In Mill Valley? Hmm, I thought they'd have fantastic P.A.systems there! Lol!
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Are bass amps obsolete?
- Thread starter sanwin17
- Start date
If you've not got a microphone in front of your cab then yes, your amp is largely irrelevant to the overall sound of the band through the PA. Sound engineers often don't mic up the bass amp in smaller venues to avoid feedback and/ or make life easier for themselves. That makes it important for the bass player to condition the DI feed according to their own standards and not leave it to the sound guy. It's easy enough to configure your gear to produce a DI feed that includes compression and amp/cab emulation etc. Or bring your own bass microphone and speak nicely to the sound guy. Personally I'm not massively bothered either way, my DI tone is pretty good and it's all about the performance to me, not the subtleties of my tone.
Uh yeah, maybe if I was gigging here. There’s one venue here, and yes it does have a fantastic PA. Most of my gigs are in SF, San Jose, Pacifica, etc.
I am too old to shlep around a big amp, and I’m mostly playing in a worship service setting these days. I’ve used a Hartke Kickback amp as well as a direct box to the board. I much prefer using the Hartke amp. We take the line out from the Hartke as the board feed. I use only enough volume to hear myself. The sound people will change your sound in the house to their liking regardless.
I have recently moved into in ear monitoring using a pre-amp with DI output to FOH so completely without an amp now which works really well for me, but prbably not for everyone. Playing in a 7 piece the stage sound is terrible as you walk from one side to the next from the various monitors so I wanted to move away from that. As you also mentioned it's usually controlled by FOH anyway. Plus my complete set up (including wireless systems for in ear and my bass) pack into a box which is much more manageable than my combi amp :-D
Well, I've been using smaller stuff for years now. I keep Earbuds with me. The last gig I played, I used the Eden "stompbox" pre-amp, and the earbuds. BUT! --The drummer used an acoustic kit, and the keyboards right behind me had a roland Combo. It all bled right through...I ended up having to use the trust SWR Super Redhead so that I could hear. Too bad, because the sound was really good! It all worked...so, while we bass players don't have to "pump the meadow" anymore, we do have to be ready for anything!
Bass amps are not simply about convenience and/or practicality (or the lack thereof) for many of us.
I simply enjoy hearing myself through speakers. When I can, I will bring an amp. If I can get away with it, I'll bring an Ampeg SVT. The sound of that heavy beast makes me smile.
They absolutely will be less common in a decade or so. We'll probably all have wireless basses with transmitters you can't see that send a signal directly to the computer used to run sound (that is the size of a pack of gum). Every audience member will be wearing headphones (tiny earbuds) that allow them to control the volume of their live band. Take out your earbuds and all you will hear are people talking and the sound of sticks hitting electronic drums pads. Your average bar will sound like a library until you put in earbuds.
So, not yet... but it's coming.
I saw one performance (featuring Jeff Berlin) at NAMM this year where the audience were all wearing headphones.
I like to use a DI so signal going to PA is whatever the sound guy wants and I control my on stage sound.
I don't think so. I get the fact that foh wants to control everything and I'll let them if they know what they're doing and have a good ear. My experience is that the people running sound more or less suck and I have grown very distrusting. Even if front of house was excellent, I'd rather have the eq and tone set the way I like it and have them for volume control - not eq (except where it affects the room).
Just my two cents
Just my two cents
My big amps stay at home now. We run everything through the FOH (our own mix that we send to FOH). I bring a little Ampeg B-115 to gigs for my stage monitor. The guitar player in our band doesn't even use an amp. He runs through his HeadRush into the FOH and a powered FRFR speaker for a monitor. Once I can find an FRFR that gives the type of bass response I want, I'll be ditching my amp as well.
As a pro bassist, on the road, I haven't had an amp with my touring band for over four years. In ear monitors means I don't need an on stage amp for reference. And with IEM the drums are SO MUCH QUIETER, I can dial in a mix that sounds like a CD, but with my bass and vocals bumped about 5 dB, and all about about equivalent of 80 dB. My hearing is saved a little every show. As a recording engineer I know that the sound from an amp creates comb filtering when it combines with the FOH speakers that are in a different position causing significant phase cancellations. So FOH engineers love it when I say, "no amp, just DI". I do have a Mark Bass 800 and SWR SM400 head with three different cab configurations that I use for with bands that are not run through FOH.
Bass amps are not simply about convenience and/or practicality (or the lack thereof) for many of us.
I simply enjoy hearing myself through speakers. When I can, I will bring an amp. If I can get away with it, I'll bring an Ampeg SVT. The sound of that heavy beast makes me smile.
They absolutely will be less common in a decade or so. We'll probably all have wireless basses with transmitters you can't see that send a signal directly to the computer used to run sound (that is the size of a pack of gum). Every audience member will be wearing headphones (tiny earbuds) that allow them to control the volume of their live band. Take out your earbuds and all you will hear are people talking and the sound of sticks hitting electronic drums pads. Your average bar will sound like a library until you put in earbuds.
So, not yet... but it's coming.
Our friends went to a wedding that was "earbuds only" for the reception music. So I think your prognostication is right on track.
Obsolete? I don't think so!
View attachment 3303692
Yes, you can do gigs ampless with a good PA. I just did a string of gigs ampless because that's what the guy I was subbing for did and I wanted to keep the vibe. But I would so much rather have an amp behind me. My amp isn't just a monitor. It's also how everyone else on stage and the first few rows hears me, and it defines what I want in the PA. It's also running to the PA a lot of the time. Do I enjoy loading out more ampless? Yes I doBut some of my gigs go on for hours, and I'd much rather listen to my bass coming out of something good than earbuds and a Buttkicker, so it's worth it to me.
Fully agree to that. When playing three one hour sets, it's great to have a decent rig behind you; it is worth lugging it around. But mine is more modest than the one you posted
I run a 200 watt Rumble through 2 GK15 boxes stacked up so I can hear them, wireless so I can move around to find the bass/kick sweet spot...sound guy hasn't quite gotten there.
Own one, the last time it left the house a few years ago was when someone needed to borrow it cause his died and he had a gig. I haven't needed it for a gig in a long time. I'd rather be able to walk home from a gig carrying everything. When gigging on guitar I'll have amp sims running on a tablet, too, with FX parameter changes etc. programmed to happen at the proper points in the song.
Check out the QSC K.2 Series. One of the DSP presets is Bass Guitar, and it comes in 8, 10, and 12-inch woofer flavors.
QSC K.2 Series™
