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Improve bass or improve amp?
- Thread starter fourstringbliss
- Start date
I actually think I might be able to swing the Carvin BR610. 400w through two long-throw 10's which can apparently tackle the low B with ease.
If the amp is only used on stage as a monitor, tone means very little to anyone but you. The tone of the bass itself is what you want to translate through the house mains. If you can't hear yourself on stage, tweek the mids on the amp (instead of reaching for the volume knob). If you are using the amp as the main output to the house, then replacing it for tone reasons is totally a subjective call.
For me, I like a certain tone when I practice (alone), but in a band situation I find that tone takes a back seat to simply being able to hear myself.
KT
For me, I like a certain tone when I practice (alone), but in a band situation I find that tone takes a back seat to simply being able to hear myself.
KT
DEAR GOD CHANGE THE AMP!!!!!!
Sorry I didn't mean to yell. Those Laklands sound great so I would look at a new amp.
Sorry I didn't mean to yell. Those Laklands sound great so I would look at a new amp.
Remember that one of the values of having an amp and cab with a higher wattage capacity is not outright volume, it's headroom, and not having to turn the thing up to 11 to get appropriate volume levels from the equipment.
I never advocate being too loud (in fact I almost always feel you really don't "need" an SVT 8*10), but I also would never advocate having an amp that you have to max out to be able to hear yourself on the gig. There is a balance. Use the volume knob prudently.
I tend to think that an amp that you can run comfortably at "5" is going to last a lot longer than an amp run at "9" or "10". Your results may vary, but it seems like common sense to me.
Good luck with it.
WOW, Still at this huh?
Again, Upgrade the amp.
What happend to the nice Peavey Millenium you had? I thought you were going to get a Carvin Combo amp?
Sounds to me from all your previous threads that you still running a Corvette on 4 Space Saver Spares, and wondering why it won't handle well, while continuously upgrading the engine in search of answers.
The amp is where the rubber meets the road. Do yourself a favor, and upgrade from the Behringer.
Very much agreeing. The Millennium should have sounded good and the Lakland should sound good.
The Millennium did sound good and was a very nice bass - I just couldn't get into the sound of the MM pup. I definitely like the B on the Lakland better as well.
most of the times your bass's sound is translated to the FOH through a DI.
i would defenitive change the PU's and the Pre-amp. your band is going to sound a lot better. if you buy a better amp you are going to notice more and more the limitations of your bass.
better change the bass to it's best and when you have money to buy a very decent amp you can test the amp's sound with a very good bass.
this is merely an advice from a sound engineer's point of view.
change the pre and PU's!
good luck.
i would defenitive change the PU's and the Pre-amp. your band is going to sound a lot better. if you buy a better amp you are going to notice more and more the limitations of your bass.
better change the bass to it's best and when you have money to buy a very decent amp you can test the amp's sound with a very good bass.
this is merely an advice from a sound engineer's point of view.
change the pre and PU's!
good luck.
Depending on how the amp is being used, it is a minor link in the chain.
How do you envision the amp to be used in a typical performance situation?
How do you envision the amp to be used in a typical performance situation?
Major or minor link......depending on preferances, but still an important link, just like everything else. As the 'old saying goes, "you're only as strong as the weakest link".
If an amp is used simply as a personal monitor then the tone is unimportant. I don't think the "weak link" quote fits here. I mean, reliability aside, how much does tone lack when playing through a $3.99cable (weak link)? In reality... not much in the big picture.
I didn't place any bearing on price. Dead strings, weak amp, goobered electronics, bad setup, poor technique, poor construction on the bass, etc. These can all impact the big picture. I can tell ya for a fact that a bad cable can really ruin stuff even if you have the best gear.
I didn't think we were talking about dead strings, weak amp, goobered electronics, bad setup, poor technique, poor construction on the bass, etc. right. I just want to understand where the boundries are for conversation purposes.
Limiting the scope to the quality of equipment, depending on where it is used in the chain, this can have very little impact on what is heard in the house. My only point is, if an adequate Behringer amp is used as a personal on stage monitor, a guy can better target his tone shaping money elsewere for now.
Limiting the scope to the quality of equipment, depending on where it is used in the chain, this can have very little impact on what is heard in the house. My only point is, if an adequate Behringer amp is used as a personal on stage monitor, a guy can better target his tone shaping money elsewere for now.
The more I think about it the more I realize that I should improve the bass for now. The preamp on the Behringer amp is crap but I bypass it by plugging my Zoom B2 and Hartke Bass Attack pedal into the FX return. The signal is bass -> Bass Attack -> Zoom B2 -> FX return. I get a pretty good clean sound - it's just hissy, which will be lost in the mix.
My only gig venue right now is playing for the Junior High youth group every other Sunday night and that's in a gym with painted cinderblock walls - not the best acoustics. I'm not sure a better amp is going to sound better in there.
What this bass needs more than anything is a different preamp. The pickups are good, but I definitely want to replace them with something great. The preamp is only adequate and is very touchy. A little goes a long way. The jack needs to be rewired as well since I think there's a loose wire.
I might go for that Carvin amp, though. I could leave the bass' EQ flat and EQ it on the amp. Here's a shot of the BR610 control panel:
You can see that I could tweak my sound just about any way I need to with the three rotary parametric mid range controls and the 9-band shelving EQ. I guess the only things I'd be missing from the Audere preamp I was going to install on the bass are the Z-mode switch and active blending. I'm sure it would still sound very good, though.
I think I'm going to hit up GC this Friday and try this bass through some good amps. Last time I was there I played it through a Mark Bass 210 combo and it sounded good. I then tried a Geddy Lee jazz for reference and was able to cop a very similar tone by backing off on the 55-01's bass control a bit.
My only gig venue right now is playing for the Junior High youth group every other Sunday night and that's in a gym with painted cinderblock walls - not the best acoustics. I'm not sure a better amp is going to sound better in there.
What this bass needs more than anything is a different preamp. The pickups are good, but I definitely want to replace them with something great. The preamp is only adequate and is very touchy. A little goes a long way. The jack needs to be rewired as well since I think there's a loose wire.
I might go for that Carvin amp, though. I could leave the bass' EQ flat and EQ it on the amp. Here's a shot of the BR610 control panel:
You can see that I could tweak my sound just about any way I need to with the three rotary parametric mid range controls and the 9-band shelving EQ. I guess the only things I'd be missing from the Audere preamp I was going to install on the bass are the Z-mode switch and active blending. I'm sure it would still sound very good, though.
I think I'm going to hit up GC this Friday and try this bass through some good amps. Last time I was there I played it through a Mark Bass 210 combo and it sounded good. I then tried a Geddy Lee jazz for reference and was able to cop a very similar tone by backing off on the 55-01's bass control a bit.
+1 for the amp. Why spend more money on another bass when your amp won't let it live up to its full potential? Besides, after hearing your current bass through a good amp you might decide you don't need a new one after all. I love things like that that save me money.
I'm definitely not replacing this bass - it's great as is, I just want to make it better.
the general consensus seems to be "change your amp" lol
With a Lakland, you might wanna get something that isn't too colorful. I'd suggest a nice GK head and cab, the heads are lightweight and they just rock out loud =)
With a Lakland, you might wanna get something that isn't too colorful. I'd suggest a nice GK head and cab, the heads are lightweight and they just rock out loud =)
That does seem to be the consensus, huh?
I'm eventually going to make all of these changes, I'm just trying to decide which one to do first.
One question for you folks: Does a 400w amp always use 400w of power? It makes sense to me that if I was pushing the amp at max it would be using 400w of power from the outlet it's plugged into. The BR610 also has a headphone jack. If I was practicing using this amp and listening through my headphones would it still be using 400w of power? I don't want my power bill to go up just because I'm playing through my headphones!
