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

[Ed_S]

Played a relatively new venue (converted pub) last night, and rocked in to find that the PA was just two 15" tops on stands and the monitors weren't working. The aforementioned tops were also screwed; farting and distorting their way through the first band's set, especially during kick/bass-heavy sections. Knowing we were a much more aggressive sound with an extra guitar, it was nice to be able to tell the 'sound guy' to keep the bass out of the PA and clean up the mix as much as possible. In the event, it couldn't sound anything other than disappointing, but at least the bass was clear, which in turn kept the lead vocals in tune. Wouldn't have been possible with anything other than a proper rig with the right sound and some power behind it.

Edited May 6, 2012 by Ed_S

[Defo]

If you are happy with what you have then its crazy to spend money you don't need to.

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1335205371' post='1627292']
Doing it wrong with the 1 amp:


Credit:
[url="http://www.charistalbotphotography.co.uk/"]http://www.charistal...tography.co.uk/[/url]

And the lovely Amy Dawn. Also her legs.
[/quote]

I hope she didn't leave any crusty streaks on that Sound City.

[Thunderpaws]

I played a gig with a Line6 300 combo DI'd to the PA. It sounded flat and terrible, even with me being positively trebbly with my G&L L2000 active on and trebble boost. I had just finished practising with my Ampeg BA115, which though is relatively cheap, sounded awesome in comparison.

Have seen Rush twice and I'm sure Geddy Lee DI's (correct me if I am wrong) and he sounded great both times. Saw the Goo Goo dolls and the whole band seemed to be DI'd and they all sounded terrible. If someone knows what they are doing by pumping you through a DI it's probably not too bad. If you have a good amp that sounds good then at least you know it's always going to sound, repeatably, good.

Ta

g

[jacko]

[quote name='Thunderpaws' timestamp='1336501070' post='1646551']

Have seen Rush twice and I'm sure Geddy Lee DI's (correct me if I am wrong) and he sounded great both times

[/quote]

The trouble with these big bands is, although you think they're just DI'd, they're often going through a full amp rig too - just not pointing forwards. Geddy is actively endorsing orange heads so you can bet there'll be one in his signal chain. Another example is John Myung who everyone assumes just runs into a sansamp (or whatever) and usually has an appalling stage sound - when he can be heard. The fact is he has a full mesa rig on the side of the stage pointing away from the audience but mic'd up so he gets a proper bass tone in his in-ears. Shame that isn't pumped into the front of house

[brensabre79]

To the OP, I don't know what the issue is with Behringer stuff. Its cheap and a good entry level. Most of it is derived from higher quality brand designs, and unashamedly so! They don't have their own manufacturing, research & development etc. they take established technology, change it a little bit and get them made in huge numbers in the far east. Just like Squier do for Fender really. There's nothing wrong with Behringer stuff in terms of performance, bang for buck its really good value gear.

The thing with Behringer stuff is that it's not always so reliable, I've got stuff that has been going strong for 10 years, but I've also got stuff that has packed up after 18 months of light use. The difference with Behringer stuff is its probably not cost-effective to repair, so you just replace it. Sooner or later you get fed up of replacing things, or you get more discerning about your sound.

To put it in context, none of my bass stuff is Behringer anymore, but our entire PA is (except the speakers). I'm not a singer though

[51m0n]

Thats a fine approach until wherever you turn up doesnt have a decent PA that can handle bass.

Then you are completely and utterly screwed.

[Noisyjon]

For me I like to have an amp & cab/s that sound great for me and my style by themselves.
This makes non-D.I. gigs and recording a lot easier as I know what's there and am happy with.

[derrenleepoole]

Expensive gear can last a life-time, but equally it's prone to failure just like any other electrical product. Likewise, cheap gear is perceived to be inferior and not likely to be durable and reliable, but can also last a lifetime if looked after. I've owned Behringer amps myself, and both of them failed, but I was just unlucky with two bad amps. As someone else said above, Behringer amps are so cheap that it's not cost effective to repair them but simply buy a new one if it does fail. There's no reason though why that can't be reliable though.

[JTUK]

A Behringer disbeliever here. Whenever we have had to use it, ( mainly desks ) it has been average at best and we now ask if that is in the P.A spec as we will bring our own mixer.
It is cheap chinese ( or whoever makes it) tat, IMO.
On somethings you can get away with a cheapie piece of kit but not on vocals which should sell the whole band completely and utterly. Just not worth cost cutting here
for our band, IMO.

[shizznit]

I always take the attitude that if my backline is reliable and puts out the tone I want then I can concentrate on my performance with confidence. I will never expect the FOH engineer to accurately replicate my backline through the PA and monitors for a multitude of reasons, but I also want to make sure that I have the right kit to give that person every possibility to make their job easier and get the results that they want.

Cheap amp vs expensive amp?? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you can't put a price on that. But, you need to have the right tools for the right job. Bass players have it a bit more difficult than our guitar playing counterparts. If a 100w combo with no DI or line out feature is enough to do an acoustic gig at your local then game on. If you plan to use the same amp on a 60x40ft stage in a 1k capacity venue and cant hear yourself and the FOH gets shirty with you because you don't have a DI out don't be surprised. It's like taking a knife to a gun fight. You can get away with it if you are a guitarist because the amps are typically mic'd and most guitar amps don't have DI features, but you won't find many FOH engineers at larger venues that like to mic bass amps or have the right kit to do so.

Edited May 10, 2012 by shizznit

[Thunderpaws]

This is a good thread. It's good to hear people with much more experience than me putting in their tuppence.

[GregBass]

I go for the overkill back line - Peavey Tour 700, Hartke 4x10 and Electrovoice 1x18 sub. This means that I can usually get my sound projecting well even in bigger venues - and the sub produces more deep bass than most PAs.

On a side note from this thread, I also provide the PA and that is a Behringer powered mixer with Mackie slave and two chassis amps for monitors. I have never had a single issue with the Behringer - works fine for us