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Need advice from experienced live bassists

W

Wharll

Guest
Jun 13, 2013
3
0
#1
To start off I am not very knowlegable of live sound and im typing this out on my phone so please forgive me for my ignorance and poor grammar/spelling.

A buddy of mine who is in an acoustic cover band has asked me to play bass for him. I havent practiced with the entire band yet but I jam with 2 of the dudes pretty regularly and am confident in my playing ability.
I will be plugging into the board and would prefer not to carry an amp everywhere but I would like some sort of tone control.
To get to the question im thinking I should get a couple pedals but nothing crazy maybe a tuner, eq or di (dont even really know what that is) maybe a compressor or a sound gate. I dont know though thats why im asking.

its going to be 2 acoustic guitars a mandolin and bass occasionally percusion but no drummer. I own an active p/j and an active jaguar.

Sorry about the length of the post but I encourage you guys to post detailed responses. Please drop some wisdom were it is cleary lacking and any off topic advice is welcome.

Thanks
 
#2
It's a damper on the capitalist economy.. but my advice is "If you don't know what it is you are about buy, nor why you are about to buy it, don't buy it."

Do the gig as is, with what you already have, making best use of what tools are already presented to you. After some time with that, identify needs/desires and research items to help you with specific challenges/goals you have.
 
#4
gearhead1972 said:
Going direct to the board and wanting some tone control, sounds like Sansamp Bass Driver DI or an Aguilar Tone Hammer territory
Click to expand...

This. Both the Sansamp Bass Driver and the Tone Hammer are combination preamp and DI. DI simply means that it takes your signal from the bass and transforms it into a signal for XLR cables and inputs (and that's way over simplified but really all you need to know right now). A preamp will allow you some tone shaping and EQing. Both of those are nice and I have recently tried a Radial Tonebone Bassbone that I liked as well. Take your bass to a store if there is one nearby and try some out. If not, read lots of reviews. Best of luck!

By the way, welcome to TalkBass!
 
#6
The Sansamp VTbass deluxe is a good DI/preamp with cabinet emulation, multiple channels and dual switchable inputs. Get anything from smooth vintage tones to aggressive high gain tones and everything in between. Very versatile, and it you end up using an amp in the future, you can plug it right into your effects chain.
 
#9
Thanks for all the advice. Ive done some research on my own and talked to my buddy. I think Ill be getting a DI and agree that keeping my gear minimalistic is optimal.
My buddy said that for smaller gigs they bring there own board and PA which does not include any sort of bass specific speakers. Which has me worried. The speakers are nice and loud but should I be running my bass through them? I have a 300w behringer but as you can imagine its nothing im in love with and is a bitch to carry around.

Thanks

Keep the advice flowing even if its not specific to my questions. Both my basses are currently strung with chromes, any specific strings that would go well with all other instruments being acoustic?
 
#12
Your preference to not carry an amp around is fine, but you can get a nice used small combo with any degree of quality you choose. Or, you can get a micro head and a nice small 112 ultralight cab.

In the end, your preference may be limiting you. Getting tone control is one thing...volume control is another. I've never been happy with running trough the board if someone else is messing with my levels. I need to hear myself.
 
#13
Markbass and Phil Jones make fantastic small combos.

I have a Hartke Kickback-12 which is super for this setting.

Alternatively, I have an Epifani UL cab that weighs only about 25lbs. I put my head in a backpack, my bass in a gigbag, and I can easily load in/out in one trip with no stress.
 
#14
ZuluFunk said:
Your preference to not carry an amp around is fine, but you can get a nice used small combo with any degree of quality you choose. Or, you can get a micro head and a nice small 112 ultralight cab.

In the end, your preference may be limiting you. Getting tone control is one thing...volume control is another. I've never been happy with running trough the board if someone else is messing with my levels. I need to hear myself.
Click to expand...

I have to agree here with Zulu. Maybe it isnt "cost effective" for you right now to get a rig, an amp and cab/combo, or maybe you just dont want to lug all that stuff around but IMO, if you are going to play out with any kind of frequency, again this is just me and my opinion, I would want the option of having MY sound on stage with me as opposed to just haveing a pedal and bass in front of me going to the FOH. Especially if there is a chance that the speakers/PA youre running into arent designated for some bass specific frequencies. I'd get something for you on stage. A combo or amp and cab. Something at least small so you have all the control you need over your sound between your rig and a DI pedal or the like. Just my $.02
 
#17
Wharll said:
Thanks for all the advice. Ive done some research on my own and talked to my buddy. I think Ill be getting a DI and agree that keeping my gear minimalistic is optimal.
My buddy said that for smaller gigs they bring there own board and PA which does not include any sort of bass specific speakers. Which has me worried. The speakers are nice and loud but should I be running my bass through them? I have a 300w behringer but as you can imagine its nothing im in love with and is a bitch to carry around.

Thanks

Keep the advice flowing even if its not specific to my questions. Both my basses are currently strung with chromes, any specific strings that would go well with all other instruments being acoustic?
Click to expand...

Do you know the make and model of the PA speakers? I can then maybe tell you if you are screwed or not.:D
 
#18
I do this same gig (an acoustic trio). We all go direct to the board. I run direct into a Radial J48, no effects except a tuner. I put a tiny bit of boost on the bass and mid EQ of the board, but the tone control comes mostly from the active EQ on my bass. For most gigs, we don't use a sub - just the pair of JBL PRX 612M mains. For some outdoor gigs, I bring a small rig (MB200/AE210v) to support the bottom end a little bit.

You may want to run something like a SansAmp ParaDriver DI if your PA is a little anemic on the bottom. I've never had the need, though.
 
#20
Floyd Eye said:
SansAmp I suppose. I would definitely want monitors though and unless this band has the scratch for those PRXs ( App $1200 a pair), I'd want a sub out front.
Click to expand...

We have PRX 512Ms for monitors. Because it's an acoustic gig in small to medium venues, it's hard to justify dragging a sub to the gig (I have a couple PRX 518S subs). That's why I use my little rig sometimes - it's small and light. We get a pretty decent sound, and none of the songs are bass heavy.
 

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