the quest for tone goes on...

Help!I'maRock!

Help!I'maRock!

Mediocringly Derivative
as of last night, i am now the bassist in The Stand-Ins, a power pop cover band. one of the joys of playing in NYC is that you can audition for a band and only have half the requisite gear for the gig. i've got two basses, but no amp. the intent is to play out by Labor Day, so i've got some time to buy something and get comfortable with it.

as mentioned in my previous thread on the subject, i'm looking for a class D head and a lightweight cabinet. i don't want a combo because a lot of times a venue will provide cabs, but no head. so the two piece setup works best. my total budget is $1000, including speaker cable and any accessories i may need. i'll be partially funding it through the sale of my Danelectro short scale bass. it's a lot of fun but something has to go.

my main and only bass will again be a '98 MIM Precision with an SD pickup, Badass II bridge, and flatwound strings. i'm a "deep bass" kinda guy. i'm not playing jazz, don't slap, and (like in my guitar playing) don't really care about copping anyone else's tone. so the real trick here is getting that sound out of a small setup. not easy.

this thread will be added to as i go to area music stores and try out equipment. just my musings on what i tried. i'll be trying pretty much everything i can find, both head/cab setups and combos to figure out what i want. i can always get separates anyway.
 
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SVW has a head that's something ridiculous like 500 watts and is about the size and weight of a 5 subject notebook.

Sent from The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.
 
Guitar Center - Woodside

First stop, GC, on my way home from work.

This store doesn't have much of a selection. it's a mid-line store and they only have the very best sellers. i tried three amps here. and i did try some combos because i wanted a base idea of what those cabs might sound like. i played everything with a Fender Modern Player Jaguar.

First up was a GK MB210. i didn't like this at all. it was way too trebly even with the tweeter off. certainly loud enough but not my bag.

Next was the 115 version of the same amp. this was much better. but when i compared it to an MB200 into a Mark Bass 115 cab, it sounded thin. when you consider that the MB200 is basically the same amplifier as the 115 combo, it told me two things:

1. cabinet size matters. a bigger cab is going to have a bigger response. (duh)

2. cabinet material matters. the Mark Bass is heavy as shit. the GK, while light and portable, didn't have the depth.

so the trick is definitely going to be balancing these two factors.

the other thing i learned is that 200 watts is a lot of amp. a LOT of amp. i may still go with a 500 watt head because i know i'll be up against at least one if not two guitarists. but i'll probably be overpaying for watts i don't need. in this case, i'm ok with it. i'd rather have it and not use it than blow something up. this is a "buy once, buy right" kinda purchase.
 
I'm going to suggest going higher on the wattage. You won't need it all the time but pushing the shit out of a lower wattage bass amp to keep up on an outdoor gig, larger venue or even just with a loud band isn't the most pleasant sound.
 
Mark Wein said:
I'm going to suggest going higher on the wattage. You won't need it all the time but pushing the shit out of a lower wattage bass amp to keep up on an outdoor gig, larger venue or even just with a loud band isn't the most pleasant sound.
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that's my thinking too. 500 watts into 4ohms will do every gig i'll ever have.
 
I do have to say that pretty much every bass player I play with out here also owns one of these:

$T2eC16hHJFsFFSFDI,gYBRy1Mmvd2g~~60_12.JPG


Handy for small gigs and practicing. I wonder what they go for on CL these days.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
seems to be.

which means while it's portable, it's totally useless to me. people in the apartment under me would have a coronary.
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Well, at least there wouldn't be any complaints until new tenants move in.


Sent from my iPhone at a Tijuana donkey show.
 
Mark Wein said:
I do have to say that pretty much every bass player I play with out here also owns one of these:

$T2eC16hHJFsFFSFDI,gYBRy1Mmvd2g~~60_12.JPG


Handy for small gigs and practicing. I wonder what they go for on CL these days.
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i play at home through Garageband. IMO, there's really no reason to have a practice amp.
 
A thousand bucks will buy a whole lot of Trace Elliott on CL....

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
Trace is owned by Gibson. not gonna happen.
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Really???

WTF!

When did this happen?

I seriously did not know this. Is nothing fucking sacred anymore?! Those dirty sonsabitches.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
Do the venues in NYC have PAs that the run the instruments as well as the vocals? When I was gigging as a bass player for most of the 90s, we always had a full PA and every sound guy used a direct box for the bass. My amp was nothing more than a stage monitor, so I bought cheap Peavy and called it a day.
 
Chad said:
Do the venues in NYC have PAs that the run the instruments as well as the vocals? When I was gigging as a bass player for most of the 90s, we always had a full PA and every sound guy used a direct box for the bass. My amp was nothing more than a stage monitor, so I bought cheap Peavy and called it a day.
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some do. others take everything hot off the stage and only run vocals through the PA. some only let you use the house equipment.

so my intent here is to buy the rig that makes the most sense. IMO, that's a 350 to 500 watt head and a cab that's 50 pounds or less.
 
Help!I'maRock! said:
like 10 years ago.
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Fucking assholes.

There is a KILLER late 80s TE 500 with original 4x cab on my local CL right now for $700. It looks immaculate. Worth every penny.

I guess I missed a memo somewhere about Gibson buying them out, or the thought was so horrifying that I blocked the memory of it.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 4 Beta
 
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