Keeping your bass a secret in college

r u talking about the bass or the amp???

 

At least when it comes to amps, no way you'll get around without someone knowing you have it. Get a POD or something like that and play through a headset. As for the bass, i don't know, maybe you can convince to let you bring it in with no amp? since then it makes no noise.

 

Out of curiosity, since I don't know much about U.S. colleges - do you have to live in a college dorm or can you rent your own place?

 

Ouch!

We don't have dorms in Germany - phew!

 

are you going to be gigging? and how far away from home will you be? if you're not gigging, then i say just sneak in a bass or two without an amp... just use a pandora dx3 or a bass ace headphone amp to practice... face it, there's no way you'll be able to sneak a 410 and a 15 in there..... if you will be gigging, and you're not like 2000 miles from home, leave the stuff at home until you need it... or rent out a storage space for your stuff if you're too far away

and of course after the first year or two... get your own apartment

 

in santa barbara there are rehersal studios that you can rent. Look into them there. Truthfully unless you're in a band and NEED to use a rig, having it with you in college won't help much... once you do get in a band, talk to the other people about keeping your stuff at their places, or renting a studio. Another thing you should look into is safety... if your doors don't automatically lock, there is a big potential for theft. Luckily i haven't had a bass stolen, but i lost a skateboard that way once... it was a $150 skateboard...

I'm not sure how strict your school is, but we had a no amplified instruments policy in the dorms and i never had a problem with my 410 and 15 cabs. Just be considerate of other people and you shouldn't have a problem.

If you're going to take your stuff to college beware of the magnetic field from your speakers messing up your computer hard drive... it happens... and DEFINATELY get covers for your cabs and a rack or something similiar for your head.

My advice, take up your least expensive bass and the practice amp with headphones. Get a feel for the place, who you might be playing with, how much space your have in your room for your rig, and how tolerant the dorms are of your playing. When you go home for thanksgiving, or sooner, then worry about getting your rig up to school. You'll miss it, but other than impressing the freshman girls, it's not really going to be any use to you for the first month or so anyway.

But that's just my opinion from experience.

 

Another thing: Don't expect to be able to have your rig with you if you get your own apartment either. I live in an apartment right now with my Eden Navigator, Carvin DCM1000, and Eden D410XLT setup. I've had the cops called on me by angry neighbors (and this is with the volume WAY down).

If you really want to have your rig at school and be able to crank it, you'll have to play at a rehearsal space or get a house. In my experience, those are really the only suitable solutions.

Additions: When I was in the dorms my first year, the people around me didn't seem to mind my 25W practice amp at a moderate volume. I actually had my RA come in asking who I had on the stereo, but he was shocked when it was me playing. Note - I'm not trying to say I'm a good player here. You really need to get a feel for the people around you in the dorms. But you really can't go wrong with either headphones or an acoustic bass -- perfect solution, IMO.

 

There's another consideration here that hasn't been memtioned and that is space. The dorm rooms I had at the University of Florida would not have accommodated the size rig you are discussing, let alone space for four basses. Even if I could have crammed all that in, it would have been at the expense and inconvenience of my room mate. Too, few room mates could tolerate a stage rig that size blasting while they are studying.

Compromise, at least the first semester. Bring only one bass. That really won't be the liability you imagine right now. At most, bring your practice amp until you have a better understanding of how friendly and tolerant your room mate and floor mates will be towards your music.

Playing with a small amp will not be a setback to your development as a musician. If your music sounds good only when played LOUD, now would be the time to work on your technique so that it sounds good played at moderate levels.

Too, do some soul searching as to why you MUST have the full stage rig and all of your basses. Unless you plan to play professionally, you should be devoting most of your time to your studies. Even if you are a music major, you won't need all that equipment. You just won't have time to use it.

 

I'd say seek advice from a music major. What do they do with their instruments?

 

hide the amp outside your window, and say it's an air conditioner. Then, the next day, tell them "gee, my air conditioner keeps playing bass lines at 1 am"

 

One bass and a GOOD headphone amp. It beats the hell out of not playing.