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Post by matt on Aug 30, 2018 17:32:25 GMT -6
In the spirit of the House Drum thread, my bassist wants to add an amp to his DI signal and is looking to invest in a house amp/cabinet. We are pretty well-versed in all the theoretical options, but Arizona is a desert in more ways than one- there's no easy path to try before you buy out here in the wild wild west. I'm wondering what works for my RGO friends. We are seeking a clean DI/overdriven amp blend leaning toward the classic rock side of things. We have the DI covered- Zod ID or Slate Fox (it's really nice), but are open to change. For the amp, B15ish perhaps- but we are not necessarily interested in only old amps like this iconic beast. We're also not interested in paying inflated "collectible" prices either, unless it's a truly compelling option. Been there, done that.
We'd like to find an alternative to the UAD B15 and WT800 plugins, as nice as they are. Obviously, we could just buy the hardware equivalent. But what fun is that?
EDIT: forgot to mention, basses are G&L and Jazz, played with a very light touch.
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Post by matt@IAA on Aug 30, 2018 17:35:11 GMT -6
Can’t go wrong with an Ashdown.
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Post by notneeson on Aug 30, 2018 19:01:23 GMT -6
An Ampeg V4 can be be a cool head for that kind of thing. My long time bass player had one, and it suited him. The V4B is the bass version, but I'm told reverb is the only difference. Kind of a baby SVT.
Lately in my current situation, largely working on other people's music, I've found we often prefer what a Markbass head (III?) adds to the equation over my Bandmaster Reverb w/ massive Ampeg output transformer. House bass player is a control guy, doesn't use a pick. What I find is that the Radial DI>UA610 gives us a really round sound, and the markbass into the 15 gives us some mid pokiness that is useful. But I also often blend in a tad of plexi emulation ITB to help the bass occupy more upper mid space in the track without being loud enough that you can really hear that it's distorted.
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Post by mulmany on Aug 30, 2018 19:13:19 GMT -6
Agree with the V4B.
It can do a lot depending on what cab you use. If you get one, have a tech go over it. These are running at an inch of their parts rated voltages.
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Post by subspace on Aug 30, 2018 19:36:16 GMT -6
I keep this pile in the corner:  The Sound City runs six EL34s and has an active preamp, Sound Shitty on guitar, god's gift for EL34 bass. The Ampeg is a B-25B, runs two 7027As for 50 watts with an Ultra Lo/Ultra Hi SVT-style pre. The fuzzy 2x15 cab is loaded with Eminence Deltas wired at 16 ohms. The lead sled is an Ampeg B4r, graphic EQ, crossover, 160XT in the loop, 500w stereo power amps - a modern bass PA. The 4x10 is a SWR Goliath II sitting on top of Peavey QW118 sub. Have a SansAmp programmable Bass DI and a Muffuletta on the floor over there too. I am not a fan of DI bass monitored at a polite volume. |
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Post by matt on Aug 30, 2018 19:57:46 GMT -6
I am not a fan of DI bass monitored at a polite volume. Nice collection. Sound City 120! Haven't seen one of those since the '70s! It's interesting what you say about DI bass played back through studio monitors or headphones. My bassist and I had this exact discussion earlier today. He wants a "finished" tone going in- or as close to it as possible. DI alone works but it is only half (or less) of the sound, I think. DI + amp seems the only way to go. We also think his dynamics and control will improve if he can hear a loud amp at his back while tracking. He has an extremely light touch and ghost/soft notes can be an issue. We've discussed the Mesa Bass Prodigy Four:88 in the past. I'd love to hear him through one. Or through any of your amps, for that matter. |
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Post by nudwig on Aug 30, 2018 20:37:05 GMT -6
I run an SVT3Pro that works pretty well if you don't need a ton of power, solid and has flexible tones. Running it with the Ampeg SVT-212AV which I really like, good sound out of a small rig. I've also ran it into the 8 10" cab and whatever the 4 10" is with the port. Like someone else mentioned tho it's good to have a tech go thru it, mine was like a 40% wet bass fuzz pedal when I received it from a seller off Reverb. As far as DI you already have the best in the ZOD, I love that thing.
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Post by subspace on Aug 30, 2018 21:49:46 GMT -6
I am not a fan of DI bass monitored at a polite volume. Nice collection. Sound City 120! Haven't seen one of those since the '70s! It's interesting what you say about DI bass played back through studio monitors or headphones. My bassist and I had this exact discussion earlier today. He wants a "finished" tone going in- or as close to it as possible. DI alone works but it is only half (or less) of the sound, I think. DI + amp seems the only way to go. We also think his dynamics and control will improve if he can hear a loud amp at his back while tracking. He has an extremely light touch and ghost/soft notes can be an issue. We've discussed the Mesa Bass Prodigy Four:88 in the past. I'd love to hear him through one. Or through any of your amps, for that matter. Last full band tracking session I took the bass through the SansAmp but ran a line to the Sound City and laid the 2x15 down on it's side so the bassist could sit on it. I couldn't crank it up much because he was right in front of the drum gobo and I knew we'd be replacing, but he's gotta feel the bottom to get into the groove. When we overdubbed, he ran through the lead sled bass PA with the sub and I mic'd the 4x10 and took a raw DI. Listening to that DI where the entire bass is vibrating in sympathy to the stack, it's pretty obvious why the quiet live DI doesn't measure up. |
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Post by matt on Aug 30, 2018 22:00:05 GMT -6
We also think his dynamics and control will improve if he can hear a loud amp at his back while tracking. He has an extremely light touch and ghost/soft notes can be an issue. Listening to that DI where the entire bass is vibrating in sympathy to the stack, it's pretty obvious why the quiet live DI doesn't measure up. Exactly, there is no tactile or outright sonic feedback to the player and his instrument without an amp running. A loud amp- after all, it's only Rock 'n' Roll. The more I think on it, it's the way to go. We struggle to get good takes using just DI and the situation has to change. The beautiful thing is that this is all my bassist's idea. He is committed to delivering quality tone and performance. Gotta love that. |
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Post by jeremygillespie on Aug 30, 2018 23:11:44 GMT -6
The new Fender Super Bassman sounds great if you want drive. Much more modern sounding than any SVT.
B15 is cool but it’s a one sound sort of deal, and most of the time it’s not THE sound I want. The fender can go clean or nasty.
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Post by jcoutu1 on Aug 31, 2018 7:39:53 GMT -6
If I were you, I would 100% go for an Ampeg, either a V4 or an SVT with an 8x10. That's the sound of rock. The B15/B25 are cool, but don't quite get to that throaty rock sound. If you want to save some coin though, the B25 is a great value.
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Post by svart on Aug 31, 2018 7:46:25 GMT -6
I also suggest an Ampeg SVT and agree that it's *the sound* of rock and roll bass. I like the SVT 4x10 cab with the variable tweeter.
The SVT classic has a preamp output that's cool for a DI. Not sure if it's there on the original.
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Post by svart on Aug 31, 2018 9:05:07 GMT -6
I should add that while it's not likely that you'll have a breakdown or something, but using a relatively non-esoteric amp is a good thing. if it ever does get broken or stolen you can generally find the "usual suspect" amps at music stores so you can replace it easily.
Seems like places such as GC always have at least one SVT kicking around in addition to their usual Markbass type stuff.
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