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Versatile Road Rig

N

NewIntlSatan

Mar 10, 2008
19
0
#1
Howdy all, this is my first post here on talkbass, so hopefully I won't sound like too much of a n00b.

I'm looking on setting up a versatile rig for live gigging. My primary concern is reliability and the ability to swap out any component that fails live. I've had a guitar amp die when we didn't have a backup and it was super awkward. Fortunately my drummer and myself have been playing forever and can D&B forever to keep the crowd going, but if the bass amp dies....

I'm playing mostly bars these days, though we're moving up into some bigger venues and playing a few house party / festival shows, so I'm looking for a rig i can DI in the places with a nice PA, but with the ability to pump up the volume for outdoor gigs, or where the PA handles only the vocals.

So far, I'm looking to pick up a Tech21 SansAmp Bass Driver Programmable. I really like the footswitch configuration, as my band is all over the place style-wise, and it's a three piece, so I'm heard pretty well. The price is also nice, and if it happens to short out or have beer spilled on it onstage I can just swap it with my cheapo whirlwind DI and the show can go on.

Power amp wise, I'm liking th QSC RMX 850 in it's own rack case. It'd be nice to be able to bridge into the Avatar if i really need to push it. Just to ease my mind, it would be fine as long as I don't crank the power amp all the way, with the QSC putting out 600 watts max and the Avatar only handling 500? I figure by the time we need to put out that much power I can just add an Avatar 410 and run 830 watts at 4 ohms bridged into both cabs and be pretty much set to play anywhere. Only thing is I can only buy one for now, but I'd say I can trust QSC for a few months, as I can DI almost everywhere we've ever played.

Any feedback or suggestions? I'm going to add a power conditioner and tuner, and some compression later, but I'm big into simplicity and redundancy. BTW I play a G&L Tribute L-2000 and I'm looking to pick up a Fender P as a backup in case I break a string or something. Links to my band for context follow. Thanks all!

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#2
so it appears the sansamp is missing a tone control? Has anyone else noticed this ;)

I'm gonna go play one on saturday because talking about tone seems kind of retarted. I can't believe there aren't more audio samples on these gear forums. If I pick up a bass driver i'll post up a bunch of samples.

Other options are B2RE and MarkBass micro. I like leetle stuff, it's always fun to defy expectations.
 
#4
As far as I know there's nothing as versatile as:
Acoustic Image Focus 2 series III
http://www.acousticimg.com/products/prod_focus.html

Schroeder 1212 light flight
http://www.schroedercabinets.com/1212.htm
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

800 watts and only 47 lbs both amp + cab!

focus_2r_lg.jpg

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#6
Why are you people suggesting things WAY OUTSIDE what this guy posted as a starting point?

To the OP: Maybe you could also look at the Sansamp rackmounted preamp (RPM????) Its pretty similar to the floor models. Youll lose the tone changes but having it locked away in your amp rack will make it much safer, not to mention easier to set up.
 
#7
Yeah, I've been thinking about the RBI...mids are pretty important, as I usually have the lows cut all the way on my bass, so Boosting the lows and mids get me a punky sound I like. Is it true that the sansamp cuts mids, or does it just leave them alone with no control?

Markbass is sweet, but I haven't found any for a decent price. I hear guitar center sells them but I haven't been to one since i heard of markbass.

Acoustic Image is WAY out of my price range. Any more feedback? goin to play with some of this stuff at guitar center and sam ash tomorrow.
 
#10
referring to the QSC into the Avatar? rock, i figured as much. I'm rocking a borrowed peavey TNT 1x15 with 500 watts and haven't gone over midway on gain and volume at a gig yet, so that should do me for now. Plus adding a second is easy, it can run a 8, 4, or 2 ohms, and they're supposed to be built like tanks.

Any more ideas preamp wise? the sansamp RBI is about the max I'd like to spend, $350US or so.
 
#11
NewIntlSatan said:
Yeah, I've been thinking about the RBI...mids are pretty important, as I usually have the lows cut all the way on my bass, so Boosting the lows and mids get me a punky sound I like. Is it true that the sansamp cuts mids, or does it just leave them alone with no control?

Markbass is sweet, but I haven't found any for a decent price. I hear guitar center sells them but I haven't been to one since i heard of markbass.

Acoustic Image is WAY out of my price range. Any more feedback? goin to play with some of this stuff at guitar center and sam ash tomorrow.
Click to expand...

the rbi does have a slightly mid scooped sound but you can make up for it with the tone controls. i like my rbi alot. if you like the sound you can get out of it its great. it has a really nice tube grit sound that i use. it doesnt go into that much overdrive if you are looking for an overdriven tone.

there is a thread with a wealth of info on the rbi and rpm
 
#12
Hows it compare to the pedal version that lacks the mid knob? I'm searching for that thread, if anyone has a link or knows off the top of their head let me know. Until i find the answer for myself, does the RBI have a compressor built in? I read a harmony-central review that said it compressed 'dramatically', but I don't see any control for the compressor on the front panel.
 
#13
the thread is 'sansamp rbi vs rpm' i think

the pedal version is nothing like the rbi. the pedal can go into full distortion and isnt as bright as the rbi is at all. the mid knob is set to 1k on the rbi. which is eh. i use a graphic eq along with the rbi so i have better control over the mids.
 
#14
i think the bbe bmax just blew my mind. all the controls I need, and cheaper than the RBI. the sonic maximizer i've heard nothing but good things about, so that's gravy too. haha you're all probably so tired of hearing these comparisons over and over again, i'm just trying to figure out what to search for :bassist:
 

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