PA cabs as bass cabs

[jezzaboy]

I know that the question has been asked before but is anyone gigging with a PA cab as a bass cab?

Having ran a search, I see that some people have used them for rehearsing. I was thinking of getting a Peavey with a 15" driver. I recently went and watched a local covers band and the bass guy was going through the pa and was just using his combo as a monitor. Don`t get me wrong, they had a sound guy and were using Mackie active speakers for the foh but it got me thinking.

Opinions/advice?

Jez

[Phil Starr]

I've gigged with a 1x12 PA speaker in a smallish venue and it works. Clean sound and you don't overwhelm the rest of the band. I also gig regularly with a single 15" fitted with a Peavey Black Widow and a couple of piezo's, no problems at all. I've also been known to just use my 4x10 as a stand for the 15 leaving the 10's disconnected. We're not a metal band though.

[jezzaboy]

Cheers Phil, your a starr!!

Jez

[warwickhunt]

You may well have found an old thread where I was trialling/using Peavey Hi-Sys cab(s) for rehearsals, mainly because the used value was so stupid that it made more sense to keep them. I have to confess that those particular cabs, loaded with 350w BW drivers were excellent... and I use the term excellent even though I own Aguilar and have owned a multitude of other expensive cabs. The only down side (which conversely is probably also the upside as to why they work well) is that they are physically largish cabs, and if I'm nit-picking you also can't moderate the horn though that is pretty smooth and you don't notice it. If you were trying to find a solidly built 1x15 cab with a bomb-proof quality driver that could stand up to years of abuse you'd struggle to find something for say £50. Yet that's what you can pick the Peavey's up for, I couldn't even get £80 for my pair hence I kept them till a local DJ got wind I had a pair and offered me £150... result.

[Rich]

I have heard someone, I forget who, using JBL EONs as part of their rig... sounded fine to me. I did for a while toy with the idea of getting active EON cabs and just using a bass preamp with them.

[markstuk]

I've got a pair of Kinetics 15" (Eminence loaded) PA cabs that I picked up for £40 in total.. I got them as spares for either our PA or my Bass/Keyboard rig.. They're very efficient and although not wonderful, I would have loved to have had them as part of my bass rig in the 80's..

I would certainly consider using Mackie 1521's with a preamp as an alternative setup...

[pete.young]

I think you're OK as long as you use full-range and not subs.

[geoffbyrne]

I use an Eminence 3015 in a small-ish PA cab - it's at the bottom end of the volume that'll work with the 3015 - but work it does.

You need to drive it pretty hard & use EQ to get the bottom, but it works pretty well. I also couple it with a bigger cab with plenty of bottom, & the two work well together.

G.

[geoffbyrne]

Lookee here:

[url="http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336504"]http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=336504[/url]

G.

[Bottle]

I do use a couple of cheap 'Maplin Special' 1x12's in my rig, but usually paired up to get the most from the amp (if I'm using them on their own). Mostly, I'm using them as part of a bigger rig to handle some of the mids/highs from the 'grit' side of the rig. Still, seems to work OK (but a real bastard to shift everything around, so they don't go out to play very often)

HTH, Ian

Edited November 8, 2010 by Bottle

[icastle]

[quote name='jezzaboy' post='1013802' date='Nov 5 2010, 10:08 PM']I know that the question has been asked before but is anyone gigging with a PA cab as a bass cab?

Having ran a search, I see that some people have used them for rehearsing. I was thinking of getting a Peavey with a 15" driver. I recently went and watched a local covers band and the bass guy was going through the pa and was just using his combo as a monitor. Don`t get me wrong, they had a sound guy and were using Mackie active speakers for the foh but it got me thinking.

Opinions/advice?

Jez[/quote]

I've used a Peavey HiSys 2XT with a beer towel stuffed in the flared horn to deaden it as part of an emergency rig before without any major problems.

[LiamPodmore]

I have a friend who gigs with a MarkBass Little Mark Limited Edition head and 2 1x15 PA Cabs, he has a damn good sound at every gig, and i stand close to them (Pub gigs) so i get his tone more than his FOH tone.

Liam

[Big Mick]

The usual people who bring the backline to our jam night were away on tour last night, so we struggled to find a suitable bass rig as mine is still in the shop.
As a last resort we ended up using a PA amp and speakers instead.


Worked just fine on stage and also had a line out to the house PA.

Cheers, Mick.

[Mog]

[quote name='Big Mick' post='1025158' date='Nov 15 2010, 08:30 PM']The usual people who bring the backline to our jam night were away on tour last night, so we struggled to find a suitable bass rig as mine is still in the shop.
As a last resort we ended up using a PA amp and speakers instead.


Worked just fine on stage and also had a line out to the house PA.

Cheers, Mick. [/quote]
jaysus thts a complete replica of my first set up. even the neon pink lead.

[Delberthot]

I've been thinking about something like this

[url="http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-PV-12M-12--Floor-Monitor-104005186-i1153009.gc"]http://www.guitarcenter.com/Peavey-PV-12M-...186-i1153009.gc[/url]


I only use my cab as a monitor anyway so it may or may not be a good idea to actually just buy a monitor that can handle bass. Whether this can or cannot I'm not sure but I'm still looking

Edited November 15, 2010 by Delberthot

[stevie]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='1025219' date='Nov 15 2010, 09:19 PM']I've been thinking about something like this[/quote]
There is a JBL Soundpower 12+horn in the Miscellaneous For Sale section for under £100 that will blow that out of the water. I can tell you that from personal experience because I've used them for a number of year. It doesn't have loads of bottom end, but it has slam in abundance and you can eq in as much low bass as you want to. Birch ply cab - 600W JBL driver with 4" coil and great xmax, 1" titanium tweeter. Compact. Very low distortion.
I am not related to the seller. I'm just saying it's a great buy and it might suit you.

[fonzoooroo]

I'm using a Peavey too - a Hisys 3 (2x12"+ mid+ horn) It was in a poor state when I was [u]given[/u] it, so I popped a pair of Eminence Delta 12LF's in. (and extended the port after a few minutes on WinISD) Perhaps not the most efficient, but that just means you have to chuck more power at it! The sound is great though. I wouldn't swap it!
(InterM 1000W PA amp and Line 6 pod)...

For practicing, when I can't be bothered to lug the 2x12" (it's a big cab!) .. I've just built a box to suit a Rockford Fosgate 12" (200W RMS) car sub... I can feel a crossover and a mid coming on, (tried it for the 1st time last night) but for nice, clean low bass, it's a LOT better than you'd imagine! ...

[casapete]

Ended up using a Yamaha 1x15+horn PA cab in a rehearsal studio last night, sounded fine!
Can't see the problem myself- if it sounds okay, then it is.....

[clauster]

I've used a few bits of my singer's PA as a bass rig before -

Warwick Corvette - mini mixer (both mine) - BSS crossover - 2XQSC amps - Tubosound Sub and Turbosound Mid-top (the last four all the singers).

Absolutely awesome. Next time I'm bringing both speaker stacks for the full 4.5KW experience