AX8 for bass rig?

MSP

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Hey everyone. I have a AX8 that I love for guitar (mostly playing at home and recording). I have been thinking of building a bass rig to play live and was thinking I could probably integrate the AX8 as a preamp/di. Would you consider a powered PA speaker to go FRFR, or would you suggest a poweramp/bass cab? Genre would be loud punky rockish type stuff. Im not looking to invest a huge amount since this is probably a short term project. Any input would be appreciated! Thanks!
 
If I was in your situation and I assume these are mostly gigs where the PA should handle the bass sound and not kill everyone on-stage with a 1000W rack I would go with an AX8 and a 10" or 12" FRFR, pick your choice. This is mostly to hear yourself close-by and let the stage monitors and PA do all the heavy lifting.

This is of course not the case if you do not have a PA and you play in a metal band with two 100W Marshall stacks competing about decibels. Or you play big outdoors gigs with no PA. But for just anything else it should be fine.

Your back will also thank you ten years' from now.
 
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....or should i just pick up a used bass amp?

What's your budget? Have you ever experienced the way bass guitar sounds with cabinet simulation through a full range PA speaker or monitor? For that matter, is this your first go-around at live bass? Have you played bass live through a traditional amp?
 
The AX8 is a fantastic bass rig - in addition to the bass amp models, a lot of the guitar amp models really well with bass. A guitar amp model with a bit of direct bass signal blended works very well.

Something like a QSC K10/12/15 would work fantastic for amplification.
 
Hmmm.... Well, Im primarily a guitar player but I started out on bass in the 80s and switched. I had a real amp (albeit junk) back then.Ive played with bass players lots of times who had real amps, but never on stage as a bassist myself. Id like to keep the budget on the low side as this could be a short term project. Maybe the Headrush FRFR? It seems to be liked for a budget speaker. Anyone ever tried one with bass? On the plus side I could also use it with guitar. Two birds with one stone is never a bad thing in my books.
 
Maybe the Headrush FRFR? It seems to be liked for a budget speaker.

This could go either way. Are you near any big box music stores where you can audition some full range powered PA cabinets with the rig?
If your gigs are such that the bass will be reinforced in the PA system, then that's your best bet for getting this done with a powered full range cabinet on a light budget. Then, just set up the speaker such that you can HEAR it well (elevated, on tripod, monitor wedge position, etc.). If you have no PA reinforcement for the bass, then that might complicate things and lean you toward a (second hand) traditional bass combo amp IF you're playing loud-ish rock and IF you're playing larger rooms.

If the idea is that you just need to get through these gigs, then sure, just about anything could work. If you and your bandmates want to hear/feel bass sounds that fill the stage and room via a FRFR speaker, then you may need to loosen the purse strings a bit.

So much of this is context and preference sensitive, totally subjective. Personally, I can do some gigs using a single FRFR Atomic CLR, while others require 2 CLRs to get the job done. But my gigs, tastes, and "happy place" is most likely different from yours.
 
Hmmm.... Well, Im primarily a guitar player but I started out on bass in the 80s and switched. I had a real amp (albeit junk) back then.Ive played with bass players lots of times who had real amps, but never on stage as a bassist myself. Id like to keep the budget on the low side as this could be a short term project. Maybe the Headrush FRFR? It seems to be liked for a budget speaker. Anyone ever tried one with bass? On the plus side I could also use it with guitar. Two birds with one stone is never a bad thing in my books.
Hi,i have the headrush and i use a bass preset in ax8 ..sounds loud and good
 
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Most people arent using most features of their axe fx or other gear.

Leave the volume and tone dimed on your guitar or bass? You're using 1% of what it can do.

Leaving your amp settings alone once it's dialled in? Same deal.

Worry less about "am I using enough features" and more about "does this inspire me to play?" IMO.
 
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