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sansamp rbi question and rack mount question

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PoundinThunder

Sep 27, 2007
261
1
Upstate NY. Victor
#1
hey everyone,

i am getting a sansamp rbi for christmas along with a new bass (nothing special, i just needed a quick 5 string for band purposes. a little mad cuz i have to put my baby, my jazz, down and play a crappy rogue until i can afford a new 5er) anyways, im a little unclear on how to hook it up and gig with it. it says u can go DI into the PA, does that mean all i need is my head and the rbi? or should i still bring my cabs? sorry for the idiocy

also, i have a Behringer BX4500H Ultrabass Bass Head. and i was wondering if was possible to take off the housing and maybe somehow rackmount it? im not sure so im not going to pull it apart and mess it up yet. haha

thanks in advance
 
#2
With a DI, you would only need to bring the Sansamp to a show if they have PA support. If you wanted to hear yourself playing through your cabs AS WELL, then you'd have to bring your head, sansamp and cabs...but otherwise, just bring the Sansamp.

I personally wouldn't fiddle around with the Behringers, it might by hearsay but I hear horrible things about them and tinkering with them doesn't seem like a great idea IMO. I'd suggest selling the Behringer and getting something decent, like a used GK Backline 600...those things are bulletproof and CHEAP!

But just outta curiosity, what kind of cabs are you going out of?
 
#3
well right now i only have the matching 1x15 but im looking for a cheap 4x10. doesnt my head add to my tone tho? if i just bring the sansamp, wont my tone not be the same? and i am also consdering getting a boss odb-3 bass overdrive pedal too. idk tho sorry if i come across as a complete noob
 
#4
The Behringer head will add to your tone, yes, but the tone it adds (a) is not very good, and (b) is not very important to the PA mix. If you were playing an SVT or something where the cranked power tubes were an important (and good-sounding) part of your tone then we could talk about miking the cabs, and special DI's for that job, etc. to have in parallel with the Sansamp channel. But the Behringer in this case is just a way for you to hear yourself play. No seriously, that's it- it's a personal monitor for you, and the EQ and "ultra" whatever settings are just for you to hear onstage. The EQ settings that sound good to you onstage are typically not the same EQ settings that will sound good through the PA out in the room.

Sansamp is "sans amp" or "without an amp", meaning it is supposed to sound like an amp and speaker cab by itself, just going straight to the mixer. Running it through a Behringer head, or combining it with the Behringer tone in the PA mix, would just make it sound bad, sound less like the professional amp-tone machine it is.

Search on "ODB", "ODB3", and "overdrive" over in the effects forum. There are hundreds of threads, thousands of posts, giving advice on those particular subjects. :)
 
#6
PoundinThunder said:
well right now i only have the matching 1x15 but im looking for a cheap 4x10. doesnt my head add to my tone tho? if i just bring the sansamp, wont my tone not be the same? and i am also consdering getting a boss odb-3 bass overdrive pedal too. idk tho sorry if i come across as a complete noob
Click to expand...

I'd personally get some different cabs, the behringer stuff will only kill what awesome tone you're getting from the sansamp. But like Bongo said, you really just have to bring the Sansamp and an XLR to the show to be honest, that's what's awesome about it...but you gotta make sure you're going to a place with decent PA support.

We got a teen coffehouse and hangout with a skate park that my band started off at, and there is NO WAY I'd trust that place with a DI and hope for the best, but most places that arent aimed at kids will have a decent PA.

I'd recommend picking up some GK cabs, Used Ampeg cabs, or basically anything except for behringer ones lol. As far as the bass overdrive from boss, I'd keep a lookout for a used GT-6B (not the new GT-10B) because they sell pretty cheap used and have much more control if you're just looking to do effects. If you feel like tinkering a bit with them, you can get a lot outta it.
 
#9
so what i would do is go bass>pedal>amp>sansamp>PA? but only use the master on the amp to get power from?

again im really sorry, im only used to my head and cabinet thats it. i know the behringer isnt good but its what i got you know? i dont mind the tone but if it will make the tone worse then i will sell it. but will the sansamp be loud enough? i also know the cab isnt good but it works, i want to get a gk or something but im on a budget.

edit-nevermind on the sansamp being loud enough haha im an idiot. if it runs through the pa it shouldnt matter correct? cuz then its up to how loud the pa is?
 
#10
Here's what I'd do in your position: Bring the Behr amp and your speaker cab, and also bring the RBI. You probably don't really need an overdrive pedal if you've got the RBI, it provides all the overdrive you're likely to need. I know it sounded like I was bagging on the Behr but my point was not to say "it sucks leave it at home", my point was to say "use it to hear yourself, but do not think it is adding anything valuable to the PA mix, or that anything is missing from the PA mix if they don't hear your Behr head."

Even with a good PA you still need some way to hear yourself, either an amp/cab or in-ear-monitors. A good PA has monitor speakers, but almost always there is not much of your bass signal or tone in those monitors, they usually just pump out some mids and highs to where everyone can hear the key and the rhythm but certainly no low end heft or tone.

So again here's what I'd do:

bass --> RBI
RBI DI output --> PA
RBI main 1/4" output --> effects return (AKA power amp input) jack on the Behr head
Behr head power out --> speaker cab

Doing that allows the RBI to provide all your tone control, and completely disconnects the Behr preamp from the equation. If you want to use the EQ and other tone controls on the Behr head, no problem- just plug the RBI's main 1/4" output into the regular instrument input on the Behr head. Now you've got both preamps affecting your tone in the speaker cab onstage.

It's up to you which one of those ways sounds better to you or works better for your preferred way of dialing in EQ etc.

The level from the Sansamp into the PA is up to the guy running the mixer, and how loud the PA itself is.

The level of your sound for you to hear onstage is up to you and the amp you bring.

The Behr head is perfectly good for you to hear yourself onstage; it has no business running to the PA also. :) Hope that clears it up.
 
#13
yeah, i really dont have the money for a power amp. i was also wondering, will buyin a 4x10 or a 2x10 open up my sound a bit? instead of it getting all pushed through a single speaker? idk

and i kinda dont want to look weak alongside everyone else in my band who have full stacks haha and for practice i need something to hold my own
 
#14
That's actually a really good idea, getting a bigger speaker cabinet with more speakers is a real solid method of getting more "loudness" from your existing amp head, it usually works much better than getting a more powerful amp and feeding it through the same small old speaker cab. Get a 410 if you can.
 

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