Bass through PA, small gig

[Chiefen]

I'm doing a small not very loud gig at a pub with acoustic guitar and electric bass only. Vocals too, of course.
I have no bass amp available at the moment. Will a 600W powered mixer and two 12" PA speakers be able to handle the bass (together with the guitar and vocals of course)?
I don't think the volume will be a problem, but will the lower notes stand out enough, or possibly clip and damage the speakers? Would 15" speakers be better?

Thanks!

 

[MNAirHead]

As a rule... you'll be fine.. you'll have to match to what they... you don't need a DI box if you're closer than 20 feet.

Tim

 

[walterw]

sure, especially since with just an acoustic guitar, a little bass guitar goes a looong way.

think subtle, dark and smooth, not bright and percussive.

 

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Can be done and I have done it many times.

If the powered mixer doesn't have instrument level inputs (many have), a DI is IME the easiest and most foolproof way to connect to the board, no matter what the distance. Otherwise an unbalanced 1/4 to XLR adapter has to be used.

12"s will be able to handle it, but 15"s would be better. With either, use Your ears though, especially ported cabs run out of excursion fast below the tuning frequency.

Regards
Sam

 

[SteveC]

Should be no problem.

 

[rpsands]

Done this a ton of times with just acoustic guitar and vocals in the PA, and the 12s should be fine.

It won't sound great or probably even good with no subs, so it might be in your interests to invest in higher quality 3-way cabinets (e.g. Carvin's LSX1503s) - which are still quite cheap.

 

[Herbie 80's]

It'll be fine. Personally, I like my bass coming out of 12"s more than 15"s. Personal preference.

 

[kraigo]

I've done it with my little Yamaha system (similar to what you've described) and it's been fine. It depends on the speakers and you need to be aware of where you sit in the mix, not for fear for the PA, but because you will be easily able to overpower the guitar and possibly vocals.

Good luck.

KO

P.S. Fretless is ideal in these situations, BTW.

 

[TimmyP]

As a rule... you'll be fine.. you'll have to match to what they... you don't need a DI box if you're closer than 20 feet.

Tim

Depends. If the bass is passive, you'll likely find that the comparatively (very) low input impedance of the mixer's line input will load the pickups, which might sound pretty "mushy".

 

[bassdaddyfive]

I have done it many, many, times. With good speakers and a powered mixer with good bandwith. I used a Yamaha mixer 500w/500w with 2 Carvin 12" two way speakers. Bass, keys, vocals, and guitar. Not to loud, coffee shop, martini bar levels.

 

[ihateusernames]

i do this regularly through a zoom b2.1u for open mic acoustic night. never anything to think twice about. we typically roll of the low end on the channel a bit. i don't suggest popping or slapping but light playing with an acoustic guitar and vocals, in most cases, should be just fine.