Ive missed using an Amp

[KingPrawn]

I moved to full IEM using Line 6 Helix Stomp DI to the front of the house a number of years back. It's great; I love it and am happy I did. It made me a tighter player and vocalist, so I got rid of my high-end amp and cab. Then a dep gig came up. Nice and easy. I know a few of the players, all good SKA stuff. Brings me straight back to my school days. Fred Perry and Docs. I wrongfully assumed it was a silent stage. No, I need an amp. Managed to get hold of a Fender Rumble V3. Went to gig and was blown away by the experience of using an amp again. As a side note, the Rumble is an incredible amp. As light as a feather, and power and tone beyond many high-end gear I've used. ( if you have not tried one, DO!) Anyway, it was just great to feel an Amp again and feel connected to the room and other players.  I feel like Natalie Imbruglia, "I'm torn" 

[Lozz196]

I’ve played a few gigs with just my bass into preamp/DI into PA, with monitor mix for the band. Works fine but I do prefer having the onstage sound from an amp behind me. Not tried IEM but fairly sure my preference will always be amp on stage.

[Steve Browning]

This has always been the root of my reluctance to ditch the amps. I love the sound of my rig and wouldn't want to go down the route of the alternatives (Eich etc) to recreate the physical effect of having an amp on stage. Note I'm not talking about sheer volume-induced sensation.

 

Your perspective is a welcome addition, and rather better than the IEM sneering that we endured a little while back. I get the idea of IEM, but would just miss the physical aspect of a sound source behind me. Even on a big stage, I like that bit of the stage where it has effect. It's a kind of oasis.

[Marky L]

Apart from lugging the gear about, the feel of the HEFT is worth the grief for me.

[casapete]

1 hour ago, Steve Browning said:

This has always been the root of my reluctance to ditch the amps. I love the sound of my rig and wouldn't want to go down the route of the alternatives (Eich etc) to recreate the physical effect of having an amp on stage. Note I'm not talking about sheer volume-induced sensation.

 

Your perspective is a welcome addition, and rather better than the IEM sneering that we endured a little while back. I get the idea of IEM, but would just miss the physical aspect of a sound source behind me. Even on a big stage, I like that bit of the stage where it has effect. It's a kind of oasis.

That sums it up for me too.

 

Along with this, I also like to know that there is a constant part of what I’m doing that I’m in control of!
Done so many gigs where the engineer / house monitors haven’t been up to scratch, and every time

wish I’d insisted on using my own stuff. I don’t play stupid loud, but just like the authority and familiarity 

that using my own gear brings. I don’t have any problem with others using IEM’s / no amp, it’s purely

a personal choice. Having played in bands for over 50 years and still having pretty good hearing,

I’m unlikely to ditch my amps now though, especially as good kit has become so much lighter and

easier to use than ever! 

[Franticsmurf]

I moved to full IEM after lockdown, partly due to a double hernia and partly because the band I joined had a dedicated sound man who was able to give me a personalised full band mix. In the bands I played with before that I found I couldn't get enough vocal mix in physical monitors and I had started using one earpiece via a Behringer P2 fed from the PA mixer (the PA only carried the vocals). 

 

I love having a good mix in my ears; it's given me the confidence to sing more. I love not having to cart around amps and speakers, set them up, break them down etc and having more room in the bass corner. But I do miss the feel of the sound behind me. I've just started with a new band and while we rehearse with in ears, the plan is to play with just vocal monitoring and have a real backline. Fortunately I didn't get rid of my amp (in fact, before joining the 'IEM band', I had swapped from kit with its own gravity to light weight TE 1x10" cabs and class D amps). The hernias have been fixed (gaffer tape is so useful) and I'm looking forward to gigging with some volume behind me.

[casapete]

Two set ups have changed my playing scenario significantly and meant I could carry on

gigging well into my err….mid 60’s. 

 

First one was getting a BF Compact, one of the early models. I ran this with a GK MB800

and it was a game changer! So portable, loud and great tones. Still got the cab.

 

Then more recently I’ve been using Fender Rumble combos. Use a 100 with my duo / small gigs,

and the 500 with the blues band / bigger stuff. Both are amazing things - everyone who picks the

100 combo up thinks it hasn’t got a speaker inside! I just love the sound these combos kick out,

so easy to dial in ‘my sound’ with no messing around. Bass straight into them, DI out to the PA

where needed, job done. Had these lightweight options not been available, then I honestly don’t 

know if I’d still be gigging. 

[BigRedX]

I can't ever see myself going back to a traditional bass rig. 

 

For the sorts of gigs I have been playing the past 20 years, on the small stages it was mostly too loud and by the time I'd turned down to the point where the FoH was happy it wasn't messing up the PA sound I could hear myself better from the guitarist's wedge on the other side of the stage than I could from my rig immediately behind me. For the bigger stages, the moment I wasn't stood directly in front of my rig it became a big heavy and expensive stage prop that took up too much room in the band van and was cumbersome to get into venues and on to stage. For the few gigs I did where the bass didn't go through the PA I had to be so loud on stage that I could barely hear the rest of the band in order to project properly into the rest of the venue.

 

IME "heft" is mostly myth and if I had been loud enough to properly experience it, I would most likely be even more deaf than I am.

 

These days I go straight from the Helix into the PA. I have an FRFR cab for those few occasions when I need additional on-stage monitoring or FoH projection, and the superior dispersal characteristics mean that I only have to be marginally louder on stage than I would normally be comfortable with in order to get the right mix FoH. It also means that for my current band we get the whole band plus all our gear and merch plus our roadie/merch seller in a single estate car, which makes more gigs economically viable than before.

Edited yesterday at 11:10 by BigRedX

[Steve Browning]

5 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

I can't ever see myself going back to a traditional bass rig. 

 

For the sorts of gigs I have been playing the past 20 years, on the small stages it was mostly too loud and by the time I'd turned down to the point where the FoH was happy it wasn't messing up the PA sound I could hear myself better from the guitarist's wedge on the other side of the stage than I could from my rig immediately behind me. For the bigger stages, the moment I wasn't stood directly in front of my rig it became a big heavy and expensive stage prop that took up too much room in the band van and was cumbersome to get into venues and on to stage. For the few gigs I did where the bass didn't go through the PA I had to be so loud on stage that I could barely hear the rest of the band in order to project properly into the rest of the venue.

 

IME "heft" is mostly myth and if I had been loud enough to properly experience it, I would most likely be even more deaf than I am.

 

These days I go straight from the Helix into the PA. I have an FRFR cab for those few occasions when I need additional on-stage monitoring or FoH projection, and the superior dispersal characteristics mean that I only have to be marginally louder on stage than I would normally be comfortable with in order to get the right mix FoH. It also means that for my current band we get the whole band plus all our gear and merch plus our roadie/merch seller in a single estate car, which makes more gigs economically viable than before.

 

And, of course, that's absolutely fine. We all have our own perspectives/experiences. If what you're doing works for you then you're right and no-one can tell you otherwise.

[bassbiscuits]

I use IEMs in two of my bands but also always use my bass rig onstage. The IEMs are great for getting a decent mix of everything else on stage (including any clicks, tracks etc) but for me there’s no substitute for the feel of real live bass onstage either.