huwgarms Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 hi guys, right bit of backround, bought a bass guitar in march of this year a 40th birthday as a pressie for my self :-) obviousely picked up and amp since also (ashdown eb 180 combo and have recently added an ashdown extension cab 1x15) hopefully this will be loud enough for the pubs and clubs the band ive just joined gig at? (loud drummer and twin guitarists) , i was also thinking with the bigger halls it might be better me going through the pa which leads me to be looking at DI boxes? now this is where i get confused lol, i have two basses currently both active, a peavey bxp 4 and a vision, can anyone a) confirm if the above is true combo and cab wise will they cope? reccomend a suitable DI box/pedal etc for plugging into the PA without breaking the bank? second hand included :-) thanks matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 The EB180 has a DI Out on the front panel already - why not use that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 I was thinking this but the guitarist advised me that should i overload the amp it would possibly take out the PA should it all go pop ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
icastle Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 Only if the amp developed a major defect. I personally think it's a bit of an urban myth put about by PA engineers - I've been DI'ing my gear and other peoples for well over 30 years and have never had a problem. If you were to buy a DI box then most PA guys running big rigs would want you to use their DI boxes anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 cheers all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 [quote name='icastle' timestamp='1318155179' post='1398534'] The EB180 has a DI Out on the front panel already - why not use that? [/quote] This, did it for ages without a problem with an EB combo. Having said that I've just bought a Behringer BDI21 as a back up just in case my amp dies during a gig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 cheers rob, was thinking of doing something similar to be honest, worth it as a back up then? any other models out there do thte job (and maybe more?) really not very up on this so... any help is good help :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rOB Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 [quote name='huwgarms' timestamp='1318154786' post='1398525'] hopefully this will be loud enough for the pubs and clubs the band ive just joined gig at? [/quote] Sorry, didn't respond to your full post. IMO your rig should hold its own with the band. I used to use an EB12-180 + Mag 210t in a 2 guitar punk/grunge band. No problem for on stage sound and as mentioned for bigger venues DI is the way forward in most cases. [quote name='huwgarms' timestamp='1318163525' post='1398638'] cheers rob, was thinking of doing something similar to be honest, worth it as a back up then? any other models out there do thte job (and maybe more?) really not very up on this so... any help is good help :-) [/quote] Again IMO, its worth having a backup of as much of your gear as possible as nothing breaks the flow of a gig like faffing around trying to fix stuff on stage. I carry a spare bass, cables and straps (along with strings, batteries and a little tool kit) to all my gigs and now I'll be taking a DI box in case the amp packs up. There are loads of DI boxes out there which would serve as an emergency back up. I'm afraid that I only every use one in emergencies so am not really an expert. Do a quick search in the effects forum and there'll be reviews and opinions a plenty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted October 9, 2011 Author Share Posted October 9, 2011 much appreciated rob thanks for confirming the rig too :-), packed my flight case with spare batteries,tuner, will carry spare bass (guess now i need another stand then lol) gonna get some spare strings but hopefully will just switch bass's should the need arise ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GarethFlatlands Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 I'd get one if it tone shapes as well as provides a DI signal (ie Sansamp, MXR M80, DHA DI-EQ) and you rely on it for your specific sound. It's always good to know the sound being put out front of house is similar to what you hear at practice. If it's just a simple box, most venues will have their own although they come in handy when recording so it might be worth getting a decent one as they don't cost that much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted October 9, 2011 Share Posted October 9, 2011 (edited) If you got to http://www.thesubwaybluesband.com & play the 'EP' you'll hear my former Cirrus BXP DI'd out of my Ashdown MAG400 head. No problem. G. Edited October 9, 2011 by geoffbyrne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) Hartke Bass Attack pedal has tone shaping and acts as a DI unit, robustly constructed. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C91FNiALTFY&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C91FNiALTFY&feature=related[/url] Edited October 10, 2011 by KevB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aldo Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Everyone seems to jump straight to DI as soon as things start to get a bit loud (I did myself) but then started to realise that you are losing the tone and air from your speakers so I bought myself a bass drum mic and for most gigs use that and everyone says how good it sounds, if playing somewhwere with a bigger house PA and the engineer wants to mix the signal and wants one clean then DI and mic, the other thing with some DIs is they are pre EQ so you only get flat signal and in some cases if you have a valve section in you only get the clean signal. No right and wrong just down to personal choice and how accurately you want to project your stage sound thru the PA Cheers Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 Not sure why your guitarist thinks that your amp D.I. failing will be any different to a D.I. box failing. They are both simply pre-amp signals. I also don't foresee an amp failing taking out the PA. The PA should have protected inputs to the desk for overload etc and shouldn't be an issue. I've never heard of this happening even when working in PA hire business few yrs ago. (quite a few yrs ago now) I can see why having a back up D.I. box makes sense though. I wouldn't get too hung up on this. Ashdown amps are pretty reliable beasts and shouldn't be an issue. Good luck Cheers Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 many thanks all, more and better info that i could have imagined, cheers for the too for both vids, the bxp sounds pretty good to me! [quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1318173356' post='1398793'] If you got to [url="http://www.thesubwaybluesband.com"]http://www.thesubwaybluesband.com[/url] & play the 'EP' you'll hear my former Cirrus BXP DI'd out of my Ashdown MAG400 head. No problem. G. [/quote] [quote name='KevB' timestamp='1318245796' post='1399556'] Hartke Bass Attack pedal has tone shaping and acts as a DI unit, robustly constructed. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C91FNiALTFY&feature=related[/media] [/quote] clip this may have swung me towards the hartke attack device, looks brill for tone shaping, love the adjustments!! cheers all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 p.s the page 9 manual theatricks on the vid was hilaroius Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeFRC Posted October 10, 2011 Share Posted October 10, 2011 any venue that wants to put you via DI will have it's own DI boxes, easier.... spend the dosh on something else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huwgarms Posted October 10, 2011 Author Share Posted October 10, 2011 (edited) hi luke its more a case of worrying about topping out on the amp volume and plugging through the PA when we do the bigger halls, the PA etc will still be ours, just worried about filling halls the size able to hold say 250 people for example i think this will be at the top end of my rigs ability and may be more "comfortable" through the PA? :-) Edited October 10, 2011 by huwgarms Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted October 11, 2011 Share Posted October 11, 2011 I must say that, as I almost exclusively play small venues, I don't think I've ever actually DI'd through the Hartke pedal, I keep it in the chain for the tone shaping which seems much better with it in place than without (normal rig is TE 1X15 combo linked to SWR2X10 extension cab). The TE combo has DI out itself anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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