Are bass amps obsolete?

[Bassnbeard]

In every situation I have played in the last several years FOH has controlled the bass, volume and tone. My stage amp, when I have occasion to use one, serves as my personal monitor. This is not only on big stages but also in small clubs when band leader provides sound and mix. FOH always wants the stage volume down so they can control the mix. And yet, it seems almost every day, a new bass amp is out.
Thoughts?

In every situation I have played in the last several years FOH has controlled the bass, volume and tone. My stage amp, when I have occasion to use one, serves as my personal monitor. This is not only on big stages but also in small clubs when band leader provides sound and mix. FOH always wants the stage volume down so they can control the mix. And yet, it seems almost every day, a new bass amp is out.
Thoughts?

I really like going through FOH, when you have a good sound guy. Then using earbuds for my personal mix, and a small setup behind me for all the reasons everyone has already stated. Best of both worlds imho. My Hartke HD500 works perfectly for this. The direct out works wonderfully. I’m hoping the bare stage thing is just another flavor of the month that folks tire of quickly. Lol

 

[800RB from Aus]

In every situation I have played in the last several years FOH has controlled the bass, volume and tone. My stage amp, when I have occasion to use one, serves as my personal monitor. This is not only on big stages but also in small clubs when band leader provides sound and mix. FOH always wants the stage volume down so they can control the mix. And yet, it seems almost every day, a new bass amp is out.
Thoughts?

I can understand exactly why the audio engineer wants the stage volume down, this is so he can have everyone in the mix. As a bass player and an engineer I can recall countless times being booked by a band to do a PA gig only to find the only thing going through the PA is the vocals which, are "tipped on their ear" competing with the stage volume. They could have saved some money and just hired a vocal PA without having to mike up all the instruments.
This said, bass frequencies are generally not an issue however guitar in the mid - high frequency range are a constant battle as everyone will try to match his volume.
Btw, next time your guitarist is too loud, give him a chart to read, that generally calms them down, Lol!!!!

 

[Rocky55]

Shame you don’t know how to eq a single channel... many amps have a clean and dirty channel - you either have to take it post or mic. If you mic and the cab is using a horn or tweeters for the highs it gets more complicated- see where I’m going. Maybe throw a channel eq on the bass channel to get it sounding right through your system instead of relying on global eq?

Good point. I guess I should learn how to use a channel EQ.

 

[FSGrind]

Bass amps are obsolete in wimpy music!!! Cover bands, blues lawyers & worship musicians use FOH. Rockers bring amps and blow up the building.

 

[R Baer]

In every situation I have played in the last several years FOH has controlled the bass, volume and tone. My stage amp, when I have occasion to use one, serves as my personal monitor. This is not only on big stages but also in small clubs when band leader provides sound and mix. FOH always wants the stage volume down so they can control the mix. And yet, it seems almost every day, a new bass amp is out.
Thoughts?

I think it's always been this way. If you want to give your audience the best possible experience, it's always best to keep the stage volumes as low as possible and let FOH control what the audience hears. The FOH is typical in a much better listening position than anyone on stage to determine what the crowd is hearing. That leaves your amp for personal monitoring, as it's always been.

The only thing that will eat into the amp sales is the continued expansion of the in ear monitoring technology. For a lot of situations, IEM certainly makes sense, but I also feel the experience is different. For me personally, I like having an amp on stage. I'm a gear nut and I find that getting my rig out of the house and having it onstage is actually fun for me. I like moving some air and I typically find the bandmates appreciate feeling some booty behind the music as well. And most players that I know who do use IEM still have rigs for those occasions when it's called for.

 

[Loring]

Good point. I guess I should learn how to use a channel EQ.

It does make the rest of your argument a bit of a straw dog...

I have no doubt you are well versed in channel eq. But you presented the argument to those here that may be unaware that there weren’t other options. Mic ing can be a solution as you mentioned but can also cause additional problems depending on the rig. You also mentioned you don’t know why a bassist would send post so I offered up a very real world example.

Point is - every situation is different and there are no definitive solutions that work for everyone.

 

[Paragon3]

It does make the rest of your argument a bit of a straw dog...

I have no doubt you are well versed in channel eq. But you presented the argument to those here that may be unaware that there weren’t other options. Mic ing can be a solution as you mentioned but can also cause additional problems depending on the rig. You also mentioned you don’t know why a bassist would send post so I offered up a very real world example.

Point is - every situation is different and there are no definitive solutions that work for everyone.

What sucks is when the sound guy is using global EQ to cut the bottom frequencies out to keep the neighbours from complaining and everything sounds like ass... That's when your rig needs to get cranked and the sound guy can try solve problems

 

[BtaylorTheRogue]

Every audience member will be wearing headphones (tiny earbuds) that allow them to control the volume of their live band.

Assuming soundmen aren’t gonna learn to cut the volume by 10%, I can’t wait. I’m tired of needing ear plugs when I’m not even on stage.

 

[JimmyM]

HELL YEAH!!! I'd be very interested to have somebody like you fiddle with my junk.. Lol. Bass rig. I know for a fact you'd tell me to buy something else afterwards when in reality I need to catch up still with my gear.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

that Washburn has the low and loud compression thing but it's crap.. Under $200 for everything I use for this..

If it works for you, I am 100% behind it.

 

[JimmyM]

I think it's always been this way. If you want to give your audience the best possible experience, it's always best to keep the stage volumes as low as possible and let FOH control what the audience hears. The FOH is typical in a much better listening position than anyone on stage to determine what the crowd is hearing. That leaves your amp for personal monitoring, as it's always been.

The only thing that will eat into the amp sales is the continued expansion of the in ear monitoring technology. For a lot of situations, IEM certainly makes sense, but I also feel the experience is different. For me personally, I like having an amp on stage. I'm a gear nut and I find that getting my rig out of the house and having it onstage is actually fun for me. I like moving some air and I typically find the bandmates appreciate feeling some booty behind the music as well. And most players that I know who do use IEM still have rigs for those occasions when it's called for.

I was at a roundtable discussion with Harmoni Kelley, Eva Gardner, Darryl Jones and Jeff Pilson, and all of them use IEMs, yet they all wanted their onstage volume to be very loud because it makes them play in a different way and they want to feel the bass. Easier to do in stadiums and arenas, but even though I probably have generally lower stage volume than 99% of those on here, I think the comfort level of the musicians, not the sound tech, is the most important thing . I've been to plenty of shows where the musicians blasted and the sound was still great.

 

[DennisM]

They don't have monitor mixer on side of stage? Well, they should at least control volume for monitors to your satisfaction. Or else what good are they.

 

[bassclef112]

Looks like I'm on the outside looking in here and in the minority, but the immediate venues we play do not provide any FOH gear/soundman. We deal with stage sound only, 95% of the time, including bringing our own PA limited to the vocals. We are a weekend warrior cover band with a long history and a solid rep for performance.

Occasionally there will be PA/soundman provided at a very few outdoor gigs, but that's it.

We've gotten pretty good at determining a balanced sound, keeping the vocals out front (we have 4 singers).

My amp/speaker setup lets me put out the tones I want without being at the mercy of a soundman who doesn't know me or us.

For the record my main rig outdoors is a Thunderfunk 550B on an Aguilar GS212 cabinet, indoors same head on a Baer ML-112.
Occasionally I'll switch out the amp to a GK800RB or Mesa M-Pulse 600 depending on the bass I want to use and my mood.

So for me, my backline is crucial to present my sound the way I want, and it grounds the rest of the band. Otherwise I have no way of knowing what is actually going on. We are a long way from IEM, so my bass amp is also a long way from obsolete.

P.S. We constantly have one or two of our guys go put into the audience to help balance the mix. We (the musicians) always respond to the comments coming back.

 

[Geezer1950]

These days I play thru the Line out of my GK700RB--into the board---or more accurately the Focusrite interface---in the old days I had 4) 15" 1) 18" and 2) 6x8" horns attached to it-- I still have the cabs and use them only when I feel like it's too quiet around here--which it is a lot being in the stix....but I don't feel much like going all over the place taking the pictures off the walls and then putting them back up when I'm done mic-ing the bass track

 

[sanwin17]

I was at a roundtable discussion with Harmoni Kelley, Eva Gardner, Darryl Jones and Jeff Pilson, and all of them use IEMs, yet they all wanted their onstage volume to be very loud because it makes them play in a different way and they want to feel the bass. Easier to do in stadiums and arenas, but even though I probably have generally lower stage volume than 99% of those on here, I think the comfort level of the musicians, not the sound tech, is the most important thing . I've been to plenty of shows where the musicians blasted and the sound was still great.

They also get endorsement money to have their "brand name" amps on stage with them. Not saying they don't like the volume but would probably have dummy amps on stage even if they were using IEM's only.

 

[BobBassist]

Our band uses IEM's also. My biggest beef is that what i hear is not what the audience hears. I'm always told by the sound people that the band sounds great.That is not what my ears are hearing. Can't do anything about it.

 

[scottsigler]

You guys must be playing bigger places than I — about 50% of my gigs don't have a reliable sound system or a sound person. If it weren't for our amps, we couldn't hear ourselves at all. And some of the gigs don't have a sound system at all. I'm quite fond of my Orange BT500c to handle anything up to rooms that are large enough to require adequate PA gear.

 

[Garry Raines]

I played an outdoor show last summer with a hired sound man. I was using my Carvin BX1500 and a 210 cab and was told during sound check that I was too loud. Volume was on 2 and guitar volume half way. I prefer playing small gigs where I provide all the bass through my amp. Some "pro" sound people want a live band to sound like a car radio with the volume low.

 

[Geoff Wood]

In large gigs with 'significant' FOH the player bass rig is certainly more of a personal monitor amp, but in smaller gigs with smaller PA it will contribute more to the audience, and a Line Out will have the bassist's settings if 'post' - that hopefully the mixing 'engineer' won't significantly dick with. Amp still needed in the larger gig situation because it would priobably blow the average stage monitor with the volume and frequencies the bassist wants to hear (and feel) !

 

[Thomas Devenney]

In every situation I have played in the last several years FOH has controlled the bass, volume and tone. My stage amp, when I have occasion to use one, serves as my personal monitor. This is not only on big stages but also in small clubs when band leader provides sound and mix. FOH always wants the stage volume down so they can control the mix. And yet, it seems almost every day, a new bass amp is out.
Thoughts?

Yes. All you need is a modelling amp; Fender make the best- Rumble 800 stage, should do the job for a few years!
Gone, gone, gone is the old myth that a vintage or valve amp, that weighs a ton is the epitome of sound production. Thank xxxx!

 

[Loring]

Yes. All you need is a modelling amp; Fender make the best- Rumble 800 stage, should do the job for a few years!
Gone, gone, gone is the old myth that a vintage or valve amp, that weighs a ton is the epitome of sound production. Thank xxxx!

I think it's a bit of a stretch to say a fender rumble is the best...