our rehersal space is tight and my amp kinda booms the room. We have a PA in there with two k12s can I go Direct into them and get a decent sound? or I suppose has anyone tried this with success?
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playing into QSC k12 instead of an amp?
- Thread starter drewphishesp
- Start date
Not personally, but I remember a couple of TB'ers (their names escape me) actually did this a while back with this exact speaker. IIRC there were differing opinions on whether the low-end was sufficient or not, but they were audible during practice and had decent cut in the mix.
Do you have a preamp pedal you can put between you and the speakers/mixing board? You'd probably do just fine as long as you have some EQ shaping before hitting the K12s.
I also ask just because somebody will ask this question eventually....what's your current rig consist of? Considered a smaller combo or cab maybe?
Do you have a preamp pedal you can put between you and the speakers/mixing board? You'd probably do just fine as long as you have some EQ shaping before hitting the K12s.
I also ask just because somebody will ask this question eventually....what's your current rig consist of? Considered a smaller combo or cab maybe?
I have an arkham oracle coming today, and my current rig is a 210 and a wd800, by all means not too much for the space, but I am also trying to cut down on stuff I lug around every week. I used to have no problem keeping it in the rehearsal space, but he is having work done to his house and the garage we practice in is being used by contractors to store stuff and theyre in and out and I dont think theyd take anything but I dont wanna risk stuff getting "bumped" by accident
A band I used to work with did a lot of traveling and I used k12s a bunch as they were easily available everywhere and compact.
With a preamp in front they make a good bass amp.
I've used active PA boxes for the last 30 years as Bass monitor
Been using my K12.2 for a year and a half now and am totally sold. A little eq, cab sim, or hpf/lpf, and it gives me as much as I need. It's not like playing in front of an 8x10 but it still sounds great.
Just buy a 30$ little mixer , and blend the mixer aux and your direct / pedals sound
Some active boxes have multiple inputs
EDIT : Looks like the K12 has multiple inputs , use one from the board (without bass in that mix ) and another form your pedalboard / direct
Some active boxes have multiple inputs
EDIT : Looks like the K12 has multiple inputs , use one from the board (without bass in that mix ) and another form your pedalboard / direct
Last edited:
It depends on what else is going on, imho. If there is a loud drummer, full guitar stack, plus a horn section, and you are sharing the monitors with vocals and keys probably not. A couple of acoustic players, no problem. Bass can sound good through K12s, but it does eat up a lot of the power if you need it for other things.
I think it depends on the overall mix. It will surely function, but you may not get the voicing you want easily. I knew a guy who did this with a three piece cover band, and I guess he liked it. I have always found that there is a low-mid and mid frequency of the bass guitar that isn't projected or felt in the same way with a speaker cab.
Yes the K12 will work.
However, your bass amp, if lower than waist height can also function as a chair to sit on, so it won't take up more space than you. And there are volume and EQ knobs on it to adjust, so it won't boom the room.
Try reducing the bass EQ on your amp, until the sound is right.
Yes you can play through a K12, but it's not going to sound like a bass amps. That might be a good thing depending upon the type of tone you want. FY the K12.2 has a built-in bass amp model preset, but pretty sure that will degrade the utility of the cab as a vocal monitor. The K12.2 has multiple inputs, but AFAIK the presets are applied after the inputs are mixed together.
If the K12s are up on a stand, it will thin out the low end. So if you like a deep thumpy sound, it may not work well for you.
Another factor is people generally want to hear themself about 6-10db louder than other sound sources. Since the K12s are most likely serving primarily as vocal monitors, you may wind up with a fight on your hands.
My suggestion is bring your amp, but try running through the K12s. I suggest a conversation with the band before doing this. If playing through the K12s works, you're good to go. If not, plug into your amp and rock on.
It will be useful to have your own EQ as well. Something like an EQ pedal or Preamp/DI pedal would work.
If the K12s are up on a stand, it will thin out the low end. So if you like a deep thumpy sound, it may not work well for you.
Another factor is people generally want to hear themself about 6-10db louder than other sound sources. Since the K12s are most likely serving primarily as vocal monitors, you may wind up with a fight on your hands.
My suggestion is bring your amp, but try running through the K12s. I suggest a conversation with the band before doing this. If playing through the K12s works, you're good to go. If not, plug into your amp and rock on.
It will be useful to have your own EQ as well. Something like an EQ pedal or Preamp/DI pedal would work.
You're in a rehearsal room, how loud can it be in there?
I've got a K8.2 and it's way louder than I ever expected it to be. I've played it on gigs with horn bands and didn't have any trouble. If you're going through a pair of K12.2's then I can't see what issue you might have.
Just try it out once and see how it goes.
I've got a K8.2 and it's way louder than I ever expected it to be. I've played it on gigs with horn bands and didn't have any trouble. If you're going through a pair of K12.2's then I can't see what issue you might have.
Just try it out once and see how it goes.
I have plugged right into one from a preamp pedal and it sounds good enough. Sounds a lot better with a hp/lp filter pedal imo.
I think something important to note is that these PA speakers don't have the same low end as a bass cab. Nowadays a lot of modern bass cabs are pretty full range, but a lot of PA speakers (including the K12 and the CP12 for example) don't get quite as low. The K12 is at something like -10dB at 47Hz. You can imagine how little it reproduces the even lower frequencies that you would get from the low E fundamental, or even something like a low B.
But of course it is usable, because all the other frequencies are still there. It just won't have the massive low end that you might be used to from an actual bass guitar amplifier.
Edit:
I actually used a QSC CP12 for as a bass stage monitor for a while. But that's difficult to comapre, because I got all the low end rumble from the actual PA, which had massive subs.
But of course it is usable, because all the other frequencies are still there. It just won't have the massive low end that you might be used to from an actual bass guitar amplifier.
Edit:
I actually used a QSC CP12 for as a bass stage monitor for a while. But that's difficult to comapre, because I got all the low end rumble from the actual PA, which had massive subs.
I do this for one of my bands. but the drummer is also using an electronic kit and the guitarist playing into a captor and into the mixer, so everyone is mixed and running into the K12s and volume is reasonable. The things you have to do when it becomes to expensive to rent a rehearsal space. I don't love it. But I think a big part of that is that I'd prefer we were still running real volume in the room with acoustic drums. Just not in the cards for that band right now.
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