Reconfigured Bass Rig

[5a quilt top]

I've been using a 3-channel Sansamp Bass Driver and a QSC K-12 powered monitor as my standard bass rig for the past few years and it works well as long as the PA is adequate. Recently, I've been playing with a project where the PA is not robust enough to adequately handle the bass (or much more than vocals), so I was thinking about going back to using a traditional bass amp.


Two things bothered me about that: transporting and carrying a large bass amp and not having a dedicated bass monitor pointing up at me.


Then I realized that my practice amp - an AER Amp One - has a 1/4" line out on the back panel...which can feed the 1/4" input on the QSC.


Long story short, I tried doing that for the first time at rehearsal last night and was quite pleased with the result. Neither piece of gear was being pushed very hard and the resulting tone was clear, deep and punchy without being too loud. Royale, my maple and purple heart Europa 5-string, sounded huge and the low "B" string had nice clarity and definition. I received many compliments on the bass tone from the rest of the group and went home a happy man because I could still carry everything to my car in one trip (using a padded gig bag for the bass).


Only downside was I was a bit angry with myself for not thinking of this sooner...


Moral of the story: sometimes you already have the gear you need, you just need to use it in a different way.

[gtrguy]

I keep downsizing as I get older too (and maybe smarter). My SWR Workingmans 12 combo has a TRS line out that can go right into a mixer and it has an extension cab line out too. I have played pretty large outdoor venues with an extra 2X10 cab and it sounds great.

I also recently bought the smaller SWR Workingmans 10" combo, which has the same features, for smaller gigs.

I like the Workingman combo amps, but not the Workingman separate heads and cabs. I also don't care for the LA series.

[hieronymous]

Sounds like a cool rig! I think I played an AER amp in a store once but don't have any experience with them - is it 200 watts? I was going to suggest one of the new GK MB ii amps - they are powerful but light! But it sounds like your rig is working so why not?!! I love finding stuff that I already have and either got tired of or forgot about and then using it again.


Can we see a picture of your rig next time you play?

[5a quilt top]

Yes - the AER is a solid state 200 watt, 1x10 combo. It's a small cube about 12" square. The biggest downside is it does not have a jack for an extension speaker and, if it's sitting on the floor, it's not always easy to hear what I'm playing when it's aimed at my feet.


By itself, it works quite well for practice and pretty much any other playing situation that doesn't involve a loud drummer. When drums are added to the mix, it usually gets pushed beyond its "sweet spot" volume-wise and starts to sound a bit muddy.


The QSC has a horn and a 12" speaker and 1,000 watts of class "D" solid state power on board, so it can easily capture the low-volume tone of the AER and make it bigger. Plus, I can aim it directly up at me so I can hear myself really well without killing everyone else.


I'll take a pic of it with my Europa the next time we rehearse.

[5a quilt top]

Here's a pic from last night showing the rig and my bass: