calling all bass players - your live setup??

[Fragle]

hey folks,

after playing guitar for quite some time i've been really into bass playing for like a year or so too! recently got me my first own bass, yamaha rbx 375 - plays and sounds great, esp for the money!

however, i'm rather green as far as the technical side of the bass things are concerned, at least for live. all i know is that most of the time people around here just tend to play through whatever amp there is on stage, but on the other hand that brings huge variables into your bands live sound.

so, i wonder how the you guys live setup usually looks like?

i have a sansamp psa1 that gets heavily used on bass here in my studio - is there any cost effective way (read: other than getting a dedicated bass poweramp ) to use that one for my live sound too?
i've also heard quite a few people mention that they use the bass driver DI, either through whatever live amp there is available, or straight into the board (i wonder how they're handling stage monitoring for the latter setup? seeing how bass on stage monitors is a huge no no ^^)

thanks!

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

I think a large part depends on what kind of band you're playing in and what kind of venues you'll be playing.
I myself often play smaller venues with only vocals and kick through the "PA" so I would never play on anything smaller than an 8x10. With an 8x10 you'll always sound like a "big" band because you're moving enough air.

This is my setup at the moment:
-'75 Fender P bass
-Sansamp bass driver DI
-early 70's Marquis superlead, modded to bassman specs (so actually it's a 100 watt bassman with a Marshall power amp)
-Aguilar DB810

I used to play on an Orange AD200B but since I got the Marquis modded the Orange is catching dust. The saturation of the Marquis is just awesome! Only the 100 watts is usually just enough. I actually always run it on 10, which on the other side is pretty cool too

 

[Fragle]

yeah, might be quite a relevant thing to mention haha

well, i'm mainly playing death metal, ranging from prog/tech/brutal/slam. regarding the venues, well, just the usual clubs...medium to small sized PA, gtrs bass kick snare toms vocals.
as for the 810 thing, well that's definitely overkill for what i'd be doing most live shows i've been to had a 410 cab for bass duties, a few did indeed have an 810 but thats more the exception than the rule. as i said, people (bassists) tend to play through whatever there is available at the venue, but i wonder if there's a cost efficient way to have your own sound for gigs rather than just a random bass sound.

 

[punkrockacademyfightsong]

Well, if you're mainly playing through a (decent) PA, then the Sansamp is a great way of ensuring YOUR sound will be what people hear. So if you already have a PSA-1 and get a satisfying sound out of it, I'd definitely look into a good poweramp and perhaps a 4x0 cab that fits your likings.

 

[Lasse Lammert]

i've also heard quite a few people mention that they use the bass driver DI, either through whatever live amp there is available, or straight into the board

that's how I am doing it.

 

[Fragle]

Well, if you're mainly playing through a (decent) PA, then the Sansamp is a great way of ensuring YOUR sound will be what people hear. So if you already have a PSA-1 and get a satisfying sound out of it, I'd definitely look into a good poweramp and perhaps a 4x0 cab that fits your likings.

yes, i definitely love the sansamp psa, it's my go to weapon for bass in a studio situation.
btw, i also use it in my guitar rack - that thing just KILLS, best guitar sound i ever had (and i've been through a LOT of amps).

so, what would you guys recommend regarding poweramps?

also, i've been looking at the hartke bass attack - seems to be decently priced, and also way easier to drag to gigs than the full sansamp rack.

 

[Seizure.]

I also play a 100 watter, a Soundcity 100L!
It used to be because i didn't have anything else and it sounded suprisingly good anyway.. but i've now compared it to Svt classics and the lot, and i allways rather player my Soundcity!
That thing just kills it

And also the sansamp!
In general i can get my sound anywere because its allready there with my bass/pedals and Sansamp..
Is just need enough volume and a little upper in the mids useally.
Thats how i did it with Aborted aswell, just played the 8x10 tech 21 with poweramp with a sansamp, the tech 21 speakers didn't sound good, but i had enough volume, and mids and the p.a sound was swell

 

[StefTD]

My trusted Music Man Sub into whatever is there, if the amps are shit I will go direct, but most of the time there's
something like an acceptable Hartke head with a 4x10 or something like that.
No problem for me, I just want a sound where you can hear what is played, due to the architecture
of many venues bass sounds shitty anyways-not always but most of the time imho.
But something like a BDDI can help, as long as you know how to dial it in (heard some really bad sounds from
a really bad bass player a few weeks ago). But that shouldn't be a problem for you

Played a show two months ago, totally different, that was great, a new nice pa with good monitors,
a nice treated room (yeah, it actually looked a little bit like a larger room in a studio) and they had amps.
So I heard that I get an amp to play, cool, because I don't own a bassamp, as I arrived I saw an aguilar head with a 2x12 cabinet...

 

[Exocaster]

Fender Deluxe Active Jazz --> Boss TU-2, Fulltone OCD, Eventide Timefactor --> Markbass Mark III --> GK Neo 4x10.

The actual amp portion of my rig is very, very clean and deceivingly loud.

Doom/post-metal. Though not with the absurd drown-out-the-drummer stage volume the stuff's associated with sometimes.

 

[Fifth_Horseman]

Sandberg Bullet Booster fretless -> Markbass Little Mark 3 -> Markbass Standard 104HF cab.
Direct out from the Little Mark 3 to the board which can be switched between pre/post EQ.

Light to carry and sounds good.

 

[wishtheend]

Basses:
ESP B-500 4-string (18V EMG)
G&L SB-2 (passive)
Epiphone Goth Thunderbird (passive)

Amp rig:
Monster Power 2500 conditoner
Korg DTR-1000 rack tuner
Ampeg SVT-4Pro & 8x10 Cab (both US made)
ISP Decimator rack

Pedals:
- front of amp -
Boss ODB-3 (boost for passive basses)
Tech 21 VT Bass (for svt style grind)
MXR M-181 Blowtorch Fuzz
MXR M-80+ DI

- fx loop -
Boss DD-7 delay
MXR M-288 octave pedal
Boss TU-2 Tuner (used as emergency mute switch)

 

[Metaltastic]

Eventide Timefactor

Time-based FX on bass?

 

[Fragle]

alright, after some additional research i'm planning to buy a hartke bass attack next week.
if it turns out to be sucky, i guess i'll bite the bullet and drag my sansamp rack around (or get an BDDI haha)

thanks for the answers guys!

i might to a lil comparison thread between the two units too


btw, another (sort of stupid) question:

when using a BDDI/hartke/whatever, the best way seems to run it direct into the PA for the foh sound, as well as into whatever stage amp is available for stage monitoring, right? my question is, do i want to run the BDDI/whatever into the front end of the bass amp, or into the fx loop? since it's basically a tone shaper/overdrive, i guess running it in front of the amp should be just fine right? as long as the amp is set clean and neutral that is.
what about the sansamp psa? can i also run that one through the front end?

 

[D20]

Spector Euro 4LX>SWR 750 (Pre-Fender)>SWR Goliath Sr. 6X10

Pedal Board: Korg Pitchblack Tuner, Dunlop Bass Wah, Boss Bass Chorus, Boss Delay, MXR M-80

 

[AEL89]

ESP Vintage-4 > Mesa Big Block 750. Sometimes use a tubescreamer in front too

 

[GarethSE]

Doom/post-metal. Though not with the absurd drown-out-the-drummer stage volume the stuff's associated with sometimes.

it's officially not loud enough until the drummer has to hit with all his might to be heard above the dronezz
UR DOIN IT RONG