Just how important is my cab at this point?

[PortraitsOfMacy]

Gonna try and make this as concise as possible.
Started playing at a professional level (1,000-10,000 cap rooms, major festivals etc.) in 2022.
I have a headline tour coming up in about 3 weeks ( these rooms will range from (1k-3,000 cap)so I got an Aguilar TH500 (Aguilar has been the brand that never lets me down when I've backlined rigs in the past) but I'm trying to figure out the cab situation as soon as possible.
I did a support tour with an Amp Rocket RB-210 and even played Radio City Music Hall with it but I just feel like I need to upgrade my personally owned rig at this point.

We will be on ears and our FOH engineer says the majority of my tone in the FOH mix comes from my DI signal. I have my pedal board dialed in at this point, it ends with an Origin Effects BassRig64 which acts as my DI.

Just how important is my cab at this point? Part of me thinks I should just spend the bread on the Aggy SL210 or bigger but the cost is a bit much right now.

Thanks in advance, glad to finally not just be a lurker anymore!

 

[Gearhead17]

IEM (In Ear Monitoring): I find the bass rig useful on stage if the IEM rig goes down for whatever reason. In reality though, you could avoid the bass rig on stage and simply play through your IEM components. Upgrading your cabinet would be a "you" thing, not a requirement.

For shows that you do not go IEM, having the rig is QUITE IMPORTANT. In your situation, I suggest you save your money.

 

[Wasnex]

The answer depends on your needs, other band members needs, and the situation.

Personally, I don't think it makes sense to continue using a cab or even an amp with IEMs., but not everyone agrees. If you dig in to TalkBass you will find comments where the bass player preferred having a cab to either fill out the sound or provide some tactile sensation. You will also find comments were the bassist was fine without a cab, but other band members wanted him/her to use a cab.

As an audio tech, I normally prefer the bass to be plugged into a flat response DI. This connection means the bass player is free to adjust his/her amp without impacting the DI signal. I.E. I get a more consistent signal at the mixing console, and I don't have to reverse engineer whatever mojo the player dials into his/her sound.

You may think this does not make sense, but IMHO each signal should be processed discretely for different purposes and listening locations. That means you need a certain type of processing to get the desired sound on stage, and the audio tech needs different processing to dial in the desired sound for the main mix.

My opinion is a bit different when the bass player is relying solely on IEMs. IMHO, it is beneficial to have tone controls at bassist's fingertips, so he/she can quickly dial in a sound for the IEM mix. So an amp or perhaps a preamp/DI could be useful.

With more advanced mixing setups, this need may be eliminated. For example if the IEM setup allows the musicians direct control over their tone in the mix. However, if the bassist prefers a certain baked-in tone, some sort of signal processing may still be relevant. For example the bassist may prefer a certain amp and/or cab SIM.

Ultimately this is something you should discuss with whoever will be running sound for the tour. Something to keep in mind, live audio is often more about finding the best compromise rather than achieving perfection. Also, this is not a discussion you should expect to have on gig day, or even the first rehearsal day. Call and make an appointment to work things out in advance.

No idea how close the tone of the TH Preamp DI is to the TH amps, but something to consider: Tone Hammer – Aguilar Amplification

 

[SJan3]

Gonna try and make this as concise as possible.
Started playing at a professional level (1,000-10,000 cap rooms, major festivals etc.) in 2022.
I have a headline tour coming up in about 3 weeks ( these rooms will range from (1k-3,000 cap)so I got an Aguilar TH500 (Aguilar has been the brand that never lets me down when I've backlined rigs in the past) but I'm trying to figure out the cab situation as soon as possible.
I did a support tour with an Amp Rocket RB-210 and even played Radio City Music Hall with it but I just feel like I need to upgrade my personally owned rig at this point.

We will be on ears and our FOH engineer says the majority of my tone in the FOH mix comes from my DI signal. I have my pedal board dialed in at this point, it ends with an Origin Effects BassRig64 which acts as my DI.

Just how important is my cab at this point? Part of me thinks I should just spend the bread on the Aggy SL210 or bigger but the cost is a bit much right now.

Thanks in advance, glad to finally not just be a lurker anymore!

My 1st question is, are you making any money at these "high profile" gigs? (... but the cost is a bit much right now.)
If so, look to a good 4x10" cab at minimum. That would be my choice and what I used in similar type gigs with national artists.

 

[PortraitsOfMacy]

My 1st question is, are you making any money at these "high profile" gigs? (... but the cost is a bit much right now.)
If so, look to a good 4x10" cab at minimum. That would be my choice and what I used in similar type gigs with national artists.

don’t know that i referred to my gigs as “high profile” at any point? yes I am making money playing for
this artist. however as you might have noted, there can be drastic differences in price points between various cabinet manufacturers.

 

[Grinderman]

I see a fairly nice range and variety of cabs listed by California TBers in the Classifieds.

 

[GhettoBrassGuy]

I still like to feel the bass even when on ears. Even if it’s offstage pointed at me and drums. There are lots of cabs that would sound great with your TH. But if you’re home in LA right now this GS410 looks to be in great shape and would be killer. Not exactly lightweight, but not horrible. I toured with one for years.
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

 

[pfschim]

I think @Wasnex asked the best question ... does the tour involve a dedicated sound tech and/or sound company for the band ? It might be a good idea to check with that person/organization about touring gear and personal monitoring.

Otherwise, its a pretty personal thing whether you are good with IEM sound or not. Some want a cab, some don't care as long as the monitor feed gives them what they want. I don't think you said anything about how comfortable you are either way.

good luck and enjoy! sounds like your doing well!

 

[SJan3]

don’t know that i referred to my gigs as “high profile” at any point? yes I am making money playing for
this artist. however as you might have noted, there can be drastic differences in price points between various cabinet manufacturers.

Very true on the cabs. My point was it pays to invest in a good cabinet if you're performing in 10,000 capacity rooms.
If money is tight take a look at MF for their Sales. MarkBass 4x10" cabs are an excellent value.

 

[pfschim]

Very true on the cabs. My point was it pays to invest in a good cabinet if you're performing in 10,000 capacity rooms.
If money is tight take a look at MF for their Sales. MarkBass 4x10" cabs are an excellent value.

but sound in 10,000 capacity venues has pretty much nothing to do with a bass cab

I would not argue that it would be a good idea to have a good cab in general, but for the OP it may not matter at all given the size of the venues he appears to be playing.

 

[SJan3]

but sound in 10,000 capacity venues has pretty much nothing to do with a bass cab

I would not argue that it would be a good idea to have a good cab in general, but for the OP it may not matter at all given the size of the venues he appears to be playing.

I agree to a point. He'll have FOH support but he has the Aguilar TH 500 head and speaking for myself I want to hear myself on stage. When I played larger venues I used an Eden 4x10" and GK 800RB for stage.

 

[Pocket Dave]

.
No idea how close the tone of the TH Preamp DI is to the TH amps, but something to consider: Tone Hammer – Aguilar Amplification

It's very close. The TH-500 came out within a year of and is based on the pedal.

No need for the OP to buy the pedal though; The 4.5 lb Tone Hammer 500 is designed to work safely as a preamp/DI without connecting to a speaker load.

 

[Bass Motifs]

Hard to imagine playing big gigs without a big rig! But you'd know being the one on stage. But as a concert goer, no backline seems like a Peter, Paul and Mary vibe. Nice on it's own merits, but not RnR. Something for visual effect would be nice. Can you get fake cabs?

 

[baxter_x]

I go IEM, but with a real rig behind me.
I can't stand IEM only. I use them mainly to hear everything else than the bass. There is a little bit of bass in it but most of it comes from behind me.
I tried IEM only once and it was the worst experience onstage IMO. Lifeless is the only word that comes to my mind.

 

[ga_edwards]

If your FOH sound is only coming from your DI, and you have the luxury of playing venues where your on-stage cab is not heard out front, nor is it used to fill the room, then it's only important to you.

I don't own a bass amp and cab anymore since switching to the Helix. And since embracing IEMs in the last year, I don't bring my frfr backline speaker to gigs anymore either. Other than drums, it's a silent stage. But what works for me, doesn't necessarily work for you.

If your "tone" is coming from your BassRig64 pedal, then maybe investigate a powered frfr speaker instead of a traditional amp and cab. You'll get the same sound on stage as what it heard out front and gives a little reassurance if you don't want to totally rely on IEMs

 

[MingusBass]

Check out Facebook Marketplace for Aguilar cabs, in a place like LA you’re almost certainly going to find someone looking to move a SL or DB410 for a decent deal.

 

[darkwasthenight]

Big question - are you in the band or a hired hand?

If you're hired then this question needs to go to your MD and whatever they say goes; if you're the artist then you can do what you think sounds and looks coolest. I always kept a 210 cab onstage just to rumble my feet, but none of that was ever reaching the PA.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Gonna try and make this as concise as possible.
Started playing at a professional level (1,000-10,000 cap rooms, major festivals etc.) in 2022.
I have a headline tour coming up in about 3 weeks ( these rooms will range from (1k-3,000 cap)so I got an Aguilar TH500 (Aguilar has been the brand that never lets me down when I've backlined rigs in the past) but I'm trying to figure out the cab situation as soon as possible.
I did a support tour with an Amp Rocket RB-210 and even played Radio City Music Hall with it but I just feel like I need to upgrade my personally owned rig at this point.

We will be on ears and our FOH engineer says the majority of my tone in the FOH mix comes from my DI signal. I have my pedal board dialed in at this point, it ends with an Origin Effects BassRig64 which acts as my DI.

Just how important is my cab at this point? Part of me thinks I should just spend the bread on the Aggy SL210 or bigger but the cost is a bit much right now.

Thanks in advance, glad to finally not just be a lurker anymore!

Not that important IMO and the secondhand market is your oyster.

Nice avatar, BTW. William H. Macy, Eddie Deezen, and I (...not famous) all went to the same high school.

Riis

 

[el murdoque]

The answer depends on your needs, other band members needs, and the situation.

Personally, I don't think it makes sense to continue using a cab or even an amp with IEMs., but not everyone agrees. If you dig in to TalkBass you will find comments where the bass player preferred having a cab to either fill out the sound or provide some tactile sensation. You will also find comments were the bassist was fine without a cab, but other band members wanted him/her to use a cab.

As an audio tech, I normally prefer the bass to be plugged into a flat response DI. This connection means the bass player is free to adjust his/her amp without impacting the DI signal. I.E. I get a more consistent signal at the mixing console, and I don't have to reverse engineer whatever mojo the player dials into his/her sound.

You may think this does not make sense, but IMHO each signal should be processed discretely for different purposes and listening locations. That means you need a certain type of processing to get the desired sound on stage, and the audio tech needs different processing to dial in the desired sound for the main mix.

My opinion is a bit different when the bass player is relying solely on IEMs. IMHO, it is beneficial to have tone controls at bassist's fingertips, so he/she can quickly dial in a sound for the IEM mix. So an amp or perhaps a preamp/DI could be useful.

With more advanced mixing setups, this need may be eliminated. For example if the IEM setup allows the musicians direct control over their tone in the mix. However, if the bassist prefers a certain baked-in tone, some sort of signal processing may still be relevant. For example the bassist may prefer a certain amp and/or cab SIM.

Ultimately this is something you should discuss with whoever will be running sound for the tour. Something to keep in mind, live audio is often more about finding the best compromise rather than achieving perfection. Also, this is not a discussion you should expect to have on gig day, or even the first rehearsal day. Call and make an appointment to work things out in advance.

No idea how close the tone of the TH Preamp DI is to the TH amps, but something to consider: Tone Hammer – Aguilar Amplification

Wasnex is, as usual, right on the spot here.

I've used a rig along with my IEM setup in my reggae band for a while for a simple reason: The singers, while being on IEM, had very low quality ear buds, which would not make the bass audible for them. Since it is quite important for reggae, they needed something more on stage. As soon as they upgraded to decent plugs, my rig stayed at home.

It is highly unusual that venues mic bass cabs unless you demand it - and that only makes sense when the cabinet is a crucial element of your tone.

Other factors would be the look of things (maybe you want a decent looking rig behind you because it's part of the show), safety (a fallback if IEM fails for some reason and you don't have monitor wedges), or because you cut an endorsement deal and have to display the merchandise on stage.

 

[SaucyJackBass]

I like to feel the bass in my feet on the stage, but we play with very low stage volume (except for those darn drummers) and let the sound guy handle everything DI out of my amp/combo, enough bass to feel it, hear it, and augment through monitor as needed. Almost always my monitor and the drummers has a little bass in it, but that is plenty.