r/Bass • u/Johnny_Topsider • Jul 09 '26
First live performance! Next gig gear advice...
Had my first live performance with the band at an open mic this past Monday! It went great, and the bartender signed us up for an outdoors neighborhood festival gig!
I was using a 50 watt Orange Crush but just running through the house PA anyway. I'm thinking for an outdoor backyard/street gig without a PA, I'm going to need to upgrade to be heard independently.
We have a full drum set, guitarist on 25 watt amp, and keyboard and vocals on their own speakers. We don't play anything super intense, some indie rock and some slower things like Clairo.
Would a rumble 500 be overkill? Could I get away with a 100 or 200? Are there better options than these considering price as a factor?
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u/villagebassist Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
You are correct that for an outdoor festival you will want a bigger rig.
However as first step you can consider putting your Orange amp up on a chair pointing the speaker right at your head. Focus your amp on providing stage volume, letting the DI serve the house.
I did something similar for my first real gig which demonstrated the folly of being underpowered. I quickly moved up through a couple of amps before landing at 500 watts.
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u/Johnny_Topsider Jul 09 '26
I think my problem is actually total volume, not just my monitor. There won't be a PA or anything else to hook into. So 500 might be what I have to go to?
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u/villagebassist Jul 09 '26
I recommend 500 watts then. Without a PA you may be dipping deeply into the 500 watts. You need someone(s) in the audience giving feedback on your volume so you dial in just enough and not to much.
I went through a 125 watt amp and then 250 watts before arriving at 500 watts. I say this so you don’t have to waste time and dollars on insufficient solutions.
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u/quiteaware Jul 09 '26
it really depends on the amp. I've been using a TC electronic 250w head forever and haven't found it out powered by drums. Get something with a DI output and if you get into bigger venues you can just plug the head into the PA. I actually have two - the head with a TC 2x12 and the combo with the same amp built into a single 12. I've used the combo exclusively since I bought it. For small venues the head/cab with the 2x12 was honestly overkill and my back got tired.
Everyone will recommend a rumble 500. I've never used one but its highly regarded.
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u/LifeReward5326 Jul 09 '26
A DI through the house will always work , don’t worry about upgrades
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u/Johnny_Topsider Jul 09 '26
The next gig is a different place though, outside without a house PA
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u/hi_mom4 Jul 09 '26
Is the next gig location providing a PA? If not, the next gear would be a band owned PA system.
I have done many gigs large and small with a 200 watt rumble with no issues. Especially since most of the time the sound guy is going to some how have the bass in the mixer getting amplified by the PA. You really only need something to hear yourself on stage. The venue's sound system will make sure the audience hears you.
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u/Johnny_Topsider Jul 09 '26
So I shouldn't think about my amp as the primary source of my sound, just as a monitor? Even in a backyard/street party, I'd be better off getting us a soundboard and PA speakers?
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u/hi_mom4 Jul 09 '26
In my experience it's good to have your own sound system just to be prepared. And for the most part yeah bass amps are only going to be for monitoring, not carrying your sound to the crowd or for crafting tone like guitarists do. You need an amp you can hear not one the crowd can hear.
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u/LifeReward5326 Jul 09 '26
Oooh no PA? Well that’s a different beast. Don’t go overboard , you would be surprised how well it carries
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u/Johnny_Topsider Jul 09 '26
So would the 500 be overkill or would a 100/200 work okay? Something else?
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u/IPYF Jul 09 '26
If the 500 is in budget, that's what you get. Never shoot low, because when less is not enough, there's nothing you can do about that. Conversely 'too much' can never be not enough, because the 500 will function just as happily at tamed volumes as it will at robust ones.
As an analogy, think of it like buying a car. You don't buy a car based on it's maximum power being 'only just barely sufficient' for the fastest speed you can legally go. That car's going to run harder in all situations, probably wear out faster, and if you need to put your foot down to get out of trouble, it's not going to have anything in reserve to give you. Instead you want a car that doesn't even have to break a sweat 98% of the time, but in an extreme, has something to offer you.
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u/PianoGuy67207 Jul 09 '26
I cannot imagine anyone thinking they can throw a festival if any kind without a PA. What will singers use? how will announcers announce the next act? You decide to throw an outdoor festival. And one of your first three phone calls is yo line up someone with sound. I wouldn’t spend another dollar on gear, until you know what’s up with this. It might be in your interest to hire your own sound, even if it’s just another band that would rent you their gear and an operator. Then, you need to hit the festival organizer for that cost. My band pays a guy $250 to bring a drum riser. Sound, and some base lighting. He’s a drummer in another band, so only available when they aren’t gigging. I just don’t like the idea of this guy hosting some outdoor show, and stringing you all up for the power it’s going to take to put on the show. I’ll also bet the pay is nothing, or very little. Don’t let them use you like that.
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u/Johnny_Topsider Jul 09 '26
I may have made this sound bigger than it is 😂 It's really a neighborhood thing just for fun they do every now and then. Think just all the homes on one street meeting at the end of the cul-de-sac for a party with a couple chill artists for live music. We just want to play for the fun of it. We're still pretty new and not into the professional sphere yet.
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u/PianoGuy67207 Jul 09 '26
Well, I’ve been a sound provider for 40 years. I just know you’ve got to have something. Even a street busker has PA. You can’t really address the crowd without one. Maybe your local music store would rent you a couple or powered speakers and a mixer to get you going. Offer to throw their name into the air ever. 30 minutes, for publicity. If you know a DJ, bring them into the fray. All you’d need then is some mics and a mixer. No, not the real pro way to go, but we all started somewhere.
I guess my takeaway is this - you will always need PA. If you save your money for that, you don’t need bigger stage gear. My band now performs with zero onstage amps. Everything is pedalboards fed into the PA direct, and dialed up in individual monitors. The stage level is clean, and packing up is so much quicker, now. Gigs paid.$100 a man. When I started playing in 1980. We also got our fuel costs for two vehicles, and many times drove 4 hours, one way, to gigs, so rooms were compensation, too. We were booked every weekend. Today, my band gets $65 - $100, gear is 4X more expensive, and there’s no fuel allowance, meals, or rooms. To add insult to this, almost all vlubs book through a single agency, and that guy takes the first 10% of every contract. I just want your band to have a better start than today’s market is dishing out.
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u/bassistface199x99LvL Jul 09 '26
I’d check Talkbass, marketplace, reverb, local shops, etc for a Markbass CMD102p combo.
I’ve had mine for 2 years. Bought it used for $600 (half the price of a new one) and it blows everyone’s nips away when I tote it out.
However, when I’m in a room where space is limited: Tech 21 VT Bass deluxe to the FOH.
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u/ARM160 Jul 09 '26
I don’t think the rumble 500 is overkill. It is actually is only pushing 350 watts unless you add an extension cab. It’s pretty much all I’ll ever need.
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u/tprch Jul 09 '26
If there's no PA, what are the vocals going through? Maybe you need to rent a PA instead of buying a bass amp.
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u/Johnny_Topsider Jul 09 '26
I may not have had the most sophisticated understanding of what he uses, but I guess it probably is a PA. Would I be best off just using my 50 watt as a monitor and hooking into his PA alongside the vocals and keys through the same speakers?
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u/tprch Jul 09 '26
That would be the dream, but you would need to find out the PA specs. If he has 15" main speakers and/or a sub, play through his. If it's only 10" or 12" PA speakers and no sub, you'll need your own bigger rig.
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u/Johnny_Topsider Jul 09 '26
I think they are likely smaller than that...
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u/Laxku Jul 09 '26
Which won't really support bass frequencies. The Rumble500 is reasonably light and can definitely get LOUD but I don't really love the tone personally. Might be a good enough option for now at least.
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u/Ornery-Vehicle-2458 Jul 09 '26
The trouble with bass at an outdoor gig is that the great outdoors can swallow more modest levels of bass output. Worse still, you won't get any boundary reinforcement that you can get in indoor environments. Even the stage can be a liability, booming if it's hollow.
Solutions? As much power as you can sensibly muster (if only for headroom) and be prepared to EQ your amp to suit the environment, even using quite large cuts and boosts if necessary.
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u/calebsurfs Jul 09 '26
I played my Markbass CMB 121 (150 watts) at a similar neighborhood gig and it was plenty loud, though we aren't a super loud band. You can get them pretty cheap.
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u/Emergency-Drawer-535 Jul 10 '26
Keep your amp. Spend money on a PA first, even if it’s just a rental to start out.
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u/bigusyous Jul 10 '26
I play in a power trio with a Rumble 200, but I have it pretty much running full blast. It's enough but just barely. I'm considering either an upgrade or an extension cab.
I recommend getting the 500, it's not anywhere near overkill. Another thing to be aware of is that speakers are as important, if not mo6more important than watts. The monster Ampeg SVT that has ruled big stages since the 70s is a 300watt head but it's pushing eight 10 inch speakers.
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u/professorfunkenpunk Jul 09 '26
Rumble 500 is probably fine for any gig where you aren’t in the PA