BH12neil Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 After a lot of consideration based on not a lot of technical knowledge I have come up with a proposed new rig. I would appreciate comments on whether this is feasible and would work for me as a relative newcomer to the bass world. Is this kit reliable and recommended? I play a Stingray 4 string HH and want a growl on the bottom end and clarity elsewhere to play mainly rock and space rock music but also to be able to chill it down to play quieter genres, Jamiroqui for example. I hope to play small venues in the short term but want plenty of capacity for larger gigs if they come my way. Anyway that's the sort of background, here is the proposed rig:- Gallien-Krueger 1001 RB-II Bass Head with 1 x Gallien-Krueger NEO210 and 1 x Gallien-Krueger NEO212II. The one thing that I need is to be able to use headphones for practice and although there is no specific phones socket I understand that I can use the direct out, is this correct and how does that work? Sorry if I am asking stupid questions but this will be my first outing into separates and I hope this first rig will last a long time. Thanks to those that have helped me so far in looking at different options and look forward to all comments/advice. BH12neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 It's good kit but you'd be better off starting with just the one cab, whichever suits your current tone/size/loudness requirements best. Add another if/when you need to. If you want to use headphones easily you'll need an amp with a headphone out, and preferably an aux in of some sort to allow you to mix a backing track, drum loop, or metronome in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 I have a preety similar rig, and there's certainly not a headphones socket. Can't use the DI either. Either try a separate headphone amp or a small mixer is always good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) I've no experience with the cabs but Gallien Krueger are amongst the most reliable out there. Dead easy to get a good sound as well. You might not need the 1001. I've been using a 700 for everything from small to medium pub gigs with no pa support to bigger events and its never been even remotely pushed. For practicing just get yourself a Vox Amplug which has an aux in for connecting an MP3 player or whatever or even a small amp with aux in and headphone jack. Edited September 3, 2011 by Delberthot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH12neil Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 Thanks for your comments Jack. You suggest using a separate headphone amp, excuse my ignorance but how does that work? Where would you plug it into the amp and would the extra load effect the set up of the rig? Seeing that all the cabs are 8ohm would the headphone amp need to be the same? Sorry I don't understand. BH12neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) Hey Neil, A headphone amp has a socket to plug your bass in and a socket to plug headphones in, no speakers involved. Something like [url="http://www.pocketrockit.com/Page.php?id=0022"]this[/url]. (Not an endorsement, I have never used those amps). My dad (guitarist) loves his [url="http://www.korg.com/PX4D"]Pandora[/url], but I don't know of any similar products for bass. I guess the closest I can think of is I own a cheapo Zoom 506II that can be used with headphones, and you get the bonus of it being a multieffect unit to play about with too. Personally I'd still be tempted by either a mixer or a tiny practice amp with a headphone socket as well as the above suggestions. Basically, a gadget that does something else and can ALSO be used with headphones. I guess spending money on a dedicated headphone amp just sounds like a waste to me. Edited September 3, 2011 by Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BH12neil Posted September 3, 2011 Author Share Posted September 3, 2011 [quote name='Jack' post='1361381' date='Sep 3 2011, 10:29 PM']Hey Neil, A headphone amp has a socket to plug your bass in and a socket to plug headphones in, no speakers involved. Something like [url="http://www.pocketrockit.com/Page.php?id=0022"]this[/url]. (Not an endorsement, I have never used those amps). My dad (guitarist) loves his [url="http://www.korg.com/PX4D"]Pandora[/url], but I don't know of any similar products for bass. I guess the closest I can think of is I own a cheapo Zoom 506II that can be used with headphones, and you get the bonus of it being a multieffect unit to play about with too. Personally I'd still be tempted by either a mixer or a tiny practice amp with a headphone socket as well as the above suggestions. Basically, a gadget that does something else and can ALSO be used with headphones. I guess spending money on a dedicated headphone amp just sounds like a waste to me.[/quote] I see what you mean now and have to agree it seems a bit of a waste to me as well. The idea of a small mixer seems a better idea, any suggestions to point me in a general direction? I guess the mixer would be connected to the amp via the DI? Would I be able to play backing tracks this way? Thanks for your help. BH12neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 3, 2011 Share Posted September 3, 2011 (edited) You would, alternatively a cable straight from your bass to the mixer would work as well. Mixers? My first thought was a Soundcraft Compact 4 but it seems they don't make them anymore. Soundcraft seemed to have replaced it with the Notepad series, but they also appear discontinued. Actually, [url="http://cpc.farnell.com/soundcraft/notepad-102/mixing-console-6-channel/dp/DP31374"]CPC have one for £40.[/url] Otherwise, always remember the golden rule of gear shopping: [b]Behringer = bad[/b]. Try looking at Mackie, Peavey, Soundcraft and maybe Alesis? In answer to your backing track question, pretty much any small-frame mixer will have a stereo channel or a main input. A stereo channel you play a backing track into and you can play about with it just like any other channel on the mixer wheras with a main insert you have to all the eq and volume from your source (mp3 player, pc, etc). Personal, biased advice to follow: That Soundcraft Notepad 102 looks to be a cracking mixer, and for £40 it's half the price of anywhere else. EDIT - As an example my Compact sits on a shelf in a cupboard next to my pc. The bass goes into an MXR M80 DI which is powered by the mixer itself. The pc has a line out into one of the stereo channels and there are headphones plugged into the headphone port. That way I plug a bass in, cue up a track on my pc and I'm playing in less than 10 seconds after deciding I want to. Is there an easier way to do it? The DI box is optional, plugging your bass straight into the mixer will work just as well for a headphone jam. Edited September 3, 2011 by Jack Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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