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John Myung Bongo 4

To Bi-Amp or Not to Bi-Amp

cgworkman

cgworkman

Well-known member
Joined
Apr 3, 2004
Messages
1,628
Location
U.S.A.
Here's a question...

I'm not asking about any brand here...
but I'd like to hear some opinions on bi-amp vs. full range operation. how many would rather have a decent full range, high power amp vs. a decent bi-amp setup?

Pros and Cons either way?

thanks
 
Haven't ever tried a true bi-amp set up before. Using a 15" and a 2x10" or 4x10" works good so I think as long as you've got a good crossover it'd probably sound really good.

..... options, options....... :D
 
Having a seperate amp for treble, mids and bass is a great way to scoop out sound.
Doug Pinnick of Kings' X is a good example of the complex tone that can be had this way.
You can seperate certain frequinces better and have certain ones growl, while others clean, AT THE SAME TIME, this method simply rules if ya got the bucks for it.
 
I've never been able to hear any noticeable difference in a live (rock) situation between full range and biamp. My SWR400 is a stereo head with biamp capabilities and I can't detect any benefits running it biamped. So, these days I run it full range.
 
I like the idea of running two rigs "full range", or even three :D. Take a look at Amy of Clatter. Who, you say?? http://www.clatter.com Amy uses a Ric 4003 and runs three rigs. One is a Mesa Boogie guitar head, I think a Dual Rectifier, into a tens cab. That gives her lots of snarl n' grind. Another is an SWR Super Redhead with plenty of affects. I believe the third is an SWR into an 8x8. Here's a link to pics and diagrams.

http://ebassist.com/vb3/showthread.php?t=609

bassrig.jpg


Enjoy, and try not to drool too much!! ;)

mule
 
For a while in the 90s I played my 'Rays through my SWR SM400 biamped, running a 1x15 for the lows and a 1x12 PA cab for the highs. It was a super-hi-fi scooped-mid 90s-type sound, which I dug at the time. It was not particularly loud, though. Nowadays I run the SWR full range into a 4x10. I'd really love to get a 2x12. I love the sound of a StingRay through 12s.

When I play 8- or 12-string, I run separate full range amps for clean and distorted sounds, switching the distorted amp in and out as required.

Adam

PS

Drums/Bass duo bands: in the 90s, there was a great Canadian band called The Inbreds (http://www.inbreds.com/). The bass player Mike had a StingRay and played all sorts of neat stuff with it (while singing). Check out the mid-90s live tracks on their website for some very inventive StingRay playing.
 
Last edited:
Bi-amping is God's way of telling you that you have too much money to spend on equipment and far too much time on your hands to be even considering such things.;)

Regards

Lazy and Poor of London Town
 
LeftyLB said:
Bi-amping is God's way of telling you that you have too much money to spend on equipment and far too much time on your hands to be even considering such things.;)

Regards

Lazy and Poor of London Town
Click to expand...

thanks for sharing..........
 
cgworkman said:
thanks for sharing..........
Click to expand...

Apologies if my off the cuff remark has offended and appears to belittle the original question. It wasn't intended.

I will therefore have the courage to state what I really meant in the hope that the pro's and con's on the additional costs and also the time needed to be invested for bi-amping might be better explained by a fellow forum member.

So, I thought that the whole point of having multi band EQ and the facility to add additional cabs was so that the high's and low's can be separted and a great sound be obtained. Therefore you could have an amp head, plus a 1x15, plus a 2x10 etc or a head plus a 4x10 etc etc. Each to their own.

At what point does there become such a disernable, noticable difference to the end result that it warrants investing both time and money in providing separate amps for the different frequencies?

Secondly in what situation is this a relevant benefit? - In the studio when recording? when playing live?

IMO when gigging at most venues with an inhouse PA, you end up having to get your bass given back to you through the monitors because if you crank up the volume too much the drummer and singer start moaning, so you lose control of what you are hearing of yourself anyway.

Where we are using our own 20 channel desk and PA, does this mean handing the engineer (keyboard player) another lead and saying "this one is for the top end of my bass, so you need a second input from me"? - He would tell me to get f**ked.

Is the difference noticed actually on stage or only in the "house" mix, in which case, I think it must be only the purely pro players with an engineer who is being paid to deal with two inputs from the bass player that have any chance of being taken seriously.

Therefore is it a case of, if you have loads of money to experiment with this type of thing and an understanding engineer, you will find a need for it, but if you never had it, you won't miss it?

I am by no means saying I am right, I just don't see a tangible benefit for the investment.

Liam
 
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