Plugging bass into Church PA system.

[OldFartBassMan]

I'm needed to add light bass parts to an
acoustic guitar Praise band playing in church.
The church is huge, has a large powerful PA that
they plug into.

Would it be realistic for me to plug in my
bass into the mixer console, to provide a
gentle thump? I assume I should maybe roll off
the low frequencies and emphasize the mid ranges.

I just don't want to blow out a set of speakers,
but would rather not bring in large amp to try
to fill the church

 

[s0c9]

Get a DI and plug into the church PA.
The DI can be just a simple DI or something in the pre-amp range like a Darkglass or Sansamp pedal.
As long as you can monitor yourself while playing, no amp needed.

 

[OldFartBassMan]

Thanks!
But I'm still wondering if the PA speakers can handle my bass frequencies..

 

[Scottkarch]

Without knowing the speakers they use, we don't know. Check with the person running sound. If it's for vocals only, he'll probably know and not want your bass plugged in... even if it's not a really beefy system, if they rolled off the lows your mids would probably be fine.

My guess is you'll be fine at most church volumes.... but check with your church sound guy. I assume you'll be fine.

 

[dheafey]

Get a DI and plug into the church PA.
The DI can be just a simple DI or something in the pre-amp range like a Darkglass or Sansamp pedal.
As long as you can monitor yourself while playing, no amp needed.

OP: you can plug directly into the board, but I agree with SOC9. XLR'ing to the board is a better option, especially if it's a reasonably long distance.

 

[Ethereal Thorn]

Just get a decent di/pre and you will be fine

 

[jon mccumber]

I do this almost every Sunday. I started with a passive di box and eventually switched to my amphead with a built in di to give me some tone shaping. We run at pretty low volume.

 

[Joe Smithberger]

Chances are that there are high pass filters engaged if the PA can't handle the lows. You should be fine. However, I agree with the others saying "get a DI." Particularly if the system is challenged, you will want the extra shaping that a preamp type DI will give you (Sansamp, Tone Hammer, VT Bass, or even Behringer equivalents).