My bass player is the kinda guy who's always angling to spend less money, sometimes at the expense of sound judgement. Last summer he bought a BBQ grill without a lid 'cos it was cheaper than one with a lid. Hahahaha.

As a band, we use 2-L1's with 2 B1's each. The bass is usually run thru an L1 (2B1+paklite and 2 more B1's)which he shares with the keyboardist and 2 vocal mics.

Is it wise for him to pursue the purchase of an additional paklite w/2 more B1's? That would set up that unit at one power stand with 2 paklites and 6-B1's. He says he's read that it's possible but I'm not seeing it in the manual.

I'm more for him buying an L1 and 2 B1's ao he can have a unit all his own, albeit at a greater cost. (L1+paklite w/4 B1's)

Is he nuts or will his theory work efficiently?

quote:

Is it wise for him to pursue the purchase of an additional paklite w/2 more B1's?

Yes, you can daisy-chain the Packlites.
There is a drummer here in the forums who uses 6-B1s for his V-drums.
Another forum member tried 6-B1s and thought it was too much for his kick.
Personally, I don't think 6 is necessary for a bass guitar.

I'm with you...a system of his own with 4-B1s would kill.
What he thinks he is lacking now is probably due to the sharing of two systems that your band does.
Once he had his own system, it would open up the sound considerably, for everyone.

Also, he owns the packlite & B1s now doesn't he?
So he would only have to buy an L1.

Totally agree with you and Drumr Pete about getting another system.

Does your Bassist sing?

If so, he will really appreciate singing through his own L1.

Pete....he would need to buy an L1 and 2 B1's to go along with the packlite and 2 - B1's that he has now.

His aim is to get more oomff for the more expansive outdoor gigs at the lowest possible cost.

P.S. Thought the manual stated up to 4 B1's could be connected but now I can't find it.

ST....he doesn't really sing. Maybe 2 songs. Uses a tin can for a mic (see bbq grill comment)

Hi JD,

quote:

P.S. Thought the manual stated up to 4 B1's could be connected but now I can't find it.

A Power Stand (Classic, Model I, Model II) will support up to two B1s. To add more, typically you add two at a time with a PackLite® for each pair.

He could buy a Model I and use his two B1s. He can park the PackLite® for now and use it if he gets more B1s.

He won't get more oomph, but he will be independent. He will be able to control his own sound, use his own presets, and have his L1™ as close or far from him as he wants without concern for anyone else.

I suppose you could sell him one of the L1™s you've got now and you could get a Model II if you don't have one yet.


PS Tin can - yup I can see it.

Hi, JD.

Being first-hand familiar with your band and some of the venues you play (to others, JD1 is my customer...I sold him his pair of Model IIs), then yes, having King (the bass player) get his own L1 w/two B1s and add his existing Packlite/2B1s to it is the best way to go.

He doesn't need a Model II or T1, so he can save quite a bit of money if he gets a Model I. However, I know that portability is a big deal for you guys. Hey, just make him carry his own system!

My band (which you've seen) originally had two systems and when we went to three it worked really well for us. The sound was noticeably better. The more you can separate sources, the better off you'll be.

The other advantage is that micing the drums will work better if you run them into his system. And even better if you can convince the drummer to get a real kick mic instead of that ratty SM57 he's using now!

King rented one of my systems last year for a gig at Captain's Cove. What was the consensus take on that?

If you like, we can have King rent my Packlite and a pair of B1s to give you the 6B1 configuration so you can see how that sounds. Let me know.

Regards,
Andy

Andrew.....welcome to my nightmare! I agree with everything you say. Trying to convince the bass player and drummer to "do the right thing" is not easy when it involves them spending money.

You may not know it, but the Grand Canyon was actually formed by those two dropping a nickel in a gopher hole and trying to recover it!!!!

LOL!

Having met these guys I know exactly what you mean.

"Penny wise, pound foolish" is the line I'm thinking of here.

It's funny...as you no doubt have observed, I'm a confirmed gear geek. I just cannot understand those who don't see the wisdom of using the best available tools to accomplish a task.

I think my attitude towards spending money on the right tools came from when I was a teenager, and tried to replace an alternator belt on my mother's car, at night, in the rain...using a pair of vise grips, a flat-bladed screwdriver and a flashlight, because that's all I had available to me.

Ever since then I've never hesitated to just go and buy the blasted tool when I have to, no matter what it costs. It's cheaper in the long run and you get the job done faster and better.

I've got a friend who has practically made a career out of trying to be cheap. He'll bend over backwards to avoid buying something that he thinks is too expensive, but will spend a lot of time and money trying to make substandard gear do more than it was meant to do. In the end, he would be better off just spending the money in the first place. Makes no sense to me.

I prefer to set high but realistic standards, accept the cost of doing business, and be done with it. I've been burned too many times by going cheap to think that it's the better path.

Just my $0.02.

Over the course of the last 38 years, I have spent well over $20k on guitars alone (40+), and I've lost track of how much on amps, pedals and equipment. Granted, sometimes you just don't have the money, but like you, I wish I had waited. Of course I learned a lot going through all that stuff, but ultimately, I learned that what I have now is what I needed:

1 good acoustic, $2300
1 good electric, $1000
1 good effects board, $300
1 wireless system, $250
1 Bose system, $2800
Total: $6650

I can play any music, any style, any gig, at any time and never spend any more money on gear. When I think what my "savings" cost me over the years, I cringe. And I ultimately ended up selling or trading (at a loss) all that stuff to get what I should have bought in the first place anyway. (I know technology has changed over the years, but my two guitars have basically been around forever).

Have any bass players survived with just one B1?

You could probably do that in a really low-volume, acoustic-type situation.

When I practice at home I use just one.

But at anything like realistic performance levels for anything like lively, energetic music, a minimum of two is the order of the day.

Right now, in my second band, for practice we use one Model II with two B1s to support four vocals and my bass. There's also a guitarist playing a Fender Twin and a drummer. It's a small room and the sound is quite good.

Yeah, well I will have to go for a bit with just one. No worries for me as I can still use my rig (just more to carry).

I do plan to try my 8ohm 115 cab as a second module to see what it does.

Check the wiki for a paper I wrote about using the L1 with bass guitar. It is directly applicable to your needs.

I use an L1 with the full extended bass package, but if cash is tight I advocate using your conventional bass rig as a way to get good bottom end.

Bottom line:

1) You'll get really good sound by taking the line-out from your rig and plugging it into the L1. In this situation, most of the low end is coming from your rig, not the L1...it's reproducing more mids and highs. Be prepared to re-EQ a bit...the sound will be a lot clearer than you're used to.

2) Using a non-Bose bass cabinet is not an optimal solution. Go for the line-out option first.

The downside to hybrid rigs (aside from having to lug big, heavy gear) is that you're coloring the sound quite a bit. Depending on your point of view, this may or may not be a bad thing. The L1 by itself excels at reproducing what it's fed with great clarity and accuracy. The more stuff you add to the signal chain, the farther you get from that "ideal" situation.

When evaluating how it sounds, step out away from the band as far as you can, close your eyes and listen to the WHOLE mix, not just your bass. This is likely to demonstrate to you that clear, clean, simple, less-is-more sound is better than big huge bottom end.

Well, I love my Ampeg V4BH, so I like the color that can be offered (especially with my 30th Sting Ray) with a rig. I will line out into it as you read my mind. Let the rig thump, and let the Bose project the overall tone.

I can't wait to get it!

Hi Eric,

quote:

Check the wiki for a paper I wrote about using the L1 with bass guitar. It is directly applicable to your needs.

Here is a link to the article Andrew mentioned.

Electric Bass

albanyeric,
one more suggestion from a fellow bass player, if you use the line out approach. I can't remember if the V4 has a high frequesncuy output as opposed to a full range output, but, if not, try using the 80hz high pass preset on the L1 channel. this will help with dispersion but minimize the need for more than 1 B1 unless you're at higher volume levels.

Cool getrythm,

I'll play around when I get it (and report back).