Building a Rig

For the purpose of this article a rig is what is used to amplify the sound. Some might include pedals as part of a rig but not everyone uses pedals.

There are really 3 things a rig is used for in live performance:

1. Front of House (FOH) sound. This is what the audience hears. Portable PA's that can handle bass are much more common now and lots of bands put it all through the PA. Some still just use the PA for vocals if they cant be bothered to mic the drums or are playing small venues.
2. Stage Monitoring. If the FOH is through the PA but the stage monitors can't reproduce the bass properly then a rig will help you hear what you are playing.
3. Stage props. Lots of big bands still have rigs on stage despite everyone using in ear monitors (IEM). Geddy Lee famously mocks this by having a stack of washing machines on stage. Even in the 60's lots of Marshall stacks had empty bottom cabs.

What individuals use their rigs for depends on circumstances.

Many bass players like to have their recorded sound coming from their rig as they feel it is an essential ingredient to their sound. Most recording engineers will not want to mic a rig up; but if you insist they will suggest you give them a DI as well, and pretend to use the mic's while using the DI.

There are pro's and con's for both and there are lots of combo's available with outputs that match a stack.

Dont!