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Noob preamp question

nambassist

nambassist

Oct 15, 2015
57
111
38
namibia
#1
If this has been posted already please send me the right way. Couldnt find the right thread through search.

What's going on is that I have a peavey max112 combo amp (about 13years old) and a 82 Ibanez pj bass. I play in a blues rock band where the rig is sufficient but I also play in a hard rock/metal band where there's 2 guitars, keys, 2 vocalists and a very loud drumme. Our drummer is a sound engineer by trade and always does the sound for the live gigs so the p.a. at shows is always overkill. (As in drums are fully mic'd up, both guitars are mic'd, 4 monitors on stage etc)

Right now I don't have the funds to upgrade to a new amp and cab so was looking at preamps like the sansamp or Palmer pocket amp, etc with a d.I. so I can go through the pa and still have some tone shaping options. The last few gigs my amp was just for show he had my plug into his d.I. And go straight to the board. We're he decided on the bass tone he wanted.

So long story short is a preamp with d.I. my best option to go the p.a. while still having the ability to set my own sound?
 
#4
Having a preamp will help give you some control, but if your sound guy/drummer is in control of the final mix, there's nothing to keep him from doing what he can to neutralize your 'tone sculpting' if he doesn't like the signal he's getting from you...you apply a bass boost, he applies a bass cut, etc. As I say, a preamp will help, but you guys will still need to reach an agreement as to what works for the situation.
 
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#5
"Standard operating procedure" is to DI and let the sound guy control your tone from the mixing board, rather than to try and EQ your own tone from on stage. Especially since your drummer is a sound engineer by trade.

An inexpensive DI box like a Whirlwind IMP is a really useful backup to carry in your bass case, in case you ever do a gig where the engineer forgets to bring a DI for you. :)
 
#8
How are you going to hear yourself at shows? Is your drummer going to allow your bass through the monitors? Have you tried this setup before? I don't think you should count on monitoring with the Peavey Max112 for the rock gig at all.

For a preamp pedal, the Tech 21 Bass Driver DI V2 is what I suggest. If you keep the Blend control below the 12 noon setting and actually dial in some mids, while cutting the bass and treble, you can get a full sounding bass tone out of that. I love the way it sounds through my rig and how it sounds through my IEM setup.
 
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#11
Redbrangus said:
There's nothing like a team player. ;)
Click to expand...
Let me rephrase, I only know 2 audio guys who I've worked with I trust who are excellent in their craft. The others, always, and I say always, leave the bass out of the mix even though they do a sound check. Here are their exact words: "I'm going to plug you into the board and you can use your amp as a monitor", Hell no, I'm using my amp as a bass amp which is what God intended.;)
 
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#17
More often than not, a comment that the bass is too loud at show is because of the collective low end content from the band. Many amateur sound engineers do no not understand rolling off low end content from all instruments at different frequency points. For example, "Bass is too loud" could mean the kick drum is booming too much or the guitar players have extra oomph coming from the subs. Or even better, both of those elements are happening at the same time and guess what? Your bass is adding to the problem! Ha. Sometimes you can't win.

A preamp pedal is great to get BETTER tone in the PA, but don't use it as a "Screw you, this is my tone!" argument. To impart some character to your bass tone typically works in a live situation and is desirable, but when you crank the heck out of the unit or set it so it just muddies up the mix, you basically make the band sound like crap.
 
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#18
dbase said:
Let me rephrase, I only know 2 audio guys who I've worked with I trust who are excellent in their craft. The others, always, and I say always, leave the bass out of the mix even though they do a sound check. Here are their exact words: "I'm going to plug you into the board and you can use your amp as a monitor", Hell no, I'm using my amp as a bass amp which is what God intended.;)
Click to expand...
It’s sad, but if you only know 2 guys you have worked with who are decent FOH mixers, you are not paying them enough. (There are wonderful FOH guys out there.). Or, do you mean your MONITOR mix?.
 
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#19
dbase said:
... The others, always, and I say always, leave the bass out of the mix even though they do a sound check.
Click to expand...




dbase said:
"I'm going to plug you into the board and you can use your amp as a monitor", Hell no, I'm using my amp as a bass amp which is what God intended.;)
Click to expand...



Maybe theres some mystical or unknown reason that they (take you out)/ lower you in the mix..

Maybe it is too loud. ;)

The overall sound usually comes out best when 1 person is controlling all of the volumes, from the audience perspective (not stage perspective). Its bad enough when guitarists do it to boost their "solo" volume to get their "required" tone. It becomes a trainwreck when everyone is trying to adjust volumes from all over the place...including the sound guy..who seems to be battling musicians to get the optimal sound of the band, for the audience. (well, that should be his/her intent anyway.)

YMMV


And, sure preamp with DI is fine, as long as you can hear yourself as well thru monitoring of some sort.
 
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#20
Have you asked your drummer/sound engineer what he wants your bass to sound like? If he wants just a straight bass sound you could just buy a Countryman 85 D.I. and have him run that into his soundboard, and use the soundboard’s eq to fine tune your sound.

This is assuming that he’s going to put your send into the monitors with the rest of the band.

If he wants more of a “colored” sound from your D.I., then yes, a Sansamp D.I. would be a good lower cost investment at this time, until you can save up the money for a new amp. I haven’t personally used a Sansamp D.I., but I know a few bass players who swear by them. And they all recommend the Sansamp BDDI because it has adjustable midrange.
 
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