it direct (presumably if you're set up for this) as a POD Bass unit.

BAD: Difficult to dial in a tight, clean (modern?) tone (could be the room, or...); strong tendency to couple with our stage (used a friend's Crate 4x10, can't remember the model which did not seem to have this problem).

It does get the job done, and for the price is not a bad combo; however, I've heard good things about other combos in the same power range that are less expensive (eg. Fender Rumble series).

YMMV

Peace;)
 
#317
Low Song said:
I was using the LD300 at church for the last 7 months or so. Out sanctuary holds ~400-500 people and is not particularly well-designed for praise music (too much bare brick wall to bounce around). We don't run direct, so I relied on the LD300 for projection and personal monitor.

GOOD: plenty of volume for this setting. Decent warm, vintage sounds with the A & B presets. Easy switching from model to model between songs. Can run it direct (presumably if you're set up for this) as a POD Bass unit.

BAD: Difficult to dial in a tight, clean (modern?) tone (could be the room, or...); strong tendency to couple with our stage (used a friend's Crate 4x10, can't remember the model which did not seem to have this problem).

It does get the job done, and for the price is not a bad combo; however, I've heard good things about other combos in the same power range that are less expensive (eg. Fender Rumble series).

YMMV

Peace;)
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Thanks for the reply - very informative
 
#318
FunkyFlashFive said:
my church has a swr combo that i D.I. into the system. our band consists of me, a 50 year old rocker on guitar who origanaly played bass, an acousitc guitar, a flute, piano, drums (electronic), and 2-5 singers
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OK, how about a 50 yr old rocker (okay, 53) who originally played drums and now plays bass (for 5 yrs now). Even the "young guys" say we lay down a good rhythm groove.
 
#319
My church has historically preferred the silent-stage approach, so I bought a pair of high-end open-back headphones (Senn.). I send a direct feed to the board from my SWR Baby Blue combo (2-8" speakers). I bring the Baby Blue for two reasons: (1) If the sound engineers are slow to get the sound going, I can still support the choir in getting their rehearsal started on time and (2) on occasion it works to have me turn it up a bit as an on-stage monitor.

The silent-stage approach is not my favorite, but I have learned to adjust thanks to the quality headphones. I used to resist this more, but realized that this was setting a poor example (failing to submit to leadership) for the other musicians. So I adapted.

I started out my musical career 30+ years ago playing in bars and now I play exclusively in church. I would play in musicals if I had time, but there is no question that playing in church is one of the best things that's ever happened to me. God's the best boss I've ever had. It's a pleasure and privilege working for Him.
 
#320
tedw said:
I used to resist this more, but realized that this was setting a poor example (failing to submit to leadership) for the other musicians.
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Ted, this is only true if a church's leadership knows enough about technical issues to be respected, and it also depends on the building's acoustics. Church leaders are neither always right, nor to be obeyed unfailingly. Basically, same in many respects as one's parents.

Having said that, in your particular situation, that may have been the correct decision on your part.

Personally, I will never play in a church that says I cannot control my own stage sound by using an amplifier that I control.
 

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