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Playing Keyboard Through Your Bass Rig?

portaflexer

portaflexer

Jan 31, 2007
1,218
282
TX Hill Country
#1
I am not a key player per se, but I dabble. :)

I have a Roland KC500 that I've used for years... and it works fine... but it just doesn't cut when you're playing next bass and guitar stacks. I want more volume.

I've seen a number of keyboard combos on the market, but they're all pretty similar to the KC, so here's what I'm thinking...

multiple keyboards -> small 6 or 8 ch mixer -> power amp -> full range bass cab

In my head this logic works fine... just wondering if anyone else has been in the same predicament. Thanks.
 
#2
BTW...

When I say small 6-8 ch mixer, I mean something like this...
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When I say power amp, I mean something like this...
31zOo%2BqPD1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg


And when I say full range bass cab, I mean something like this...
SVT-410HLF_LG.jpg
 
#3
Should work, why not? You'd obviously need some kind of preamp if you were doubling on bass (instead of plugging directly into the mixer).

The rest depends if you get a satisfactory sound for keyboard out of the bass cab. Most bass cabs are far from neutral (boomy, hole in the frequency range between woofer and tweeter, wonky dispersion).

If you want neutral sound, look into fullrange PA cabs instead.
 
#4
Yeah... my thoughts exactly. BTW, I won't be using the same rig for both keyboard and bass.

The main reason I wanted to use a bass cab is because I have a couple I'm not using, so I just have to buy the mixer and power amp... and if I sell the KC500 outright... that will pay for a good chunk of it.
 
#5
I "dabble" a bit also and use that mixer for my setup, however, I do play both keys and bass thru the same rig (cant really do both at the same time other than some sustained stuff)(unless you are using sequences and stuff). I dont run stereo, but, dont miss it either. For what I do, it works fine. Keys/bass--mixer--GK700rbII head--GK neo410.
I sometimes do not use a preamp (usually my multi pedal), and the line in on the mixer seems to work fine. I can even use a little effect from the mixer if needed.
 
#6
Thanks for the reply... that's what I was looking for. :)

BTW, I thought about using a rackmount line mixer and rackmount power amp to create a "keyboard head" of sorts... but then I thought it would be easier to keep the mixer by the keyboards and just have one cable going to the amp instead of one cable per keyboard.
 
#8
I've most often worked with a keyboardist who played bass on the keys. I've found that a really good bass setup is not significantly different from a really good keys setup. Both are crazy clean and LOTS of headroom. But keys bass goes deeper than a 4 string. I've used a couple Acme Low B2 cabs with an SVT for keys.

Digital keys can be a bit shrill, and usually good bass rigs are not too bright, so that can help.
 
#9
portaflexer said:
multiple keyboards -> small 6 or 8 ch mixer -> power amp -> full range bass cab

In my head this logic works fine... just wondering if anyone else has been in the same predicament. Thanks.
Click to expand...

This makes sense.

Mine goes like this. Korg SV-1 + Triton --> A&H ZED-14 --> Main mix goes to FOH and aux to my own iem, from there i usually get a send from the FOH and mix it into my aux.
 
#10
Gotcha. Those A&H mixers get great reviews. I've been curious about them.

Realistically though... Whether you use a powered speaker, OR a power amp with a passive speaker (or in ear mons for that matter)... it's pretty much the same thing. Right? Its just one piece to carry instead of two.

Anyways... just doin a sanity check. Thanks fellas. :)
 
#11
interesting thread.
I play both keys and bass in a CR cover band.
We play small rooms, with usually no FOH, so no experience with what you are suggesting.
But for full disclosure:
For Keys: I go direct into the our PA mixer (A&H ZED14, looks like a winner for Jplumansoc too) which goes into two QSC K12 powered speakers as our mains (with a couple of QSC K10s for floor monitors)

For bass: I don't go into the PA, I use a separate amp and cab (usually a G-B Streamliner 900 into a Bergantino AE212 cab).

Having said that, I see no reason why your proposed setup wouldn't sound OK, especially if you watch the mud factor on the mixer/bass part of your mix. That would be my focus on getting the mix right.

By the way, we have a small club on here for key's-playing bassists, check it out sometime:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f28/keyboard-players-turned-bassist-club-639246/
 
#14
Bass and keyboard amps/ combos are pretty similar in sound. In my opinion the best Bass Amp COmbos to run keys to is GK or Peavey. They tend to have more mids. they have less color in the speakers (no mid scoop in them). A used US-made Peavey KB100 ($100) with a 15 is pretty darn loud. Rolands in my experience are clean and accurate but they dont have the balls for live sound. - especially when there are overdriven guitar amps on stage. I see alot of rock kb/synth guys using an old peavey, or new 1x12 powered kickback monitor.
 
#15
For the past year, I've been playing bass and keys with my cover band with much success. I put both the keys(motif es6) and bass into a Behringer XENYX1202FX, then run that into a shuttle 9.0, into my Berg ae410. That little Behringer mixer is very useful, and it fits on top the shuttle perfectly. For such a small lightweight setup, it's a powerhouse! For small gigs where we use a vocal PA only, we could always use the mixer and shuttle as a backup vocal PA to kinda limp along the rest of the night if something were to happen to our normal PA.
 

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