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Need a non amp solution for live playing and recording

J

jealousblues

Dec 14, 2010
11
0
#1
Hi
im a guitar player who plays bass for fun

I would like to have something other than an amp I could record some songs onto pro tools with (pop and rock stuff)

and also something I could play a live gig with
right now my only real shot at this would be during our bands cocktail hour setting which is mostly old school standards (and this is what im learning on bass right now)
but I would also like this thing to be able to handle pop and rock sounds live


right now im playing a passive Japanese Fender jazz bass


what would you guys suggest for this?

I could see spending up to 300-400

would I want some kind of DI
or a preamp or what?

thanks


edit: im also open to buying used
 
#7
If you have a legit version of protools, then you should already have an interface which will work. I use my DIGI 002 exclusively (I don't have a real bass amp and cab, I have studio monitors and pro-tools).
 
#8
im a total noob when it comes to bass gear


but would plugging my passive bass directly into the 1/4" imput of my pro tools interface actually work? (sound good?)


sadly this wouldnt work for live
(but it would be nice to know in the meantime)
 
#9
it would work but i don't think it would sound so great. kind of dead sounding, actually. too clean, no balls. plus no way to control volume except your bass volume knob, and that sucks. best to have some sort of preamp.
 
#12
jealousblues said:
im a total noob when it comes to bass gear


but would plugging my passive bass directly into the 1/4" imput of my pro tools interface actually work? (sound good?)


sadly this wouldnt work for live
(but it would be nice to know in the meantime)
Click to expand...

It works just fine, just set it to instrument. Pro Tools has a built in bass amp plugin you can run it though, but there are better plugins out there too. Or you could chain it with Reason for a perhaps more familiar work flow through VST.
 
#14
i must admit i missed something...didn't see you had a pro tools interface. i saw it and my brain translated it as "soundcard input" for some strange reason. sorry about that...mrcandyman is absolutely right. it should be fine.
 
#15
You kind of tie our hands with the "non-amp" thing. Why is it you don't want an amp again? You could get a solid state amp head that has a pre-amp out for recording or going through a PA. Later you could also get (or borrow) a cab if it makes more sense for the situation.

Here's a pretty good option. It's smaller and lighter than a rack preamp too.

Gallien-Krueger MB200 Ultralight Head. It's the size of a book and weighs 2 pounds. 200 watts with a line/headphone output.

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#17
Yeah, im a guitar player so I have my rig I need to take to gigs
but like I said Id love to play some bass on the cocktail hour stuff (where I hardly play really)

SO I was thinking some kind of preamp or DI would work

but I forgot about the little micro bass amps



is there a big difference b/t something like that and a DI or Preamp for bass

(im honestly clueless ;-))

thanks for putting up with me so far
 
#18
jealousblues said:
Yeah, im a guitar player so I have my rig I need to take to gigs
but like I said Id love to play some bass on the cocktail hour stuff (where I hardly play really)

SO I was thinking some kind of preamp or DI would work

but I forgot about the little micro bass amps



is there a big difference b/t something like that and a DI or Preamp for bass

(im honestly clueless ;-))

thanks for putting up with me so far
Click to expand...

I don't think there's a difference for what you are describing. You want a basic bass sound, right? This head will get you that with some to spare.

A dedicated preamp might have a more extensive EQ and maybe a tube. But you are describing a simple setup for a non-bassist. Yeah, I think this little head will deliver what you're looking for.

As always, you need to go check it out and decide if it's right for you.
 

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