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Line out questions


md54
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Hi

My first post!

I've recently come back to bass playing after a long lay off. I've been asked to play at a local jazz jam as the house bass. 

My question is can I link my 100 watt combo to a 25watt combo via the line out? Is it safe? Will it Buzz? Is it a good way of getting a bigger sound spread. I know a 500 watt stadium rig is best but that ain't gonna happen! I just want to use my two small amps.

Thanks

Max

 

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I have recently bought a second hand Fender Rumble 100V3.(which I really like) and I have an older Fender Rumble 25. The situation is that at the venue the drummer wants the bass amp close by and turned towards him! I thought I could use the 25w as a sort of monitor for him and keep the 100w in a sensible position. It's only a jazz gig, 25 watts extra would be significant. I'm worried about earth loops or whatever you call it. I remember from the bad old days that could be an issue. What do you think?

Many thanks for your help.

Edited by md54
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On 03/03/2019 at 20:08, Dan Dare said:

Just keep the input gain right down on the small combo if you're running a line level signal into it. As Jack says above, an extra 25w isn't going to make a lot of (if any) difference.

Beg to differ re the effectiveness - did exactly what you describe with a 40w Rumble  and the drummer was much happier-placebo effect perhaps?!

dont think you have anything to lose by giving it a whirl while at the same time being very conservative and not as Dan Dare says, overloading the input.

However - a ⚠️ - I am told that line out from Rumbles are variable level so as you turn up the Master of Amp 1, the output will increase and could lead to trouble. However, if you’re aware of this feature/flaw - no problem. Hope someone will chime in to comment on this Rumble thing.

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9 hours ago, Tubster said:

Hope someone will chime in to comment on this Rumble thing.

Spot on - the line out on a Rumble 100 v3 is post-everything. If you turn up the gain/EQ/master on "your" amp, you'll also be increasing the signal to "his" amp. Since the older Rumbles don't have a gain control, this could cause clipping. You'd have the same situation if you used the effects send from the 100.
I don't know if the older Rumbles have the same layout - it may be worth trying your bass into the 25, and the preamp out from the 25 into the input of the 100.

An alternative might be to split your bass signal in two (e.g. with an ABY pedal), and send it to both amps separately - that way, you and the drummer get full, independent volume control.

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22 minutes ago, MartinB said:

An alternative might be to split your bass signal in two (e.g. with an ABY pedal), and send it to both amps separately - that way, you and the drummer get full, independent volume control.

Yeah man, that. Unless both amps have a proper effects loop an AB pedal is the only decent way. I still question the usefulness of putting a 25W amp with a 1x8" speaker next to a drummer.

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On 03/03/2019 at 16:04, md54 said:

I've been asked to play at a local jazz jam as the house bass. 

 

Welcome aboard Max.

Have you done House Band duties before? If not, you need to be aware that at most jams the members of the House Band are expected to lend their instruments to players who have turned up without their own, and that at every jam those players will be using your backline - i.e. those two little amps of yours. 

If your bass is a 1963 Fender worth £8000 you may want to think that through!

More seriously, any amp solution that involves "being careful" with the controls may not survive contact with jammers. I've done very few jazz jams, but at blues jams and certainly at rock jams it's more or less obligatory for players to walk on stage and start twiddling knobs to get "their sound". At one jam where I was the House Band bass I spent the entire evening just off stage ready to leap on again and turn things down as necessary.

You could do worse than to keep an eye out for a cheap & ratty old Trace Elliot or Peavey combo, something pretty much bullet proof but that you wouldn't be too upset about if it gets wrecked.

 

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Spot on, Jack. If I play bass in the house band at a jam, I take a cheap instrument to lend to those who turn up without one (one bloke recently turned his nose up at it and demanded to use my proper bass. I politely declined his request). I second your comments about gear, too. You especially need to watch out for 5 string players cranking the low end and sending your speaker cones flying across the room...

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49 minutes ago, MartinB said:

Spot on - the line out on a Rumble 100 v3 is post-everything. If you turn up the gain/EQ/master on "your" amp, you'll also be increasing the signal to "his" amp. Since the older Rumbles don't have a gain control, this could cause clipping. You'd have the same situation if you used the effects send from the 100.

That's mad they've (fender) allowed that to happen.  Surely the whole point of a 'Line level' signal is just that - it stays at the same (line) level!!!

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Oh wow! Thanks for all of this. Funny thing is I have an ABY pedal that I had completely forgotten about! Its a Big Shot true bypass (just found it). So that is definitely problem solved.

My one (and now) only bass is a 1980's Japanese Noel Redding Fender Jazz. (Flat wounds of course). It's not worth a lot but I love it. Some prat will probably show up and want to play a crap blues rock thing but that's usually a guitar player! Haha. Jazz people tend to be pretty sensible and averse to high volume ( old) so It's not an issue. 

Thanks Folks.

 

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