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Setting Acoustics aside, I noticed Sunn was also mentioned. I never even realized the band Sunn O))) had literally copied their name from the logo of this company. That said, I was immediately enamored when I spotted a 200 watt Concert Bass head for under $150.   I don't even care that its covered in rust/sticker crap, I'll steam the stickers off and shine that poo poo up, as long as the insides work.It's not a for sure deal, but I think I may go with this one. Now, if I were to only buy one of the two cabinets I would hook up to this, so as to practice with the band, what would be best? The 1x15 has the better low-end, I assume, but would it have the same volume as a 2x10's mid-range, treble and gain coverage?
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Jan 10, 2013 21:56
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At $150 I'd recommend snapping that up right away. Sunn poo poo is getting hard to find for reasonable prices these days. I've seen people asking $400 for those Concert Bass amps which is just ridiculous. They're really cool amps, but there's no reason to spend a ton of money on one when old 400RBs are plentiful and cheap. I do really want one to match up with my Sunn 2x15 though. It being solid state to get the most power out of it you'll want a (probably) 4 ohm cab I think for that amp. 8 ohm would work, you'd just get less power out of it. It's not a terribly powerful amp so you'll want some effecient speakers. I don't personally like playing through anything smaller than a 4x10 or 2x15, but I will say the low end should still be good with a decent 2x10 compared to a 1x15. And I actually like the high end on my own 2x15 better than my 4x10.
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Jan 10, 2013 22:26
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holy gently caress! get that right now. for your purposes it will be loud enough even when paired with an 8 ohm cab, but above post is correct that they are optimal at 4.
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Jan 10, 2013 23:25
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Also if it works fine and you don't like it I'd pay $150 + shipping cost to take it off your hands.
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Jan 10, 2013 23:29
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Jeff Goldblum posted:The 1x15 has the better low-end, I assume, but would it have the same volume as a 2x10's mid-range, treble and gain coverage? It's a fairly common misconception that larger speakers have better low end than smaller ones. In reality it has little if anything to do with it. Some of the bassiest cabs on the market are 4x10s. Additionally, it is almost always a bad idea to mix different speaker cabinets and especially differently sized speakers (unless you are using a crossover and the speakers are designed for a particular frequency range). Different cabinets have different phase responses which will lead to your tone being wildly different in different parts of the room (amongst other things). There's a lot more to it but you're probably better off having a look through the FAQ here. I'll definitely second grabbing that amp right away though. Pair it up with a 4ohm 2x15 and you'll have a pretty classic olds-chool rig. Alternatively grab a couple of 8ohm 4x10s for some versatility when you don't need all that volume.
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Jan 11, 2013 00:43
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Bill Posters posted:Additionally, it is almost always a bad idea to mix different speaker cabinets and especially differently sized speakers (unless you are using a crossover and the speakers are designed for a particular frequency range). Different cabinets have different phase responses which will lead to your tone being wildly different in different parts of the room (amongst other things). There's a lot more to it but you're probably better off having a look through the FAQ here. I hear this a lot, and I understand the principles behind it... but I rock a 4x10 on top of a 1x15 and get amazing sound in every single venue I've used it in. Is it the BEST sound I could get? No, I'd need an amp that had a Bi-Amp feature to send highs/full-range to one cabinet, and lows to the other. But honestly, in any larger venue that it MIGHT cause "weird" issues with, you're going to be going through a PA, and your cabinets basically serve as your on-stage monitor. Even on the Talkbass thread where Bill Fitzmaurice posted, there was debate back and forth about the physics behind it vs. any actual issues anyone has ever encountered with it. But yeah, if you really want a true BENEFIT from using different sized drivers, you need a crossover or an amp that is Bi-Amp'able. All I'm saying is that having cabinets with different sized drivers doesn't mean it's automatically going to sound "weird." Scarf fucked around with this message at 15:55 on Jan 11, 2013 |
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Jan 11, 2013 15:53
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You're certainly right in saying that it won't automatically cause problems. I used to have a mismatched ghetto rig (1x15 & 1x18) and thought the sound was usually pretty good at most of the gigs I played with them. Probably because, as you say, it only had to sound good right where I was standing. I used to have no end of trouble with them in the various rehearsal spaces we used though and have been much happier using a single 4x10. It would probably be more correct to say that there is a lot more potential for problems when mixing and matching cabs. There is also the issue of mismatched impedances and one cabinet overpowering the other. I'm more concerned though with dispelling the notion that bigger speaker cones automatically means better bass.
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Jan 12, 2013 02:54
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Winter NAMM is next week. Lakland is debuting spalted versions of their 44-01 and 55-01 basses, as well as a 30" skyline hollowbody.
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Jan 14, 2013 19:52
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Really, if you're not having a speaker for each string you're fundamentally not doing it right. That's a Phil Lesh thing, right?
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Jan 14, 2013 22:59
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The hunt for economy rig is everlasting. The Sunn concert bass was a bust, as was an Acoustic 220 I found used with a Crate 2x15 for $375. Technically he wanted over 200 for the Acoustic in spite of all the tolex being gone, broken switch, pot crackle, and several frequency hums. I offered 50 but he declined. But I immediately snatched that crate 2x15 as it is the only one used in my area I could find for under $300 and I got it for dirt cheap so we are halfway there. Looking at ebay , I'm seeing two interesting heads at a low price, a Carvin b500 and a Yorkville 250b. Are either of these amps commendable? Is eBay even a good place to be looking?
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Jan 14, 2013 23:45
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Not sure what your budget is but this seems like a really good deal: http://www.guitarcenter.com/In-Store-Used-USED-GK-400RB-BASS-AMP-HEAD-400W-107874747-i2602252.gc (it's not 400W btw)
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Jan 15, 2013 00:03
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FancyMike posted:Not sure what your budget is but this seems like a really good deal: Well I'm going to fund this by selling my Blues Junior used, which apparently still commands a pretty penny. Anything additional comes out of my savings to replace my car stereo system, which isn't a terrible loss. But, with the cabinet in stow, I'm looking somewhere around the $150-200 region. Stingy, I know, but it seems possible. The GK isn't really nearby, but I have seen stuff like that online. I checked again with Guitar Center and found they have a sale on a Behringer ULTRABASS BX4500H, new, for ~$192. EDIT: duh, I did not know GC shipped used goods between stores. That's nice. Jeff Goldblum fucked around with this message at 01:04 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 00:34
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Jeff Goldblum posted:Well I'm going to fund this by selling my Blues Junior used, which apparently still commands a pretty penny. Anything additional comes out of my savings to replace my car stereo system, which isn't a terrible loss. But, with the cabinet in stow, I'm looking somewhere around the $150-200 region. Stingy, I know, but it seems possible. Guitar Center will ship anything you find on their used site. Looks like shipping for that GK is $12.50. Probably be best to have them ship anything to your local store and plug it in there before taking it home, but I haven't had any trouble before. The 2x15 I bought from them arrived well packed and safe. I've never played any Behringer stuff. I recommended the GK because those things are pretty much everywhere and people tend to really like them.
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Jan 15, 2013 00:41
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That GK head will sound loud for the 200W its rated at. If you play a four string it should go well with that 215, but if you play a 5 string its going to be a little weak on the lowest notes. It is a slightly lowered powered version of the 800RB, which has been a staple for the past 30 years. The Behringer looks like a knock-off of one of the cheaper Ashdown heads. You'll be able to sell the GK for at least what you pay for it, the Behringer not so much.
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Jan 15, 2013 01:53
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I recorded an old EP with that same GK through a 1x15 cabinet, it really isn't too bad for the price. Reliable, too. 200W SS through a good cabinet, like that 215, is gonna do you right for an intermediate bass rig. edit: I see the thread almost devolved into talkbass style driver-mixing discussion!
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Jan 15, 2013 02:44
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I have an acoustic fretless that came shipped with roundwounds. I switched in flatwounds, and goddamn, I love the sound and the playability, but I get crazy buzz anywhere below about the fifth thread. I'm thinking I need to tighten the truss rod? Is that right? Any advice would be appreciated.
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Jan 15, 2013 04:00
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LordPants posted:Really, if you're not having a speaker for each string you're fundamentally not doing it right. Lesh's thing was more like 10-15 speakers per string. And a buttload of controls:  EDIT: stuart scott irl posted:I have an acoustic fretless that came shipped with roundwounds. I switched in flatwounds, and goddamn, I love the sound and the playability, but I get crazy buzz anywhere below about the fifth thread. I'm thinking I need to tighten the truss rod? Is that right? Any advice would be appreciated. It sounds like you might need to loosen it, actually. Do the flats have more or less tension than the rounds? Juaguocio fucked around with this message at 07:26 on Jan 15, 2013 |
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Jan 15, 2013 07:22
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Yeah maybe my terminology is bad. It seems like too much of the string is touching the neck when I fret it below the 5th fret or so, hence the buzzing. I figured I need to make the action a little higher?
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Jan 15, 2013 15:28
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stuart scott irl posted:Yeah maybe my terminology is bad. It seems like too much of the string is touching the neck when I fret it below the 5th fret or so, hence the buzzing. I figured I need to make the action a little higher? Yeah that sounds like backbow - your neck is raised up slightly in the middle, so if you play at the 12th fret the string is starting at that high point, but as you move back to the lower frets you're moving down the hill, and as you get to the bottom the string can't clear the high point any more, so it starts to smack against it and buzz. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b72m2ZKBPA
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Jan 15, 2013 15:57
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looking at getting a Jack Casady epiphone bass possibly, as seen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=360t8y9P-QQ warning - heavy content a friend also offered me an Epi EB-0 for $200NZD (half price) and considering picking it up to modify, it's a good little player - need a backup. edit: pretty much locked in the purchase, sweet. gonna put an artec sidewinder in the neck and replace the pots - maybe even wire it directly to the output jack to take advantage of the hot 30k ohm mudbucker output running into a tube amp. edit2: wiring diagram for those considering the EB-0 mod niff fucked around with this message at 03:41 on Jan 17, 2013 |
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Jan 16, 2013 01:50
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I tried ordering that GK out of Guitar Center and, my God. I knew it was used, but I figured there would be standards for re-sale. It wouldn't even turn on. Needless to say, the game is afoot, yet again. And, I'm wondering: what's the word on Randall as bass amps go? They seem to be more directed toward the metal crowd but they have some well priced units, and the Valve Dynamic line looks pretty interesting. Also the power indicator graphic is neat.
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Jan 18, 2013 10:10
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Jeff Goldblum posted:I tried ordering that GK out of Guitar Center and, my God. I knew it was used, but I figured there would be standards for re-sale. It wouldn't even turn on. Honestly I didn't even know Randall made bass amps. 
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Jan 18, 2013 16:42
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So a few months ago I bought a used Peavey Cirrus 5 string. Walnut body, Pau Ferro fret board. It looks exactly like this.. I really need to sell it to help pay off some bills, problem is I have no idea what to ask for it. Can't really find one for sale online. The guy I bought it from didn't play bass and inherited it from a dead relative, and sold it to me for really cheap. He thought it was a Peavey Grind, I did too at first until I got it home. They look pretty similar, even if it were a Grind I would of got it for a good deal.. Totally a impulse buy, really glad I got it! Its a really awesome bass, I'd keep it but I'm just not really into 5's, and bills need to be payed. If anyone here is interested in it I'm sure we could work something out  Its got a few dings, comes with a Peavey hard shell case.
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Jan 19, 2013 02:55
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Constipated posted:So a few months ago I bought a used Peavey Cirrus 5 string. Walnut body, Pau Ferro fret board. It looks exactly like this.. Um yeah if you want to private message me, I'm currently on my phone so I can't. To be honest I'm not really sure how much it should be either so throw me a number and I will get back to you.
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Jan 20, 2013 02:29
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Picked up the Epi EB-0. Those things sure do need a setup when you first get them (this one has a ridiculous front bow), and luckily I have the experience under my belt to do it myself or I'd end up paying half what I paid for the bass just for my luthier to do it. so far: Pickup: definitely not the 1960s mudbucker sound, as it measures about a 1/30th of the output of the 60s version. Artec Sidewinder ordered for $20 to replace this. Jacks, pots, electronics: Soldered pretty sloppily, alpha 500k pots, ceramic resistors, not wired 1960s style - will be changing this to make the most of the 30k ohm output of the Artec with CTS pots and orange drop caps. Neck: truss rod adjusts nice and quickly, finish on the back is very smooth and easy to play. Neck not too wide or too baseball-bat-ish. Frets, fingerboard: super smooth, don't need to dress any of them, no sharp sides and no unnaturally high factory screw ups. Body: Plywood, unfortunately! the tone of the bass is barely affected by this to my ears, however. I am sure there would be an extremely minor tonal change if I bought a $400 mahogany body, but compared to the electronics changes I am making it would be a fairly terrible financial decision. Bridge: total piece of poo poo three-point Gibson style bridge. shreds up the silk ends of your strings, saddles fall out when restringing, near impossible to change string height or intonation when strung up, and to top it all off it's slowly working its way out of the body due to the design. Not ready to drop the $120 on a Hipshot three point replacement yet, but that will be the first thing to upgrade after the electronics. Tuners: not put through their paces yet. Holds tuning when in a stand perfectly fine, but slight bumps will put them out of tune quicker than my other basses. Will need to see what it does in a practice and gig environment. If you get the opportunity to pick one of these up, I'd recommend it. Despite some playability issues, for <$60 you can replace the electronics and make it sound almost exactly like a mudbucker'd 60s EB-0 that's 10x the price.
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Jan 21, 2013 00:36
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The EB-0 is probably the very worst bass I've ever played, honestly. Its sound wasn't what bothered me, its the play-ability. Or lack there of.
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Jan 21, 2013 00:45
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Constipated posted:The EB-0 is probably the very worst bass I've ever played, honestly. Its sound wasn't what bothered me, its the play-ability. Or lack there of. the bridge blows, and the factory setup is somehow worse - however with some flatwound strings on there, neck with only a slight amount of relief (nearly straight) and a low action, it is brilliantly playable. it's even got a comfy thumb rest on the pickup, which is definitely something I miss when playing my Ric. I reckon you may possibly change your tune if you got the hands on the one I just set up, ha. I am sure that there are some terrible duds, but when you can get them used for so cheap I think it's a great investment.
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Jan 21, 2013 00:55
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I've posted all my gripes about it before in this thread. The thing I hated most about it was how high the strings are above its pickup, and that the pickup is right at the end of the fretboard. It just doesn't fit my playing style at all.
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Jan 21, 2013 01:09
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Constipated posted:I've posted all my gripes about it before in this thread. The thing I hated most about it was how high the strings are above its pickup, and that the pickup is right at the end of the fretboard. It just doesn't fit my playing style at all. I was considering sticking a shim underneath the cavity to make the pickup higher (as I've already brought the string level down), but the extra height may not be a good idea as the new pickup is 30k ohm instead of 1k ohm. this is pretty much how I play bass, 90% of the time unless a treble bite is required:  so the position of the pickup is kind of perfect. I would hate this thing if I was anywhere near a traditional player.
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Jan 21, 2013 02:08
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I see, that makes alot of sense.
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Jan 21, 2013 02:50
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Hey bass thread, I've been looking at one of the Fender Aerodyne Jazz Basses lately after playing with another band whose bassist had one and it looked and sounded awesome. Anyone have any experience with it? How are the pickups? I like to restring four strings for BEAD tuning, how would this bass handle it?
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Jan 21, 2013 02:57
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ibntumart posted:My wife wants to try learning the bass, but she hates the fret size on mine (I have one of these). Is there a decent beginner's electric bass with smaller fret sizing? Would she have more luck looking at an acoustic? We're planning to poke around our local music store, but I figured better to do research first. There's a lot of cheap short-scale basses that should work. My friend just got his girlfriend a McCartney-style cello bass and that's the same scale as a guitar. Epiphone has some cheaper short-scale basses, too, but I'm not too crazy about the quality of those, but that's just me.
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Jan 22, 2013 00:20
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I have midget hands (see picture above with the Rickenbacker) and I am flying across the fretboard on my EB-0 once set up properly. For a beginner, light-gauge roundwound strings and next to no front bowing on the neck + low action is perfect. I hesitate to say it would be 'easier on a woman's hands' to set it up this way, but generally women do have less hand strength than men and would benefit from lighter gauges and lower actions. Before strenuous bass practice, anyway. edit: also other recommendation - I wouldn't try an acoustic bass for starters, their actions can be rough to tackle even at an intermediate level. niff fucked around with this message at 01:12 on Jan 22, 2013 |
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Jan 22, 2013 01:06
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Alright, I've decided that I can't deal with ALL THESE CHOICES OH GOD Please someone tell me what A/B/Y pedal to buy, for under $90 new please please. Our guitarist is out of town for quite a while, and the drummer and I need more ROCK code:a_pineapple fucked around with this message at 01:57 on Jan 22, 2013 |
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Jan 22, 2013 01:50
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^This is a pretty easy choice for a cheap one. You lose a bit from your signal, but I don't think you'll notice if you're running an unknown Fender combo into a muff for the dirt channel.
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Jan 22, 2013 02:01
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That short scale question is from like over a year ago guys. I sure hope she has a bass by now!
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Jan 22, 2013 02:43
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Bruce Boxliker posted:Hey bass thread, I've been looking at one of the Fender Aerodyne Jazz Basses lately after playing with another band whose bassist had one and it looked and sounded awesome. Anyone have any experience with it? How are the pickups? I like to restring four strings for BEAD tuning, how would this bass handle it? I have the Aerodyne Precision from a few years back with the lower four strings of a five string set, it handles it extremely well.
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Jan 22, 2013 22:17
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Does anyone have any experience with Ashdown Engineering? Namely the MAG line? Seems like that's their most consumer-friendly (read:cheapest) line, and I just won a hotheaded bid for a MAG 600 on eBay for under $300. Did I overpay? Who knows, I was done waiting for an amp so I took a dive. Definitely paid more than I was hoping, but to Hell with being conservative already. I'm going to be setting this monster on a Carvin 2x15" from 1988/9 rated at 400watts/4ohm. Seeing as the amp puts out about 575RMS, I'll have plenty of headroom, I guess, just gotta learn to compensate levels without killing those speakers. What I'm really interested is the subharmonic circuit. A built in suboctaver really appeals to me as I've been focusing on making really clean lines for my songs, and I'd like a really deep tone like a double bass. A lot of people complain that the circuit does nothing, but I wonder if this has something to do with the configuration of their rig, or their technique. Anyone gotten any good subharmonics?
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Jan 23, 2013 04:22
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Jeff Goldblum posted:Does anyone have any experience with Ashdown Engineering? Namely the MAG line? Seems like that's their most consumer-friendly (read:cheapest) line, and I just won a hotheaded bid for a MAG 600 on eBay for under $300. Did I overpay? Who knows, I was done waiting for an amp so I took a dive. Definitely paid more than I was hoping, but to Hell with being conservative already. Heads sound pretty good - witnessed, but not played one before. I hear the first thing you should do is open the sucker up and replace the fuses - they use substandard, lovely fuses and at some point it will blow. I can't see the subharmonic thing being super useful, but hey, give it an experiment. It might give your A and D strings more balls.
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Jan 23, 2013 04:27
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Jeff Goldblum posted:Does anyone have any experience with Ashdown Engineering? Namely the MAG line? Seems like that's their most consumer-friendly (read:cheapest) line, and I just won a hotheaded bid for a MAG 600 on eBay for under $300. Did I overpay? Who knows, I was done waiting for an amp so I took a dive. Definitely paid more than I was hoping, but to Hell with being conservative already. I've got a Mag 300 as my former primary/now backup head, and it's a decent but not spectacular amp. I usually ran a SansAmp in front of it to give some grit, but no major complaints. It's definitely reliable, and the 600 especially should get as loud as you need it to. I would recommend a compressor if you're really going to be pushing the volume as it definitely breaks up unpleasantly if go all out. The suboctave feature is pretty interesting, but doesn't track that well below the open A. You can crank it up and get a really thick synthbass sort of sound, but if I was using it I would typically only nudge it up to 9 o'clock or so. That's enough so that it makes the sound thicker, but you don't really notice it's there unless you're listening for it, and it rolls off well enough that when you go below the open A you don't notice a sudden drop out of the lower tone. It also doesn't track double-stops or power chords. I never had a problem with it tracking above the A, even with some fuzz and tremolo, and it tracks just as well on my (bright, very modern sounding) MTD five as it does on my (mud-thick extremely vintage) Peavey T40. It did get me hooked on messing with octave effects and has made me really want a POG after trying a fretless through it.
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Jan 23, 2013 04:37
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