New/unknown rehersal room: what gear you bring?

[Hypercaffium]

Apart from your instrument, what gear you usually bring at a rehersal room you've never been before?
Generally speaking, what gear you usually bring at a rehersal room just for band practice?
I'm not talking about private properties like garages, basements, and places you go often in general with gear you already know.
I often rent different rehersal rooms with my band due to availability/organization etc. and even if we have a list of 2-3 favourite places, we often find ourself visiting new ones.
As a bass player, I like to travel as light as possible, at least for rehersals. I like to bring just my bass and a clip-on tuner most of the time, but sometimes dealing with an amp you don't know AND a particularly bad/boomy room is an awful combo. I'm sure most of you guys undestand this.
I've always had good results bringing my pedalboard (a Pedaltrain Metro 16 which includes a tube preamp). What I do is bypassing the preamp section of whatever combo/head I find there and tweak my tone with my preamp and pedals (if I need them). Simple as that.
But it's more weight and space, plus I need to bring my backpack for cables, extention cord etc. for connections. Remember that we don't know which gear they have in the room.
I have a Quilter BB800 800w class D head which is extremely small and light and it's more practical to bring compared to my pedalboard. It's super simple to use and sounds great everyehre but sometimes rehersal rooms have bass combos, not cabinets.
Back to my guitar days I've never had problems anywhere. I'd always find at least a Fender, a VOX, a Marshall... maye a SS Roland JC. I know those amps. With bass, things can go out of control more easily, and if you don't know your gear it can be hard to get an usable tone.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Unless I've been warned in advance that the house rig is a complete POS, I'll give any commercial rehearsal space the benefit of the doubt and bring nothing but my instrument(s), a tuner, and a cable.

Once in a very rare while I've been disappointed...but never so much that I started carting my own amp, or speaker, or pedalboard just to compensate for a crappy house rig.

My approach to live performances is almost identical, with the caveat that the few venues where I do know (or suspect) the house rig is a POS I'll definitely bring my own amp & speakers. But for a rehearsal space I'm willing to risk one night of subpar tone.

 

[Flamingo21]

I don't seem to have a knack for making an unknown amp work, so to be safe I always bring my own combo (17 kilograms).

Other than that: spare strings, spare cables, spare power strip, spare power supply.....

And 40 fl oz of drinking water.

 

[Hypercaffium]

Once in a very rare while I've been disappointed...but never so much that I started carting my own amp, or speaker, or pedalboard just to compensate for a crappy house rig.

Not too long ago I played in a rehersal room with an Eden bass head and a Mark Bass cab, if I remember correctly. That amp was full of knobs, two channels, multi band EQ, a lot of stuff. I've sett everything at 12 o'clock and the tone was absolutely horrible, so I probably tkeaked it in the wrong way, but the room was dark and I wanted to play asap. After a couple of songs I asked the house guy to send my signal direct to PA, I've turned the amp off and finished the rehersals. It was a bad experience.
Another time I found an Ampeg SVT amp, can't reemember the name. I was happy since it's a popular amp. Again, I've put everything at noon and the tone was horrible. Plus, the room was bad. Vibrations everywhere, boomy tone (even with bass knob on 0), couldn't hear myself despite the high volume. Horrible.

I don't seem to have a knack for how to make an unknown amp work, so to be safe I always bring my own combo (17 kilograms).
Other than that: spare strings, spare cables, spare power strip, spare power supply.....
And 40 fl oz of drinking water.

17 kilograms is reasonable.

 

[DirtDog]

A good sense of humour and some disinfectant wet wipes for the mics.

I’ll use whatever equipment they supply.

 

[Hypercaffium]

A good sense of humour and some disinfectant wet wipes for the mics.

Says the Dirt Dog...

 

[P. Aaron]

I’d bring my standard gig set up which is minimal; Precision V, Hartke LH1000, an LDS w x 10 cab, necessary cables & a tuner. Wireless would be in the car if logistics somehow necessitated it.

 

[Stevorebob]

Unless I know the room has gear that works for me, I bring an amp and cab in addition to a couple of basses, pedalboard and, perhaps most important, an electric fan.

 

[Bob_Ross]

I've sett everything at 12 o'clock and the tone was absolutely horrible, so I probably tkeaked it in the wrong way, but the room was dark and I wanted to play asap. ...[snip]...
Another time ...I've put everything at noon and the tone was horrible.

So the lesson learned is...

One of the things I've learned over the years is, if All-Knobs-At-12 O'Clock doesn't even sound remotely close to neutral, presume that the preamp is probably based on a Fender tone stack and try this instead:
Bass @ 9 o'clock, Midrange fully clockwise, Treble @ 9 o'clock
(...and then I almost always turn the Bass up to 11 or 12 o'clock)

 

[40Hz]

I’ve played in studio settings where all I needed was myself and a bass. But I never played in a rehearsal space that provided anything other than (maybe) a small PA for vocals. So I bring my small SWR stack. SM-400 and a Goliath Junior (2x10) cab. It’s a rig I also use at home so I know it inside out and don’t waste time fiddling with unfamiliar gear in a space that’s charging me by the hour.

 

[buldog5151bass]

The less the better - I also don't want to plug my equipment into something that may or may not work properly.

Every time I've used rehearsal studios, the amps were sufficient.

 

[Hypercaffium]

So the lesson learned is...

One of the things I've learned over the years is, if All-Knobs-At-12 O'Clock doesn't even sound remotely close to neutral, presume that the preamp is probably based on a Fender tone stack and try this instead:
Bass @ 9 o'clock, Midrange fully clockwise, Treble @ 9 o'clock
(...and then I almost always turn the Bass up to 11 or 12 o'clock)

My preamp is a Shift Line Olympic, which has a cut only passive EQ. It sound perfect, anywhere I go. That settings you suggested are what I generally use in bad sounding boomy rooms.
What I was triny go to say is that some amps with normal/active EQ are less easy to tweak compared to others. Add another channel, a multi band EQ, on board compressor... it's a nightmare.

 

[jthisdell]

I built a small Nano+ board with pre, tuner, comp, OD and keep all the cords needed in its bag. It is a good compromise between bringing my PedalTrain Jr and bringing nothing.

 

[And I]

If it's a total unknown and logistics allow for it, I'd bring an amp and cab. I would get there a few mins early and first just bring bass and pedal board into the room and if I found the amp to be un-workable I'd grab my amp and cab from the car and use that instead.

If I'm on public transport instead of taking a car, I'm going on faith that they have a decent bass amp and praying that it is not a line 6...

 

[dukey donkey]

I never ever show up without my full set up... Basses, Pedal board, cables, D800+, and my GB 2x15... if I don't need the cab, all good...if I need it, even better.

 

[mrcbass]

I haven't dealt with that situation, but my go to rule in life is to make sure I have what I need when I get somewhere. If there is already something there that I can use great - I'd rather have hauled more stuff than I needed rather then not be able to accomplish what I need to if something is missing or in unuseable.

Not too long ago I played in a rehersal room with an Eden bass head and a Mark Bass cab, if I remember correctly. That amp was full of knobs, two channels, multi band EQ, a lot of stuff. I've sett everything at 12 o'clock and the tone was absolutely horrible, so I probably tkeaked it in the wrong way, but the room was dark and I wanted to play asap. After a couple of songs I asked the house guy to send my signal direct to PA, I've turned the amp off and finished the rehersals. It was a bad experience.

You have a sound guy for your rehearsal room? Wow....

 

[ahbass2500]

Varies by where I am rehearsing as to which amp I bring. I recognize you do not know the room, but I assume you have some idea of room size/how loud your band is. I pretty much never use an amp that is not mine unless I am required to (for rehearsal space, I doubt this is a requirement). Definitely bring extension cords and a power conditioner (rack mount if taking the rack; Furman AC215A if going more compact). Another item that I never travel without is the Auralex Gramma.

I have been a loyal Gramma user since my sophomore year of high school. I played in a percussion ensemble that played in gyms and college basketball arenas. The benefits of decoupling my Henry the 8x8 from the floor in those environments sold me on the Gramma. The reduction in room boom is significant. In some rooms it felt like the Gramma gave my EQ back. Prior to the Gramma, EQ was pretty much set to prevent boom regardless of what it did to my tone. After the Gramma, I could EQ to target my tone with only minor adjustments for the room. Since buying my first one, I never travel without one. I now own 6 of them, including the first one that I bought over 15 years ago. I have all three sizes and a mix of v1 and v2. They are all good. They also have the added benefit of keeping your amp off of dirty floors or potentially wet floors for anyone practicing in their basement/garage.

 

[The Nameless]

Not too long ago I played in a rehersal room with an Eden bass head and a Mark Bass cab, if I remember correctly. That amp was full of knobs, two channels, multi band EQ, a lot of stuff. I've sett everything at 12 o'clock and the tone was absolutely horrible, so I probably tkeaked it in the wrong way, but the room was dark and I wanted to play asap. After a couple of songs I asked the house guy to send my signal direct to PA, I've turned the amp off and finished the rehersals. It was a bad experience.
Another time I found an Ampeg SVT amp, can't reemember the name. I was happy since it's a popular amp. Again, I've put everything at noon and the tone was horrible. Plus, the room was bad. Vibrations everywhere, boomy tone (even with bass knob on 0), couldn't hear myself despite the high volume. Horrible.


17 kilograms is reasonable.

If you put the Eden's Enhance knob at noon, too? That was the issue. That's a powerful, overall tone manipulating control. Noon on that control would have made me crazy, too. No mids. No hear... But? It brings me to a point.
Education. Education for sound manipulation overall. Education on a wide variety of amps and how they work. That Eden has nothing whatsoever in common with a Fender tone stack. It's a totally different animal. A quick google reference to educate one's self in the operation of any amp is but a few button presses away today. I had to buy and read magazines, attend school and just simply play thru every amp on the planet. Which I have done, with few exceptions.
What do I bring to rehearsal? Insurance. My education is one piece. I can make any rig sound good. Cuz I learned eq, and the specifics of my tone. I care less at a rehearsal bout my specific tone, and care more I can get the intended work done.
Second piece of insurance I bring? My rig. My main rig lives in my vehicle. Every piece available wherever I go. If I can't get a sound out of a back lined rig, which never happens, I can retrieve anythin I need outta my van.
Rehearsals should be about work. Not sounding as you wish. Just plug in, turn up, and go to work. I try to concentrate on my playing, not worry the gear. But, if the gear worry is there? Bring yer rig. Rehearse settin up an tearin down, too. Practical experience, for those shows you have a ten minnit changeover window, and the other bass guitarists won't share rigs. Practice gettin your tone into a room. Fast as possible. Rehearse everythin! It will help in the long run.

 

[Tnavis]

It really depends on the situation. If I know there is at least a cabinet in the space, i'll unrack my Microtubes 900 and put it my gear bag, with my stripped down pedalboard (Nano powered by a Volto). I'll throw one of my smaller cabs in the back of my car just in case.

If it's an audition situation, i'll verify what the backline will be, if any, and if I can use it. I've definitely been in situations where the band wants to verify the whole "pro gear" part of the job description, and wants me to bring my entire rig down.

Edit: I just recalled an audition for a backing band for a jazz singer which was being held in a swanky neighborhood, so I brought the smallest possible footprint I could find, just a little 1x8 combo and my bass. I almost lost the gig because i brought such a small amp (?). I had to assure them that I had a larger amp as well. People are weird.

 

[Yango]

I stopped doing the crapshoot, and bought a GK MB Fusion 500. So even if the room has a crappy combo amp, I just unplug the head and use my GK (I bring a 3’ speaker cable). It’s solved my rehearsal room blues. I don’t even bother trying out the amps that come with the room any more.

I bought one of those little neoprene laptop cases for it, and the whole thing is so compact and light that l just leave it in my gig bag. It’s a great little amp. I love the tone and the simplicity of the EQ.