I run my bass straight to the mixer, no amp, no effects. I simply use the channel EQ on mixer.
Anyone else do the same?
Anyone else do the same?
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Bass clean to mixer, no effects
- Thread starter Medford Bassman
- Start date
s0c9
Supporting Member
Nope.. have always had a floor DI or amp DI - unless those don;t count?
Only effects I use on either are a compressor..
Only effects I use on either are a compressor..
No, never except at home. I need my amp as a monitor at least and as the main source of sound most of the time.
No not directly in the board. For rehearsal i go without an amp and use a BDDI Sansamp. I tried plugging the bass direct into the board when i started going ampless. It was just too naked of a sound and i suspect you could cause a lot of clipping this way with the variance in your playing style. Sounds soooo much better with the sansamp, like fuller and smoother. Plus you can add a smidge of drive, blend the sound, etc. at the very least you should use a pasive DI box. I prefer the added features of my Tech21 sansamp over a plain injection.
You can totally go straight into the board. Most recordings are probably done that way (most of mine are). As long as you can hear yourself ok and it sounds good to you, there's no reason not to. I don't like the sound of raw bass through the pa myself, so I would use a preamp/DI/amp emulation contraption.
Live I use my SansAmp to go to the board. When we recorded our most recent album my upright was mic'd only and my EBG was going directly to the board like you are saying.
Passinwind
I know nothing.
- Dec 3, 2003
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- Designer/Toaster Tech @ Passinwind Electronics
Yep, I do that fairly often at open mikes and jams. Since all my basses are active and have good tone controls I often can get by without a DI or any channel EQ as well, as long as the PA is properly EQ'ed to begin with. But there are also many many playing situations where I wouldn't even think about it.
I always use my amp & cab. No effects, built in compressor RH450 and tube emulation as needed.
One room we work has a very loud PA system with
massive subs, I may go pedal DI on that one.
One room we work has a very loud PA system with
massive subs, I may go pedal DI on that one.
I do it all the time. I used to a have an external preamp between the bass and the mixer, but I ran into occasional clipping in my sound -- I think the pre and the mixer weren't playing nice together, required endless fiddling with the gains. I've also tried using a DI with a couple of different mixers that I have (small Alto, mid-sized Samson) but noticed no difference in the output. But I carry a DI to gigs if we're using the house PA, just in case.
It's not so much the level of the output it's the quality. You can run a balanced line without picking up interference and the low impedance helps to drive the mixer properly.
No DI is often fine. A good DI is always great.
No DI is often fine. A good DI is always great.
I go ampless almost every gig and have been doing so for about 4 years now as we are on IEMs. For the most part I've been using a Sadowsky DI. I am considering getting a simple DI, either a Radial or a BBS as I play mostly active basses and don't think I need an external pre-amp.
Often. When we run IEM and have a FOH engineer I trust (almost always), that's my preferred setup.
