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Disappointed with rig. Should I go Ampless?

#21
For home playing I'm a big fan of DI with studio mons (Yamaha HS8). I've also got a pair of powered pa cabs for rehearsal mons that add more than enough headroom when I'm playing with others. (When I've tried using an amp instead, my pianist couldn't hear the bass.)
 
#25
Artorias said:
With flats too!!!

Jokes aside, it really is an out of control boominess, not just a lot of low mids. I get that a p bass is gonna have that tone, but I feel like the amps are just excessively boomy if that makes any sense. Was the same with my Ibanez EHB with Aguilar DCB pickups. A bit more controllable, but still boomy in a non-satisfying way.
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Yeah the flats probably aren’t helping much. I’m definitely a round wound guy and I think for a small room session with your daughter that rounds would be the better option. The natural high end and zinginess of rounds goes away after some time (some quicker than others depending on brand) but you still get a lot of highs and mid clarification that can allow you to really articulate the notes your playing. With the flats a lot of that top end articulation is lost leaving mostly the boomy low end of the P bass as your main tone. I’ve had plenty of impromptu jam sessions with friends where all I had was a rumble 15 and a fender jazz bass and it did the trick most of the time with all the EQ settings flat and the bass’ tone knob wide open.
 
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#26
I find studio monitors and a small subwoofer easier to dial in at bedroom volumes than even my 1x12 cabinet.

Get a good preamp or the stomp and don’t look back. If you start playing out again, you plug into the effects return of the amp and disable cabinet simulation or go DI. Maybe even pick up a 12” PA speaker to jam with drummers or use as a personal monitor for gigs if budget permits
 
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#27
Playing in a square-ish boxy room just exacerbates the problem. I realize you can’t change that, just saying that it’s not helping the situation. Play around with the placement of the amp, if you can. Tilt it, turn it toward the wall, put the cab on its side, or any combination. See if anything makes it less boomy. Got any friends who have something besides a P bass you can borrow and see what it sounds like?
 
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#30
for me, i really think the sound of the speaker vibrating is the "actual" sound you are making. bass, pedals, amp, cabinet, all coming to that point.

simulators and no-amp solutions are very, very good now and can work for many of us.

if boominess is the problem, an amp with a built in HPF like a mesa subway or something will likely fix your problem? or, just adding a HPF pedal if course.
 
#31
Artorias said:
Hi all.

I’m currently running a Fender P bass into a pedalboard (tuner, comp, octave, env filter, chorus, delay) then into an Ampeg RB-112 combo. This is after having a couple different Fender Rumble combos, a Darkglass Alpha-Omega 500 into a 2x10, a Quilter Bass Block 800 into a 2x10, etc.

I play at home exclusively now. 75% of the time, I’m playing at fairly low volume in my bedroom (only place I can put my rig is in a corner, but the amp is up off the floor at ear level), the other 25% I’m playing in my daughter’s bedroom while she plays drums (she’s in high school jazz band).

With the exception of the Darkglass rig, my setup is always way too boomy and I’m just disappointed with the tone and how everything interacts. I know the amp being in a corner exacerbates this problem, but it still persists when the amp is on the floor near the middle of a room. I find myself running my bass knob cut down to around 25%. I get the whole adjust with your ears, not your eyes thing.

Am I just over-amped for my situation? Is a better solution to go Ampless (DI/preamp)? If so, how do I monitor what I’m playing (I don’t want to be using headphones 75% of the time and running into a boomy FX return on my combo to play with my daughter on drums)? Is a FRFR/PA a good all-around solution for monitoring and being able to play with a jazz drummer? Studio monitors?

I’m looking at a Darkglass preamp (ADAM or AO Photon) keeping my tuner and delay, or a Line 6 HX Stomp replacing my entire rig.

Any suggestions, insights, experience would be greatly appreciated.
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I have a family room in our basement and using a rig there is no problem. That said, I have a wireless set up as well and I prefer it for home practice.

It’s not state of the art by any means but totally functional. it’s a discontinued Digitech BR3500 effects pedal that is about the size of two shoes side by side. The models effects are good enough, allows for media inputs with the ability to boost or trim, and is DAW capable. I have a cheap wireless instrument patch for connecting. For my needs it worked great.
 
#37
My two cent would be get a small combo, like a Hartke HD50 (cheap and powerfull, I rehersed in a 2 guitar + drum band with the 75 at half the power) up to a Boss Katana Bass 110 (if you want some onboard effect and a bit more power). This way you only have one box to carry.
 
#40
Lots of advice here, some of it helpful and some not so much (imo). First off, nothing wrong with a P bass with flats, I use one all the time for all types of music and no boominess or muddy sound. Secondly, Ampegs by nature have a baked-in sound, so you have to consider that you are starting with an amp that has some baked - in wooliness. Third, amp location matters alot - try moving it out of the corner, and raise it up off the floor a foot or so. I use a small folding stool, a milkcrate or anything like that will do. Finally, as others have noted, start without all of those pedals, work with just the amp eq and P bass tone control and see if you can get a sound that you are happy with. You have so many layers of tone impacting your sound with all of those pedals that its got to be hard to know what is causing the problem.

(edit - saw that you already have the amp elevated, but try moving it away from the corner and see if that helps).
 
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