This is why I can't get excited about bass amps

[1970]

I've been playing bass in a band for about 18 months, probably done 25 shows, we support 95% of the time so I haven't gotten around to getting a bass amp yet, but I'm constantly looking. Having come from playing guitar, I have a big love for tube amps and guitar tone - but bass amps just don't thrill me.

Here's why. Tonight I played through one of these:




A Behringer Ultrabass. And a DI.

It sounded fantastic.

I have a nice bass that sounds amazing DI'd so all I need is a something that I can hear on stage. Why bother dropping a grand on a bass amp when this cheap thing does the job just fine? I just don't get it. I WANT to like bass amps, I started the '70s bass amps' thread to find out more about cool vintage bass amps, only to find out there are none. I really can't get into bass amps and I think it's throwing me into some sort of existential crisis. Or maybe that's just the beer.

[xgsjx]

If you're always using PA & playing covers where the bass blends in to the point of no one knowing it's there, then anything as a stage monitor is all you need. Whether it be that Behringer or just an active wedge.

If you play venues where you need your own rig to provide the low end, that's when things can start to get interesting. Whether it be going for a rock tone, something for DnB or anything else, there's a whole load of rigs to choose from at all prices.

First thing you need to do is stop thinking like a guitarist! Do you think like a drummer when you go to play keys? It's about finding the gear that's gonna move things the way you want them to. As you're going through PA, then you'd probably be wiser spending your money on Basses and FX.

Personally, I like that my rig allows me to deter the guitarist from becoming too loud with his AC30 or Marshall 1/2 stack (I don't get what the interest in these things are when you can do it all with decent pedals & keep a sensible volume) & it's nice to have the lows available if there's no adequate PA.

[bertbass]

When I first picked up an instrument it was a cheap Vox stroller guitar bought of my mum's mail order catalogue for 18 guineas. That's £18.90p in today's money. Well it was 1965. I found that I picked out the bass lines to play rather than the guitar and so my love of bass was born and the quest for the perfect sound. P.A.s were small, a 2x12 per side and if you were lucky a 100w amp to power them and monitors were unheard of. Throughout the rest of the 60s, the 70s and 80s my equipment got better and better and there was still no P.A. support so the onstage amp had to fill whatever venue you happened to be playing in. It also meant that any bass going into the venue was coming from behind you and what a wonderful feeling that is. The power of a great bass tone pushing you in the back. I loved it then and I love it now and I still prefer the bass to come from the stage rather than the P.A. For me, feeling the bass in this way, is not only exciting and after all the years it does still excite me, but also aids my performance.

I suspect that you on the other hand, unlike me, don't feel the need for the physical stimulus of an amp behind you and are more than happy to have a bass sound that you can hear coming from somewhere, if so, that's great, you've saved a fortune trying to find that elusive perfect sound, but you'll probably spend it on basses if you've really got the bass bug.

[heminder]

scour the net for a crash course on electronics relating to amplifiers, i'm sure there's some out there. then if you're an engineering nerd like me you'll come to appreciate good amplifier design, not just for the tubes.

though for purely practical reasons, you can just continue playing through the PA as it gets the job done. it might be a good idea to own a cheap-but-powerful amp though, if you come by a gig that doesn't have a PA.

[Lozz196]

I know what the OP is on about, re Behringer. A local band I go to see, the bassist uses a Behringer amp & 410 - sounds amazing. Him being less of a techie-head than me, he doesn`t even know what model it is (it`s usually covered by a flag so I can`t see either). He just says he knows it`s Behringer, and bought it from Thomann, having never seen or heard one before, and never read any reviews either. Well he got lucky, as it sounds fantastic with his 77 Jazz.

[gjones]

I don't have a great love of bass amps either. I only care if it sounds good. Most of them are anonymous black boxes.I've had peaveys, hartkes, marshalls, tc electronics, fenders and ashdowns but I don't care if the black box has a prestigious name on it or not and I've played through many amps from 'uncool' manufacturers which sounded great (a Laney and a line 6 LD300 comes to mind). The only amp I ever grew attached to was my Fender TV15 which was a gorgeous looking, big tweed covered, modern reworking of the original Fender Bassman. In the end it was just too heavy for me so it had to go.

Edited April 21, 2012 by gjones

[chris_b]

Unless you don't care what you sound like, you should know about the amp and cab you're playing through, because they are what the audience is hearing. You don't need in depth technical knowledge but you should have some idea what's going on behind you.

[JTUK]

I am in the 'good stage sound camp' and hate to make do with just a personal monitor that I can hear but fails in any other respect.
It can be tough getting into things if you know it sounds crap onstage..and then you are also relying on the FOH soundman to know his onions...and that is not a given, IMO.
We get a good stage sound and expect it to bleed a bit in the smaller venues but so be it...we have very good core sounds anyway..and that is apart from whether anyone likes them..they are very easy to mix or rather as easy as we can make them to mix.
In this regard I really don't get why we should have a bad outfront sound but I have a few playbacks to proove, IMO, that the soundman was not very good.
The reason I think I can proove this is that is we can 'throw' a mic pretty much anywhere on our own P.A with vox, gtr and key feeds, and we get a very good sound mix.

So, I work from the point that we have a good sound and the FOH just has to enhance it ...so from that POV, I need my rig to do its job for the band on stage.

Out of the last 5 crews we have used... I have only been happy with 2 which isn't a great return so that is why I look after things my end.

[mrdirtyrob]

Hey, each to their own. If there's one thing I've learned about bass players it's that they like totally different things in their sound. I one sold my Hartke 3500 to a friend because the sound of it didn't suit me- he played it for 5 minutes and was DELIGHTED that he'd finally found 'his' sound. Another friend (a very talented dude in an awesome band) plays through a little cheapy 100w combo and makes it sound great.
Unfortunately for me, I wasn't happy with my tone until I got a big, heavy, expensive Orange AD200.

But yeah, nothing wrong with cheap gear if it sounds the way you like.

[janmaat]

OP, I was playing a GK Backline recently, and I am under the impression that's similar to the Behringer (that I also know) but the brand name (there's virtually no guarantee whatsoever on the Behringer which is really, really, really bad about them). Just as a tip, if you consider buying this thing, said GK is not very expensive, also angular, also 15'', also loads of options, and a brand name, so you may want to check that out.

[Ed_S]

I find it quite interesting to borrow other rigs when we're playing support and they're made available. So far, the only thing that bettered what I'd taken was an AD200BmkIII which naturally compared favourably to my TB500, and the only rigs that I've actively disliked have been Ashdown ABMs; we don't get on. Everything else I've had fun trying out and been able to get a useable sound out of at a decent volume, with or without the help of my Sansamp. Got to admit it's quite funny when somebody offers you their Behringer to borrow because your rig looks "a bit small" and they've "never heard of it" (Markbass LMII / Barefaced Super-12), but one has to smile and think 'hey, what's to lose.. it could be great..' so graciously accept and try it out knowing that it's only a sound check. No hurt feelings on the part of the owner, a spare I'm still able to borrow should mine die (it happens!) and what better way of trying loads of gear at gig volume and no personal expense?! For the record it wasn't great, but I could have made do with it had it been my only choice.

OP, the rig that will excite and be worth a grand to you is out there somewhere, so just keep trying stuff until it finds you. And hey, if you never get there, then at least you've had a very cheap ride not getting there!

[umph]

[quote name='1970' timestamp='1334966612' post='1624309']
I started the '70s bass amps' thread to find out more about cool vintage bass amps, only to find out there are none.
[/quote]

That's a lie. they're are loads

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='umph' timestamp='1335187088' post='1626849']
That's a lie. they're are loads
[/quote]

I have three rooms where there are none, if that counts.

[Monckyman]

The OP hit a nerve that keeps grumbling from under on here.
Namely, given that a total (in most of your opinions, incompetent) stranger is in charge of how your bass sounds, what exactly are you spending all that cash on?
A vain hope that quality will triumph in the face of deaf old hippys?
The knowledge that your onstage sound is exactly right?
Personally, I think it`s both of those added to some denial about the whole process.
I like nice amps also, but I reckon for the work I`m doing now, most of the time I could turn up with any old sh*t and so long as I could hear it all would be fine.
You spends yer money.....

[Dave Vader]

Nice amps are probably nice to have.
Guitar wise I'm a lot fussier, but my bass rig is a GK backline head into two old Laney PA cabs that I swapped out the drivers on, and ripped out the horns. it sounds nice.
However, a lot of the time now i am using shared rigs at gigs. So far this month i have used a big Trace thing in London, a proper GK into an ampeg cab in Exeter, and my own rig the other night. After a bit of twisting about with the knobs (mostly putting them back to flat) my dear old bass sounded pretty much the same through all three.
I am thinking of downgrading the Gk for one of them Harley benton promethean rip offs, as it means i get more choice. (Plus won't look quite as mad at the tiny acuostic venue like i did on friday, my rig was bigger than the PA )

[umph]

my sound doesn't really work di'd, needs compression of a valve amp loud and the high end limiting by the speaker ;o

[Jack]

Gigs without soundmen, without GOOD soundmen, without monitors all exist. And I always use a post-eq DI. My amp is kinda important.

[Mr. Foxen]

Doing it wrong with the 1 amp:


Credit:
[url]http://www.charistalbotphotography.co.uk/[/url]

And the lovely Amy Dawn. Also her legs.

[gjones]

[quote name='Monckyman' timestamp='1335188364' post='1626876']
The OP hit a nerve that keeps grumbling from under on here.
Namely, given that a total (in most of your opinions, incompetent) stranger is in charge of how your bass sounds, what exactly are you spending all that cash on?
A vain hope that quality will triumph in the face of deaf old hippys?
The knowledge that your onstage sound is exactly right?
Personally, I think it`s both of those added to some denial about the whole process.
I like nice amps also, but I reckon for the work I`m doing now, most of the time I could turn up with any old sh*t and so long as I could hear it all would be fine.
You spends yer money.....
[/quote]

Sad..............but true.

[mrtcat]

Not having a decent amp just aint an option for some. I play most fri and sat nights in a function / wedding / pub / club covers band and we take our own PA and gear. We don't do support or have bands support us. 9 times out of 10 the venue is small so bass doesn't go thru the PA system. Therefore I rely on my bass and amp sounding good to give the audience a decent sound to listen to. If you're happy playing support to other bands forever then yeah maybe a nice amp is just a luxury but if you want to get out on your own then you either need a good amp or at least a DI system (cant stand pods etc personally). I agree that it doesn't need to be expensive to sound good as there are some very good sounding lower price amps out there.

[guildbass]

All i ask of an amp is that it has enough power not to clip at gig volumes. For the Glam Rock 7 piece band that was my Peavey Max valve pre- going into a 1200 watt rms per channel Crown tranny power amp and out through my own cabs...a Gauss 15" and a pair of 7" tops....Louder than the drum kit and clean as a whistle.
Today, a 60 watt combo cuz we've a classical guitar and female vox...No fancy eq...just tweak the amp so it isn't coupling with the room. All the tone's in the Warwick and Spector.
That's the criteria...power...A 100 watt bass amp will clip in a typical pub rock band gig and clipped bass simply f*cks off...Can't hear a damn thing.

Whatever I play through sounds like me playing my Streamer ...doesn't matter if it's my mates monster vintage Ampeg rig, a green Trace or a random 1 by 12 combo...it's just a matter of getting it flat and killing the room resonances...

[electric nate]

The dilemma about trusting the sound tech with your bass tone is why I decided to get an Avalon u5. I use it as both a preamp into my onstage power amp, and a DI box to go into the desk. Obviously the sound guy could still screw things up, but usually they won't touch your tone unless it presents a problem.

[bremen]

[quote name='janmaat' ] (there's virtually no guarantee whatsoever on the Behringer which is really, really, really bad about them).
[/quote]

3 years if you buy it from thomann or dv247, at least one anywhere else in the eu. its the law.

or did I misunderstand you?

[3below]

[quote name='guildbass' timestamp='1335995868' post='1639405']
Whatever I play through sounds like me playing my Streamer ...doesn't matter if it's my mates monster vintage Ampeg rig, a green Trace or a random 1 by 12 combo...it's just a matter of getting it flat and killing the room resonances...
[/quote]

My experience is the same, and does not seem to matter what bass I use either. Old school band, pa for vocals only, 15W guitar amps, loud, and hard hitting drummer. I just like bass amp and cab that lets me feel the bass and has the reserve for big or small venues. Even if we had 'big' pa I would still want the 'trouser flap' feel the bass effect.

[sykilz]

Wanted to disagree with the thread,but last night played venue, using my Warwick Standard Corvette into peavey 450 tour head into Warwick wca410 cab (not a high end rig,but a decent budget rig in my eyes/ears), and sound was d.i.`d into the large p.a (bigish venue), we played,all sounded o.k, then listening to the second band ( very good they were too) I remarked to a friend that the bass was a bit loud for the mix. "Yeah" she said " though yours was too quiet, I thought ". The guy in the second band was running an Epiphone T bird into a small Fender Rumble combo ( obviously he was d.i`d too ). Just goes to show,the sound man holdeth the key in these venues!!!