JPJ

I’ve checked the A/B switch and it’s definitely ‘out’. When you are running your basses, where is the gain control set at, I struggle to get above 11 o’clock with any electric bass passive or active?

Thanks, but I should have been clearer. All my active/passive basses are ‘too hot’ to have the input gain on the SC at anything more than ‘just on’.

So after a year and a half of using the SC I have another question. Is there a simple way to modify the input resistance of one channel (like an external load box)? I know that the input resistance of the SC is 10 meg ohm which is designed for piezo style pickups. As I’ve said before, I use the SC as my preamp with both NS EUB, and a selection of passive and active bass guitars. My passive Tony Franklin P bass appears so hot on the input of the SC that the channel gain is hardly on, and even a small amount of EQ boost has the post LED flashing away. I feel that the gain is so low that I’m actually missing something from my tone. I’m about to receive a SushiBox ‘Finally with bass in mind’ valve pre that I want to use for my bass guitar side of things and I’m worried sticking an active pre in front of the SC is only going to make things even worse.

Absolutely shocking, only 20 years 😤😂

Well where to start. They are both SWR, they both have a aural enhancer (although you can switch it off on the MM), so they are both capable of that glassy SWR tone, but after that they are very different. Starting with the older Grand Prix, I defy you to get a bad sound out of this box. The valve gives a warmth to the tone but you’re not going to be able to get it dirty or even to the point of breakup. The EQ is simple and logical, logical that is once you’ve learned that most bass tone is in the lower mids. If you want a clean fat sound this box will supply it all day and still come back for more. The Marcus Miller (‘MM’) however is a very different beast. It’s still got the classic SWR sound despite being from what many consider to be the inferior ‘Fender era’. After that, well it’s basically your Swiss Army knife of tone options. The feature set is very similar to the behemoth SM1500 (that I also own) but obviously in a much lighter package. Having the five band eq with low, mid, and high semi-parametric mids takes a bit of getting used to, but I’ve found that less is definitely more with this setup. Having a fully featured compressor onboard is a bonus but in truth I prefer the multi band compression in my TC Plethora these days. The bass intensifier circuit is a great addition, but hard to describe, it fattens up the bottom end and adds ‘width’ to your tone. Recording, I’ll tend to start with the Grand Prix and only switch to the MM if I need something I can’t get out of the Grand Prix. Live, if I’m using this rack then it’ll be the MM as it punches through the mix better to my old ears, using the SWR amplite 400 racked below the MM.

Hard to pigeon hole us, it’s a pretty broad mix of country, Americana, a few popular tunes done differently. The main artists we cover are Buddy & Julie Miller, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, Martina McBride, Thea Gilmore, Kasey Chambers, with a bit of Sheryl Crowe, KT Tunstall, and even Tom Petty thrown in. The NS covers the slower rootsie stuff beatifully.

I’m just in from an afternoon slot at a really well attended local multi-band event. Great gig, excellent onstage and FOH sound, and we blooded our new guitarist who played a blinder despite only having three weeks to get up to speed with our set.

I have these two, both SWR, both very different. The Grand Prix is a relatively simple valve pre. It’s still clean SWR and has the aural enhancer, but it’s warmer than most other SWR gear I’ve owned/tried/used. The Marcus Miller is about a full featured pre as you can get.

I’ve had the MXR but found it to be very sterile. I’m currently selling a Darkglass Harmonic Booster pedal on here that is a similar three band eq preamp but with the addition of a character control. It’s a clean preamp but it’s a lot warmer than the MXR.

Sorry to hear about your loss, losing a parent is never easy, but in this case it sounds like it was quite a shock. Good on you for getting back out there and doing what we all love to do.

My top three (and I own them all so I’m biased) 1) SWR SM1500 - 1500W, bridged, biamp, or stereo, full feature compressor, two channels of tone setup, bass intensifier, boost, and of course the most misunderstood and maligned aural enhancer. If you know the meaning of heft, then this amp has it in spades. Headroom to die for, and it’s capable of going stupidly ‘stadium’ loud if you need it to. The only downside is the enormous weight. 2) Ashdown Geezer Butler Head of Doom. The most all-valve like hybrid I’ve played. This thing has heft, and that ‘bounce’ or ‘spring’ that valve amps have. It can go as dirty as you would like, but excels at that ‘just breaking up’ tone. Oh and even racked in a flight case, it’s still a one-hand lift. 3) Ashdown ABM. I use the term generically as irrespective of power output, they all use the same preamp. I used to hate these amps with a passion, until a quick post on here explained the secrets of pushing a good tone out of this preamp (biggest tip being the ‘reverse’ wiring of the pre shape switch). Probably one of the most versatile preamps once you get to know it, and as others have said, the best after sales support in any realm.

Just received the email to say my ‘finally’ is with UPS for its journey across the Atlantic. Exciting times, can’t wait to get my hands on it 😎

I’m happy to help @orangepeelneil but suspect I might be at the other end of the country from you?

@TimR fixed it for you 😉

Thanks for your input @Phil Mann I ordered mine a couple of days ago so looking forward to getting my hands on one in the next few weeks. BTW your Jaco video was the deciding factor for me.

That’s it then, its meant to be 😂

There’s a nice looking DB for sale in Chester on the Facebook “Bass Players - sell- buy - swap UK only” group for £250 that looks like a good starter bass. Disclaimer: I have no affinity or connection with the seller nor have I any personal experience of the bass in question.

Just spotted this over on FaceAche https://www.eich-amps.com/tb250#collapseExample0 Looks like it could be a contender for those who want to run a cab from pedalboard preamp like the OP? And as it’s coming from a recognised bass amp manufacturer I’d expect its roadworthy too.

For a while in the mid-eighties I had the Carlsbro Stingray Pro rig consisting of a 300W amp head, 150w slave amp, 2x15 cab and 2x10 cab. The thing sounded monstrous, was stupidly loud, but was so heavy as to have its own gravitational field.

I’ve been watching the online reviews and yes, it seems the v1 was a little plain Jane, but the v2 is endorsed by Phil Mann and also Janek Gwizdala rated it in his recent DI shoot out video so I’m hoping it’ll be good when it arrives. I’m just looking for a little bit of added warmth for my fretless. I’m using the EBS Stanley Clarke as my pre as I’m doubling on NS EUB with one band, and the Stanley Clarke is brilliant for this but its just a little too ‘dry’ for the fretless. I’ve tried running my SansAmp both in the loop and in front of the Stanley Clarke, both of which help but it gets too dirty too soon if that makes sense?

Well we can add this to the list of “itch being scratched” as I’ve just pulled the trigger on one. Will report back in a couple of weeks when it arrives 😎

Welcome to the Vanderkley club. You’ve described perfectly the sound these cabs make. One piece of advice, experiment with the tweeter setting. I did my usual “don’t like tweeters, control all the way off” and I was missing a trick. It’s really possible to dial in the Vanderkley tweeter without it ever getting dominant or “spitty”.

Anybody on the European side of the pond have any experience with this preamp? It’s endorsed by Phil Mann so I’m guessing it’s pretty good. Could be next on my list of ‘secret sauce’ pedals to try with my fretless 🤔

My experience. My main band used to be the typical ‘too loud’ band. Twin guitarists equipped with 100W Marshall valve amps coupled with 4x12 cabs. I was using a 1500W amp head coupled with two 4x10’s to keep up. First step for me was universal ear protection which worked in terms of lowering the overall volume but didn’t help with hearing what I was playing over the rest. Next step was ACS custom moulded hearing protection which I initially struggled with as the attenuation (34db) was just too isolating, even though for the first time I could actually hear what I was playing. A change of drummer brought some sense to the on stage volume levels, 4x12 became 2x12, then became 45w combos. Sound on stage cleaned up beautifully to the point where the only ‘damaging’ or ear fatiguing level came with from the drummers cymbals. At the same time we moved to everything through the PA so FOH levels were now much louder than the on stage levels and the out front mix was much much better. The drummer then wanted to try in-ears as he still struggled to hear his bass drum. Prompted by all the good stuff on EBS Freaks IEM mega thread, I recommended the Behringer P2/KZ combo which he immediately loved. Next to go IEM was our fiddle player using the Behringer P2 coupled with custom moulded IEM’S. As I run sound whilst playing, I decided that I needed my own IEM setup to learn how to mix them best for the other two. I went KZ with X-Vive U4 but struggled with the isolation despite trying a few different tips. On Warwickhunt’s advice, I next went Shure IEM100’s which fit my ears much better. After trying my X-Vive, our singer/guitarist was the next convert to IEM. Now, I vary between my IEM’s and my ACS custom plugs that are now equipped with 17db filters. If I’m doing the sound, I will most likely use my IEM’s, if I’m not then I’ll most likely use my ACS plugs. The fifth and final member of the band has no interest in IEM’s and finds the on-stage volume acceptable. Our PA will need significant upgrade if we were to go silent stage so I do not see that happening in the medium term. I have played two venues where the stage arrangement (one a corner stage with a hollow stage riser, the other a three-sided alcove) meant the drums are so dominant that only the ACS plugs work as otherwise I need the IEM volume to be maxed to hear the rest of the band which rather defeats the point of IEM’s in the first place. Next step for us is getting the IEM users taking charge of their own mix using their own phone apps. For me, I need to work on my own IEM mix and as isolation, though much improved, is still an issue, custom moulded IEM’s are definitely in my future.