for a bass guitar should i use an amp or connect to the AP system?

Question

we are trying to find the best scenario to lower bass in our church services. we are in a small hall of 40ft x 40ft. we have drums,2 keyboards,guitar and 4 vocals coming out of the PA. the only thing that is not coming through the PA is the bass guitar. would it be wise to try to put the bass through the board or use the bass amp. we get a lot of bass in the room , and we want to eliminate some of it. we also would like to hear the bass through a headphone system if we connect it to the board. any thoughts would be appreciated

Answer 1

If you connect your bass to the Associated Press (AP) news organization you might get some free publicity, but you'll definitely get a better sound by using a bass amp.



Seriously, your best bet in this situation is to put only vocals thru the PA. The band must control its volume carefully. The short answer for that is for everyone to TURN IT DOWN until the vocals are out front.



Don't put your PA speakers directly on the floor. Raise them up at least a foot or more; get a couple cinder blocks from the hardware store, or if the speakers are small, you can put them on chairs.



Finally, if the room is all hard surfaces and sharp corners, do something about that if you can. Put acoustic foam or drapes in the corners to soak up some of the reflected sound. If you can hang a tapestry, drape, or other sound-absorbent material across the ceiling that will help too. To find the best places to do this, listen for reflections in the EMPTY room when you clap your hands loudly or pop a baloon in different places in the room.



Don't cover every single surface with sound-dampening material; a room that is too dead is problematic in different ways than a room that is too live.



Good luck.

Answer 2

People ask this often. Here's the problems, starting with the most serious: Blow the amp. That's right, it takes more excursion (speaker cone movement) to make a bass note than a guitar note. Can literally tear the cone over time, but more likely just makes the amp sound terrible, getting worse over time. Improper EQ - guitar settings don't voice bass notes well. Under Powered - it takes 3 bass watts to do 1 guitar watt, solid state to solid state (tube is a different story). You'll have no head room, and have to crank it, making #1 above happen faster Cab issues - guitar cabs aren't made to help bass notes. Plug into a Fender Rumble 15 (cheapest Fender bass amp), and then a vocal or keyboard amp. Listen to the difference. In short, YES you do. Also if you want effects, many of them need to be bass effects (although not all)

Answer 3

It all depends on the sound you're going for. It's probably best to put a mic in front of the amp and have it go through the PA that way. You could also use a DI box which basically hooks your bass directly into one of the MIC inputs. It all depends really.



My recommendation would be to try putting a mic in front of your amp first. Keep the gain low and you should be grand. Experiment, and if you're at all worried about blowing something up, turn down the gain on the amp and the desk and work from the bottom up. All should be ok otherwise.