What bass pres should I consider for a church?

[Heath_eld]

I’m sure this has been asked before but here goes…

I’m music director at a church. Style of music is “we play modern songs but no urge to sound cutting edge”. Think acoustic guitar, keys, bass drums most weeks. No amp - direct to pa with in ears.

We have about 5 bass players with a variety of basses, both active and passive, plus a couple of other groups use our building.

We’ve been using my VT bass deluxe as a preamp for years. I think something is wrong with it - it won’t stay clean, has a bit of distortion even at very low drive levels (and it varies).

Even when it was newer it had a bit of a “clanky” high end which doesn’t hugely suit.

So we need something new.

Today with my bass (stingray) I just plugged into a radial DI that the church owns and it sounded fine. But I suspect this might sound a bit pokey with the guys with passive basses.

I know a lot of church players favour the tone hammer, so that’s one I’m open to. Never really heard it beyond YouTube demos.

We just want what most players would say, fat bottom end with a bit of cut through.

Am I overstating how much difference it even makes if I choose tone hammer vs sansamp vs plain DI?

Otherwise what works well?

 

[Leigh Semmens]

It could just be the sound guy on the desk rather than the DI giving it that "clanky" high end. None of the bass players at our church use a special DI and I noticed that the bass, this morning was a lot brighter than usual. (Almost "clanky") Are you sure that your DI is just not suffering from flat battery syndrome. My Active Bass does that when the battery gets a bit low. (mild distortion, not sure if a DI would do the same)

 

[Wasnex]

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[Heath_eld]

It could just be the sound guy on the desk rather than the DI giving it that "clanky" high end. None of the bass players at our church use a special DI and I noticed that the bass, this morning was a lot brighter than usual. (Almost "clanky") Are you sure that your DI is just not suffering from flat battery syndrome. My Active Bass does that when the battery gets a bit low. (mild distortion, not sure if a DI would do the same)

So… this is a good question. It doesn’t have a battery. It’s set up to be powered by a power supply but it seems to have earthing issues unless we connect it to phantom power off the board.

As for the sound team… fairly knowledgeable (and several of the bass players are also on the sound team). The clankiness is the Vt deluxe tone… it’s able to be EQd a bit but it’s just naturally a bit mid scooped as a voice. It sounds ok - my issue is more the way it’s distorting.

Its left plugged in a lot and it’s 10-12 years old so, these things do happen… I don’t hold it against tech 21

 

[crapusername]

I always use an mxr m80 di+.
Tonally can do lots, and has lots of options with the extra channel
It can be phantom powered as well, so no need of any batteries too

 

[DangYankee]

The VT always seems a little clanky to me. I much prefer the original (BDDI). It's warmer, the drive is much smoother, and it does low gain stuff much better than the VT. I've been playing worship at various churches for a decade and it's It's my main DI. It's gotten nothing but compliments and is a beloved classic for a reason.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Pope.....just kidding.

Nothing wrong with the Tone Hammer. Do you have any addt'l need for extraneous fluff like comps, tuners, etc.?

Riis

 

[Barticus]

Tone Hammer would be a good fit, also has the AG (with button) for a little grit if desired.

I use a Subway+ DI which is pretty awesome, but they’re not in production right now so they’re a little bit difficult to find used.

 

[MaxSpinrun]

Check this one out, many options!

 

[TomJ4Eden]

Check this one out, many options!

Genzler Magellan Pre. This is what I use and it's super easy to dial in a good tone. Here again is the link.

Magellan Pre

 

[prndltech]

what’s the budget? And would the other players know how to dial it in?

Something simple like a Khan VTDI or REDDI could do the trick if it’s going to live there. Plug and play goodness.
Or maybe something like an HX stomp, everyone could have their own patch saved on it…

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I’m sure this has been asked before but here goes…

I’m music director at a church. Style of music is “we play modern songs but no urge to sound cutting edge”. Think acoustic guitar, keys, bass drums most weeks. No amp - direct to pa with in ears.

We have about 5 bass players with a variety of basses, both active and passive, plus a couple of other groups use our building.

We’ve been using my VT bass deluxe as a preamp for years. I think something is wrong with it - it won’t stay clean, has a bit of distortion even at very low drive levels (and it varies).

Even when it was newer it had a bit of a “clanky” high end which doesn’t hugely suit.

So we need something new.

Today with my bass (stingray) I just plugged into a radial DI that the church owns and it sounded fine. But I suspect this might sound a bit pokey with the guys with passive basses.

I know a lot of church players favour the tone hammer, so that’s one I’m open to. Never really heard it beyond YouTube demos.

We just want what most players would say, fat bottom end with a bit of cut through.

Am I overstating how much difference it even makes if I choose tone hammer vs sansamp vs plain DI?

Otherwise what works well?

I used an Eden WTDI for about 10 years at my church where we had Avioms and in ears. I’m sure a sans amp would suit most.

On other point about sounding clanky and distorted, have you tried different earphones/buds, annd or ear pieces? Also, check to make sure contacts points are clean on your jacks and plugs before discarding the VT.

 

[Jari Kurri]

what’s the budget? And would the other players know how to dial it in?

Something simple like a Khan VTDI or REDDI could do the trick if it’s going to live there. Plug and play goodness.
Or maybe something like an HX stomp, everyone could have there own patch saved on it…

The question about other players is a good one - other bassists at our church are using a variety of basses and some of them are not interested in messing around with settings when it's their week to play.

Our church demoed a few preamp pedals and settled on a Origin Effects BassRig Super Vintage, with the Tonehammer was a close second. I wonder if the new JHS Punchline would be an option too. Could be nice to have a basic EQ, speaker sim, plus switchable compressor and drive all in one pedal with some very straightforward controls.

 

[Azari]

The presence control on the Sansamp Bass Driver DI may be what you are looking for. The Sansamp Bass Driver DI is also simple to dial in for different basses too. It’s an industry standard. I’ve seen quite a few bassists with this exact pedalboard setup:

You could put this onstage at church and I bet pretty much everyone would be happy. You can use the presence knob to dial in as little or as much clank as you need for whichever bass. They are pretty much univerally loved by front of house soundguys, & conveniently have an XLR out.

 

[theguy316]

My Stingray sounds great through an Aguilar Tonehammer DI. I typically keep the AGS setting off and it stays very clean.

 

[Heath_eld]

what’s the budget? And would the other players know how to dial it in?

Something simple like a Khan VTDI or REDDI could do the trick if it’s going to live there. Plug and play goodness.
Or maybe something like an HX stomp, everyone could have their own patch saved on it…

Budget, isn’t a real issue beyond saying, nothing super high end. Our view is that if a particular player wants real high end gear they can buy it themselves, but we’re not looking for cheapest either… all the standard ones are typically A$350-$700 and that range isn’t a problem.

Hx stomp or that sort of thing is going to be too complex. Some (most) of these people just want to plug in. If I was setting up a personal rig I reckon that’s what I’d do.

We have a tuner on the board already. There’s also a tech 21 spectracomp but we don’t really use it, the sound guys don’t like it.

 

[Heath_eld]

The presence control on the Sansamp Bass Driver DI may be what you are looking for. The Sansamp Bass Driver DI is also simple to dial in for different basses too. It’s an industry standard. I’ve seen quite a few bassists with this exact pedalboard setup:View attachment 7030979
You could put this onstage at church and I bet pretty much everyone would be happy. You can use the presence knob to dial in as little or as much clank as you need for whichever bass. They are pretty much univerally loved by front of house soundguys, & conveniently have an XLR out.

We’ve got something very similar to that now with the VT, a spectracomp and the same tuner.. it’s just if we replace the VT, what we should go with.

 

[74hc]

I use the Tone Hammer pedal at church and am happy with it. I use the DI out to the mixer. An Empress bass compressor is right in front of the tone hammer.

 

[Azari]

We’ve got something very similar to that now with the VT, a spectracomp and the same tuner.. it’s just if we replace the VT, what we should go with.

I don’t see why you couldn’t get those to sound good. I would dial back the spectracomp, start with knobs on minimum. If you have a Tech 21 VT Bass, seems like you should be able to get a decent sound. Make sure everything is flat on the soundboard too.

 

[prndltech]

Budget, isn’t a real issue beyond saying, nothing super high end. Our view is that if a particular player wants real high end gear they can buy it themselves, but we’re not looking for cheapest either… all the standard ones are typically A$350-$700 and that range isn’t a problem.

Hx stomp or that sort of thing is going to be too complex. Some (most) of these people just want to plug in. If I was setting up a personal rig I reckon that’s what I’d do.

We have a tuner on the board already. There’s also a tech 21 spectracomp but we don’t really use it, the sound guys don’t like it.

For plug and play I’d look at a khan or one of the other great tube DI’s, something simple like that. Sounds like the less knobs the better!