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What do I need to play live?

#22
mambo4 said:
If you don't see why you need it, chances are you don't.
a MMStingray runs about $1000 and has its own EQ and preamp on board, and is renowned for its tone... Do you really want to run it through a $150 pedal?

Your guitar player is thinking about Guitars and what guitarists want/need. And EQ pedal is used to change the tone of your instrument on the fly. Guitarists are notorious tone monkeys and are constantly trying to find new , better, more "killer" tones, which basically means more and more pedals. Bassist tend to be more along the lines of "set it and forget it"

If you want to change up your tone mid song or mid performance, I'd suggest starting with your basses knobs and plucking closer /farther from the bridge first.

you don't need more gear, besides maybe a tuner.
Just bring practical aides: spare cables, power cords, extra strings if you're aggressive thatway.

Ashdown cabs are also well renowned, and 180 watts ought to be enough to fill any venue that doesn't have its own PA.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I dont think he was aware of the onboard preamp. Allthough an EQ could help me with my other bass if I ever decide to whip it out. I was just wondering if it was a nescesity or a casual suggestion being the latter I think I'll get one eventually but no rush.
 
#24
Not a necessity at all. You have a marvelous piece of gear that sounds great just by itself, and a good amp that you will probably not even need on some shows (I´ve played milions of shows at venues/PAs with their own bass amp as backline, plus even a DI for the bass sometimes.)

You could get a good Eq like the Boss bass Eq pedal, but I don´t think you would find it needed because your bass sounds awesome already.

And a preamp?? you have a preamp and a power amp in your amp, plus your bass is active and has a preamp of his own, getting a new preamp would be getting a different tone and not using your amp, plus you´d need a power amp and a cab for it to be a full rig. I think you´re guitarrist is just name-dropping and wants you to look as cool as he does onstage while bringing his own 50Kg rig and people dropping their jaws at it (how nice of him).

I would actually get a good compressor or maybe a chorus before going into an Eq and preamp, but that´s just me and only if you really need it (If you really feel a chorus will benefit your tone in the context of your band)
 
#25
I think everything's already been said, but as the owner of a 180 watt Ashdown combo (Electric Blue), here's what I do for our live shows (I'm the bassist in a six-piece classic rock covers band):

1) Get an 8 ohm extension cabinet (I use an Ashdown Mag 210T cabinet - 2 10" speakers and a tweeter) - this will give you the full power output of your amp (it will be significantly louder than the combo by itself).

2) Use the EQ on your amp - unless you can't get the tone you really like from it

3) If you're playing at a place with a decent PA, run the Direct Out (D.I.) through the PA, or mic the amp. The amp in this situation will mainly serve as your monitor (and somewhat your tone control) while the PA will get your sound out to the masses.

Rock on!

John
 
#26
bassybill said:
How on Earth did we all manage in the days before tuners, I wonder?

Don't get me wrong here - I use a tuner for convenience and it's great being able to tune up when you can't really hear yourself. But I still think of an electronic tuner as a luxury rather than essential. And I still think that it's pretty important to be able to tune quickly, accurately and reliably without one if necessary. But I'm old-fashioned like that. YMMV et cetera. :)
Click to expand...

After years of tormenting audiences with the incessant drone of tuning while trying to get everyone's A the same, I won't play in a band unless all stringed instrument players have and use an electronic tuner. It's quiet, it's fast, and everybody's on A440. Yes, I can still tune very quickly by ear, but why?
 
#28
mambo4 said:
180 watts ought to be enough to fill any venue that doesn't have its own PA.
Click to expand...

while i completely agree with the rest of this post, i do disagree with this bit!

IME (and having owned and tested to destruction the very same combo) 180 watts will struggle to keep up with an un-mic-ed drummer even in rehearsals, unless you are playing very quiet acoustic or jazz or similar & they are using brushes. for gigs, i found it very underpowered.

more headroom people ;)

anyway back to the thread...
 
#30
bassybill said:
How on Earth did we all manage in the days before tuners, I wonder?

Don't get me wrong here - I use a tuner for convenience and it's great being able to tune up when you can't really hear yourself. But I still think of an electronic tuner as a luxury rather than essential. And I still think that it's pretty important to be able to tune quickly, accurately and reliably without one if necessary. But I'm old-fashioned like that. YMMV et cetera. :)
Click to expand...

I toured for 5 years.. tuned at least 5,000 times with an A440 fork.

Probably faster than my current strobe.
 
#31
tuners are good. you should be able to tune without em but they help and are less annoying.

You do NOT need or want a stomp box EQ pedal. You bass has EQ, the preamp in your amplifier has EQ. If the tone of your bass or amp doesn't work for you, you check out other basses or amps. You want a stomp box preamp even less. Your bass has a preamp, your amplifier has a preamp - you're good. A stomp box preamp will not make your amp any louder than turning up the volume on the amp will. - really.

A good rack mount bass preamplifier/EQ (you need a poweramp to use one) can cost $500 - $2K. A stomp box preamp/EQ will not have the same tone and will probably make your tone a bit worse, even when set flat, and maybe even when it's off but still in the signal chain.

Go check out the Amps FAQ in the amps section and ditto to any other stickies in the other forums if you have other questions. I think if you do a search here, maybe in a couple other forums or the whole site under what to bring to a gig you'll find tons of reading material.
 
#32
It really depends on the size of the gig and what kind of PA support you'll have. Your 180watt Ashdown should be OK if you have good PA support.

But if its a bigger gig, and you run into the " Oh, the bass does'nt need to go through the PA" logic, you'll be in trouble.
 
#33
Do you have the Evo II?

Here are some specs.

The EB 15-180 1 x 15" combo uses a 180 Watts RMS fan-cooled fast-transient power stage, and a fully-featured bass preamplifier with inputs for both active and passive instruments, an illumunated VU meter, 5 band EQ with Bright and Deep switches, a front panel-mounted balanced DI output for connection to a PA or recording console, an FX loop, a tuner/line output and the classic Ashdown sub-harmonic generator.

Consistent with its EVO II status, the combo also includes a built-in compressor to provide an exceptional level of sonic control for a bass amp of this size and cost.

A high-performance Ashdown BlueLine bass driver ensures exceptional attack, clarity and low-end performance, while an extension speaker output can be used to connect an additional cabinet for use in larger venues. The cabinet is finished in a tough, scuff-proof carpet covering with protective corners and a kick-proof metal grille.

Here are the e.q. points:
Bass +/-15dB @ 100Hz
Lo Mid +/-15dB @ 220Hz
Middle +/-15dB @ 660Hz
Hi Mid +/-15dB @ 1.6kHz
Treble +/-15dB @ 7kHz shelving
Deep +8dB @ 50Hz (adjustable level)
Bright +10dB @ 10kHz

Seems to me that you have enough E.Q. (along with your active bass). IMO, don't waste your money on preamp/e.q.
You could also run a two 2x12 or 2x15 or 4x10 8ohm cabs to move a lot more air and increase the db. With the amount of e.q. you have available, I'd guess it would be plenty loud and sound pretty good. Maybe even an LDS 4 ohm 151566 cab would be more than enough to do the job.

Also, if it sounds good at rehearsal, should sound fine at the gig. Maybe you can have one of your friends use your amp at a gig sometime so you can hear it FOH before you use it on stage. Then you'll really know how it sounds.
 
#34
Well, you didn't say you wanted the minimum you could get by on. You already have that most likely. If it were me, I would be looking at a big rig ( 1000 watts at least) and a lot of speakers ( 4X10 + 1X15 or 8X10)

Then get a SansAmp (Rackmount) RBI or (pedal) BDDI or a VT bass.


If your band hasn't played live before, you would be wise to get a PA. I suggest a powered mixer ( at least 1000 watts) some decent mains and a few monitors. Then you need mics, stands, cables, speaker poles, etc..


Before you worry about it too much, you need about 45-60 songs you can do well.
 
#35
bassybill said:
How on Earth did we all manage in the days before tuners, I wonder?

Don't get me wrong here - I use a tuner for convenience and it's great being able to tune up when you can't really hear yourself. But I still think of an electronic tuner as a luxury rather than essential. And I still think that it's pretty important to be able to tune quickly, accurately and reliably without one if necessary. But I'm old-fashioned like that. YMMV et cetera. :)
Click to expand...

I can tune by ear no problem but why would you ever want to subject your audience to that? It is very unprofessional especially if there is guitarists tuning by ear on stage as well.:scowl:
 

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