Do I really NEED a bass amp?

YellowLedBetterMan

Long story short our band now has more guitarists than we know what to do with and I'm the only one who's ever played bass so I am the bassist now (insert Captain Phillips meme).

As a guitarist in that band, I was ampless moreorless - using a Tonex One and DI box into the board or running into the FX return of whatever amp was around. Was a lot easier to do, especially seeing as I am the man who takes our PA around and after I've lugged all that about I didn't want to also move an amp.

But now I'm playing bass, I'm not sure. Can I get away with only going DI into the desk? Fwiw our set up doesn't have a woofer - it's a 12-channel mixer, 2 1500w tops and 4 foldback monitors.

I feel like theoretically, it should be exactly the same set up, but also part of me thinks practically I might want something dedicated to that low end spectrum to stop things getting too muddy in the foldbacks. I don't know.

borntohang

PAs are perfectly capable of bass reinforcement so into a good setup your Tonex should be fine. Whether your personal setup is capable of doing a good job of it will be is another question - personally I'd prefer a couple of decent subs in there if I was relying on it to fill a room. We use two 12" tops and two 15" subs for a silent stage setup, and although it's not my rig so I can't remember the exact wattage it's roughly similar to yours, just without foldback (IEMs).

Winny_Pooh

Do the monitors have ample bass? If not buy a 12" powered monitor to run from the Tonex. Having some proper low end next to you and the drummer helps with timing and your enjoyment of gigs.

Secret_Sam

You can play bass through a PA.  However,  unless it's a very good PA, its speakers might not handle transients and detail as well as an actual bass amp.  You are also at the mercy of whoever is operating the PA, and his/her/its/their/whatever idea of a good bass sound might not be the same as yours.  

YMMV etc, but the only three times I have done without an amp I haven't really enjoyed it. I'm not inclined to try it a fourth time. 

MartinB

Will you always and only play in places where you supply the PA? I feel like while there are more and more settings where you could successfully go without backline these days, having some sort of bass amp still offers some resilience if you play any place where you turn up not knowing what you'll find.

ICBM

I've done direct-to-PA too, but also not particularly enjoyed the result, although it was perfectly usable. I'm lucky in that the places I play usually have provided backline, and I will literally use anything as long as it's loud enough to hear myself and isn't going to break down, as long as I don't have to carry it there!

The big disadvantage for me is that I use fuzz a lot, and what comes out of a full-range monitor can be *very* different from what you get from an amp with no tweeter, if the soundman doesn't know how to make it sound right*. I do have an amp-emulating pedal too, but not yet had the opportunity of trying it out where it's been really necessary.

(*I'm aware that applies to the FOH sound too.)

slacker

I've used a very low watt bass amp about 60w with a feed to the desk. It's meant I could have some control of monitoring whilst letting the pa do all the work. My son has my mark bass combo which is overkill. 

YellowLedBetterMan

MartinB said:

Will you always and only play in places where you supply the PA? I feel like while there are more and more settings where you could successfully go without backline these days, having some sort of bass amp still offers some resilience if you play any place where you turn up not knowing what you'll find.

Either we play for one of the local promoters who puts us on at clubs using the house PA (these are venues which hold up to 200-500 people), and the monitoring is always spot on as is the bass response from their setup, or we use our PA. The few times this isn't the case, we have been supporting other bands through their set up, and they've always let us use as much of their gear as we need (kit, amps, mics) because it's easier for them to set up/pack down.

fretmeister

I have a Tonex and a HX Stomp and the Stomp is a lot better for bass.

If the PA is good enough then it’s perfectly doable. I do still recommend IEM or a physical monitor of some type just for you.

Something like the RCF745A would be perfect. Passive cooled so no fan noise, plenty loud enough and you’ll still feel the thump that is such an important part of playing bass.

If you go IEM then the Backbeat strap unit gives you that thump too.

lustycourtier

I gig on bass with helix and headrush cab which doubles as my monitor, PA does all the heavy lifting and I’ve not been told I sound terrible 

mark_playgtr

MartinB said:

Will you always and only play in places where you supply the PA? I feel like while there are more and more settings where you could successfully go without backline these days, having some sort of bass amp still offers some resilience if you play any place where you turn up not knowing what you'll find.

I think I'd probably just want a nice amp to use for when in the mood too. If at all possible. 
Especially if you're into recording, practicing at home, or just for fun.

OK my situation might be quite different but there's something that an old school amp gives you that you don't get from headphones or small monitor speakers.
Not so much a problem on stage with a decent setup of course.

It's nice to let loose and get the flares flapping a bit from time to time!


I don't know, just something unnatural about not having an amp 

stickyfiddle

I've never had a bass amp. I use an Origin Cali76 and Bassrig straight into either the PA or the house amp where one exists (set flat and clean, obviously). As long as you have a monitor set up right and pointing at you it's all good. And I've had regular compliments gigging that setup. 

Obv much harder work if you can't hear yourself (as is true regardless of your own kit) but I wouldn't change this setup for the world  

Kebabkid

If you want to get decent quality, a variety of bass amps and fx at a reduced price and continue going direct, look at the Zoom B1xON or same sounds, but it's bigger brother with a DI Out, the Zoom B3. Used prices on these can be £35 and £80, respectively. Alternatively, for just a good solid bass sound with DI Out but no fx, the Behringer BDI21 at £25 on Amazon is great.

Don't think that because the above are cheap that they're crap - they do deliver and are robust in build and if the B3 is good enough for sessioner and one-time Pink Floyd bassist, Guy Pratt, that speaks loads and it's a popular unit!

MartinB

ICBM said:

The big disadvantage for me is that I use fuzz a lot, and what comes out of a full-range monitor can be *very* different from what you get from an amp with no tweeter, if the soundman doesn't know how to make it sound right*. I do have an amp-emulating pedal too, but not yet had the opportunity of trying it out where it's been really necessary.

(*I'm aware that applies to the FOH sound too.)

Even using an amp, most sound people will want a DI signal, and I use a Superfuzz clone that sounds absolutely horrendous with a raw DI signal. There were some gigs early on where I saw people visibly wince when I kicked it in, even though through a typical bass amp with no tweeter it sounds great. 

My solution ended being a kit pedal by Schalltechnik that's a combined high-pass and low-pass filter. By setting the low-pass at the point where I can just start to hear it working through my bass cabs, it lops off all those broken sounding high frequencies from the fuzz without losing anything I want in my clean sound.