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Cr*p bass amps in rehearsal rooms


stingrayfan
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Why is it bass amps in rehearsal rooms are always terrible? They're either farty and boomy or terrible combos that have no power. Guitarists always seem to do ok with what's available but I find it really makes for a cr*p rehearsal when you can't get a good sound. Quite often, I go to rehearsals straight from work and so can't take my own stuff but I wish I could.

Anyone else find this or is it just me?

Edited by stingrayfan
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i agree...where i go its always a behringer head, whenever i use it it has crap tone,is really boomy, everytime you turn the volume up enough to even hear it a light saying its too loud starts flashing, everytime i put effects through it is squeals!!!....But the guitarist gets a marshall head n cab!

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My studios have crappy behringer heads, and what I thought was trace cabs, but at closer inspection they're fake cabs. I lug my Mesa Boogie Walabout head with me to practice, but anything past 3 on the volume contol causes massive distortion/farting.

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we use a few studios depending on what day of the week it is and where we can get it.

One studio has one room available with a Trace SMX1215 or something (it's v loud and has a 10 band graphic EQ - you might be able to identify), another studio we use has ashdown and Ohm heads and Ashdown and Hartke cabs and and a trace combo and one studio we've been to once (or possibly twice) has Mark Bass, Ashdown, Ampeg (including a fridge), SWR and Hartke stuff - but it's not the cheapest place to rehearse.

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I'm moving to Leicester - sounds like it's the place for bass players to rehearse!

The places near me have either beaten up Peavey stuff from the middle ages or 100w combos that have been thrased to death by thrash bands who sing about death. The only decent place we go to is a portacabin but it does have an elderly Trace Elliot combo which despite it looking like it needs putting down, still sounds good. It's the only place where I feel like I've had a good rehearsal.

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[quote name='stingrayfan' post='79269' date='Oct 25 2007, 10:23 AM']I'm moving to Leicester - sounds like it's the place for bass players to rehearse!

The places near me have either beaten up Peavey stuff from the middle ages or 100w combos that have been thrased to death by thrash bands who sing about death. The only decent place we go to is a portacabin but it does have an elderly Trace Elliot combo which despite it looking like it needs putting down, still sounds good. It's the only place where I feel like I've had a good rehearsal.[/quote]


Thats quite funny, having just moved FROM Leicester!, when you get there tell em your the Gaf replacement visit the local music forum called pineapster, but watch out for the backstabbing, bitching, insular scenesters! There is some good bass amps in some rooms (Quad is good) but there is also some junk (stayfree and big wheel) where its the ususal blown drivers and 1920s horn cabs heh heh enjoy the city!

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The amps are rubbish because they are cheap, they are old and they are thrashed by players who don't care what they do to them! But, my view is that you're in a rehearsal room for the band to learn to play a number together so the sound doesn't matter. For most of my bands the numbers are distributed by CD or MP3 and learnt at home anyway.

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[quote name='chris_b' post='79308' date='Oct 25 2007, 11:48 AM']The amps are rubbish because they are cheap, they are old and they are thrashed by players who don't care what they do to them! But, my view is that you're in a rehearsal room for the band to learn to play a number together so the sound doesn't matter.[/quote]
Hmm... I'd agree if I wasn't paying 13 pounds an hour.

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[quote name='gafbass02' post='79289' date='Oct 25 2007, 11:09 AM']Thats quite funny, having just moved FROM Leicester!, when you get there tell em your the Gaf replacement visit the local music forum called pineapster, but watch out for the backstabbing, bitching, insular scenesters! There is some good bass amps in some rooms (Quad is good) but there is also some junk (stayfree and big wheel) where its the ususal blown drivers and 1920s horn cabs heh heh enjoy the city![/quote]

Hello gaf....

Yes Quad is the elite.....

I do remember seeing you at my (gaff) once or twice...

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i would assume it's partly because a lot of the people who use rehersal room equipment don't show a lot of respect for it. every time we go to reherse the amp there has everything turned up to 11, input volume all tone controls, graphic eq and master volume. the amp is more than loud enough at just over half volume. the sad truth is, if it's not theirs they don't care.

and most people who do care for equip bring their own.

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[quote name='wotnwhy' post='79337' date='Oct 25 2007, 12:40 PM']i would assume it's partly because a lot of the people who use rehersal room equipment don't show a lot of respect for it. every time we go to reherse the amp there has everything turned up to 11, input volume all tone controls, graphic eq and master volume. the amp is more than loud enough at just over half volume. the sad truth is, if it's not theirs they don't care.

and most people who do care for equip bring their own.[/quote]


Bang on there I think - and those that do care for gear and don't want to use their own and prepared to pay top whack for rooms with good kit.

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[quote name='wotnwhy' post='79337' date='Oct 25 2007, 12:40 PM']every time we go to reherse the amp there has everything turned up to 11, input volume all tone controls, graphic eq and master volume. the amp is more than loud enough at just over half volume. the sad truth is, if it's not theirs they don't care.[/quote]

I experience this problem too often.... What can you do though?

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It can help to take a bit of tone-shaping with you. When I last went through a phase of using rehearsal rooms, I was regularly using a Sans Amp Bass Driver DI which can help a lot (and now have a Bass Pod XT, which can help even more) given a fairly average starting point.

If the problem is that the amp and speakers have been abused, then it is probably down to the other people who have used it. I didn't have many occasions when I found unusable gear and, when I did, a quick word at the desk got it swapped out. If you regularly get bad gear and the management aren't responsive to polite requests then you have to decide if they are worth the money you are investing in them.

Wulf

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Would you pay for decent gear to have a load of clueless muppets use it unsupervised?

Didn't think so. That's why you get gear from peavey, laney, HH, and occasionally Trace - it's all fairly bullet proof, the local amp tech knows them back to front to repair and they're cheap. You'll notice that most marshall heads in rehearsal rooms are valvestates because you certainly can't trust valve heads to anyone.

Personally, I'd pay a little extra to go somewhere with halfway decent cabs and just take my head or a sansamp to go through.

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indeedy dude, rpm is a great, welcoming, well maintained and clean rehearsal environment, top stuff!!!!!!!!(and cheaper than quad!)

[quote name='Boy Thunder' post='79315' date='Oct 25 2007, 11:59 AM']Hello gaf....

Yes Quad is the elite.....

I do remember seeing you at my (gaff) once or twice...[/quote]

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yay lots and lots of blown peaveys which sounds farty and like a hammer hitting a tin can.
lots of the practice studios in ed seem to have closed recently. the one i use most frequently now has ampeg B1s and 4x10s which are alright. still got the soundcontrol prices on the back! Nice but put me off ever buying an ampeg.

another place we went gave us a massive room the size of a basket ball court and a (nice actually) MAG combo that hadnt been trashed.

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[quote name='chris_b' post='79308' date='Oct 25 2007, 11:48 AM']The amps are rubbish because they are cheap, they are old and they are thrashed by players who don't care what they do to them![/quote]

Yes.. cheap.. easy to replace after those who have no respect for other peoples equipment have trashed them... Then complain becasue the cost of room hire went up. Grrr!

[quote name='chris_b' post='79308' date='Oct 25 2007, 11:48 AM']But, my view is that you're in a rehearsal room for the band to learn to play a number together so the sound doesn't matter.[/quote]

A bad sound at band practice is not good.. for me, its annoying and doesnt do the band any favours. I believe a band should aim to get the very best sound in rehearsal.. and record it. Music is for listening to, so should it not be nice to listen to even when learning songs? Just my 2p. ;o)

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[quote name='Boy Thunder' post='79315' date='Oct 25 2007, 11:59 AM']Hello gaf....

Yes Quad is the elite.....

I do remember seeing you at my (gaff) once or twice...[/quote]

Yes Quad are good,spacey too...I had a few meet up rehearsals there last year..2 of us from Yorkshire,1 from Berks,the other from west Sussex...middle point being Leicester.

Buy a GOOD DI (Read SansAmp) it really helps with crappy Amp situs

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