Bassists - Good and simple rig

Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

I have two Gallien-Krueger amps, and I love them. They are great sounding, have tons of power, and don't way a metric crapton. I picked up a 400RB-III for 98 bucks, and it's paired up with a Bergantino 212. It lives at my church, and it's the stage rig, because I just don't play bass anywhere else. My 1001RB-II is the big one, it's TONS of power in a small box, and can be used in about any band you could possibly want to play in (and a lot you don't). A used Hartke 410XL would be a really good cab for it.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

Gibson 175's suggestion of a DI, such as a Sansamp, is a great idea. An old bandmate playing in NYC for the last 12 years uses the Sansamp to good effect. He deals with a lot of different rigs at clubs he plays, and it has been a lifesaver. I've messed around with the bass model myself, and I can see where he's coming from.

Some good amp suggestions above; I'd add Carvin to the mix. Had a B800, great head, lightweight. That model is no longer made, but their other bass amp offerings look interesting.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

My bass player just picked up a TC Electronic BG500-115 500wt 1x15 combo. He loves it and I have to say it is pretty impressive. Fairly light, good features, excellent tone
 
I'd heard good things about the GK rb400. Like others have said, Peavey's bass stuff is an excellent value and built like tanks.

Just don't overdo it with your bass rig. I did back in 2006 when I bought a Traynor YBA200 and matching cab that has a 15 and 2 10's in it. Killer rig, but hard to move. Also very hard to sell without giving it away.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

+1 for tc electronic EXCEPT I nominate the new BG-250 combo. I do not know how readily available this recent model is in the United States.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

I saw the TC amps in the latest Musician's Friend catalog and they caught my eye based simply on the fact that I have a Polytune tuner and love it. Nice to see a few positive notes about them.

Now, in regards to the Sansamp DI. Where would that be in the chain? Would the bass plug in to it and then run out of the 1/4" output to the input of the amp with the XLR out going to the board?

Thanks for all the input so far.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

Wattage said:
My bass player just picked up a TC Electronic BG500-115 500wt 1x15 combo. He loves it and I have to say it is pretty impressive. Fairly light, good features, excellent tone
Click to expand...

i want to get one of those for my daughter!
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

I would get that Hartke cab if it's only $180. you can always add a 15" or 18" in the future. Our bass player has a Carvin BX1500, an Acoustic B410 and a Carvin 1-18". I love his tone, this is what I would have if I were the bass player.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

ErikH said:
Now, in regards to the Sansamp DI. Where would that be in the chain? Would the bass plug in to it and then run out of the 1/4" output to the input of the amp with the XLR out going to the board?

Thanks for all the input so far.
Click to expand...

I use a Sansamp and LOVE it. The way I run it is:

Bass<1/4in. cable>Tuner<1/4in. cable>SansAmp<XLR>Board

No amp in the chain for me, but I guess you could possibly run it that way. I use the house monitors or in-ears to be my monitoring system. The SansAmp is Phantom Powered as well, so you don't have to worry about a power cable or battery as long as the board has phantom power.

I run the 3-switch version which I basically just use as 3 separate gain stages. 1-clean 2-bit of grit 3-almost fuzzed out
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig?

Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig?

ErikH said:
Ok bass players, I'm looking for some pointers. I'm tossing around the idea of getting in to another band playing bass. There's nothing solid yet and I honestly haven't started to see what's out there but I do know that bassists don't have problems getting gigs around here and I want to play out more than what my current band is doing. I played bass in a band when I was in college but sold the bass several years back. It was fun so I have no issues playing bass again.

The bass guitar isn't a problem. I already know I want a P-Bass (with plans to put in Baselines Quarter Pound pickups). What I'm not sure of is the amp setup.

I'd like something lightweight, plenty of power, and not overly expensive.
Click to expand...

I've been real happy with an SWR amp and cabinet. It's 500 watts into 8X8 speakers with 3 bazooka ports. This baby breathes and will shake the walls.
Stay with a Popular name brand, and you should do fine. The smaller speakers seem to have more definition uh more clarity. Peavey has just come a line of bass gear. It looked pretty portable to me.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

With what looks like a rather tight budget coming up (long story), the Sansamp DI may work perfectly until I can acquire an amp and then still use it in conjunction with the amp.

First things first, to move some stuff and get a bass.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

+1 for Peavey; their bass amps from the 80s are dirt cheap and cut through a mix better than their wattage rating might lead you to believe. Also maybe think about their Tour series amps? I own one of the 700 watt versions that I got for under $300 used, but they also have 450- and 600-watt versions. It's pretty small and weighs about 20 lbs, sounds great (way more low end than their older stuff) and has all the features you'd need. The only downsides are that it only goes down to 4 ohms (can't run anything alongside my 4-ohm cab), and only has Speakon connectors for the speakers.

Also this may be just me, but I'm a big fan of playing bass through a 50 or 100-watt tube guitar head. Not through guitar speakers of course, and not if you're looking for pristinely clean bass, but depending on what kind of guitar amps you have at your disposal I'd say it's worth experimenting. My current favorite amp for bass is an old Fender 140 head. It doesn't have the ridiculous amounts of sub-bass that newer high-wattage solid-state amps can deliver, but in all other tonal aspects it eats solid-state bass gear for breakfast.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

i love everyone said:
+1 for Peavey; their bass amps from the 80s are dirt cheap and cut through a mix better than their wattage rating might lead you to believe. Also maybe think about their Tour series amps? I own one of the 700 watt versions that I got for under $300 used, but they also have 450- and 600-watt versions. It's pretty small and weighs about 20 lbs, sounds great (way more low end than their older stuff) and has all the features you'd need. The only downsides are that it only goes down to 4 ohms (can't run anything alongside my 4-ohm cab), and only has Speakon connectors for the speakers.
Click to expand...

I have the peavey tour 450 which has a powerful modern tone that I got for $200 on fleabay, it allows speakon and regular speaker cable on mine. Real workhorse, I recommend it too as a cheap reliable option, cheers :)
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

Last evening I played through an Acoustic combo while A/Bing some basses at GC just to answer a few of my own questions I had in my head: 4 or 5-string, Fender, Ibanez or Sterling, active or passive, etc.. I have to say, the Acoustic amp is very impressive. I didn't fiddle with the knobs too much but it sounded really good where it was set. Might have to add that brand to the list of possibilities.

One thing I found out, even though I like P-Basses, I favor the Ibanez Soundgear basses more.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

ErikH said:
Last evening I played through an Acoustic combo while A/Bing some basses at GC just to answer a few of my own questions I had in my head: 4 or 5-string, Fender, Ibanez or Sterling, active or passive, etc.. I have to say, the Acoustic amp is very impressive. I didn't fiddle with the knobs too much but it sounded really good where it was set. Might have to add that brand to the list of possibilities.

One thing I found out, even though I like P-Basses, I favor the Ibanez Soundgear basses more.
Click to expand...
buy the acoustic 1x15 and get the used 4x10 to go with it.
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

before mixing cabs and speakers, might want to google "phasing"

yes there is phasing with any speakers, but it is way more unpredictable with various cabs and diff speaker sizes...
 
Re: Bassists - Good and simple rig

Reload in 5 said:
buy the acoustic 1x15 and get the used 4x10 to go with it.
Click to expand...

Not a bad idea. The amp I played through may have been a 1x15. Not really sure because I wasn't really focusing 100% on the amps anyway.

everdrone said:
before mixing cabs and speakers, might want to google "phasing"

yes there is phasing with any speakers, but it is way more unpredictable with various cabs and diff speaker sizes...
Click to expand...

Yup, completely aware of that.
 
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