la bam

Ive just bought a behrinher mic100 preamp. Great that these have a 12ax7 valve in them. However, the inputs on the amp still dont register (apart from signal) but i now think that may just be the quality of the amp keeping everything at a protected level. Is the trick with the preamp to level your sound out so its showing 0db on the led meters before going into the power amp?

Sorry, i probably didnt explain that right. The amp (markbass evo 1) is slightly different where it has 12 amp models built in, and 3 different types of gain/volume that cant be bypassed. Ie even plugging into the return the amp models are still active and colour the sound.

Ok, so i gigged with this set up last night. What a revelation! The tone direct through the sansamp was amazing. Kind of the next level of clear and clean. Very hard to describe but it really sat very well with the rest of the band, so much so, the onstage mix was brilliant. Didnt struggle to hear anything at all. Once we found the right tone i added in some valve drive that really bonded the whole mix together. The band loved it and it really felt tight playing all night. There was around 100 people there and we just put a tad of bass through the pa. Only one thing left to do - despite being loud the sansamp needs boosting into the power amp, so im going to get either a preamp or mini mixer to boost the signal - then hopefully it will be a phenomenal system. Once that is sorted i can play with the amp to filter certain frequencies and make it even more efficient.

Exl170s are my string of choice too. Great tone and balance and easy to play too.

Got myself a flyrig from here in fantastic condition. Initially was going to plug into my amps return, unfortunately my amp has the return after the amp modelling, so it colours the sound. So ive bought a crown xls1502 power amp. Only weighs 4kg and puts out over 1000w rms at 8ohm in bridge mode. The flyrig when used this way puts out some awesome sounds. Really rich and the drive is very realistic. Through the barefaced super compact it sounds really smooth and punchy. On initial play in house this should easily be loud enough. Im taking this to tonights gig so will soon find out. If it works well i'll sort a shorter rackcase as the amp will fit in a short rack.

Hi all, Ive sorted myself a new set up. Tech 21 flyrig into a crown xls 1502 power amp into my barefaced sc. Sounds fantastic. Just a quick question - the amp has so many settings including crossover, limiters etc it really can be tailor made to any set up. However it also has 2 input settings to choose from - 0.7v or 1.4v. Which is the correct setting for my set up? On 1.4 the signal is just tickling the leds (at under -20db). Would 0.7 increase or decrease input levels?

Not sure on that exact problem, but as an emergency stick some blu tak to the bass. That way when you lead starts playing up at least you can secure it to start with.

Perfect. Thanks.

Would the following system work? Tech 21 bass fly rig into Crown XLS 1502 It looks like my ideal set up - plenty of routing options etc. Just need to know if you think this set up would work well.

Would something like this be good? Running in bridge mode? http://cpc.farnell.com/crown-audio/xls-1002/power-amplifier-2-x-350w-class/dp/DP34448?mckv=s7n816wp1_dm|pcrid|224680541983|kword||match||plid||pid|DP34448|&CMP=KNC-GUK-CPC-SHOPPING&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIycOT96C02gIV77ftCh08nwX_EAQYAiABEgJSvfD_BwE

Cheers phil. Id forgot about combi sockets. Thatd make things easier.

Do you know if the send and return bypass the amps own pre amp and eq etc on this?

Thanks. I have had several class d amps and currently have a markbass evo and i love it, but the lack of a unaffected line out and the fact i cant bypass the amp modelling and pre amp may be an issue. We are getting more festival and walk in jobs, so im looking for dialling in my sound on a flyrig then either using my own amp or stage amp to power it but each time the pa gets the same flyrig sound. Ive tried my backup an ashdown lg1000 bypassing the pre amp and the sound is great, punchy as hell, but it has whine when over 10 oclock dial for volume which i believe was part of the amps initial issues. Ive no problem with class d, and youre right, its just for monitoring, but just wondering what is out there? As for pa amps etc - they are heavy and dont have jack inputs etc so immediately become more hassle, but if the premise is right, i just need a good power amp for bass.

Shielding the vintages - just attaching aluminim tape from bandq to cover the underside of the scratchplate and all the pickup and control cavity completely eliminates that hum at high levels and tone open. Takes about 1 hour. Costs about £10. Ive done this on 2 and its worked perfectly both times. The beauty is with these being so cheap youre not bothered about trying stuff like this. Then ive found i bond even more as ive put a lot of effort into the bass.

Hi all, Im looking at another set up using my tech21 flyrig as a preamp and wondering what compact A/B amps are out there around 500w+ that have send/return fx loops that bypass the amps own preamp? Preferably newish (under 5 years old).

Any reviews on these yet?

I have a v4 reissue and love it. Im also buying another tonight as a backup. Superb basses. The finish is absolutely outstanding. Tone great. Output powerful. I genuinely wouldnt buy any other p bass now. Theres no point. These go in as new condition for around £100 ! Madness.

Ive found them very good. Certainly no need to change them for anything. They are powerful and respond well to the tone control, but id say theyre more modern clear sound than a vintage p bass sound - although ive just re strung it with lightweight d'addrio strings, so theyve loads of life in them. They really do kick and have good punch to them. Theyre not so much a warm growly sound, like youd get from a jazz, but more a true representation of how your bass sounds acoustically. Obviously though, you can colour with your amp and effects. Theres some great videos on youtube showing people using the v4 in action to give you an idea.

I gigged with this last week Sounded great. Really punchy. There was a slight issue with humm noise, (not a problem during the gig though as it went when touching the strings) which after a bit of research i decided was a shielding issue. So a auick impatient trip to b and q for some aluminium tape and unbelievably it works! All the hum has gone, and it isnt affected by winding up input, gain or master volume.

As i thought - youre using an electronic drum kit, but completely ruining its quick and easy set up by building its own pa around it to replicate it sounding like a normal kit, and thats what causing the issues. You certainly dont need the sub for the drums behind the drums. You should be using that for front pa if anything. That leaves x2 speakers at head high level at the back - get them off the stands and on the floor as monitors to be shared by everyone so they can hear the kit and thats immediately a much better set up. As an aside, your band leader (albeit with the best intentions) is heading for a big fall with this set up. Hes building a great big backline sound but what happens when the room os much bigger and you need more through the front of the pa. Its almost a non pa set up - where everything is just being used as backline. Definitely not the way to do it, not practical, adaptable or helpful. He should be putting that amount of effort into building a brilliant big sound through the front pa, not backline. That way when more volume etc is needed you just turn the front pa up and it doesnt affect your volume on stage. Whats he going to do when the room requires much more volume? Turn the whole backline up and deafen everyone?

Swearing has its place and imo should only be used for dynamic effect to express anger, desperation etc and when used correctly enhances the art (whether it be music, literature or acting). However, the absolute drivel coming from r n b has completely unarmed its effect. For example i was setting up at an event the other week and the staff had a r n b cd on and most contained pointless swearing. One in particular was just a slow drivel of a beat and obviously nicked bassline with the vocalist just going something like "i work hard for my money, every mother fxxxxing day" repeated for about 10 minutes. Pointless to have swearing in there. Pointless to have that particular phrase in there. Pointless. I nearly cut the wires on the speakers. Im no prude and im not against swearing, but gees, this generation has lost the plot when it comes to swearing and its use.