IF YOU ARE a bassist who plays through a preamp — perhaps in combination with a multi-effects unit — you've probably put in some programming time creating your own sounds. If so, one thing you may have noticed is that those sounds can vary quite a bit depending on what amplifier you use or if you bypass an amp and go direct. The difference in tone between your DI signal and what comes out of a bass amp can be dramatic. In some cases, you must program two sets of sounds, one for each situation. Wouldn't it be nice to have a small combo amp that reproduced the sound coming out of your preamp without coloring it?
And what if you perform live? The idea of blowing into a venue and handing the soundperson a direct feed from your preamp rather than hauling an amp around is bound to be appealing. But then you have to rely on the soundperson to give you enough level in the monitors to hear what you are doing onstage, which can be problematic. Imagine having a small and lightweight personal wedge monitor that allows you to tailor the volume level and EQ settings and route your preamplifier's uncolored signal to the house mixer.
Enter the Tech 21 Bass Power Wedge 60 — an ingenious device that functions as a small bass amplifier and speaker system, a personal powered wedge monitor, or both.
WEDGE ISSUES
Shaped like a typical floor-monitor wedge, the 35-pound Bass Power Wedge 60 can sit at three angles to project at 15, 45, or 90 degrees from vertical. The unit is ruggedly constructed of plywood, sports a black carpet covering, and has a chrome grille. The grille pattern is attractive, but the large grid width (almost an inch) could allow small items to hit the speaker, which is an issue particularly because the speaker sits on the floor, facing up.
The Bass Power Wedge 60 accepts input from any direct-signal device or preamplifier through ¼-inch and balanced XLR jacks. A volume control adjusts the level going to the internal power amp and the speaker, and an onboard EQ allows you to round out your onstage sound by boosting or cutting low, mid, and high frequencies as much as 12 dB.
The amplifier section provides 60W of clean power to a 10-inch cast-frame speaker rated at 100W, and small ports on either side of the speaker increase bass response. A balanced pre-EQ XLR output routes the unaffected direct signal to a P.A. mixer. The Bass Wedge 60 has ground-independent inputs and outputs, which make it easy to chain an unlimited number of units together. One possible drawback for musicians who gig internationally is that the unit's AC voltage is not user-switchable.
INTO THE NIGHT
I took the Bass Power Wedge 60 out for a series of live gigs with fine results. The unit is light and easy to carry — a major bonus for working players — and the front-facing controls, easily-accessed inputs, and AC receptacle make setup fast. The rig could reduce a gigging bassist's load to a shoulder bag for effects, a bass in a bag, and the Bass Power Wedge 60.
I ran the Bass Power Wedge 60 with a variety of preamps, stompboxes, and other line-level signal sources and experimented using bass, acoustic and electric guitar, accordion, and synthesizer. To get the best sound, you must have some kind of buffered device in-line or an active instrument. Passive pickups are loaded down by the unit's isolation transformer, which is in place to kill ground loops when the unit is used with an amplifier. Any stompbox in Bypass mode will push the passive pickup level up enough to overcome that.
The unit lacks an input mute, which would have been a nice touch for anyone who needs to change out an instrument without popping a sound or studio monitor system when sending a direct signal. The transparent direct out ensures that whatever tone a player wants to route to the house mix will get there.
ALL BASES COVERED
Nonbassists will likely dig the Bass Power Wedge 60, too — a powerful wedge-shaped amp is useful for guitarists, pianists, and even singers. In fact, I played a trumpet gig using a Shure SM58 microphone plugged in to several guitar stompboxes with perfect results. Well, almost perfect — when I foolishly tried to use a wah pedal with the mic stand close to the unit, I generated gnarly feedback that scared the soundperson.
FRONT AND CENTER
The Bass Power Wedge 60 will be most useful to tone-oriented players who spend hours tweaking stompboxes or modeling preamps and who want the most transparent reproduction of those sounds when performing live. As a personal monitor, it should be of interest to any player, regardless of whether they have a “real” bass amp. The amp also provides additional options in the studio, such as combining miked and direct sounds.
The Bass Power Wedge 60 won't replace your current high-wattage combo — and it's not intended to — but it can be a useful addition to a working musician's toolbox.
BASS POWER WEDGE 60 SPECS
Inputs (1) ¼"; (1) balanced XLR
Output (1) balanced XLR
Power 60W into 8•
Amplifier Type solid-state
Nominal Input Level -20 dBm to +4 dBm
Power factory set for 100, 117, 220, 230, or 240 VAC
Speaker 10" cast-frame, 100W into 8•
Dimensions 17.75" (W) × 16.75" (H) × 15.00" (D)
Weight 35 lb.
