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Topic: Am I asking for trouble running bass guitar through the PA? |
George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 9 Aug 2008 5:55 am |
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| My brother's bass amp laid down last week at a concert. To get us through the show, we ran the bass through the PA system. The PA system is a Carvin and has 4 seperate 300 watt power amps built in. We run one power amp to one of the out front PA cabinets and another one to the other out front PA cabinet. The other two amps are split between two singer monitors and two band monitors. My brother liked the sound of his bass through the PA system better than his amp. He wants to just run it through it all the time instead of an amp. I fear we might blow a speaker or something. One gig we do twice a month, we use the house out front speakers because they are ceiling mounted and the owner doesn't want us to use our speakers on stands for fear somebody may trip over them. I am concerned that we might blow his speakers. I think we are treading on a slippery service here, just from a layman, gut feeling. What are the con's of running the bass guitar through the PA system? |
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Michael Johnstone
From:
Sylmar,Ca. USA
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Posted 9 Aug 2008 7:18 am
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| It's ok in the scenario you mentioned to get you thru the night but I wouldn't make habit of it. Some systems would take it just fine and others might not. It'd be a crapshoot. Plus,I'd much rather be in control of my sound by having a reliable small powerful amp. If you like the sound thru the PA more than that of your amp,maybe you've got the wrong amp. |
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Alan Kirk
From:
Scotia, CA, USA
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Posted 9 Aug 2008 7:23 am
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Depends on the P.A. A powerful enough bi-amped PA wouldn't have a problem. With a smaller PA, I often find that the bass distorts the vocals and other material being put through the P.A.
_________________
Everyone in the world has two jobs: 1) whatever they do for a living; and 2) music critic. |
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George Kimery
From:
Limestone, TN, USA
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Posted 9 Aug 2008 7:39 am Am I asking for trouble running bass guitar through the PA
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My borther's bass amp is a Hartke and he has always been very happy with it. I was surprised to hear him say that he liked the sound he was getting through the PA system better. The amp gets real hot in behind the control panel on the front, then cuts out. when it cools off, it comes back on, but only for a few minutes until it heats up again. He is going to try to find somebody local to get it repaired.
The PA System is 1200 watts, divided up among 4 three hundred watt power amps, as explained in my original post. It has 12 channels and we only run 4 channels. Two vocal mics and one mic on fiddle and one on steel. |
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Richard Sinkler
From:
aka: Rusty Strings -- Missoula, Montana
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Posted 9 Aug 2008 8:25 am
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| Quote: |
| The PA System is 1200 watts, divided up among 4 three hundred watt power amps, as explained in my original post. It has 12 channels and we only run 4 channels. Two vocal mics and one mic on fiddle and one on steel. |
This is fine, but you need to consider the sizes and configuration of the speakers. A friend of mine plays her bass (at loud volumes) straight through the PA at the club she works at. But the speakers out front consist of 18" subwoofers and a cabinet on top of that with a 15" and a horn, All JBL. Everything is mic'd and the sound is awesome, even for a small club. They also have a sound man making sure it balances out front. |
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Brick Spieth
From:
San Jose, California, USA
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Posted 9 Aug 2008 10:02 am
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| I would not do this unless I had subwoofers in the system, and a very robust PA. My band plays with no amps at all. Everything is pres into the board (V drums). We can get a much better vocal mix this way. Even then, if we think we want to be on the loud side, I'll bring a bass amp and send the xlr output to the board. |
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Donald Roach
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 8 Sep 2008 6:12 pm
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| Just wondering what you ended up doing in the end .. how did everything work out? |
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