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Pa system speakers distorting

zaviere

zaviere

Apr 20, 2012
95
2
#1
I apologize in advance if this has been covered before.

Pa setup
Yamaha 16 channel unpowered mixer
2 mackie thump 15" mains
1 mackie thump 12" monitor

Plugging mim fender precision bass with stock passive pickups straight into the pa. I admit it. No DI

it's an acoustic band. It's just two acoustic guitars, lead vocals, and my bass guitar. We play at small bars and a small hotel lounge.

We were practicing last night and I noticed that when I played my bass I could hear some unexpected distortion. Is this normal? I don't feel like we are that loud. I don't even think we have the speakers at 1/4 of the power.

Is it because of the lack of a DI box on the bass?
Is it better/realistic to use a bass amp for my bass vs the pa for everything else?
What kind of amp would be best suited for this? What kind of wattage and speaker size/quantity?

I apologize for all the questions rolled into one post :D
And thank you for your help
 
#5
It's likely that the speakers aren't really designed for bass. It's unlikely that the lack of DI has anything to do with it. I agree with the posts above that a small amp will probably be the way to go. I like the little Fender combos (e.g. Rumble 75) for price/performance/portability/tone. Alternatively, build a small, light cab or two (http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f15/low-cost-diy-practice-coffeehouse-tweeterless-110-[long]-736360/) to go with a small amp head like the GK MB200.

KO
 
#6
zaviere said:
Plugging mim fender precision bass with stock passive pickups straight into the pa. I admit it. No DI
We were practicing last night and I noticed that when I played my bass I could hear some unexpected distortion. Is this normal? I don't feel like we are that loud. I don't even think we have the speakers at 1/4 of the power.

Is it because of the lack of a DI box on the bass?
Click to expand...

I cannot diagnose it remotely, but I can tell you that I am relatively certain that the lack of a DI isn't contributory to the problem.
 
#8
I bought a pair of thumps, and returned them immediately.
Why? Inherent, audible distortion in the circuit design.
Had a fit with sweetwater after they said it was known but acceptable at the price point. They ended up refunding me 100%, including shipping. This was the first generation of these cabs, I pre- ordered. So, perhaps they still have this issue.
It was a very light distortion, but still audible nonetheless.
Plugging into the board direct won't cause distortion, as long as you aren't clipping any gain stages.
 
#9
no the bass isnt clipping.I run the board myself during practice so I always make sure me or anybody else is well below the clipping meter. I'm guessing yeah the speakers may not be able to handle the bass. Like I said its an acoustic gig so I didnt think we'd need such high powered speakers. and didnt want to spend much. I'm looking into bass amps now. would 4x10 be too much? I'm thinking the fender rumble 4x10 with the rumble 150 head. or a peavey 4x10 if I can find one. Thank you to everyone for all the helpful advice.
 
#12
Imo, a light-weight 212, (GK 212MBE?) would work with some to spare. I personally wouldn’t recommend going smaller as you never know what you might find yourself needing in the future.

I personally don’t like 410s anymore… probably the least efficient speaker configuration, and probably the least manageable box shape, as well…

imo. :)
 

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