Gear needed for ampless

[Dad3353]

22 hours ago, FretsOnFire said:

Wasn't sure in which section to post this but

 

In the times in which I don't have my amp to hand just a bass and a pedal for rehearsals and gigging which one pedal would cover everything I'd need?

 

This might be a silly question but I've been looking at ampless and I'm confusing myself 😂

 

If you're amp-less, how are you planning to hear your own bass..? From the rehearsal/gig stage monitors (if existant and capable...)..? With ear-phones, fed from the pedal..? Wired, or wireless..? How will the other players and (if relevant...) the FOH for the audience, hear the bass..? Standard practice for FOH is a feed from a DI box, which the bass plugs into. Is that all that you require, even for rehearsal..? The question needs fleshing out a little, I think. 

[synthaside]

If your looking at doing this on a budget ,  Can i recommend  a  Valetone Gp-5 , Im using  this is a 70 quid  IR loader / amp sim tool ,  https://www.andertons.co.uk/valeton-gp5-multi-effects-processor-amp-and-ir-loader/

have a watch of this  it should jump to the bass settings section at about 15 mins in.

 

 

I use mine ( hell i use the finger bass preset ) in place or an amp straight into a the PA system  ,  my setup is this on the end of my pedalboard  straight into the rehearsal space PA .  I can adjust any of the settings straight from my phone  i dont bother with any of the effects which are a bit " meh " but as a tiny amp in a box its fantastic.

Edited yesterday at 15:54 by synthaside

[mike257]

On 15/09/2025 at 01:19, FretsOnFire said:

Wasn't sure in which section to post this but

 

In the times in which I don't have my amp to hand just a bass and a pedal for rehearsals and gigging which one pedal would cover everything I'd need?

 

This might be a silly question but I've been looking at ampless and I'm confusing myself 😂

 

It depends what "everything you'd need" is! I've done ampless gigs with nothing more than my bass, a clip on tuner on my headstock and a basic DI box before now. If you're not much of an effects user, that might be all you need and about as simple/compact as it's possible to be. 

[Ed_S]

If it's all I'm taking, I favour something 'real' that doesn't have to boot up. For example I personally wouldn't entertain the HX stuff without a backup because my very-light-home-use-only HX Stomp no longer boots - it just sits there with the backlight on but nothing happening. Support told me I was out of warranty/luck and could pay somebody to look at it if I wanted, but tbh it was never useful enough to warrant throwing good money after bad, so it's a paperweight.

 

Fly Rig v2 is a good unit for travelling light (or at very least I like mine) but make sure you mark the positions of your settings, as the little knobs and buttons are easily scrambled in transit.

[dave_bass5]

This is why i went with my EBS Microbass3. less to go wrong and all knobs are quickly accessible. It’s just feel more natural than the menu driven devices, although it does a lot less. Rock solid though. 

[Pow_22]

my favourite tone shaping DI currently is the Origin Effects Blackface 64.  One of these, a tuner and a Cali76 and i could gig with that

[FretsOnFire]

Thanks for the great responses folks I really appreciate it and I've been looking into zoom B3 and really do like that option.

 

My one Q is now to in ear monitors so I can hear myself clearly.

 

What's the best option for in ears?

[Dad3353]

I've never really understood, nor 'bought into', this idea of 'tone shaping'. I plug the bass into an amp/DI/console/whatever and play bass. Too simple..? Probably, with the disclaimer that I'm a drummer. (And 'No, I don't 'tone shape' drums, either. I just play them. Tone is in the fingers.')

[dave_bass5]

15 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

I've never really understood, nor 'bought into', this idea of 'tone shaping'. I plug the bass into an amp/DI/console/whatever and play bass. Too simple..? Probably, with the disclaimer that I'm a drummer. (And 'No, I don't 'tone shape' drums, either. I just play them. Tone is in the fingers.')

But your amp/rig is tone shaping. 

[Dad3353]

4 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

But your amp/rig is tone shaping. 

 

So is the room I'm playing in, and the atmospheric pressure of the day, and whether I play towards the bridge or the neck, or my mood, or ... whatever. 

[BigRedX]

21 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

I've never really understood, nor 'bought into', this idea of 'tone shaping'. I plug the bass into an amp/DI/console/whatever and play bass. Too simple..? Probably, with the disclaimer that I'm a drummer. (And 'No, I don't 'tone shape' drums, either. I just play them. Tone is in the fingers.')

 

Everything from your fingers and strings right through to the speakers and cabs has an influence over how the instrument sounds.

 

My response is to eliminate the as many of them as possible, and to reduce the influence of as many of the others as possible to make it easier to control the sound I and the audience hears.

[Dad3353]

1 minute ago, BigRedX said:

Everything from your fingers and strings right through to the speakers and cabs has an influence over how the instrument sounds.

 

My response is to eliminate the as many of them as possible, and to reduce the influence of as many of the others as possible to make it easier to control the sound I and the audience hears.

 

Maybe I'm just lucky; the sound I hear (I can(t know what each audience member hears...) suits me just fine, either when playing bass or drums. I'm just not that 'precious' about it. It sounds good, that's all I need. 

[synthaside]

 

4 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Maybe I'm just lucky; the sound I hear (I can(t know what each audience member hears...) suits me just fine, either when playing bass or drums. I'm just not that 'precious' about it. It sounds good, that's all I need. 

This is going to be super heavily genre / band dependent  .... If i used the tone I need for for example " Placebo"  or  some other Pop punk in a some blues funk /jazzy number ... the looks i'd get from the audience and my band mates would turn me to stone .

There's only so much that can be done with Pick > fingers and onboard Eq , not everyone needs  a Fuzz / synth pedal  but for some gigs i'd be lost without them

Edited 7 hours ago by synthaside

[Jack]

"Tone is in the fingers" is great until you try adjusting your fingers to get the sound of an overdriven tube amp, a DOD meatbox or a reverse delay.

[Jack]

1 minute ago, synthaside said:

 

This is going to be super heavily genre / band dependent  .... If i used the tone I need for for example " Placebo"  or  some other Pop punk in a some blues funk /jazzy number ... the looks i'd get from the audience and my band mates would turn me to stone .

There's only so much that can be done with Pick > fingers and onboard Eq , not everyone needs  a Fuzz / synth pedal  but for some gigs i'd be lost without them

Beat me to it.

[synthaside]

2 minutes ago, Jack said:

"Tone is in the fingers" is great until you try adjusting your fingers to get the sound of an overdriven tube amp, a DOD meatbox or a reverse delay.

Aye but you said it better .... " 🙆‍♂️

[Jack]

37 minutes ago, FretsOnFire said:

What's the best option for in ears?

That's a much harder question to answer I'm afraid, and it's much more dependent on other gear and members of the band as well. Are you in control of this mix? If not, who is? Do you have a spare aux mix or two on the mixer? Every mixer? How will the rest of the band hear your bass?

 

To get you started I have a band member who uses and likes the Xvive system (which is a good budget option), I use a Sennheiser G4, something more mid-range in price. 

[SimonK]

2 hours ago, Jack said:

That's a much harder question to answer I'm afraid, and it's much more dependent on other gear and members of the band as well. Are you in control of this mix? If not, who is? Do you have a spare aux mix or two on the mixer? Every mixer? How will the rest of the band hear your bass?

 

To get you started I have a band member who uses and likes the Xvive system (which is a good budget option), I use a Sennheiser G4, something more mid-range in price. 

 

I've recently been thinking along similar lines albeit making use of a 4u rack case I have lying about and filling it with goodies for a "silent" stage rig. So far three spaces would be used with a sansamp RBI, tuner, and compressor, but then I would like an in ear system to complete the rack. But this is where I am faltering as what I would like to do is to be able to mix in my own bass level with whatever the desk is sending me so that I am not reliant on the PA operator to give me my own level. The closest I can find to this functionality is systems that take a L and R feed in, but then allow you to be in "mono" mode and mix the L and R to your own liking.

 

But I'd be interested to know if anyone knows of a specific IEM system that has it's own mixer built in specifically.

[Jack]

You could use something like a Rolls PM351 or PM50 if you want wired. Rolls is nearly always the answer for this kind of audio routing thing. 

 

Otherwise I think you're looking at a mixer (either a normal one or a little line mixer like the Rolls MX54) which then runs into any normal wireless IEM system.

Edited 4 hours ago by Jack

[Dad3353]

21 minutes ago, Jack said:

You could use something like a Rolls PM351 or PM50 if you want wired. Rolls is nearly always the answer for this kind of audio routing thing. 

 

Otherwise I think you're looking at a mixer (either a normal one or a little line mixer like the Rolls MX54) which then runs into any normal wireless IEM system.

 

Similar functionality from the Behringer Xenyx 802S, £63 + postage from Thomann. An Xlr feed from the desk into one channel, bass into a second channel. Send the bass back to the console from the Fx Send, and listen to the mix you want from the headphone socket. Job done. 

[Franticsmurf]

My experience of IEM is positive and I use it all the time for my main band. However, it took me a while to get it 'tuned' to my liking and also it took a while to get used to the isolation (compared to wedge monitors) when pretty much all you can hear is what's in your ears. Some bands mates can't/won't get used to it and have gone back to wedges. So my advice would be to start out with something cheap (Behringer P1 or P2) and a relatively simple wired approach, using decent but sound blocking MP3 player ear buds (I have a pair of £10 Sony ones which are now my back-ups) to get a feel for the whole experience. If it's to your liking, there are plenty of wireless options and earpieces and a dedicated thread on BC with all the info and opinion you'll ever need. And your cheap wired system will act as a back up or even a home silent practice outfit. 

 

I'm currently using a G4M WPM 200 transmitter/receiver kit plus Linsoul KZ ZS10 earbuds. For the main band, as we use a Behringer X32 desk, I have a Behringer P16m personal mixer which links to that desk (and the X18, I believe) via 'Ultranet' (their proprietary system) which allows me to create my own personal monitor mix from 16 channels on the desk. For dep gigs, I can use my Behringer P1 to take a feed from the DI so that at the very least I can hear my own bass playing. As it has two inputs, I could also take a feed from an aux out or headphone out of the main mixing desk for an overall monitor sound.

 

The added bonus of good IEM is that it manages the volume and can protect your ears from silly on stage sound levels.     

Edited 3 hours ago by Franticsmurf

[Jack]

1 hour ago, Dad3353 said:

 

Similar functionality from the Behringer Xenyx 802S, £63 + postage from Thomann. An Xlr feed from the desk into one channel, bass into a second channel. Send the bass back to the console from the Fx Send, and listen to the mix you want from the headphone socket. Job done. 

Quite, my first thought was a normal mixer but it doesn't really work in the requirement for one rack unit. Or if it does then it doesn't leave much room for your fingers at least.

[Dad3353]

When did the 'one rack unit' requirement come in..? The original brief was for a pedal, no..? A mini-mixer comes close to that, and it just as simple to set up and use, I think. 

[tauzero]

6 minutes ago, Dad3353 said:

When did the 'one rack unit' requirement come in..? The original brief was for a pedal, no..? A mini-mixer comes close to that, and it just as simple to set up and use, I think. 

 

From @SimonK, not the OP.

[SimonK]

20 minutes ago, tauzero said:

 

From @SimonK, not the OP.

 

Yeah - sorry - but given the OP expanded to include IEM I thought the thread was fair game!