Pirellithecat

Thanks for the update Al ........ I guess stealth is the way to go ....... "if you really want to put your Kick Drum through the PA Mr Drummer, we're going to need a bigger/better PA" moving to "now we have such a good PA perhaps I could put my bass through it" and finally, "yes Mr Guitard, I realise that you can't hear me, how would you feel about IEM's". OK ... I was dreaming! Good luck Al, I'm already looking ( ..... at RCF 912/932's and an IMF loan!). Do let us know how you get on!

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We use an old Soundcraft Spirit F1 16. This doesn't have built in FX so we use an external FX processor. Has three Aux Outputs (Pre, Pre/Post, P ost) and all the other bit's n'bobs including Headphone and (studio)monitor outs. It is "used and abused" by us and works very well. In terms of sounding good (minimal noise) and robustness it's great. Be better with on board FX's but otherwise great.

Al .... you have better hearing than me! I did a few songs recently with no amp/cab - the only way I could hear anything was to stand in the audience and play. They loved it ........ but I wouldn't volunteer to do that on a regular basis (too close to all that beer!). The PA was a 12inch Mackie affair so 912's should be much better !!

Yep - using A Genzler Magellan 800 plus a Mesa Subway 12 and 15 cabs. I think it would take a pretty good monitor to get me to ditch them and In Ears are a non starter in the band as no one else is keen! To be honest I could probably survive with just one cab, but the height of the pair really helps me to hear what I'm doing. But ....... , in a different band I'd be VERY keen on reducing stage noise and footprint!! Good luck and let us know how the 912's pan out. Is it "a thing" that the bass player often ends up as the sound guy (or guyess!)???

The 710's are great because of their size and sound quality. Especially in terms of transporting them. However, if I were to replace them, I'd probably go for an RCF 12" model as, having used the 710's a lot (2-3 times per week for the last 12months), I don't think a larger size would actually get in the way at smaller venues. In an ideal world I'd also add a sub for bigger venues as it doesn't really take up space if used instead of a speaker stand. But please, if it all works out, don't post how good it all sounds on here - I'm teetering and need NO encouragement to invest yet more £££ on gear!!! (although we do need a new monitor or 2 ...... and RCF 710's would work ................)

Hi. We use RCF Art 710ii's in a 4 piece Indie/Rock Band. We are loud! We only use them for vocals (x3). Drums are unmiced, rest of gear is 100W Marshall Guitar via 2*10, 40Watt Marshall Combo plus 800 Watt Bass Rig. Many folks (other bands) say they (we) sound great. BUT ..... I would not be happy putting Kick Drum/or bass through the RCF Art 710ii's. I've used them with a kick drum in a quieter band and tried them as bass speakers. I would not recommend them for use in this way. I'm sure they would be loud enough but I don't think that they are sufficient for bass - whether kick or bass guitar, in terms of the tonal quality of the bass frequencies - which are present but aren't great in terms of punch or clarity. (10inch drivers?). Of course I'm comparing the bass output to a Genzler Magellan 800 through a couple of Mesa Subway cabs!! I also think that there is/would be a decrease in the clarity of the vocal element in such a configuration. And this is why I'm in the process of selecting a Sub (eg RCF702ii) so that we can get a bit of Kick Drum via PA to keep up with the (noisy) backline. Don't get me wrong the RCF 710 is excellent. But it ain't a bass cab! Clearly no idea about the RCF 910. Probably not helpful, but I feel that for flexibility and not wishing to dominate small venues with enormous PA speakers, the 710's (or 910's) plus a Sub will be the way to go.

You know how it is, you muddle through and then think - why don't I ask someone who will definitely know the answer. Well - emailed Genzler last afternoon and Jeff Genzler replied within a few hours with all the information I need. Simple Pedal should work , but if LED'd it needs correct wiring to get the amp LED's to function properly. And an suggestion that a Genzler 4 On The Floor Pedal might be a good idea. Of course I can't justify a clever drive pedal ... but it is my birthday in 1 month's time ..............!! Anyway, fantastic customer service and another great reason to use Genzler Kit (if one were needed).

Hi, bought a Laney FS1 Mini to select Clean and Drive Channels on my Genzler Magellan 800 (couldn't find a supplier with stock of the expensive Genzler.). It's a latching switch with an LED which can be powered with a 9 volt supply. However, the LED comes on without a dedicated supply - I guess it draws power from the amp. I have a slight concern which is that, when using the footswitch and the Clean Channel is engaged (LED on Pedal illuminated), the Drive channel selector LED on the amp remains dimly lit. Anyone know whether this is a potential problem and, if so is there something that needs "fixing"? Many thanks

To protect whatever hearing I have left and to hear everyone including me, I really do need to get into IEM's! - Tried the ZS10 IEMs but found that they were too bright. (taking a direct lead out from the mixer Aux out - 2 different mixers, and also directly plugged into phone.) There was also a buzz on bass notes in the right earpiece so I returned them. My Headphones are orders of magnitude better (but not practical) and my Meters Ear buds are also "better" in terms of tonality (if a bit "mushy" and not so good in term of staying in your lugholes!) So, as an introduction to IEM's, is there an alternative that folks can recommend, not wanting to spend more than £100ish as a starting point? If it all works out and the band can cope with me using IEM's then I can invest more in future.

And how would you describe the change in sound? More old school or ?????? I'm interested in adding a VS to me collection but probably need sightly different tone to the Sandberg palette..

Off Topic ....... but ...... Al - we're using RCF Art 710-A's (just vocals for now) and our drummer wants to Mic up his drums - from your experience does the RCF 702 ASII sub (one of) work for you in this context?

Excellent! Bloody typical for me - the old adage "if all else fails .... read the instructions" strikes again! Thanks very much everyone - everyday is indeed a School Day!!!

Sound guy wanted to DI my rig at the weekend. However, he raised an issue about using my inbuilt DI out, as he was using the phantom power setting on his desk and didn't want to put 48 volts into my DI Out. He wanted to put my bass directly into a DI box (and then into my amp for stage monitoring). This would have bypassed my effects (Ashdown ABM 600, with Effect and Tuner in FX Send/Receive) which I didn't want - so to avoid hassle I just played without PA support. (Which from my point of view was OK and, more importantly from the audience point of view it, apparently, sounded great. However, the sound guy wasn't happy as he couldn't turn me down!!) So - how does one get around this issue? Thanks from a complete technophobe!

Thanks - that is certainly a bit different - I'll have to check who stocks them in the UK ........ I can feel a road trip coming on .......

Interesting .... and on the scale of Old School to Ultra Modern how would you describe the sound? Played one briefly - fantastic neck, but couldn't really assess the tone etc (as it was a dreadful amp/combo). If it would do a bit of old school P on the neck pickup it'd be a winner (for me that is!)

The Jam Nights we are lucky enough to have in the area are in pubs and are chaotic. (We actually host one and the deal is that we provide the instruments if needed - luckily no-one takers so far!). It's probably just me (and my level of incompetence) but how/what I play depends to a very great extent on being able to hear myself. From the comments so far it seems that PJ/ or Jazz would work better than a passive P and active might be worth a go (or tone pedal). And probably better to go for roundwounds rather than flats for a random Jam Session. So, if the price was right, something like a second hand MIM Fender Deluxe Active P Bass Special or a Sire P7 might be worth a look??? Thanks all

Thanks all. I think its a particular problem with the "House Band" rig - which I've played through at several different locations. Best sound in terms of me hearing myself, is always my VM4, worst is the P and somewhere in between is the passive PJ. However, not really keen on the Humbucker on the VM4 and trying to decide whether to go for a better PJ (Active) or a Jazz for these live gigs. Had also thought of getting a tone pedal and seeing how that goes. For obvious reasons I'm not that keen on taking my VM4 along to Jam Sessions/Open Mics so a pokey controllable PJ/Jazz workhorse is on the cards. But which ..........

Yep - I've also tried the P with Rounds - better but not by much - I think the "House" bass must be naturally extraordinarily bright!!

Lot's of debate about PJ's but .......... aren't these discussions really about whether 2 pickups negatively interact, rather than whether PJ's work well or not? The whole interaction thing eg, cancellation of a range of frequencies due to different positions along the string and insertion loss etc. would apply equally to a J bass wouldn't it? I have a P bass, and some two pick-up basses. I prefer the tone of the P when I'm noodling at home, but playing live it's a different story. Having taken the P bass (with flats) along to a local Open Mic/Jam Session, it was impossible to hear my bass - just boom, (not even a hint of tizz!). The set up was a fancy Bass/Guitar processor/pedal set up for a Jazz style Bass with roundwounds. Not possible to tweak the tone etc. on the amp/processor on the fly ('cos of terror and lack of technical ability) so the whole thig was a disaster .... never again! However, done the same session with a PJ (with flats) and I could pretty much compensate for the "in house" tone settings, using Bridge pickup and lots of treble. Still not good but better! So, my question is, PJ or J - what's to choose between them? Or is there a much better single pick-up option which can get you out of trouble in dire acoustic environments? Hopefully others will have had similar experiences and I'd welcome "the knowledge" !!

Great - thanks for that - really helpful! Cheers Ian

The ones I'm thinking of are probably earlier models without the HiMass bridge and fretboard "Blocks" etc. But thanks - interesting. What would be your alternatives?