JeffMW

1 hour ago, Japhet said:

Can't go wrong with a Fender Rumble in my opinion if you actually need an amp. Probably get away with a 100 if it's just onstage monitoring although a 500 is very loud and also very light and capable of full on gigs.

Cheers for that.  Noted and on the list.  That is one that comes up a lot in various lists for gigging amps.

25 minutes ago, jezzaboy said:

Don`t take this the wrong way but if you are using in ears for monitoring and a Helix into the pa you don`t really need an amp. If you have to have some kind of amp for monitoring I would get a decent pa speaker or FRFR speaker and use that.

12 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

 

If the band is going down the IEM route then amps are pointless and in fact make things worse. In my experience, it's best to get the stage noise as low as possible. 

 

It sounds like you're needing an amp for monitoring only, so I would go the FRFR route, or a small 1x12 combo at most in all honesty.  Having to load in and load out a full stack every gig gets tedious pretty quickly!

Hey Jezzaboy nothing to take the wrong way whatsoever, no worries at all.  I totally understand where you are both coming from with this.  Ultimately I was advised I should get an amp, and before I tried out for this act I factored in that I would probably need to get an amp for myself  - not knowing their full setup.  The guitarist himself uses his amp and he mics that up, and the PA setup presently doesn't have bass bins if that matters.  I am not using IEMs for myself right now.

In terms of amp size, I have no desire to lug about a massive stack by any means - been there done that!  As I said before, something lightweight, compact but effective would be ideal.  To broaden out the question, FRFR vs traditional amp?

18 minutes ago, Elfrasho said:

This entirely depends on your band's PA set up? If your PA is doing all the heavy lifting then your amp will be purely for monitoring, and therefore you really don't need a massive rig. If you high quality monitoring already then you really don't need an amp at all - let you Helix do it all.

To date we have been rehearsing with me going direct using the band's PA.  To be fair, I made a dedicated Mesa 400+ based preset that does sound sweet and slots in the mix nicely.  Knowing the joys of going direct in my other band I would say going direct would work great as long as all gigs involve the band PA, but alas I have been advised that I should get an amp.  This would be DI'd as well, with much of the band using in-ears for monitoring etc which I will join in on probably.  I was prepared to purchase an amp anyway as there are benefits, and I will probably still use the helix for a few effects as necessary, and on standby to DI as a backup option.

Thanks guys that is a massive help.  Ashdown were not on my radar at all (for no good reason).  Aguilar I had heard of, but I have zero real world experience of them.  Whilst I do love gear, being new to bass I don't know much about the bass-specific brands and there are so many options out there.   The bassist in my other band played GK amps (2x10 plus 1x15) for a long time (we now go direct on everything) so I at least know how they can sound, but my knowledge stops there.

Cabs, I would be interested to know more about Barefaced.  In my mind, if I can get cab(s) that are light weight, reasonably sized so they are both magically portable and sound full - awesome!

Obviously with my lack of lived experience/knowledge I would like to hit the jackpot and get it right first time if I can.  I have time before I need to acquire everything so I am going to try out what I can before pulling the trigger.  For now the plan is to at least get a list together of things I need to give a whirl.  

Hi all,

Post no.1 for me!

As a bit of background I have played guitar for years, but I have been playing more bass as well lately - really wish I got stuck in sooner to be honest!!  Fast forward to now I have joined a function band, and I am now looking for a bass amp setup for gigs and there are simply so many options so was after some recommendations.  Thus far we have been rehearsing direct using my Line 6 HX stomp.

As far as my needs go, I would like something light weight.  Between combos and head/cab setups, whilst I wouldn't rule out either, I do like the idea of having a small head, and be able to have flexibility with cabs.  In terms of power, it will need enough oomph to sit with the band so I was guessing 500W+ for class D amps (open to advice on that front), and I would want the ability to DI as well.  Music wise, it is a multi genre juke box band, including a good amount of Duran Duran type stuff, through to Abba, Sister Sledge, and Bruno Mars - so quite fun on the bass.

I was going to try to get hands on and try as many as possible, however options can be limited in what is stocked in shops, and of course I am having an eye out on the second hand market.  Thus far in terms of heads I have looked at things such as the TC Electronic BH and BQ series and matching cabs.  Being my first live bass rig, I wouldn't say I am looking for absolute entry level stuff, but looking for some decent solid options that come at a reasonable price if that makes sense!

Thanks in advance

Jeff