hamfist

[quote name='SkinnyMike' timestamp='1335959669' post='1638574'] On the flip side, has anyone A/B'd any of the Behringers with a microphone on bass (or guitar)? How do they compare to an sm57 or similar? [/quote] I have done masses of A/Bing of the GI-100 compared with a miked cab with guitar. In a studio environment, the miked cab will sound nicer every time. However, in the hurly burly of a live gig environment, the GI-100 signal is much more predictable, and easier to set up. SO, for recording, I'd go for a mike every time, but for live .... well there's a lot of pro's for the behringer DI, compared to a mike. BTW, I also compared the Behringer with much more expensive boxes from Palmer and Hughes & Kettner (all with guitar). The Behringer won out for me !

Not sure of what advice you want. I guess it's whether to buy it or not. Well, if it sounds good, thats a serious plus. But a beat up 300. Hmm £200 seems a little steep. Somewhere around £150 sounds more appropriate. Depends how much you want it really.

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1335870380' post='1637162'] I found that it needed heavy EQ to be usable though, as an amp that sounds good through a tweeterless cab can be painfully bright when run direct. Even the 4KHz lowpass setting on the BSS isn't enough on its own. [/quote] Absolutely true. Also, there is the Behringer GI-100, which is the same as a DI-100 but has an extra switchable speaker sim on it for the XLR output. This is actually the box I have. It works very well for simulating a guitar cab, and takes all the harsh brightness off, but it may not be great for bass. I have not tried it with bass though.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1335812029' post='1636471'] Has anyone actually tried running one of these from a speaker output? Even if you can attach it to a 3kW amp I think it's usability might be related to the setting of the output volume control on the amp. It would be interesting to hear from someone with real world experience. [/quote] Er, yes, I just said that I had run one of these from speaker outputs many, many times. And yes, the DI signal to the desk (or whatever) is altered when you change your amp's volume out to the speaker(s). However, IME, once it's set at the beginning of the gig most folks don't usually alter it too drastically. They might well tweak it up a bit during the gig, as many folks do, but then the whole band is getting a bit louder also, to compensate. So long as the gain level into the desk has a little bit of leeway for a small increase in the signal strength, all should be fine. I think what the Behringer box does is outstanding for the few quid it costs. To cope with the big differences between input levels between, say, a 200W amp and a 3kW amp, the box has two pad buttons to bring any massive signals down to a useable level. For me, the biggest drawback is probably the need to use 1/4" jacks for connection in the speaker pathway (the DI is obviously XLR out). I'd rather use speakon but, hey ho, with up to say a 200W amp I'd be happy to use 1/4" connections.

Take a look at the Behringer DI-100. It is one of the really good bits of kit that Behringer make and is uber reliable. They say that you can use it into the speaker outs with amps up to 3000 Watts, so I think a 200W should be well within it's abilities. I have used one many times in the way you suggest with guitar amps up to 100W.

Great news ! Glad it worked out well !

Agree with Lozz about Markbass gear, although it just isn't "my" sound to be honest. Don't be afraid of heads and cabs though. Easier to lug around in two pieces than a combo. There are a good selection of used 500W heads that come up frequently. GK 700RB, MB500, or Ashdown ABM500's for example. You could pick up one of those and still get a pretty good quality used 4 ohm 4x10 with your £500. If you are dead set to buy new then the GK MB210 or the Ashdown touring 550 or the TC Electronic BG500 all would be worth looking at. If you can afford it, I'd advise at getting at least a 500W rig if you can. Some venues just seem to "eat" up those watts. You can never have too much.

I owned one of the head versions of this ...... and sold it pretty quickly. They are beginners amps really IMO. The models are all rather synthetic, and fail to cut through with a band. There's enough volume for a 400W, but to get it, you will have to use the onboard compressor quite a lot, which will give you a high noise floor (unacceptably high for me). Also, it fails to do a clean tone loudly at all. To get volume you have to hike the gain on every model and that generates overdrive with all of them. Admittedly, they are cheap as chips at the moment ... but there are reasons for that. Definately try before you buy.

Dan bought a pedal from me. Instant payment. Good comms. Easy, easy deal. Thanks very much !

Sold a pedal to Pete. Instant payment. good comms. Great guy. What more could you ask !!

Sold a pedal to Rich. Instant payment. Great comms. Easy deal. Thanks mate !!

Sold a bass to Nick. He turned up at my house exactly when he said he would. Thoroughly nice guy. Easy deal. Thanks Nick !!

THis depends, to a certain extent, how much of the ABM's overdrive you use. Effects such as reverb, delay and chorus usually sound much better after and overdrive/distortion. And compressors usually sound better before distortion. So if you are using the ABM's overdrive then wherever you put the ME50 will be a compromise. I'd expect your best bet would be to use no, or minimal, overdrive from the ABM and simply plug the ME50's output into the normal bass input on the amp. You can then simply use the ME50 as a pre-amp/effects unit providing all your effects and/or overdrive/distortions into the (clean) ABM. There's no harm in using the ABM's powerful EQ to tweak things though. Of course, there is no harm whatsoever in trying the ME50 in the amp's FX loop instead. You will not harm anything. You may or may not like it better in the loop. THere's also a chance that it may have more or less background noise in the loop. Just try it out both ways and see which one you like ! Oh, also be aware that plugging it into the FX loop may bypass the master volume (depending on the design of the amp). If so, it will be very loud, unless you start with the ME50's output set low. The ME50's output volume would then become your master volume.

[quote name='Ed_S' timestamp='1335425495' post='1630718'] I'm sure I've written a response like this before (maybe even to your good self!) regarding the ABMs, so please take this in the jocular spirit intended... but really, the sub harmonics are a gimmick that you'd never consider using, the compression is cr@p, the gain structure is deceptive and the EQ works best the wrong way round... and that makes it a great amp? [/quote] No, the compressor, sub-harmonics generator and gain structure are not the things which make it a great amp. It's still my favourite amp though !