Fender Passport p-250

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Hi, I own a Fender Passport 250 (PA) and I was wondering what is the best way to add on to it... the Passport is 250 watts going to 2 cabs filled with 4 6 1/2 speakers each... I would like to be able to play my bass through my PA along with guitar a vocal, but it really sounds like poop right now... What can you suggest I do... and how would I make sure the bass only goes to BIG speakers while guitar and vocals are spread out... thanx
 
When you say "go to the big speakers" are you
referring to another set of speaker cabinets?
Or are you trying to achieve an even level and clear bass response thru the PA? Your problem could be that you are expecting a pure bass sound thru the Fender PA which is basically designed for vocals. Unless you hook up a DI, i don't think you will be satisfied with playing your bass thru the PA.
Perhaps a bass amp will help solve your problem.
 
sorry for not being clear... I have a bass amp and I was wanting to either mic it or plug it in through the PA (Bass - Bass Amp - PA - all connected with speaker and instrument cords) And I wouldn't mind getting new speaker cabs and power amps but I don't want to spend the money if there isn't a way to make the bass only come out the "new" cabs.... Thanx
 
I've a little experience with PA systems, but I don't know what kind of mix > out the Fender setup has. Normally, I'd say you need to set up a crossover that'll split your PA into say, highs, mids, lows, or subs - That way you'd be able to send lower frequencies like your bass, or a kick drum to the cabinets that can handle them better.
 
Thanks... do you know where I can get a cross over and/or suggest a good one? And Can I also put vocals on all of the speakers but only bass in some? Or maybe thats only a problem in my mind... Thanks a lot!
 
Well, as I understand it, you have two cabinets that have four 6.5" speakers. If that's the case, all the speakers are the same and I don't see how a crossover would help you. I have tried out the system that you have and was not overly impressed with the vocals I was getting. The salesman told me that I would need some outboard EQ to get good results since all the passport has is bass and treble controls. I think investing in a couple of graphic EQ's would probably help more than anything else.
 
It's a bit of the right town, wrong street problem.

What makes the P-250 attractive for its intended use is its price / performance utility and decent midrange / high sound. That also makes it work for acoustic instruments, particularly with a DI box, but even OK without one. A lot of that comes from the same thing that makes it tough to get solid bass even with outboard EQ - many small speakers.

One reason why standard guitar amps sound horrible with acoustic instruments is that they are bass-heavy; large speakers pushing a lot of air with large amounts of speaker travel. It pumps out lower frequencies that make your D-18 sound like a swamp. That's why the P-250 works well; it is the antithesis of the monster speaker syndrome.

But - everything is a compromise here, particularly in this price range. What makes it good for one thing tends to handicap it when you're looking at something else. The Kustom system might have given you better bass, but don't expect as much from it as a well-rounded PA. The Passport is a performer for the money, but it wasn't designed to be a bass heavy system.

How about kicking this idea around for a bit - anyone experimented with powered subwoofers? I haven't. Can you run a line level signal from the P-250 tape outputs into a powered subwoofer, without any specialized EQ? Then let the big cone do what it does best? If you're getting some very low frequencies, the Passport speakers might not sound so anemic.

[This message has been edited by Treeline (edited 05-02-2000).]
 
When I mentioned the crossover, I was assuming that you were going to buy new cabs and an amp - if you're going to do that, it may run into some $ - you'd in effect almost be building a new PA.
However, this is where I was coming from:
IF, IF, you can bypass the Passport poweramp and send the mix to a two-way crossover, you may then be able to use the Passport amp to power the speakers you have for highs and mid highs/mids, and send the low mids and lows to a new amp, and a new set of speakers that could handle those frequencies better. The Passport system as it is just doesn't have what it takes to get a good solid bass sound through it.
 
I understand what itis that you are trying to do, however don't do it thru the p-250.
The closet you can come to running sound to the PA is to mike your amp and run it thru
the PA but it still wont quite sound right. Last I checked, the P-250 goes for about
$630.00, has 250 watts at 4 ohms per channel.
for approx $500, you could have purchased the
Kustom PAII which is an 8-channel,400 watt @
8ohms pa system. With built in reverb and phantom power this would have neen a great budget buster. The 1 good thing about the P-250 is it's portability!
 
**THANK YOU ALL PEOPLE WHO HAVE SUBMITTED**

I don't know what to do... but I am willing to spend some money... but what is the most cost effective way to get bass frequencies too having nothing but a passport? Buy new power amp, cabs, and cross over... Buy new PA and daisy chain it some how? I got a budget of about 500 more bucks... any thoughts or suggestions would sure help me a lot... thanks
 
Yer mixing apples and oranges - might be nice, but try before you buy.
 
Well, the new MF catalog arrived today. I got two of them, so they must be serious this time.

There are some powered subwoofers in there that might work - IF you can get your hands on something like this and try it out first.

1. SWR WorkingMan's 10" combo (80w) $400. (bass amp)

2. Mackie SRS1500a 15" Active subwoofer (600w) $780.00

Don't forget places like Damark that have "caveat emptor" powered subwoofers. What you want is something that will accept a signal from the Passport without smoking, and turn it into a ground thumper. Y'aint talking audiophile here - you're looking at something to make the ashtrays bounce.

Just try the concept out first and see if it works. Then buy something.
 
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