I use an EV ZLX12BT. They are really great and sound great as a bass amp. They are $449 right now at Sweetwater ($100 off).
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I basically do the same with a stage monitor Yamaha DHR12m and my Boss gt1000core, way more flexible as a solution than a regular amp situation.
C Series don’t have instrument input and it seems to miss bass specific EQ. Essentially you need a preamp/cab sim with line out or XLR output.
The more expensive K Series have those, enabling you to just add cable and bass.
Also, the powered speaker might not be as effective for a given wattage as a bass amp.
I have not listened to any of them, so I don’t know if it mean’s anything. But I am considering a powered speaker to use with my HX Stomp for my application: monitoring myself when playing with a PA.
Going ampless is not an option for me right now, mostly because of the quality of the monitoring system and sound engineers.
Used wedges like these and they are suprisingly loud and clear. Very useful to have, epecially on tight stages for space. Prefer the sound of my Rumble cabs though and they're quite light to shift around.
The way I see it, using a floor monitor will mean that you will ear yourself better, because the speaker is directed to your ears, and that you will also use it at a lower volume than an amp. It will probably lack for some people a bit of depth (mine give nothing under 55hz), but that will help to get a better FOH actually (sound ingeneer like that!). And if you still need an amp for that time there is no PA or that the bass doesnt go thrue one? Well I put my monitor on the side and it double as an amp...but with a 90° dispertion angle instead of the very narrow angle on a classic bass amp.
Sure it is a compromise, but one that have a lot of strong point to me.
It sure is useful and good for getting a good sound outfront. Can still get a good sound out front either way. Just prefer to stand infront of a few speakers pushing air behind me.
I really wish QSC made a CP10. That would be the sweet spot for me. They actually recommend the K10.2 for bassists with PA support, but it ain't cheap. A CP10 would be ideal for rehearsals.
What do you do when you dont have PA support (ie a small venue where there is no room for PA subs) Do you bring a regular bass amp?
FWIW His actual rig that he tours with for the stones is about $4k worth of speakers and significantly larger than a traditional bass rig, he essentially has an entire PA dedicated to him.
Thats what I thought too. I used a QSC K series for low volume bass with a duo and trio, and it died on me after about 6 gigs. Took it to an AUTHORIZED QSC SERVICE CENTER for repair. They told me within 2 days of receipt that it needed a new board. I approved the work the same day. After that, it took 5 months to get the unit repaired, and this is after both the service center and I called QSC multiple times. I was told it was due to unavailability of repair parts. Yet, new identical complete QSC units to mine were easily available for immediate order. My initial conclusion after discussion with service center and QSC, was that QSC’s business model prioritizes parts for assembly of new units, and they had not reserved sufficient parts for the repair pipeline. After finally getting my unit repaired, I took it out of “bass duty”. Be aware, and use your QSC carefully, if you plan to use it as a bass amp/monitor.
The " 1000 watts " is listed as " Peak " power ( 800 for LF, 200 for HF ). I don't think that's the same as RMS power, but I might be wrong.
The thing is, an amp in your back will need volume (if you do not tilt them back) for yourself to ear it, and that is a receipe for FOH issue. Last gigs I have done with amps where with the amp in front of me and pointed at me because otherwise, the sound ingeneer will not allow an amp on stage. I cant work with IEMs, cant stand the thing in my ear, but it is slowly becoming the norm, so if you want to gig with an amp, you have to accomodate the guy. I am in switzerland, and here there is just bars that will still allow amps (because of the small size and usual lack of a potent PA system to carry more than voices) but the silent stage is now the norm. Even Marcus Miller I saw last december in Lausanne was using monitors instead of amps.
My Yamaha is listed at 1000 peak, but really 400 RMS for the 12 inch speaker and 65 for the tweater.
This is a good means of bringing the sound of your preamp/pedalboard to your ears.
These monitor wedges project sound into your face and that is a good thing because the ears are just right and left of it.
It's not so great if your bass amp is meant to carry the entire venue, and it's not so great if you live without a pedalboard and the coloring of your amp and cab is an essential part of your sound.
If you mainly play with in ear monitoring or other ampless setups but find yourself in a situation where personal monitoring is required on stage without in ears, this is a great solution.
Welp, just purchased one with a nifty carrying case! Can’t wait to test it out!
These are great but in a small setting it would not work for me.. just not enough power or presence. Our keyboard player uses a QSC 12 and it sounds great.
Usually, I put mine aside of the one provided most of the time, this way I only have the bass on mine and have full control on it, and still get the vocals and a bit of guitar and keys on the provided one. I find that everything from one speaker is not the best for me.