Jack

Used PA power amps are stupid cheap these days. I sold my QSC 1602 for £200 and you won't really find a better amp anywhere in the world. If the second cab doesn't get you what you want, maybe a better amp (or both!) would get you there.

You're doing it the right way.

I've found that a lot of those types of units don't have enough output level to drive a frfr anyway. I use something like a Lehle Sunday Driver XLR or even a Behringer Mic 100 to push the levels and so an xlr out on the other units is sort of moot.

I've been following this on the other bass forum, neat idea.

Hi! Firstly, thanks for posting on here, I really think it adds a lot when you guys and other companies interact directly with your customers. IME, the lack of a rear input means that anyone using a tuner, a wireless, other preamps or effects can't plug in neatly. You really have to leave a spare rack space above an amp so that you can route cables from the back (whereall of the other rack gear ever made has the I/O) to the front for the bass amp. Hey don't get me wrong, first world problems and all that, but it does seem an odd design choice. You folks really know your onions and you've sold more amps than me so fair enough. GK's heads are designed the same way too, so there must be a reason but I can't think of it. I just don't imagine many people who buy the RC versions of your head are just putting the head in a 2u rack and leaving it at that, otherwise they'd probably have bought a stand alone version of the head. They're probably using at least a wireless, which will have its output on the back. Yes, sorry, 600W. Fantastic amps by the way. I used to own about 80kg of MAG full stack that was my first proper amp and I loved it. In recent years I think my tone goals moved away from your amps but I've come around and I think the new Evo IV stuff is a huge leap forward from the previous.

Hello, I'm tempted by the Ashdown ABM 500 EVO IV head (despite being largely ampless, a new situation has come up!) but it doesn't have a rear input. Why do so many companies do this? It's acceptable(ish) on micros that aren't usually mounted in a rack and the ears are kind of extras, but this is a purely rackmount-only head that you can't really use in a rack due to it's design.... Anyway, has anyone had a peek inside? Do you think a tech would be able to rewire the 'line input' on the back that I wouldn't use so that it replaces the input jack in the circuit? I know that this would be trvial on a hand-wired, point to point head but it may be impossible if the jacks are directly mounted on the PCB. Any thoughts, experiences, or even gut shots of ABM IV amps would be appreciated!! Thanks, Jack

Generally the DIs on amps are slightly inferior to the standalone ones. Thankfully it's not a big enough difference to matter most of the time.

If you like the pa sound, then what about something like a QSC K12.2? Makes more sense to take your own wedge than an extra amp if you like the ampless sound. For a more traditional combo there's always the effervescent Markbass stuff. I'm not the biggest fan of the sound myself but that's a personal thing and those little 12" combos do kind of have the 'amp as stage monitor only' thing nailed. Tiny and light.

You can use a Powersoft K20 and your favorite dubstep track to find the limit quite easily. Once.

To put it simply, the 'sound' of tube amps is essentially harmonic distortion and some natural compression yes, but the 'magic' of tube amps is the way in which those factors interact with each other and the player. According to Wikipedia, Linkin Park and The Who have both sold ~100 million records.

To specifically answer the OP's question: compressors as a separate device became more popular with the advent of good solid state amps that slowly started to replace tube amps and their natural compression. Many of the early SS greats like Trace and SWR included compressors in the amp for this very reason and for everyone else there were pedals.

Mids, overdrive, compression, chorus. All of that can help if the technique and the mix is right. If they're wrong then nothing will help IME.

Whether it's on your board or in your amp or neither, there's a good bet the soundman has you compressed at the desk. My gigging experience only goes back 15 years as I'm just a wee bairn but it's been like that at every gig I've played.

There's also the GK plex.

Well would you look at that, so there are. I mean it makes sense, some sort of backup would be needed in case the in ears failed so I suspected there would have been something somewhere.

I saw Metallica at the O2 in October. There were no amps or anything on stage just Lars' drums, 4 men and about 8 vocal microphones. Not once did any of us miss seeing or indeed hearing amps on stage, we were too busy headbanging and watching the drones. In fact, I think it was the highest capacity crowd at the O2 ever. As they were in the round they could fit more people in the standing area than is usual at that venue. Killing rock n roll.

i) That's frequency response by a given definition of 'response'. For an in depth answer feel free to goggle something like 'bass cab -3dB' or something. But they'll be fine. ii) Meh, some people think so, Dave Rat for one. Most people don't bother though. If your band played a big outdoor festival tomorrow you'd use your current rig with a mic to FOH and the PA speakers would be reproducing all of that stuff anyway. iii) Can't comment. I've used and heard them both but as supplied PA, I've never moved either. Sometimes (I have no idea if it's true in this case) something heavy may be easier to carry than something lighter if it's got better handle placement, lower centre of gravity, better dimensions for doorways, etc etc iv) ALWAYS. These days there's no compromise. Even the cheap Altos that my band use are DSP crossed over, limited, frequency-corrected, blah blah blah. Tiny class D amps and good reliable microchips (driven by mobile phones and smart toasters and stuff I imagine) have meant that you can have what would have taken many racks and many thousands of pounds (weight and money) in a cheap PA cab these days.

Sometimes. The main board has a GK Plec which has an amp sim but no cab sim as of yet. Bob Gallien promises that one is coming though. The other board uses a MS60b to model amps and cabs, usually a B15 in that band so that has a cab sim.

Me too, which is why I eventually sold the Kemper, gave the Helix back to its rightful owner and built another board. It still goes to FOH though and not an amp.

I ended up with FR800s for my FRFR cabs to go with my Kemper. I would have picked the RCF/QSC etc for pure PA duties, but (after trying lots of the high end stuff) decided the Barefaceds had better lows and a nicer form factor for bass use which was my main use. They do make cracking PA cabs, but not what I'd choose if I was buying a PA first and a bass cab second.