Combo amp and PA Question

[H_Wordsmythe]

Hi everybody - new guy here. First of all, I apologize if this question has been asked (probably has). I did check the threads before posting, but I didn't find the answer I'm looking for...

I've just taken over bass duties for my band (I'm the lead vocalist and occasional keyboard player), because we finally kicked our longtime bassist and haven't been able to find anyone to replace him. We should have done it a long time ago because the poor guy just had no rhythm, but he's also a friend and that made things difficult. Anyway, on to my question - we have a pretty decent PA with powered speakers (two 15 inch mains and two 12 inch monitors, all at 400 watts each), and I just picked up a new combo (200 watt GK MB115). I'm fairly certain running the amp standalone should be fine for the smaller gigs we play, but we also play some gymnasium-size venues and I'm wondering about running a direct line-out from the amp to the PA to supplement the volume of the amp. But we don't have a sub in our PA. We never tried this when our old bassist was in the band because we didn't want him to be very loud in the first place since he couldn't play! But now I want to be sure I'm heard clearly. I'm a little concerned about overloading the PA speakers though. Before I got my amp, I just ran the bass through a preamp and then to the mixer, but this resulted in some distortion and buzzing if I turned it up loud enough to actually hear myself. I'm thinking that I could just crank it enough to give a little boost to my overall volume, but I don't want to do it if it's going to damage our speakers. But as long as I'm not pushing them to the point of distortion it should be fine, right? Thoughts?

 

[JimmyM]

it should work, but pa tops usually don't have a lot of low end, so picking up a sub somewhere along the line would be a good idea.

 

[jaywa]

I have always been a fan of running bass through the mains even in small venues. Same deal with kick drum even if the rest of the kit goes unmic'd. It tends to integrate the sound and present the kick drum and bass as more of a unified presence. It has always sounded more "professional" to my ears that way. Also, if your amp is not carrying the whole house you don't have to turn it up as loud so you avoid the situation of people close to the stage (and yourself) hearing too much bass and people farther back not hearing enough.

Agree with Jimmy that a sub would be a good next investment.

BTW the MB115 is a nice little combo... you should be real happy with the sound you get out of that and it's got enough juice to carry a good variety of venues.

 

[modulusman]

What kind of PA speakers are you using?

 

[H_Wordsmythe]

I have always been a fan of running bass through the mains even in small venues. Same deal with kick drum even if the rest of the kit goes unmic'd. It tends to integrate the sound and present the kick drum and bass as more of a unified presence. It has always sounded more "professional" to my ears that way. Also, if your amp is not carrying the whole house you don't have to turn it up as loud so you avoid the situation of people close to the stage (and yourself) hearing too much bass and people farther back not hearing enough.

Agree with Jimmy that a sub would be a good next investment.

BTW the MB115 is a nice little combo... you should be real happy with the sound you get out of that and it's got enough juice to carry a good variety of venues.

First of all, thanks for the responses, guys! You've made me feel better about running my amp through the PA as is for the time being, at least until we can afford a sub (we're still paying off the PA). It's on the list, along with upgrading our recording gear to 24 bit (16 bit SUCKS for bass!!!).

Yeah, I'm really digging this amp. I'm not a hefty guy and the weight is a HUGE plus. But of course, the sound is the main thing! I'm still dialing it in, but I'm loving what I'm getting out of it. Great, great, great tone. Really makes the TV Jones pickup on my Gretsch sing!

 

[H_Wordsmythe]

What kind of PA speakers are you using?

As in what brand? Behringer Eurolive series. Yeah, I know... Not the best rep for reliability. But we've had it for over a year now (and blast it pretty much every weekend) and it's still holding up, except for the XLR input on one of the monitors. But since we have the option of running either XLR or 1/4 inch speaker line that hasn't posed too much of a problem.