New Bass Rig
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rockskate4x
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yuck...
where is the amp
where is the amp
rockskate4x
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nice bass, by the way...
rockskate4x said:
I recall an anecdote I heard while working in a guitar store a number of years ago - I was trying to buy a bass amp and I was looking for a sound similar to Sublime's. The owner told me he saw them live, and the bass player was plugged straight into the PA.
Admittedly, I'm not a bassist, but if that's true, what in the heck do you need an amp for? :guitaristgif:
Super Turbo Deluxe Custom
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True, you don't need a rig. One of the best all around bass players I know doesn't play through a rig. He has a Mackie PA with powered subs. Geddy Lee doesn't use a rig anymore, he uses a sans amp into the PA. When recording, most times the bass goes straight into the board. That being said, I have a bass rig. It's the guitar player in me I guess.
If you've got a bass whose tone you love, why not go direct? If you've got a couple of pedals or a processor that you like, plug the bass into it, and why not go direct?
Depending on the gig, you only need an amp on stage to hear yourself, unless it is your main tone-shaping tool. I've played situations where the only thing going through the PA (and I use that term with a grain of salt) was the vocals, so the amps onstage were needed. However, in any club that had a decent system, we side-washed, and everything went through the PA. That also allowed us to keep the stage volume low enough that we could actually talk to each other!
It's not as far-fetched as it may seem .......
Depending on the gig, you only need an amp on stage to hear yourself, unless it is your main tone-shaping tool. I've played situations where the only thing going through the PA (and I use that term with a grain of salt) was the vocals, so the amps onstage were needed. However, in any club that had a decent system, we side-washed, and everything went through the PA. That also allowed us to keep the stage volume low enough that we could actually talk to each other!
It's not as far-fetched as it may seem .......
Volitions Advocate
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Those Bose Systems are phenominal if you put the time into them to figure them out.
Absolute best fidelity i've ever heard in a rig, especially for vocals.
There are a few problems I've had with them. First is they have to be used in the right venue. Any stadium type seating wont work because the sound doesn't go up or down. just straight forward. So they also don't work too well if they're your primary source of sound on a tall stage, because the sound just passes directly over peoples heads.
2.. they dont actually save you much stage space.. at least you can flatten an amp against a wall.. these things take up a good chunk of floor and its just kind of a blob. And for a system that is supposed to be behind you and go through you, they're not good for the tiny venues they claim to be designed for. because to get the best use out of them you need them to be 5 to 10 feet behind you.
and the third and biggest annoyance for me is the price. I'm actually on the bose forum (and if any of you guys complaining about any W guys fiddling with/deleting posts then you'll want to cry jihad over that draconian dominion) and the developers are constantly on there defending their creation. talking about how its the new wave and the future of sound, and yet they make it extreemly inaccessible for the average joe. looking at that picture i'd say it probably cost... 3300 dollars.. am i right mayfly? 2300 for the system w/ 2 bass bins and another 1000 for the second amp and pair of bass bins. and according to their science every member of the band needs one. And add another 6 or 700 dollars onto that if you want the little preset/eq engine thingy that attaches.
And thats the cheap model.
The fanboyism is also probably the most annoying thing in the world. I've never been called a tube snob so much in my life.
On the flipside the anti-fanboyism is just as annoying.
Personally. I want 5 of these things. for my band. I'd mic up both my stacks and pump them through one of these things. Like I said the sound fidelity is extraordinary and so is the dispersion. but at a price tag of around 20K for the band is a little steep for something You'd have to augment anyway if you wanted to play a large venue.
They're trying to match the price with a big PA system (think Crown amps, JBL speakers.. the works) but market it for a bar gig crowd.
and you really do NEED the extra bass bins if you want that rock n' roll kick drum and/or bass guitar thump, because it just doesnt' deliver otherwise.
I have such a love/hate relationship with these things if that isnt' obvious.
Personally... If i had a smaller band. like a 3 piece. I'd use a modeller and DI into 2 of these things and use them in stereo. I'd probably even sell my amps to do it if I were really serious about the project.
And it doesn't cost them 3K a pop to manufacture these things.
Absolute best fidelity i've ever heard in a rig, especially for vocals.
There are a few problems I've had with them. First is they have to be used in the right venue. Any stadium type seating wont work because the sound doesn't go up or down. just straight forward. So they also don't work too well if they're your primary source of sound on a tall stage, because the sound just passes directly over peoples heads.
2.. they dont actually save you much stage space.. at least you can flatten an amp against a wall.. these things take up a good chunk of floor and its just kind of a blob. And for a system that is supposed to be behind you and go through you, they're not good for the tiny venues they claim to be designed for. because to get the best use out of them you need them to be 5 to 10 feet behind you.
and the third and biggest annoyance for me is the price. I'm actually on the bose forum (and if any of you guys complaining about any W guys fiddling with/deleting posts then you'll want to cry jihad over that draconian dominion) and the developers are constantly on there defending their creation. talking about how its the new wave and the future of sound, and yet they make it extreemly inaccessible for the average joe. looking at that picture i'd say it probably cost... 3300 dollars.. am i right mayfly? 2300 for the system w/ 2 bass bins and another 1000 for the second amp and pair of bass bins. and according to their science every member of the band needs one. And add another 6 or 700 dollars onto that if you want the little preset/eq engine thingy that attaches.
And thats the cheap model.
The fanboyism is also probably the most annoying thing in the world. I've never been called a tube snob so much in my life.
On the flipside the anti-fanboyism is just as annoying.
Personally. I want 5 of these things. for my band. I'd mic up both my stacks and pump them through one of these things. Like I said the sound fidelity is extraordinary and so is the dispersion. but at a price tag of around 20K for the band is a little steep for something You'd have to augment anyway if you wanted to play a large venue.
They're trying to match the price with a big PA system (think Crown amps, JBL speakers.. the works) but market it for a bar gig crowd.
and you really do NEED the extra bass bins if you want that rock n' roll kick drum and/or bass guitar thump, because it just doesnt' deliver otherwise.
I have such a love/hate relationship with these things if that isnt' obvious.
Personally... If i had a smaller band. like a 3 piece. I'd use a modeller and DI into 2 of these things and use them in stereo. I'd probably even sell my amps to do it if I were really serious about the project.
And it doesn't cost them 3K a pop to manufacture these things.
Patrick from Davis
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James Jamerson played most of the time direct into the board. That being said, I still like having a rig to futz with.
Patrick
Patrick
I still like disintegrating things with big speakers. But, I'll soon need a muscular groupie to carry them for me, cause I'm getting old and I can't afford no roadies. I guess Bose comes with either a fireman's pole (for really skinny people) or a heavily-reinforced stripper pole? - maybe you can introduce to one of them big strippers. :toothy10:
M
metalman22105
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Dude, that sansamp is amazing, I used one when I played bass in a band a while ago, great piece of gear!
mayfly
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Everything that VA has said is true:
The systems are freaking fantastic.
The systems are freaking expensive.
The systems are not perfect - but the limitations you can work around.
The boys at Bose (especially those at the forum) are annoying as hell. I stopped posting there because frankly they are quite closed minded to criticism.
The boys at Bose tech support are great. Even though I got the systems used, they've replaced stuff under warranty. Top marks there.
Regarding what we paid for these - we picked them up used on eBay so we got them for a fraction of what VA quotes. Well, actually we got bits and pieces over time. Currently we have two towers: a single bass system, and the quad bass system pictured. I managed to pay for everything by selling the old PA and a bunch of guitar amps. Considering that it replaces the sound man as well, it runs about even in cost.
Regarding how loud they go, with our two towers it's easily enough for loud rock and roll in a small (200 people) venue. BTW, the system pictured has 1000 Watts.
I got into these for three reasons:
1 - it's my ears (and these systems are easy on the ears)
2 - it's my back (and these systems are easy on the back)
3 - we are mostly a vocal band - and we always struggle to hear the vocals. Actually, it took a good deal of maturity for the band members to say the vocals are more important and we should give up the amps to help the vocals. But we did - and it's been great.
One last thing - if you are going to get serious about these puppies, spend money on good microphones. You'll have hell on wheels feedback unless you do.
Oh - and be prepared for varying reactions when you use them - there are a lot of Bose haters out there (and not without reason)
ccasion14:
The systems are freaking fantastic.
The systems are freaking expensive.
The systems are not perfect - but the limitations you can work around.
The boys at Bose (especially those at the forum) are annoying as hell. I stopped posting there because frankly they are quite closed minded to criticism.
The boys at Bose tech support are great. Even though I got the systems used, they've replaced stuff under warranty. Top marks there.
Regarding what we paid for these - we picked them up used on eBay so we got them for a fraction of what VA quotes. Well, actually we got bits and pieces over time. Currently we have two towers: a single bass system, and the quad bass system pictured. I managed to pay for everything by selling the old PA and a bunch of guitar amps. Considering that it replaces the sound man as well, it runs about even in cost.
Regarding how loud they go, with our two towers it's easily enough for loud rock and roll in a small (200 people) venue. BTW, the system pictured has 1000 Watts.
I got into these for three reasons:
1 - it's my ears (and these systems are easy on the ears)
2 - it's my back (and these systems are easy on the back)
3 - we are mostly a vocal band - and we always struggle to hear the vocals. Actually, it took a good deal of maturity for the band members to say the vocals are more important and we should give up the amps to help the vocals. But we did - and it's been great.
One last thing - if you are going to get serious about these puppies, spend money on good microphones. You'll have hell on wheels feedback unless you do.
Oh - and be prepared for varying reactions when you use them - there are a lot of Bose haters out there (and not without reason)
ccasion14:rockskate4x
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haha, I just noticed that the top of the tower is going through a hole in the ceiling!
SkuttleFunk
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I played thru one of these for over a year with an assortment of three basses on any given session
4-string fretted & fretless
5-string fretted & fretless
6-string fretted & fretless
Azola upright electric bass
it took a couple weeks to get used to hearing differently, and then dialing in my general sound. once I got it, though, I was heard in a way that never filled the house before - and all of the typical boominess inexperienced sound techs dial in were eliminated because they weren't allowed to mix anything
all the best,
R
4-string fretted & fretless
5-string fretted & fretless
6-string fretted & fretless
Azola upright electric bass
it took a couple weeks to get used to hearing differently, and then dialing in my general sound. once I got it, though, I was heard in a way that never filled the house before - and all of the typical boominess inexperienced sound techs dial in were eliminated because they weren't allowed to mix anything
all the best,
R
Volitions Advocate
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one good thing is the 6 week grace period. If you can't get it to work for you by then they'll take them back and give you a refund.
but you have to have the money.
but you have to have the money.
Devilsrope
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That's pretty awesome! I never considered using Bose for anything other than vocals.
The whole point of a Sansamp is to be "sans amp". I use one regularly...I find it can make lower end basses sound magnificent. With my Mexican Jazz it was like flipping a switch (well, literally) in terms of tone. Other basses like my Rick and modern style basses I find it works well but not as dramatically. It is very convenient though...XLR output, effected and uneffected 1/4" out. I usually run the XLR to the PA and the uneffected output into my rig (Mesa Buster Bass...200watts and way too many pounds of tubeness).
Nice rig, and I love the T-bird!
Nice rig, and I love the T-bird!
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