dan670844

[quote name='sykilz' post='1178228' date='Mar 27 2011, 01:15 PM']So, really like my Precision for comfort,playability,low action,looks good on a bloke in his ( early ) 40`s, BUT , played alongside my old Washburn active bass it seems to lack punch and snappiness. I know P`s aren`t famous for these qualities, but was wondering if a pick up change would make a big difference or not ( currently stock Mex ones ), or maybe an off board pre amp? I was specifically looking at S.D quarter pounders `cos of the Steve Harris factor. I`m only a weekend kind of player so cost is a factor too, but the s.d`s look good value at £54. Does anyone have first hand experience or would I be chucking money away? As you can tell I`d like to keep the bass if at all possible. Thanks for looking. [attachment=75871:black_p_bass.jpg][/quote] You could also try some wizards I have them in all my workaday basses now, don't know about the P bass range but the wizard 74's and the 84's (74s are a cross between 84's and 64's) they defo have a great amount of punch, but you don't seem to loose any definition of clarity, i agree with others if they are the early mexi ones they are pretty much not very good ha ha they so anything will be an improvement wizard are only £70 a set.

[quote name='ThomBassmonkey' post='1176794' date='Mar 26 2011, 01:12 AM']There's another thread on the BGM top 65 basses to try article, but I figured that 65 is a pretty long list so we should go for top 5. I did try doing a search on this as it strikes me as the kind of thing that would pop up from time to time, but there's so many ways of wording it, I couldn't find anything. So, I haven't read the BGM so don't know what they've based it on, whether it's the best 65, or a kind of "basses that could change the way you look at the instrument" type of thing, so just list any that you feel people would benefit from playing for whatever reason. Feel free to put anything that's a bass instrument in. Try and put up your reasoning too instead of just 5 basses in a list. My list: #1 Any Dingwall. The fanned fret thing is amazing, I've only played combustions, but the feel of them is brilliant, the fanned-ness is barely noticable and the string tension is the most even on any bass I've ever played. It's number one because personally I think it's something everyone should try. It's a fairly unique concept (at least basing a whole brand on it) and one that has the potential to make a lot of people question whether or not it is actually a better idea and why more people aren't making fanned fret basses. #2 Sandberg JJ (or I assume a P, never played one personally). I love mine, they're a great example of what you can do if you take a classic bass and upgrade it. Small touches like the 0 fret aren't often used but are really nice additions to an already brilliant bass. I'm a massive fan of delanos based on mine too. The pre-amp's versatile and with the active/passive switch has a massive array of tones available, without losing that core jazz sound. #3 Warwick Thumb. Warwicks are a massive brand that have managed to carve their way through a market that's led by only one or two brands. The Thumb is the bass that (for me at least) really sums up the Warwick sound and feel. Playing this one bass should give anyone that's not played a Warwick before a good idea of what they're about. #4 ACG Recurve. I played one of these a while ago and, if I'm honest, I didn't get on with the asymetrical neck, but it was definitely something that I've not seen or tried before. Brilliantly made bass too, it felt and sounded great. #5 (a good example of a) Westfield P copy. I've not personally played one of these, but knowing my experience with the guitars and from hearing about the basses, if you get a good one, they're brilliant examples of what a cheap bass guitar is capable of. They can punch well above their weight and with some upgrades can be very capable basses. A friend of mine had a Westfield strat a few years ago that was a complete dog, I did a setup on it and was actually shocked at how well it played afterwards. He ended up buying some new pickups for it and gigging it regularly. I've heard similar tales of the basses. I'd like to have put an EUB in my list, but I really don't have any real experience of them to pick one. Stingrays, Jazzes or Ps could've easily gone up too, but they're fairly predictable and though they're classics, when so many basses take the concepts that they introduced and ran with, I don't think they'd ever make anyone think twice about what's out there (at least that's what I based my list on, not that anyone else has to do the same).[/quote] 1. Torzal twist bass very cool 2. Gibson EB just cos i have never tried one 3.German Warwick streamer stage 11 when I get round to finding a good one 4. Fender Bass V ok is not really a bass but would like to find a decent one 5. Yamaha BB2004 a yamaha with mojo Bass I have tried that I loved but never got round to buying 1. Mark 1 Wal amazing Thanks Colin! 2. 60 Precision growly monster at manny's guitar 3 Early Warwick Thumb 4. Mark 3 Wal again very nice 5. Guild starfire mmm!!

[quote name='dan670844' post='1176978' date='Mar 26 2011, 10:11 AM']A lot of high end hifi is valve ha ha ha I have a 300B stereo amp in my hifi now (its the fashion)[/quote] But to answer your question both, ideally the sound man would like a dry DI from you and if you want colour then a micced cab would be best, then out front the sound man can have you micced coloured sound then use the dry di to bring up any deficiences in the sound out front, due to the effect of the room and wonky eq etc

[quote name='Bloc Riff Nut' post='1176848' date='Mar 26 2011, 07:21 AM']Hi lads, I read this in the pinned 'Solid state versus Valve' thread, 'Spend as much as you can, then a bit more. High end bass gear seems to be mosfet these days, Epifani, Markbass, EA, Eden etc. High end hi-fi got rid of valves years ago, until you get to the stupidly expensive stuff. Even if you get a wonderful valve amp [u]you will always Di through a valveless PA system[/u]. No one expects to use valves in a PA system do they? ' Does this mean that by Di'ing a valve amp your bass signal gets sent to mixing before the tubes can fully colour the sound? Making mic'ing your valve amp more or less essential if you want t o retain its character. I'll be changing from my Markbass to Trace valve jobbie shortly and was just wondering. Phil.[/quote] A lot of high end hifi is valve ha ha ha I have a 300B stereo amp in my hifi now (its the fashion)

[quote name='nash' post='1176630' date='Mar 25 2011, 10:09 PM']i see some of your points but still no one has explained why you would bother having 100 watt splits. i've seen a 200 watt BTA on a site. so 200, 300, 400. also as far a pro gear and having a massive stage rig, no one uses one amp for 2 8x10's. everyone has two. Nate from Foo Fighters has 2 BTA's and 2 8x10's that way you get a more reliable and cleaner sounding rig. i bet anyone with a 400 watt valve amp has never pushed it past 200watts. i think in this economic climate a company would be more concise with it's range.[/quote] Ha ha ha its just for show , Its just marketing, Its only for stage monitoring, if even they use it for that purpose. A bit of spare is always good. But I take your point, I guess they designed this stuff when the economic climate was a little different, as I guess it takes a while to get the product to market. In many ways amp makers are very conservative, most designs are very much just updates of previous designs (if that). They don't like to break the mould, I agree no one needs this kind of power, same is true for transistor amps, but they all follow each other, because if you don't people wont buy it. I like the idea of a valve output stage, but the design really doesnt need to be so retro, i.e old school massive transformers etc, not self biasing. I am old enough to remember when Trace Elliot were on full bore, it got silly just because they where on top and wanted to otffer something different each year, they got up to stupid levels of power and the stuff was just about imobile due to the weight But to contradict myself I do now have a valve head (an audio kitchen) its 120watts....... basically a bassman 5F reissue, No PCB's, two 4x10's very nice it is too.... but then i dont have to carry it!!!

[quote name='nash' post='1171455' date='Mar 21 2011, 10:33 PM']Can anyone tell me why there is a 400 and 300 watt version of BTA amp and a 427 Small Block (ironic name)? since when will you use 300 watts? let alone 400+. The small block should be 200 watt in my opinion and the BTA 300 watt. too much power! also what's this drophead stuff Ashdown have stolen from Ampeg? is it so the don't have to make shells for the heads? cost cutting? i've never understood Ashdown.[/quote] BTA has a Solid state preamp ABM one in fact very nice. Building a few spare watts into the amps not a bad idea as it increases relibility as you arent pushing those tubes. Modern tubes are getting pretty close to the older stuff in terms of sound, but no where near in terms of reliability. 427 has a tube preamp same as LB30 for people who like that sort of thing ha ha ha I agree this is a bit of a beast, but for purposes intended i.e. a massive 4x4x10 or 2x 8x10 stage rig its about right for a valve amp. No its not for the Rose and crown although you could use the volume control. Above amps are aimed at the pro user (hence the price) for playing larger venues hell even madison sq gardens !! 427 is a reference to a small block ford v8 racing engine from the 60's. Ashdown valve stuff has a car related theme, as they like their motors a little bastard is also a car related ref. I agree 200 watts is plenty for a valve unit for most applications again prob overkill, with trad cab arrangment. But a lot of people want to use lightweight speakers which you need to push a few watts in to get a good low end response. Hence the wattage rating. A lot of people knock Ashdown gear, it may not be a sound for everyone, but thats why there are so many amp makers! they had some reliability issues with some of the chinese made gear, but they have that sorted now. Their customer service is great and a most of the new stuff is now being made in England. Above all they are a very reactive little company who listens to all the grips and try to change it for the better. I am not defending them, I am a ABM user, but I use other brands Ampeg, Trace Elliot, Fender, but I think a lot of the criticism even from me in the past ......ha ha is now unfounded! The drophead is a fair and sq knock off of a B15 type valve head. But Ampeg only make them periodically and they are double the price of the drophead stuff..... so why not!!

[quote name='phatbass787' post='1174995' date='Mar 24 2011, 05:55 PM']I popped into a large music superstore today to have a look for a new 5 string but as i always do i had a good look around the rest of the shop too and although I stopped using Ampeg years ago found myself looking at the Ampeg display as they had a couple of the American Heritage things and some new combos. I was very shocked however when i started to look at these amps closely. On more than one of the combos the vinyl was coming away at the joints quite badly and others just had huge ripples in the vinyl, some even had both! and we're not talking budget stuff, the worst 2 combos were both £1000+ ! then when i looked at the back of the heritage 810 the backplate was being held on by the speaker cable. I'd heard the rumours that Ampeg isnt what it used to be but really couldnt believe this. Made me think aswell why is the shop displaying these products as it is not only embarrasing for Ampeg but also the shop trying to sell them, if it was my shop i think i wouldve sent them straight back to whence they came... I took a couple of sly pics anyway as proof but am still in shock really - A) for Ampeg producing such crappy stuff and the shop trying to sell them to us! There have been many discussions on here about Ampeg stuff, I am a former user I love the tone its near nirvana to me with the right setup. But what they are selling now is frankly crap, but still very expensive. Good design, but let down, by shoddy assembly, in the outer rim ha ha or wherever they are made these days.I think the problem is they are just a marketing outfit , the company has no real substance, they pay some designer to design something, then some other outfit to make it, the have no factory to speak of apart from a small run unit. This is what happens when you get bean counter to take over a music making equipment manufacturer, its really a low profit, do it for love type of game, that an accountant will never understand. They will decend into the depths I guess and then someone will buy them at some point, and put them back on track,a great shame.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1110053' date='Jan 31 2011, 08:33 PM']I remember reading an interview with Paul Weller where he said he had gear literally thrown at him by companies desperate for him to use it, and he ended up selling most of it. The irony is that when you can afford to buy anything, the companies give it to you free. If you were offered an endorsement and could get the bass or amp for free, would you use it because it cost you nothing, despite the fact that you didn't really like it? Personally, I wouldn't.[/quote] I agree it's all about your sound, I can't imagine any serious player using gear they couldn't get one with tonally............... no I don't like the sound of warwick amps thankyou....... so i won't use them ha ha ha!

[quote name='Dubs' post='1172144' date='Mar 22 2011, 02:34 PM']This is OT, but I think there are 3 reasons why people pay the money for a vintage Fender: For a lot of people it's about buying a piece of history. For others it's about image and the peer approval that comes with owning a vintage Fender. Others, rightly or wrongly, believe they're the holy grail of electric bass and anything else is a compromise. A lot of people buy them for a combination of the above, but essentially they are the reasons.[/quote] True I agree, but its total irrational!! but thats human behaviour!

[quote name='RhysP' post='1172189' date='Mar 22 2011, 03:19 PM']You didn't mention what I think is one of THE main reasons - the fact that people see vintage Fenders as a risk free investment that will reap them serious dividends if they hang onto it for 10 years or so.[/quote] Ha Ha just like any other investment, I bought mine in the 80's when no one wanted them, everyone wanted an Aria!! / Active bass for that stroking 80's sound haha me included. All I am saying they are not greater than the sum of their parts like a uber handcrafted machine, like a German warwick for example or a wal, these are quite different, they really are alive! as they have a lot of the maker's mark in them. Even if you don't like them you must appreciate that. Fender's are a mass produced item abeit a good one. For a working bass player there are many opportunites to acquire a fender type model for a lot less money, that sounds just as good as a 'original' like a custom shop, luthier, hell even build one yourself. The old ones are good, because of the quality of the materials and components. Values of the early jazzes are approaching £8000-20K that is laughable. When you can buy superior / comparable crafted stuff even by Fender for less money. But its all part of the game, Its what makes a brand desirable.

A long shot but does anyone know where a can get a replacement external bridge ground for an early jazz bass, mines just disintigrated, what a pain the the ass, shes a buzzing like mad!!!!

[quote name='iconic' post='1171702' date='Mar 22 2011, 07:47 AM']...I mean, with so many seemingly kicking around, surely someone here must have unknowingly bought one or know someone who has.....got to be a few stories. Being car dealer, all this reminds me of the Lotus Cortina's and Mini Cooper's, Ford GT-40's etc..at one point there were more GT-40's registered than were originally built...strange but true[/quote] And you have to ask yourself..... why you want a vintage fender? Yes they are pretty well made, no suprise there as they where expensive at the time about £140-180 quid back in the early sixties, which put them up there in custom shop pricing region, not american std area. So thats where you should make your comparisions. The survivors have usually been played by career muso 's so they have been fettled to be great over the years. Pickups are scatterwound, by hand, no machine, can replicate the tonal qualities that produces, try some wizards! Downsides they can suffer from neck curl. Everyone wants to steal it, so playing bars small clubs, where people can walk on the stage is impractical! They where fettled together as there where no cnc machines, so getting replacement parts to fit is a nightmare, yes i used to own an MGC!! ha hah the comparsion fairs well. There are a lot of fakes. They didn't sell as many people think in the golden era i.e pre CBS I have some fullerton jazzers some fuji jap ones and some american std ones and have tried some custom shop repro's. I think the custom shop stuff is pretty amazing, like the originals but better as they have solved all the curly neck problems, with decent truss rod etc, wonky bridges, pickup drop . I don't think the old ones are worth what they go for, the values are getting silly, it is a mass produced product after all, not made in the same way a somthing from kalamazoo (gibson 50-60's)

[quote name='fragility' post='1167017' date='Mar 18 2011, 01:05 PM']So my current PC is really getting to that stage of slowing down considerably, and given that - since the day I bought it with Vista, it's obviously been a pain - I think it's got enough life left in it to keep it as our internet machine - got a little bit of unexpected income I'm thinking of getting a new computer purely for musical purposes. So the plan is to go with a laptop, as it means that me and my other half have the option to sit and work on really dull copying of programmed drums/laying out time sigs etc. and can make progress on all that boring stuff while we sit and chat in front of the tv So at the moment, we're toying with the new Macbook Pro, or a PC (a whole separate debate as to whether we can really justify such a huge additional cost for the Mac), and I was hoping you good folks could give me some feedback on the spec we're looking at for ideas as to whether this is a good option. So main uses: - we've got a line 6 toneport ux-2 which is used for daily just playing/jamming etc - composing stuff in GuitarPro (so essentially, we lay out all of our songs here first) - with the view to making some decent recordings of the several years worth of compositions we've got. This will include a fair few virtual instruments etc (I've yet to find a reliable drummer who can cope with loads of time sigs and I like adding in synth stuff etc) We're currently using Cubase Essential 5, with the view to changing when budget allows Proposed spec: Processor (CPU) Intel Core i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-740QM (1.73GHz) 6MB Cache Memory (RAM) 8GB SAMSUNG 1333MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (2 x 4GB) Graphics Card ATI Mobility Radeon HD 5650 - 1GB GDDR3 Video RAM - DirectX® 11 Hard Disk 500GB WD SCORPIO BLACK WD5000BEKT, SATA 3 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm) Thanks![/quote] Mac book pro you won't regret

[quote name='challxyz' post='1151100' date='Mar 6 2011, 02:16 AM']much food for thought mr Hamster sir :-) I must admit I've never heard of the Demeter Compulator, looks to be very interesting being an optical comp, good reviews too. I've used the Trace comp on a combo amp a few years ago and it was good, but as you say hard to come by. My style of music is rock, indie guitar stuff and blues, budget is probably £150- 200 Problem is I don't have any hobnobs.....just yet [/quote] If you guys like the Trace Compressor (SMX) and how it works on your signal, try the FEA labs Dual SMX www.fealabs.com Kind of a modern version of the SMX

[quote name='dan670844' post='1155099' date='Mar 9 2011, 11:37 AM']1. Check all the valves are ok i.e preamp and power 2. As others have said check the bias current / balance check if you are checking enough current to those 6l6's so they are putting enough juice out 3. Check that pots and the input jack plug are ok 4. Check the Output transformer (dont touch the HT wires Hahaha) what are the taps off of it? is it wired correctly i.e and output to 4 or 8ohm, does it have a selector switch to switch impedance. If it only has one tap (i.e only two wires coming off) off the transformer to one jack plug and no selector then it is set to only one impedence, which will be only 4 or 8 or 16ohm, so you cannot run any other cab that what it is tapped to i.e 8ohm = 80hm cab or two 16ohm (haha if you can find them). A lot of the old bassmans only had 4 0hm taps to run 2x 8ohm cabs. check that output transformer is also up to the job, most ot for bass are over rated so for a 100watt amp they are usually 150-200watt output 5. Check the mains transformer, can it supply enough current for the job? That is really it if it sounds ok and it was built from a kit, like torres, TAD etc then the parts will be up to the job, so its more likely that the bias current is not high enough so the valves are not putting out enough current into the output transformer. Good luck D[/quote] Also check the preamp valve, if it is a total clone V1 and V2 sound be 7025 and V3 should be a 12AT7, sometimes guitarists get hold of these and use them a guitar amps, they might have messed with the preamp and driver valves

[quote name='razze06' post='1148112' date='Mar 3 2011, 10:28 AM']Thanks for the replies. - I have another couple of amps and cabs that I regularly use for gigs and practice, so I don't really need another amp. I like the tone to bits though, and I'd love to use it more. - According the notes scribbled on the backplate, the amp is designed to take 4 or 8 ohm loads. I never put more or less, or even in between (mixing 4 and 8 ohms) - I would have thought that 100W would be plenty loud. For a couple of years I gigged and practiced with a 120W hartke kickback combo, so I think i'm entitled to expecting more sound out of this setup. We're not THAT loud... - It does have a preamp section, and if I crank both pre and power section to full I get overdrive from hell. Actually, you get Motorhead Lemmy's tone by cranking the power section to full whack and about 1/3 of the way up on the preamp gain. Don't know it the pots are linear, i suspect not... - Maybe i'll phone up Dennis Marshall, or some other tech. Big_stu, what's you real name, so that I can say hi on your behalf? Keep them coming, I'd love to get this monster to its full potential![/quote] 1. Check all the valves are ok i.e preamp and power 2. As others have said check the bias current / balance check if you are checking enough current to those 6l6's so they are putting enough juice out 3. Check that pots and the input jack plug are ok 4. Check the Output transformer (dont touch the HT wires Hahaha) what are the taps off of it? is it wired correctly i.e and output to 4 or 8ohm, does it have a selector switch to switch impedance. If it only has one tap (i.e only two wires coming off) off the transformer to one jack plug and no selector then it is set to only one impedence, which will be only 4 or 8 or 16ohm, so you cannot run any other cab that what it is tapped to i.e 8ohm = 80hm cab or two 16ohm (haha if you can find them). A lot of the old bassmans only had 4 0hm taps to run 2x 8ohm cabs. check that output transformer is also up to the job, most ot for bass are over rated so for a 100watt amp they are usually 150-200watt output 5. Check the mains transformer, can it supply enough current for the job? That is really it if it sounds ok and it was built from a kit, like torres, TAD etc then the parts will be up to the job, so its more likely that the bias current is not high enough so the valves are not putting out enough current into the output transformer. Good luck D

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1146379' date='Mar 1 2011, 08:36 PM']I'm trying to work out if they're taking the mick or if they should have their vids submitted to FailBlog. The Mrs was saying that their cooking & baking videos are equally as laughable, with folk who clearly don't know what a kitchen actually is. [/quote] I agree it must be a spoof very subtle humour!!

[quote name='Martin E' post='1137000' date='Feb 22 2011, 12:49 PM']I've always played roundwounds in a light gauge - 35 to 95. I struggle with anything heavier. I latched on to Stadium Elites many years ago and have never changed – their light gauge set runs 35,55,75,95 and I use them on both my fretless and fretted basses. I would really like to try some flats but am struggling to find anything in the same gauge. The nearest I can see is D'Addario XL's which can be bought as single strings in some slightly odd gauges. I really dont want anything heavier. I've tried many times to use thicker strings but I can't get on with them and I really don't want to start re cutting nut slots either. Anyone got any recommendations please?[/quote] If you find any let me know!! Maybe an alternive for you is tapewounds? you can get them light Elite do them in that gauge, What I have noticed recently is that the vast majority of the off the wall strings I used to use have gone. If you don't like nickel or stainless round wounds, you are pretty much fooked these days

[quote name='chrismuzz' post='1136441' date='Feb 21 2011, 10:36 PM']I've not heard any good reviews of the Ashdown Dual Band, and there are some nasty noise issues. A similar compressor that seems to get raved about is the Trace Elliot SMX, but there are loads more out there. I would point you towards the cheap Behringer I've got for sale as it's fantastic for the price, but I figured the slight loss of low end would be counter productive if you want a deep sound I'd visit this website [url="http://www.ovnilab.com/"]http://www.ovnilab.com/[/url] as there are in depth reviews of pretty much every compressor out there. It's what pointed me towards my Aguilar TLC which I swear by! You might also want to try an octave pedal if you want REALLY deep [/quote] + 1 Trace dual band is your fella for dub low sounds, and most other sounds! easy to get that sound with it as it has a eq sweep as well suggested settings no high band compress turn the eq quarter turn to the left and the low band on 3/4 to full very solid low sounds modern equiv is the fea labs dual smx, Getting a low solid sound is also about horsepower and not quoted actual!! to push the lowend out, and by low end i mean 60-100hz this sound comes from there not any lower. Maybe you should also be looking at a newer head, something like and Ashdown ABM or an old Trace elliot both have great low end extension as they have the power to do it. If you like high maintence amp!! go for a valve amp like an svt they are also on the money. Try cutting the top end of your eq a little and boosting the lows 100hz a little that should do it!

[quote name='hhoward' post='1129569' date='Feb 16 2011, 01:11 PM']interesting Dan, what is the difference between them i wonder?[/quote] Just the headroom essentially the same circuit i guess shame as most of their other 'reissue' stuff is in many ways better than the original stuff!!! think 427, 4x8 MKhead etc (series 6 gp12 !!). Why change perfection! better just to make it with more modern components. If you really must have a stomp box unit check out a Fea unit if thats too pricely go for a Markbass then after that an ebs but with the ebs be prepared to tweak the trim pots inside as they drift for some reason. Or alternatively go onto ebay and see if there are any smx pedals around they are still hard to beat for live work as they are so easy to set and get a good sound (£30 will secure a good one). Just make sure you feed enough signal into them i.e. so the light is green (it can take a lot of signal !!) it doesnt work if there isnt enough signal going in ie a red light turn the low compressor up halfway eq job done solid tight low end, turn the low compressor up further to like 3/4 turn the the eq balance 1/4 turn to the left reggae dub heaven very thick heavy warm thump with attenuated attack sweet.

[quote name='hhoward' post='1129369' date='Feb 16 2011, 11:04 AM']i have fiddled in the past with compressors though always with the same setup and i decided at the time not to buy one, and all this time i have run clean except for the obvious sound effects but i have the opportunity to obtain an Ashdown Engineering Dual Band Bass Guitar Compressor now and i do a lot of slap and i do not understand the need of one because the adverts just say affect highs and lows and go into technical detail and i have a habit of going to sleep within 5 seconds of someone saying listen to this. so i was wondering if someone can explain to me how this could enhance my rig, or recording in a way that and idiot can understand i am running actives with pre-amps in my bass if this info helps Thanks HowardH[/quote] Trace Elliot Smx dual band stomp box= the muts nuts Ashdown Dual Band = not so good Why? Headroom the SMX was an 18 volt high headroom monster the ash is only 9 volt and the headroom is a little biff The ultimate modern dual band pedal is a FEA labs SMX , different circuit to the trace more clean and hifi i.e up to modern standards but uses the same presets and even bigger headroom as the trace smx its prefecto why change it!

[quote name='holio.cornolio' post='1128326' date='Feb 15 2011, 01:39 PM']I'm a complete know nothing when it comes to EQ, but I've always been pretty happy with the Trace preset EQ curve so I haven't felt the need to tweak until recently. I have a GP12 SMX 1X15 combo, and at the moment, I run 95% of the time happily enough, just using the preshape without ever touching the EQ, and to be honest I find it a bit intimidating - all those sliders, what are they all for??. It seems like it should be pretty versatile, but for a couple of numbers I could do with a sound that has a bit more motown to it. I don't expect to be able to transform the Trace into a B15, but how can I use all those sliders to approximate an Ampeggy kind of sound? So far, all I've managed to achieve is a nasty, twangy version of the trace sound. I'm focussing my efforts on accenting the mids, particularly the 660 band, but if I cut the low end, it loses all semblance of warmth. Can anyone help. I have no idea what to do at the tope end of the EQ, should I cut, leave flat? What? Any help is appreciated.[/quote] You might want to try some tape wound or even flat wound strings tape wounds are great for the motown thub!!

[quote name='dan670844' post='1129052' date='Feb 15 2011, 10:56 PM']Have a play 100-160hz more beef 400hz down less box 1-2khz and above down less click, but as others have said do it in a curve, and not to much 3db max cut or boost, but play around with the eq balance quarter turn to the left will also do it as it pulls the eq towards the lows. Go to traces website and download the smx manual its all in there! I also use ashdown klystron and abm me thinks with these heads and a 15 its much more your sound rich in harmonics and much more girth more like an old valve amp sound, uk made ABM appear on ebay quite a lot and are built like tanks[/quote] Oh and another thing if you mess with the eq you need to adjust you preamp gain i guess you know that already if you dont feed tracies enough juice they sound sh*te!!!!

[quote name='holio.cornolio' post='1128915' date='Feb 15 2011, 09:09 PM']Thanks, that's fantastic advice. I really have no clue with the eq. I'll have a play. I do have a Trace 2x10 cab which I sometimes use instead of the 1X15, but I find that's a slightly tighter, more modern sound still than the 15. Also I have used the SMX bit, only the compressor, but I found that the low compression makes the bottom a bit too tight for my taste and had switched back to my pedal compressor. I'll give it another try, ignoring the high band bit this time! Stupid as it sounds I hadn't actually thought to cut stuff, only boost. Oh I'm mainly using a Ric 4001, most often neck pickup only, occasionally both pickups together, (but I've bypassed the stupid bass bleed cap on the bridge pickup). Occasionally use a Jazz bass too, but mainly the Ric[/quote] Have a play 100-160hz more beef 400hz down less box 1-2khz and above down less click, but as others have said do it in a curve, and not to much 3db max cut or boost, but play around with the eq balance quarter turn to the left will also do it as it pulls the eq towards the lows. Go to traces website and download the smx manual its all in there! I also use ashdown klystron and abm me thinks with these heads and a 15 its much more your sound rich in harmonics and much more girth more like an old valve amp sound, uk made ABM appear on ebay quite a lot and are built like tanks

[quote name='markorbit' post='1128381' date='Feb 15 2011, 02:29 PM']I would leave the preset off as that will always have the Trace signature tone all over it. The 12 band eq is very versatile. For Motown try a [b]fine[/b] cut curve cutting the top end from 2.6k onwards. Cut out some mids around 340hz and adjacent sliders to taste and give a slight bass boost around 60/100. If you need more 'body' put some 180hz back. 660hz is good for definition too.[/quote] +1 The SMX is a bit of a swiss army knife with a bit of tweaking you can get pretty much any kind of sound out of it, i still use my smx preamp from time to time its a great unit Right an explanation! The smx is basically divided in three sections obviously! on the pre side you have your input gain and two types of preamp a valve one and a solid state, you can blend them into each other or just use one type. The solid state pre is very hifi clean and low noise the valve side is very rich in harmonics (you might not hear this as it depends on the speakers you have etc) its a little noisy ok for live not so good for studio etc. Usually they use one half of a ECC83 triode, mine has been modified so its a gain cascade, i.e it uses both halfs, basically mine can get more rude! dirty whatever (My SMX is a preamp version with a RMX 2450, yes 2.4KW, i never use the RMX these days, its mental!) Then you have the 12 band eq itself it has a on off and a level control so you can adjust the volume so when you click it in/ out so you notice it volume wise. Then you have the SMX section which is a post eq module including a ultra cool dual band compressor and a EQ sweep. 1. Preamp I already explained 2. The 12 band eq basically I use it in this way, always start flat and always try to cut frequencies rather than boost if you can if you want to beef up your low end try pushing up 100hz - 160hz a bit, don't touch anything below 100hz, if you want to get rid of a boxy sound cut your mids around 340hz to 500hz, your attack the clicky click is around 1-2.6hz and abovecutting this will give you less attack i.e. a softer motown sound. As Mark said slowly rolling off from here will reduce attack dynamics and give the motown sound. Always cut or boost in a smooth transition, around the centre of the eq, so it looks like waves you i.e you should build up/down to a cut or boost on the adjacent sliders Do you ever use the smx module? this is the coolest part i usually have the low compressor up halfway the eq balance flat and no high compression as you loose definition, This is great as it tightens up your low end to give you more punch and stops the speakers complaining If you are using the Eq here is a suggestion if you are using a jazz like me boost your 100-160hz a bit cut around 400hz boost a little around 1-2khz this is a great sound plenty of solid low and great definition. Now you can just play around with the compressor and the eq balance if you have the low band halfway up no high band eq flat this is great for most things. If you whack up the low compress and turn the eq balance quarter turn to the left it will give a great reggae dub sound i guess a good motown sound is somewhere in between, maybe you need also to cut your attack (as above). what you are trying to emulate is a design fault ! the B15 speaker box is far too small in volume for the speakers power and size and also the driver top end is a little lacking. But what a sound! WARNING if you use preshape 1 with a 1 x15 and 410 trace cabs your sound will be totally 80's Duran Duran !! Powerstation preshape two is a more middy sound more rock, but your 1x15 will not really reproduce this that well as the top end dies spectacularly at around 3Khz great for motown sound though with the tweater off