alexpea Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 Due to the hill I live on being too snowy for anything but a 4 x 4 this weekend, I was forced to walk to the top with my bass before getting picked up by the drummer for 2 gigs. I usually take an amplifier to gigs but as I couldn't carry that and the bass I decided to brave it with just my preamp and DI straight in to the PA. I was actually pleasantly surprised with the outcome and people at both gigs told me the bass was sounding great. Due to playing BG for some years before taking up DB I have always felt the 'need' to have an amp on stage. I'm thinking about not bothering with the amp at all in the future (providing I know that the PA is big enough) as it makes life a lot easier not having to lug the amp everywhere. Just wondering if anyone else prefers this method? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted January 20, 2013 Share Posted January 20, 2013 (edited) I did a mini tour in Portugal and just used a PlatPro to DI to the house PA each time. Worked very well. Feedback issues meant I was also forced to use a Headway preamp to DI at a gig recently at a venue with good PA (Half Moon, Putney). Again it worked pretty well. The key is if you can trust the house PA and soundman/lady. I bring an amp with me for insurance as much as anything and because it kids me that I am in control of what comes out of the speakers! I think BCer BurritoBass also gigs DB only via DI and is happy with that, but again his band Case Hardin tend to play in good venues with I assume reliable PA systems Edited January 20, 2013 by Clarky Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 What's a PA? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 My only worry would be monitoring. Did you have a wedge to yourself, or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpea Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 [quote name='fatback' timestamp='1358773827' post='1944680'] My only worry would be monitoring. Did you have a wedge to yourself, or what? [/quote] I had a wedge for one gig, the other I didn't but they pumped it through all the monitors. I'm not saying I could hear myself as much as I would have liked but it was no different to playing with an amp and struggling to get it loud enough without feeding back. I've come to accept this as part of playing double bass Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danthevan Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 All i'd be worried about is the sound on stage. If you can hear it through the PA and the rest of them on stage can, then go for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I played a gig at "loud rock band" levels on Saturday (Hootananny, Brixton; normally has reggae and rock bands) and had to rely on the PA bins and stage monitors, although I had my amp on stage behind me (it was inaudible). I couldn't hear my double bass very well and ended up playing harder than I would normally to compensate (very sore fingers, blisters etc). But it was all I could do to avoid feedback (the stage was so boomy the sound guy told me to turn my amp down) and to fit with the rest of the band. Wasn't ideal but it worked Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRev Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I go ampless on support gigs - usually beacuse 1) as a support band you either have no time for a proper soundcheck or no space for your amp, or 2) The stage is too big for your amp to be heard. I've also gone ampless on a wedding gig...because I frogot my amp! . It wasn't disaster - the out front sound was good but our monitors were farting out a bit. If the sound guys know what they're doing (or are prepared to listen to you telling them what to do) then it's not a problem. We do regular supports for The Wurzels and their sound guys know our setup and have the settings saved on their digital mixer, so I never take backline for those gigs. If the sound guys don't know what they're doing, then it can be a miserable experience - feedback and boomy sound, which usually add together to give an unholy mess of bassiness with no note definition whatsoever. I guess what I'm saying is that if you have your own PA (or a tame sound engineer), with decent monitors and you know a bit about sound, then there's no reason why you shouldn't just plug your preamp straight inot the desk - that's exactly how your front of house sound is done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted January 21, 2013 Share Posted January 21, 2013 I've tried doing some gigs ampless recently (small venues, acoustic jazz) but I'm still on the fence. I thought it felt great but I was asked to turn up and the drummer wanted to play louder. I'm hoping to get more volume out of the bass by switching to gut top strings. Anyone got any experience of playing ampless on gut? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexpea Posted January 21, 2013 Author Share Posted January 21, 2013 (edited) [quote name='mtroun' timestamp='1358806779' post='1945538'] I've tried doing some gigs ampless recently (small venues, acoustic jazz) but I'm still on the fence. I thought it felt great but I was asked to turn up and the drummer wanted to play louder. I'm hoping to get more volume out of the bass by switching to gut top strings. Anyone got any experience of playing ampless on gut? [/quote] I've only done a few completely acoustic gigs however I have done a lot of acoustic outdoor busking. I have gut strings on my D + G strings and steels on the E + A. I definitely find that for the style of music I play, the guts keep the bass sounding nice and punchy. I find this blends nicely with the 2 steels. However, I mainly play in Klezmer and Folk bands, often without drums so I like the bass to sound quite percussive. It may look a bit odd but it works for me. Edited January 21, 2013 by alexpea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroun Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 I've got Velvet Garbo D and G in the post, that I bought off BC last week (cannot predict arrival due to the weather). It will be interesting seeing what they are like with Spiro E and A. Probably not a good 'blend' but I've been listening to lots of Sam Jones and Dennis Irwin lately, looking for some thump... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 I've done a fair bit of busking[quote name='alexpea' timestamp='1358809086' post='1945594']I've only done a few completely acoustic gigs however I have done a lot of acoustic outdoor busking. I have gut strings on my D + G strings and steels on the E + A. I definitely find that for the style of music I play, the guts keep the bass sounding nice and punchy. I find this blends nicely with the 2 steels. However, I mainly play in Klezmer and Folk bands, often without drums so I like the bass to sound quite percussive. It may look a bit odd but it works for me. [/quote] I've done quite a lot of unamplified busking, mostly playing '60s ska/rocksteady/reggae tunes. I use a laminate bass strung with Silver Slaps, it absolutely booms, and I play HARD - the bass can carry 100 yards through shopping crowds in York! As for gigging without backline - last summer I did that a lot at festivals, just turning up with my carved bass, two pickups (Realist, Bass Max) and a pair of Fishman Plat Pro preamps. I gave both signals to the sound guys, asked for just the Realist back in my wedge, and told them to use whatever they wanted in the FoH mix. It was no worse than any time I've used my own backline but that summer put me off piezos for good and resulted in me buying an Ehrlund EAP. Gigging with the EAP is so much more pleasing - I can really hear the sound of my bass on stage, it totally fills me with confidence that it sounds good out front and also means I can hear my intonation really clearly. Great bit of kit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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