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The transition to NO AMP

#21
SLO Surfer said:
If your PA mixer is anything like the Behringer, it will have far superior eq control than any preamp/DI box you’re thinking of buying.
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This. The Behringer is the budget version of the Midas so it should be good to go. The advantage to this is you can tweak your "ideal" bass tone on your preamp (or HX Stomp in my opinion) and take your AUX feed pre-EQ/faders off the board and always have your same tone in your ears. Then FOH can use the powerful parametric EQ to tweak your FOH sound for the room.

Edit: having made my second recommendation for the HX Stomp I reread your original post and see it is about double your budget, so sorry bout that. in my opinion everything you get for the extra is well worth it, but its still a lot more than what you said.
 
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#22
Ultimately, I think your ears are going to want to hear some sort of cab simulation. There are a bunch of different pedals now that offer impulse response loaders for most any cabinet you can name. Some have built in pre-amps with knobs and others are managed with mobile devices.

It can be overwhelming quick when you start understanding all of the options. It's a fast paced evolution at the moment.
 
#24
I have been using a Darkglass Alpha Omega for my ampless setup... I put it on the tail end of my effects chain. One key effect I think helps with a direct-to-board bass tone is a good compressor. The Darkglass pedal has a decent three band eq and a separate gain/overdrive circuit that you can tune in with a blend knob from a little bit warm to outright f-ing mayhem... or leave it off for just a clean DI signal. I only wish there was a separate footswitch for the overdrive circuit.

upload_2022-3-22_17-27-14.png
 
#26
Yes!!! My party band has a 32-channel Behringer digital board and the amps, subs, and mains to run an outdoor gig. I have only a Behringer hot spot for my monitor for vocals and keys, and the articulation of my bass, because I can hear everything else. The rest of the band uses in-ear monitors and each has his own personal monitor mix with the digital wi-fi multiplexing. Since I have an active bass, I use a Behringer inexpensive $25 passive direct box since I am feeding a clean EMG signal to the box and I don't need any additional processing. My sound man really likes it, and wishes others in the band would do the same.
 
#28
Tim Skaggs said:
Due to a personnel change in my band, we are going with an entirely new PA (you guessed it, the departing member owned the PA).

The new mixer is a Midas MR18, which is pretty much a Behringer XR18 with different preamps, (if you believe the marketing), JBL powered mains & subs. My plan is to go with IEM’s and some kind of preamp or DI to go to a channel in the mixer. I have the wireless transmitter & receiver for the IEMs.

I’m currently playing through a GK MB500 driving a Fender Rumble 115 cab and an Ampeg STV 210 AV with the speakers vertically aligned.

Now I’m looking for a preamp / tone shaping DI to get from bass to mixer channel. I don’t need anything too elaborate, but I need some ability to tone-adjust for the room as needed during gigs. I envision the mixer channel will be set flat or near flat. I’m hoping to be able to get something around $250, but less is good:thumbsup:

I’ve read through a few threads about preamps, and it was a little like counting ants…. I guess the good thing is there’s a very good selection. I don’t really want a rack mount unit, but if the price and features are right, I’d go that route. My goal is to get a good FOH tone & volume with a reasonable monitor volume for the other band members since they are NOT going to IEMs or at least not yet. I’d also like something that could be used to enhance tone if I do use an amp in some circumstances.

Thanks in advance for suggestions.
Click to expand...

pretty much any solid state bass head that has an XLR out will work ... then while you are at it you can add a cab as a stage monitor
 
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#29
I made a similar transition a few years ago. I always miss the visceral feeling of a bass cabinet behind me, but an all-IEM setup does two things that make me want to never go back to amps again:

- Makes the concept of a soundcheck trivial. Pretty much checking levels to make sure everyone's signal is hot and managing the FOH EQ. That's about it because the PA has all the settings saved off from the time before.
- Makes it much easier to play in small or naughty rooms that have hard-to-control acoustic properties. Like one club I play in where the room is shoebox-shaped with the stage facing across the box rather than down it. With amps that room is a pain in the ass; with IEMs...well, it sounds just like every other room.

I do use my amp head as a preamp, whether it's my Mesa D-800 or my GK MBFusion, depending on my mood. They work so well as preamps and are really not much larger than a preamp DI anyway. For nights when I simply must, I have a Radial Bassbone that I use when I have doubler gigs that also works fine as a DI-preamp.

The key is getting used to the way everything sounds through the IEMs - or, more specifically getting the drummer used to it. For whatever reason, drummers struggle with the transition more than anyone else does.

One thing I recommend if you go IEM in your setup is to put a single microphone up in the middle of the stage and use it to capture the ambient noise. Each band member can adjust the level of that noise individually through your in-ear mixers, but having it there removes a weird sense of isolation from the room and audience that you can feel without it. And, without a mic like that, any IEM-wearing band members who do not have vocal mics have no way to communicate with one another on stage. That's a bigger deal than I thought it would be.

Enjoy!
 
#31
We transitioned to in ears. I'm new to this thing and I'm disappointed I won't get much use from the amp and cabinets I've acquired. Anyway, I'd recommend the whole band shifts to in ears. Getting outside input from the amps can unbalance the in ear mix. You are only concerned about your mix and sound in your monitor. Let the sound guy/gal worry about the house mix. So much easier.
 
#32
There are plenty of used multi fx in or under your budget.

You could have several amp models, cabs, fx, tuner, di all in one.

Something like the Zoom B3, line 6 hd500x.... from simple to complex.

Either one or something like it will power your in ears for practice.

An ampless stage will be so nice.
 
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#34
I have a Mesa Subway+ that is outstanding, and has a great design where you can run the output of the preamp at mic levels to the mixer/FOH, plus a separately-controlled line-level signal to drive a power amp. So you're always giving FOH a great consistent, clean, low-noise signal, and you can also drive another source with a separate knob.

I've also been experimenting with a Hotone Ampero recently and have found it to be surprisingly good sounding on bass--in fact I prefer it over the Mesa for my Fender Marcus Miller Signature. I paid $250 for it used about a year ago.
 
#36
Woah, lots of replies while I’ve been out running a chain saw…

I am aware of the channel EQ of the XR18 from use of that mixer the past couple years, and I’m assuming the MR18 has the same of better. We won’t have a sound person other than me getting things set up after the MR18 is delivered. We’ll save that scene & just make minor changes for different rooms. I’ll make most bass tone changes from the bass itself, but I usually make a few tone setting tweaks on my amp during an entire gig. I’d like to still have that ability without whipping out the iPad and adjusting on my channel. My tone changes during the gig are usually related to me changing basses.

A couple suggestions for a couple Tech 21 products. A Sansamp DI was one of the items on my list. I like the look of the Darkglass A/O, but I realize my eyes are no good at detecting good tone

I’m not married to a specific tone, but some of the best I’ve ever achieved was with a Fender Studio Bass combo amp section (all tube 180 watts) running a 2x15 cabinet equipped with a couple EV speakers. I also get very good tone out of my current rig.

Just got word the MR 18 won’t arrive until mid April, so I’ll be doing some experimenting with the XR18 we have borrowed and my MB500 as a preamp.

Thanks to all for the suggestions.
 
#38
Tim Skaggs said:
Due to a personnel change in my band, we are going with an entirely new PA (you guessed it, the departing member owned the PA).

The new mixer is a Midas MR18, which is pretty much a Behringer XR18 with different preamps, (if you believe the marketing), JBL powered mains & subs. My plan is to go with IEM’s and some kind of preamp or DI to go to a channel in the mixer. I have the wireless transmitter & receiver for the IEMs.

I’m currently playing through a GK MB500 driving a Fender Rumble 115 cab and an Ampeg STV 210 AV with the speakers vertically aligned.

Now I’m looking for a preamp / tone shaping DI to get from bass to mixer channel. I don’t need anything too elaborate, but I need some ability to tone-adjust for the room as needed during gigs. I envision the mixer channel will be set flat or near flat. I’m hoping to be able to get something around $250, but less is good:thumbsup:

I’ve read through a few threads about preamps, and it was a little like counting ants…. I guess the good thing is there’s a very good selection. I don’t really want a rack mount unit, but if the price and features are right, I’d go that route. My goal is to get a good FOH tone & volume with a reasonable monitor volume for the other band members since they are NOT going to IEMs or at least not yet. I’d also like something that could be used to enhance tone if I do use an amp in some circumstances.

Thanks in advance for suggestions.
Click to expand...
You can't really run ampless without a sound guy. You have no idea what you sound like, or how it fits in the audience.

But, if you have a sound guy, he'll set you up. Just give him something to work with.

Me, I'd go for either an ampeg scr-di, Mesa Subway di, Fender downtown, or a TC.

But, that all depends on what you like.

Set high and low pass filters on your channel. Highs at around 5khz, lows at around 50hz. Think of that like a cab sim. It'll help keep you doing what you're supposed to. Do a good sound check, standing off the stage. Have someone you know (like a significant other) give you guys sound advice during the set.
 

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