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Going ampless but too sterile

G

gregoire1

Oct 19, 2008
743
84
Nashville
#1
Weve just gone to iems and I've had my first practice without my GK 400rb. My tone was, well, exactly what I should expect, blah and, well..without character.
I'm thinking about using my head (no cab), at least I'll be able to have the drive characteristics (boost) of my amp.
Does anyone else do this? It'll be like lugging a 30 pound di around.
 
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#3
I've gone IEM and I'm using the SansAmp RBI. Works great for what we do. I would not be satisfied going straight into the board.

I just switched Westone AM Pro 10 ears - the passive ambient factor overcomes some of the "sterileness" I found with a set of well-fitting SE215s.
 
#5
It seems two of the things causing this are your bass signal in your IEMs or IEM feed.

For your bass tone. A lot of people are used to your amp and speaker giving you part of your tone. You need to move that up the chain to your amp with DI or a preamp pedal that gets you the sound you want. Some pedals also have speaker/cab emulators. I started by bringing my bass head and using the DI out because I liked the tone. I've since moved to a MXR preamp and I'm seriously eyeing the GK Plex. It looks great!!! The Trace Elliot also looks good.

I'd say to try out what you can with the same IEMs you will be playing with. Once you get a sound that's great in your ears your more likely to sound that way out front.

The feeling isolated seems like a harder thing to overcome to me. Using IEMs that allow external sound may be great. I've seen Westone models mentioned that offer that. An option that may work is an omnidirectional microphone onstage and mixed into your in ears to hear more of what you'd normally hear. Just don't put that in the FOH.

Another option is just training yourself to prefer the quieter instrument only isolation and treat it as a benefit rather than a negative.

I actually like it more isolated. I can hear everything cleanly and quietly. It's my work environment. I don't add reverb to my IEMs. Others in my band like reverb and to have it sound more live.

Im sure there are other options. I hope people post them.
(Edits for spelling errors )
 
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#6
Does it takes some getting used to? Yes. Does the ability to keep volume under control (save your ears) and balanced better on stage, not to mention the audience in smaller venues, far outweigh this? Yes.

What percentage of pros are still using wedges? What percentage of pros are totally ampless on stage?
 
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#9
gregoire1 said:
Weve just gone to iems and I've had my first practice without my GK 400rb. My tone was, well, exactly what I should expect, blah and, well..without character.
I'm thinking about using my head (no cab), at least I'll be able to have the drive characteristics (boost) of my amp.
Does anyone else do this? It'll be like lugging a 30 pound di around.
Click to expand...
I use an Avalon u5 and get all my grit from Darkglass pedals. Works great either way. I run it with headphones at home, for gigs I have the line level out of the Avalon feeding a crown xls1500 and a couple cabs. If you like you're GK head you certaintly can run it like that, and if you get tired of carrying it I'm pretty sure GK makes a preamp pedal that would be much easier to carry.
 
#10
Get yourself a Darkglass Vintage Ultra. You’ll get a killer tone for your IEM. For bass you should have at least a 4 driver IEM as well.
 
#11
I like the amp and speaker sim on my Tech 21 Sansamp VTDI as it gives a more live feel to the FOH sound... I set it to more or less simulate an Ampeg B-15 sound. No idea how close it is but I do know that I like the sound.
IMG_2863.JPG
 
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#14
It's already been suggested but a good Preamp/DI pedal will make a world of difference.

I use IEM's in one of my bands and I've always been happy using a Sansamp BDDI. I've recently grabbed a VT bass to replace my original BDDI, i'm yet to try it.

I've also used my Avalon U5 and Aggie TH500 and both have been great, but a Pedal is so much more convenient.

PS, Stereo IEM sends are also the way to go.
 
#18
Thanks for all the suggestions, the trouble isn't my sound thru the IEMs, but the FOH sound. It sounds like a bass plugged directly into the board. I spent years developing a great tone through my rig, now it's back to the beginning. I tried a Hartke Bass Attack (1), and the "shape" feature helps, but, I really, really miss the characters of a cranked GK:(
 
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#19
gregoire1 said:
Thanks for all the suggestions, the trouble isn't my sound thru the IEMs, but the FOH sound. It sounds like a bass plugged directly into the board. I spent years developing a great tone through my rig, now it's back to the beginning. I tried a Hartke Bass Attack (1), and the "shape" feature helps, but, I really, really miss the characters of a cranked GK:(
Click to expand...
Sounds like you need the Plex, then. It's a great device and even if you don't like it (I can't see why you wouldn't) it'll be easy to flip... They never stay long on the classifieds here.

*Edited to add that if I understand correctly, the 400RB is a solid-state amp and it might not need to see a load. If this is true - and you don't want to buy a new preamp - you could split your signal (which is why I asked) and either A) Split it before the amp and send one line to your IEMs and the other to FOH or B) reverse it and split the signal after the amp and have the GK tone in both your ears and the FOH using a line out and the DI.
 
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