Hello BassBuzz community! I have a gear question. I am look for a bass amp combo or a bass cabinet with a separate amp. I have a like new Beringher amp that a bought 12 years ago or so when I was D-Jaying that I never used! Is there difference between that an a bass amp. In other words is an amp an amp or I need to specifically get a “bass” amplifier?
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You definitely want to get a bass amp. Playing a bass through guitar amp will “work” but you’ll lose a lot of the lowest frequencies and if you go above a certain volume it will blow the speaker. That’s what happened to me on an Orange guitar practice amp when I first started out.
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The amp I have is not a guitar amp it is an amp that bought for a D-Jay rig. What you are saying makes sense though because I tried to hook it up once using a an 18" 300 watt subwoofer (also a part of my dj equipment) the amp is 200-300 RMS of power but it sounded like I was blowing the speaker when I played my bass so I stopped trying to play.
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Ah in that case I’m not so sure, if it’s something like part of a PA system with a mixer then it may be able to handle it without problems. But I don’t know much about DJ gear.
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I think if you use a bass preamp/di into your amp, use bridged mono output into a bass cab, you’ll be okay.
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what is this amp exactly ? (model name)
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And what is between your bass and your amp?
The short answer to your @hogank original question is that a PA amp is generally a wide range amp and should work fine for bass. you need to drive it with a preamp, DI box or pedal with a buffered output.
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Yeah I was going to say if this was an amp for DJing or electronic instruments it probably won’t take an instrument in well on its own and probably expects a line level signal. It would likely work but will lack definition in the lows and highs. A preamp would help immensely there.
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by the way that’s a setup I’m thinking about for myself, as I don’t have a bass amp any more : a portable PA to amplify my PODs, the FRFR way.
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Yeah if I ever need a live rig again that’s how I’m going, probably pick up a HX Stomp and go in to a mixer and a pair of DBR12’s or something.
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the one I’m seeking is the JBL EON ONE Compact. one would be enough for me (like an amp), I don’t need a pair.
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Yeah I only really need a pair for the synth. Though sending bass to one and guitar to another might be fun too, could voice them slightly differently for that.
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I’m curious about the motivation that drives that choice. Is the deep rumble not that important for the music style you would be playing? Does it just turn into a muddy mess in the venue and would need to be turned down anyway? Bass still serves the song even on 5” radio speakers and it’s just not worth the weight for anything extra? Nobody makes 10” reflex cabinets for bass because nobody would pay attention to anything about the design other than driver size, but it sounds almost as good as a 15?
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this thing can handle the bass frequencies down to 37,5 Hz , it weights 8 kg and it works on a battery for 12-6 hours. it seems pretty capable of amplifing a Bass POD.
For my next band I’m considering a minimal and very mobile band, let’s say me and an acoustic guitar player / singer. the bass would have to be amplified but I would not need a huge power, and a lightweight portable amp would be really cool to play everywhere.
but at this point it’s more an idea than a definitive choice. for now and for the studio stuff that I do, I don’t need an amp.
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Hello It’s Behringer, thanks!
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That’s the brand, do you know the model?
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Isn’t the obvious solution here to sell the DJ equipment and use the money to buy bass gear?
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To get good bass sound the driver (speaker) has to be able to move a lot of air and handle really low frequencies. You can get by with using a PA or guitar amp if you don’t wind it up. I did that for a while until I purchased my first Bass amp. I practiced on the guitar amp with the bass volume down and tone up to keep the lower frequencies away from the amp as much as possible. The bass needs power to be heard in a mix but for practice you can live without it. If you push the guitar speaker too hard it will overdrive the travel and ruin the speaker. Most guitar combo’s will protect the frequencies it can produce and that can protect the system. In other works it won’t amplify frequencies it’s not rated to handle.
Moving air isn’t a problem with a PA - easy to find affordable 12" PA speakers. The frequency response certainly can be though, need to be careful there. There’s also PA subwoofers though that’s getting serious and might as well liquidate the PA for a bass combo at that point, unless you otherwise need a PA.
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