Been thinking about going ampless on stage. I play keys and bass and the sound system (monitor and main) are more than enough for the bass sound I need. Figured with already doing double duty on the instruments it might save me some headaches to go ampless.
However I do like my tone. My workhorse amp rig is a gk-700rbII paired with one or 2 warwick 2x10s vertically stacked. I like this setup as it has proven very reliable for regular gigging and is an excellent balance of tone, weight, and volume. I do like the GK tone, just that touch of mid bite in the sound.
Anyway I am trying to get an idea of what DI's to check out that will come close to that setup tonally. I understand it may be impossible to ever really match the amp tone itself and I can live with that. I just want to see how close I can get. I hear a lot of people recommend Sansamp and intend to check out their line but was curious about what else. I use several MXR pedals in my effects chain on a side note (their tube screamer clone and the bass envelope filter). I also have a custom built bass volume boost/cut pedal which I typically use to compensate volume on bass switches or single coil tap volume on my 5 string.
Another option I have considered. When rehearsing at home through headphones I use guitarix as a virtual amp under linux. I have been very pleased with the overall sound and tone of this setup. I do run synths via computer on stage but I am debating if I would want to do that via computer. If so I would just need an audio interface that can feed XLR out to the mixer. Since bass is the primary instrument though I am hesitant of doing this just to avoid having to deal with a computer for the bass. Any thoughts on this as an alternate plan to the pedal DI route for an ampless setup.
Ken
However I do like my tone. My workhorse amp rig is a gk-700rbII paired with one or 2 warwick 2x10s vertically stacked. I like this setup as it has proven very reliable for regular gigging and is an excellent balance of tone, weight, and volume. I do like the GK tone, just that touch of mid bite in the sound.
Anyway I am trying to get an idea of what DI's to check out that will come close to that setup tonally. I understand it may be impossible to ever really match the amp tone itself and I can live with that. I just want to see how close I can get. I hear a lot of people recommend Sansamp and intend to check out their line but was curious about what else. I use several MXR pedals in my effects chain on a side note (their tube screamer clone and the bass envelope filter). I also have a custom built bass volume boost/cut pedal which I typically use to compensate volume on bass switches or single coil tap volume on my 5 string.
Another option I have considered. When rehearsing at home through headphones I use guitarix as a virtual amp under linux. I have been very pleased with the overall sound and tone of this setup. I do run synths via computer on stage but I am debating if I would want to do that via computer. If so I would just need an audio interface that can feed XLR out to the mixer. Since bass is the primary instrument though I am hesitant of doing this just to avoid having to deal with a computer for the bass. Any thoughts on this as an alternate plan to the pedal DI route for an ampless setup.
Ken
The MXR's a good choice. Have fun!
