Powered cabinets for bass- your take?

[66 Fender Jazz]

Old school electric bassist gigging presently using 90s-00s combo amplifiers (150-200W). Have spoken with working electric bassists who are using quality bass preamps (PJBs, others) into powered speaker cabinets. Would consider two piece kit if power were to be gained while not overloading with a weighty cab (fitting into a hatchback). Would greatly appreciate input and experience from the community on this direction for live performance. Hoping for something that would stand alone without having to DI every time through a house PA.

 

[Slevage]

I used a powered JBL when I played with a duo
(Sometimes with midi tracks). Do small gigs, I sang through it too.
These days, I don’t do any singing and never play 2 piece.
My preference is a small bass combo because currently available equis very light and very good. My go to is. Markbass 1-12 combo ( with 1-12 extensions speaker when the band is louder).
For pit work, an Elf 1-10 combo through FOH
Is great.

 

[gtirard]

Old school electric bassist gigging presently using 90s-00s combo amplifiers (150-200W). Have spoken with working electric bassists who are using quality bass preamps (PJBs, others) into powered speaker cabinets. Would consider two piece kit if power were to be gained while not overloading with a weighty cab (fitting into a hatchback). Would greatly appreciate input and experience from the community on this direction for live performance. Hoping for something that would stand alone without having to DI every time through a house PA.

A few PA cabs can do it. It's an affordable solution, but they don't all work well with bass.

There are not many manufacturer who build active cabs really designed for the bass, but GR Bass has a full range, they are called "ACT" for active.

Pricey and not very easy to find, but excellent sound, and incredibly light weight.

You can check on the GR Bass thread, a few members have bought one of these ACT cabs, reports are excellent.

 

[Bodeeni]

ultra light tiny heads and light cabs and combos have pretty much made powered cabs redundant.

 

[Neon Blues]

I really like the Blackstar Active 250. Was running a Verellen Meatsmoke though one.

 

[57pbass]

I have a powered Bag End cabinet that works with external pre amps, an external bass head and I can also plug directly into the cabinet with an active bass. I had this customized at Bag End. It’s on the heavy side and I use it at locations where I know in advance that load in is not too difficult. It’s an amazing sounding cabinet and is super high quality. The internal amp is dead quiet..no hissing and no fan.
I also have passive Bag End cabinets and a MESA SUBWAY 4x10 that are my go to cabs for most shows.
I would like to hear the carbon fiber stuff before purchasing .. so expensive.

 

[mellobud]

Old school electric bassist gigging presently using 90s-00s combo amplifiers (150-200W). Have spoken with working electric bassists who are using quality bass preamps (PJBs, others) into powered speaker cabinets. Would consider two piece kit if power were to be gained while not overloading with a weighty cab (fitting into a hatchback). Would greatly appreciate input and experience from the community on this direction for live performance. Hoping for something that would stand alone without having to DI every time through a house PA.

You should go to your local music shop and ask to try your bass plugged into one of their di preamp pedals connected directly into a decent display 12” or 15 powered pa speaker with xlr. You may or may not be surprised.

Bonus points if they have a column/sub PA system to try.

 

[burgerdj]

I have a powered Bag End cabinet that works with external pre amps, an external bass head and I can also plug directly into the cabinet with an active bass. I had this customized at Bag End. It’s on the heavy side and I use it at locations where I know in advance that load in is not too difficult. It’s an amazing sounding cabinet and is super high quality. The internal amp is dead quiet..no hissing and no fan.
I also have passive Bag End cabinets and a MESA SUBWAY 4x10 that are my go to cabs for most shows.
I would like to hear the carbon fiber stuff before purchasing .. so expensive.
View attachment 6996272

Love Bag End and this rig is fire!

 

[Ralph69]

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EON715--jbl-eon715-1300-watt-15-inch-powered-pa-speaker

 

[Medicine Man]

Lots of great lightweight heads and cabs have come out, but they can be spendy. If you want to carry a room off your cab, a seperate head and cab/cabs are a better solution, because if a component goes bad, you only have half the replacement cost, imho. How much are you looking to spend and what type of music?

 

[OkayistBassist]

I use a QSC CP-12 that I use for stage volume in my main band. I’m in the process of not using it all and going IEM for myself.

The other band that I have been playing with for the last almost two years has gigs where I don’t have PA support (one is a restaurant/ cafe, the other is a poolside gig on the beach). The CP-12 holds its own quite well. I use the 1/4” out from my Noble to the QSC and it works wonderfully.

 

[mellobud]

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/EON715--jbl-eon715-1300-watt-15-inch-powered-pa-speaker

Great bang for the buck here. Find a preamp you like and go to town. I just started down this road with the eon712.

Eon715 has 1300w peak
~650 or 700w RMS I think

 

[Bag of Lazers]

Make sure you buy one that people here have gotten great results with. I tried this with a Samson RS112A and it was a disaster. I ran my Darkglass preamp into it and it didn't even survive one practice in a small room. I had to replace the speaker with a much heavier Eminence. I've gotten plenty of other usage out of the powered speaker, but even with the new Eminence in it I haven't even tried bass through it again.

 

[mellobud]

The 700 series eons come with a Bluetooth phone app that allow for mixing between the two channels, gain adjustments between channels, fully customizable eq, and other features. I believe QSC has a similar app.

If you go this route, update the firmware after purchase to make sure you have the latest features.

 

[mdogs]

I really need someone to explain to me why a powered PA speaker with a preamp would be preferable over a dedicated bass combo or amp and head. I am assuming that the only thing running through the each set up is bass. This just makes absolutely no sense to me, I know it can work, but why shoe horn it. There are TONS of quality bass combos and components that are affordable and sound very acceptable.

 

[mellobud]

I really need someone to explain to me why a powered PA speaker with a preamp would be preferable over a dedicated bass combo or amp and head. I am assuming that the only thing running through the each set up is bass. This just makes absolutely no sense to me, I know it can work, but why shoe horn it. There are TONS of quality bass combos and components that are affordable and sound very acceptable.

I did it for versatility. I can use it for a bass amp, party tunes, band wedge monitor, household karaoke, band main, etc.

Plus it’s a great Bluetooth speaker.

Edit: if you don’t like it, there are more likely buyers for PA speaker, not as niche a market.

 

[RGerhart]

I run a powered Accugroove Tri-112+ cab, and absolutely love it. I've been trying to convince myself that I need a second one for the "really big gigs," but every time I use it, it is plenty loud. I usually pair it with my Aguilar DB-680, or my small pedalboard with my Noble, and it sounds amazing. Very clear, responsive, and lightweight.

 

[gtirard]

I really need someone to explain to me why a powered PA speaker with a preamp would be preferable over a dedicated bass combo or amp and head. I am assuming that the only thing running through the each set up is bass. This just makes absolutely no sense to me, I know it can work, but why shoe horn it. There are TONS of quality bass combos and components that are affordable and sound very acceptable.

I agree, but I think some bassists think this way:

1. "I prefer to do the tone shaping in a dedicated preamp rather than the preamp stage of a combo or a full head". This can be motivated by different reasons: flexibility to choose from different preamps depending on the context, cost of quality preamps more affordable than equivalent quality amp, people may want to use the preamp alone to record direct or play with IEM and have the same sound for gigs, flexibility offered by modelers… Or a combination of all the above.

2. "Since I'm already using an external preamp, I don't want to plug it in a full head". Again, there can be several reasons to view things that way: I don't want to pay for 2 preamps (the external preamp I'm using, and the preamp section of a full amp that I won't be using), or the belief that a powered cab should be cheaper than a combo because it contains less components…

This thinking seems logical, but it doesn't take into account the economies of scale and the size of the market, which don't allow bass amps manufacturers to make affordable products, because it's a niche market and the cost of R&D and certification are huge.

Also some people compare the prices and specs of PA cabs with bass specific cabs and think there's no reason to pay a premium price when PA gear seems so affordable with stratospheric specs.

IMHO

 

[Dana R Gregory]

Regarding powered cabs, I was told by a rep at Gallien Krueger that they are planning to reintroduce their powered cabs next year, especially the MBP112 which was the most popular one. I know this doesn't help the OP much right now, but keep this in mind for down the road. The GK combos with a matching powered cab are a very good setup for gigging.

 

[pbassnut]

I really need someone to explain to me why a powered PA speaker with a preamp would be preferable over a dedicated bass combo or amp and head. I am assuming that the only thing running through the each set up is bass. This just makes absolutely no sense to me, I know it can work, but why shoe horn it. There are TONS of quality bass combos and components that are affordable and sound very acceptable.

There are quite a few good, affordable bass combos out there that can be driven by an external preamp via their effects return patch point which essentially makes them powered speakers. For people (like me) who have a gaggle of rack mount and pedal preamps, it enables you to have a bunch of different amp sounds with a single bass combo.