holio.cornolio

[quote name='bob_pickard' post='874352' date='Jun 22 2010, 12:41 PM']something like this will do you - [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-2-button-stereo-footswitch-general-use-1-4-plug-/270566679721?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item3eff07e4a9"]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Peavey-2-button-ster...=item3eff07e4a9[/url]

you just need a dual footswitch with a stereo plug on the end - digitech do one as well - Fs3X if I remember right - all they do is short each channel to ground so you can make your own for about errm £3 if you like[/quote]
that's a lovely tele bass. Ihave a 72 with mudbucker at home, but it doesn't get played as much as it should.
might try making up a footswitch up as I think I have the parts.....

I think picking up the real deal footswitch is going to be difficult, so can anyone recommend an aftermarker footswitch that would work with this amp? Failing that I can manage a soldering iron reasonably well, so some pointers toward a DIY option would be cool. I just want to be able to switch in the pre shape and / or graphic.
Cheers!

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='872265' date='Jun 19 2010, 11:18 PM']Yup, and it's probably your best bet I reckon. You don't really need the XLR out if you're going straight to the desk without an amp. The balanced output that a DI would provide would be useful however to reduce noise on long cable runs, but if you're standing next to your PA then a normal instrument cable will do just fine. You may even find that you like the sound of it so much that you have it always on even going into your regular amp! What bass and amp are you using out of interest?[/quote]
it'sa ric 4001 and I've just got a trace gp12 smx 1x15 combo and 210 extension cab. I've fancied getting one of those vt things for a while. maybe this is the excuse I need.

[quote name='dannybuoy' post='872185' date='Jun 19 2010, 09:31 PM']Don't let the name fool you, the BB Preamp is really just a tubescreamer overdrive tuned for bass with a 2-band EQ. Great pedal and I own one, you could record direct with it but it wouldn't be my first choice as an amp-simulating preamp since it can produce brittle highs that would sound better filtered out somehow. If you're going to the PA instead of an amp then you don't really need the XLR, but if you want to use an amp as well as the PA then you could do with 2 separate outputs. I'd check out some preamps / amp-sims with built in speaker sims to roll off the harsh highs you can get with distortion, such as the Sansamp Bass Driver DI or VT Bass, EBS Microbass and also the Line 6 stuff.[/quote]
That's kind of the point. I would never go through the PA unless my amp died, but at the moment I don't have anything which would serve as a signal source for the PA. Would something like the VT provide an appropriate signal in that instance then??

I'm thinking about getting some form of di box for when the inevitable happens and my amp dies mid gig. I just want something that I can plug straight into the desk. currently our pa only handles vocals, but if all else failed I want to be able to go into the pa. I fancy going the pedal route as I don't like the idea of spending money on something that might never get used, and there's some nice preamp / distortion / dis out there like the sansamp one and the mar bass di+. but that got me wondering if I rely need an xlr out, or whether I could use something like the xotic bb preamp as a direct into the mixer. thoughts?

hey I have exactly this bass (still natural though) with exactly that headstock crack. gotta love that short(ish) scale loveliness. does yours have the original pickup with adjustable hex head poles? I managed to pull a couple of wires out of the back of my pickup and can't work out where to solder them back! don't suppose you could peer under that perspex plate of yours and let me know what colour wire goes where?
I bought mine 18 years ago for 50 quid. it has been thoroughly abused, thrown across stages smashed into ampsetc and still survives. I continue to cling to the delusion that the matsumoku stamp on the neckplate will make it worth something one day!

[quote name='Mog' post='854402' date='Jun 2 2010, 02:17 AM']I've pushed a 4ohm 1x15 with my 150 watt head and it wasn't as loud as the rumble. Thats why I use a 4x10 now, 25 extra inchs of push. If its a big venue, say 600+ heads, I stick another 4x10 on the guitarists side of the stage. Dont get me wrong, as I said earlier, TE gear is superb but if the fender still isn't doing the job then a lot more juice is needed. Honestly, the rumble range is just about the best thing I've come across in years. In a gigging year I might play through 30 different bass rigs. Most of the big brand names turn out to be crap. So far i'd have the rumble ahead of the majority of Mark Bass gear, all of the Ampeg B series heads and anything with blue speakers. 2x10 150 watt combo retails at €212.99 over here. You wont find a better new amp in that price range.[/quote]
It's the 1X 15 rumble, and you're right, it is loud, but it doesn't get louder past half way on the volume, just more farty. Also the eq is unusable, so it's just set flat, with occasionally a little treble added depending on the room we're in. Also with the Ric 4001 that I'm using these days it's a little unforgiving of the extra top end, and can be clanky and harsh sounding (and I know that's a feature of the Ric, but put through a 4X10 that I was loaned, the Ric sounded much more useable, and also the ric is lighter and has a nicer neck than the Jazz I use so it's the favoured axe at present).
TBH the rumble has been adquate up until now, but I'm gigging at maximum volume so have nowhere to go if things get even more exciting!! Thanks for all the input people, I'm infinitely better informed and have my eyes peeled now for whatever juicy titbits the for sale section might have to offer.
Cheers.

but why not a combo. do they shake themselves apart or is it just a weight thing. I reckon a 2 10 or 1 15 would be manageable for the few gigs I do......

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='853213' date='Jun 1 2010, 07:17 AM']How old is "old"?
I have a 14-year old SMX head & 3 cabs (1203h, 1152 and 1084h)
No issues at all from the cabs. The head glitched once, and I had it serviced and fully tested by an ex-Trace employee. He knew what was up before he opened it!
The boards inside are connected by wires with push-fit spade terminals. Over time, they work loose. As a fix, he soldered all mine in place, cleaned the whole unit out, cleaned an re-lubed the graphic eq, replaced all the illumination, everything.
That's all I've had in 14 years.
Neither the amps nor the cabs are state-of-the-art by today's standards. They're perfectly giggable, but heavy!
I'd avoid the 4x10 combos- They're MEGA heavy and bulky and top heavy and you can't lock your arms to carry them and the cabinet volume is less than the standard 1048 to keep the weight down, so you lose a bit of bottom end.[/quote]
I think mid nineties old. I was into the idea of a 4x10 combo, but if I can't move it by myself it's a non starter. I'm currently using a fender 100watt 1 x15 combo, and I keep seeing 150 was te stuff; which doesn't sound like it will be loud enough, but from what I can tell, trace watts are at least 50% louder than normal watts! ls that right?
so after 14 years no power amp niggles?

Hi All,

I need a bigger / better / more versatile amp. Looking at the classifieds section, there's a fair few old Trace Elliot growlers knocking around for very sensible money, but I'm an amp noob, and have never really bought second hand, and don't want my fingers burnt. I'm not that fussed about how tidy the amp looks, but I don't want to drop £250+ on a second hand head, for it to go tits up mid gig. I'm thinking that whatever I do get, I'll have serviced immediately, but couldn't really afford to sort any nasty surprises out if any turned up (you, know the sort of thing - broken head gasket, worn clutch or whatever).
There's a couple of stinkers hanging around just now that I'm thinking make sense, some 4X10 combos and a GP12SMX head. What are the pitfalls, are they reliable and are they going to go pop as soon as I get the in front of an audience? From what I recall of my time gigging in the 90s, Trace used to make some powerful and toneful gear, but you don't see those old amps knocking around so much on stages these days, so did they all break down?
Thanks in advance

[quote name='alexclaber' post='644711' date='Nov 3 2009, 09:02 PM']Paypal to whoever's selling?

Alex[/quote]
good point well made.....

[quote name='Musky' post='644662' date='Nov 3 2009, 08:13 PM']If I understand holio cornolio (it feels really strange typing that ) correctly, I think this needs to be done on tick...[/quote]
If it helps, that's not my real name. Those that know me call me... Matthew. Yeah, finance is the only way I'm afraid. Shoveling away £40-50 notes a month is easy enough, but when disaster strikes (which it does with alarming regularity) the savings pot is always whittled down to next to nowt again. The take it away scheme allows me the opportunity (assuming a 10 month disaster free window) to ensure that my squirreled away cash doesn't get accidentally spent on, oh I don't know, the deposit on a holiday or some such pointless bunk! It's a crazy situation, but I'm a weak person and when the kids need new coats / shoes / ponies, and I have a bit of spare cash, I just give in ;-)

[quote name='alexclaber' post='644478' date='Nov 3 2009, 04:20 PM'].... Just because you have 500W it doesn't mean you have to use them all,

Alex[/quote]
No but you have to pay for them all, and carry them all too
seriously though, I really do value your advice, and you clearly know your onions, but given that amp manufacturers don't quote sound pressure levels (at least in any obvious way to a numbnuts like me) I'm more lost and clueless than ever now.
A combo appeals to me as it seems like a cost effective and convenient way of getting my bass amplified. I'm 34 and in good health, with no back issues as yet, so I'm happy enough carting anything up to about 30kg around by myself. I recognise that head and cab would offer me more flexibility and portability, but it also represents a likely bigger outlay. I can't really consider any of the undoubted bargains in the classifieds, since having 2 small kids means that any funds I manage to save are invariably snaffled to pay medical bills, repair wife damaged cars etc etc.
What would you suggest for around the £500 mark that would do the job, and achieve the required, distortion free SPL??

[quote name='alexclaber' post='643767' date='Nov 2 2009, 07:45 PM']Not really - because you're compromised by the internal volume of the combo and then 100W still won't get you that far (unless you're putting it through a 2x15", 4x12" or 6x10"). My point really is not to get hung up on wattage and to focus on having enough SIZE to go with the power. Bear in mind that a guitar has similar frequency response to a cello, whilst a bass guitar is like a double bass. Compare how much bigger a double bass is than a cello and the ratio of guitar amp to bass amp size should be similar if you're using similar power! If you have more power and speakers that can handle it then you can go smaller but physics really fights back against you if you go too small.

I've heard there are Markbass LMII amps going used for under £400 and there's a nice Dr Bass 15/8 cab in the for sale forum going for even less, which would give you a rig which will spank a TE 715X to Land's End and back, yet carrying it there won't kill you. And plenty more deals to be had out there...

Alex[/quote]
This advice is useful and much appreciated.... but, we seem to have wandered inadvertently back into the realms of competing for volume (sound pressure call it what you will). My point is that the 100watt Fender can be heard perfectly well in the context of my band's loudest volume scenario, but sounds harsh and farty (and to be fair, sounds harsh and slightly less farty at low volume levels too). Cone over excursion is the culprit here and I bow to your superior knowledge and experience in this matter, (and also FWIW that's what it sounds like to my ears). So, I want a cost effective 'rig' / combo (pref around the £500 mark, give or take a bit), which will give me the same output (or more, more is fine too) as the fender, but without veering into distortion. I don't think I'll ever need an amp that would knock the 715x anywhere, I just don't play that loud, what I want is an amp that will cope in a quiet band scenario, without sounding horrible. In short, something better than a fender rumble (and I know that can't be hard to achieve). to give it some volume context, live, I am 'competing' with a Hot Rod Deluxe, which has never been above 2 on the boost channel, and an Orange Tiny Terror into a 1X12, set to the 7watt setting, and with the volume and gain at about half each. And a very gentle drummer. So a 500 watt behemoth is an unnecessary extravagance. That said, I don't really know what would be 'ideal' for this scenario, and the Trace seems to tick all my preconceived boxes. what was my question again??

[quote name='alexclaber' post='643747' date='Nov 2 2009, 07:23 PM']It's cone over-excursion that is killing your tone - you need more cone area and/or clean excursion ability.

Alex[/quote]

do you reckon a speaker upgrade would do the job then?? any recommendations? as you can probably tell, I'm not desperately au fait with the technical side, but I can wield a soldering iron and screwdriver with the best of them, and have no qualms about taking my amp apart if that's what it'll take.

cheers

[quote name='alexclaber' post='643598' date='Nov 2 2009, 05:05 PM']...

P.S. You don't hear watts, you hear dB SPL. The difference in dB SPL between 100W and 200W into the same cab isn't very much at all. But get a bigger and more sensitive cab and 100W can totally flatten 500W into something smaller and less sensitive.[/quote]
Sorry, my question isn't well put. I'm not after more volume, the Rumble 100 ( :blush: ) I'm using just now can cope, but it's a bit harsh and farty, so I just need more headroom, and I figure that 200 watts will give me the extra gumph I need without getting all farty and horrible. I'd had an ashdown evo thing on loan for a while and I think that was about 250 watt (and 500 wit an extension cab), which wasn't much louder than the fender, but was infinitely smoother and cleaner due, I assume, to the extra headroom.

Main problem is that I play fingerstyle and also with a plectrum (not at the same time though!). The fender is impossible to eq for both styles, and just copes really badly with the extra aggression that the plectrum delivers.
The 715X I tried did both styles well, and I just want the 715 to be as forgiving of the pick...

This is sort of an addendum to my previous thread on what amp to get, I've sort of narrowed it down to the Trace elliot now, but I've only managed to demo the 715X which is outside of my budget really. I'm getting by with 100 watts at the moment, and the 715 offers 200 watts which I reckon is enough for me, but the question is, apart from the attenuable tweeter and the extra power, is the 715X going to be very different from the 715X. and why is only the 715x listed on the trace website. Is the 715 no longer in the range??

[quote name='Tee' post='638880' date='Oct 28 2009, 10:45 AM']I'm thinking of getting a pedal which will add a bit of 'something different' in a song or two, or on a chorus here and there. I would love to get an EHX Micro Synth, but it seems a bit steep for something i might not use often. I thought the Bassballs, being a lot cheaper, could do the trick. I know it has one trick, relative to the Micro Synth, but would anyone recommend it? Also do they suck tone in bypass mode? Thank you.[/quote]
They're pretty good and can be a little bit synthy as long as the part you're playing has plenty of space and not too many notes. If you wack the distortion on, and turn the sensitivity (or whatever the pot is labelled) all the way up you get some phasey, filtery, fuzzy sounds, but it is very much a 1 trick pony. If you're playing gets busy, then unless you're in a p-funk covers band it's probably not the thing.
Do they suck tone in bypass mode? A bit, but you could always get some sort of true bypass looper to overcome that if you felt it was really a problem.

[quote name='dirtystatic' post='638382' date='Oct 27 2009, 07:43 PM']right, so i'm slowly assembling a board but i'm in a pickle over the various gain stages im after. i know what sounds im after, but i'm sure there must be a more elegant solution. i'll start by outlining the stages i'm after..

first there's my basic tone, bass > comp > amp.. easy-peasy, no worries there. then im after somthing to just thicken things up with out distorting, for big choruses for instance.

next im after a light driven sound, mild cruch - but with the option to boost it a little for the meatier parts of the song (a little more drive/volume/bass)

i'm also after a crazy, wild distortion (easy enough) and a fuzz (got that covered)

so far i've set things up like this: bass > comp > dha vt1 bass std > double looper > (loop 1) odb-3 & dod eq
> (loop 2) ehx bass muff

at the moment im using the dha just as a boost, engage it to thicken up my clean signal for big choruses. im using the odb-3 and the dod eq for a light drive then engaging the DHA to lift it a little further for more agressive songs. im just wondering whether there's a more suitable set of pedals, or a single pedal solution (the sansamp pbddi maybe) that anyone could suggest.

if i were to buy a sansamp pbddi then couldnt i just set my clean tone channel 1, light od channel 2, then aggressive od channel 3? i'm also thinking that there would be a bit more continuity to my tone across the 3 stages of gain if i used a single pedal.

would appreciate any input, would also love to hear how people achieve their various gain stages...

cheers![/quote]

Whatever happens you're going to have 2 or 3 buttons to stomp on. In a live situation, I really don't have any gain stages to contend with as I'd only get confused and tread on the wrong thing, so I tend to use fingers for the most part, and for aggressive parts I switch to a pick, and that covers the variation in tone that I need.

That said, I tool around with pedals a lot at home, and I've found a mosftet clean booster (like the Fulltone Fatboost) does an excellent job of beefing up a clean sound, and adding some balls to it. Along similar lines you could also look at the Fulltone Bass Drive Mosfet which could cover the light and heavy overdrive parts with panache. As for fuzz, I don't know of any pedal on the market (short of a nasty multi fx box) that does mild OD, heavy OD AND fuzz all in the one box, without resorting to getting down on your knees and knob fiddling mid song, so stick with your bass muff I say.

That said, looking at your current setup I reckon that it's pretty well sorted and you've clearly given it a lot of thought and got it sounding how you want to, and assuming your double looper has a decent bypass, you don't have to worry about the godawful dod and boss bypasses. So are you sure this isn't just a bit of unnecessary GAS?

he uses 7a sticks and pats the skins like a proud father burping a newborn.

Cheers all for the input. So now I have on my must try list - Trace 715 thingy, Ampeg B200R, and possibly another ampeg (the 300 wat 2X10), I'm also slightly drawn to a biggish line 6 lodown, Roland Bass Cube 100 (?? - loud enough??) and maybe one of the slightly more upmarket fenders...
cheers for all the suggestions, I'd likely go for that Trace that Warwickhunt suggested, but I have yet to liquidate the funds fully and will probably not for a few months yet (xmas drawing near and the kids need pressies etc!)

So I'll keep on shoppin'. Bizarrely I had ruled out trace as too expensive, but just shows what I know. They're back in the game!!

I'd been 'gigging' (village hall / family parties, low level, low volume stuff) for a while with Fender Rumble 100 1X15 which seemed fine and had an adequate amount of volume (although seems to be harsh and trebly or too, muddy and dull with no happy inbetween) until a friend leant me an Ashdown evo500 4X10 combo for a while. Apart from being an absolute nightmare to transport, the Ashdown really highlighted the tonal shortcomings of the Rumble to the point where I'm not really happy with it any more. So I'm thinking about getting something new now that my mate has taken back his Ashdown. Trouble is, I'm a total know nothing when it comes to amps. I have no prejudices or preconceptions about valves vs solid state, and really don't know if I want a 2X10 or 1X15 (4X10 is probably too big and possibly too expensive, as are valves). What I do know is this - I would prefer a combo for portability, I doubt I need more than 200 watts as 100 has been ok and if I EVER needed more volume (which is unlikely) I could just go through the PA.

Tonally the Ashdown, whilst having a very nice, warm, albeit slightly modern, tone, still seemed to retain clarity to project, but I don't think the ashdown is the amp I want. The amp that I REALLY want (but can't have) is the old Ampeg Fliptop that they have at Vintage and Rare in Bath. Thing is, whilst that sounded glorious in isolation, I don't know if that sound really works in a rock(ish) scenario. So what amps are out there that would give me a slightly modern take on the Fliptop tone but would cut through in a rock band? I guess that my budget hovers somewhere around the £500 mark, but could go up to £800 if it had to. I really like the LOOK of the Ampeg B200R, and it promises to be fliptopesque, but is it just a sheep in Pimps clothing??

I realise that this is a really vague question so flame freely, but if you want the whole thing putting into a nutshell, here it is: Vintage Fliptopish tones required in a portable format for around 500 notes. Must be capable of rocking a small village hall or pub (HARD!!! ), and since I know so very little about tone (except that I don't think my fender really has any), tell me if a fliptop is going to work in a rock (ish - free, beatles, monkees, the police, dire straights, take that( ), zz top etc etc) environment.

Finally please note that I am a tart, and i have already discounted the likes of Markbass, Hartke, Gallien Kruger and Eden on purely aesthetic grounds. again, bring on the flames.

Cheers

P.S - I play a jazz bass (a nice one - too nice to go through the rumble without rebelling!)

[quote name='johnnylager' post='487517' date='May 14 2009, 06:42 AM']Pickup height? Tried raising the D/G pup up?[/quote]


[quote name='burno70' post='487524' date='May 14 2009, 07:37 AM']What's the setting like on your amp?[/quote]

Amp settings pretty much flat. graphic eq set flat, bass at 1 o'clock, mids and treble at 10-11 o'clock.
Cocked around with pickup height until the cows come home but the d and g are always brighter than I want. It's true that my compressor evens things out a little, but I was hoping that there might be some magic eq pedal to help my quest. I'd seen this [url="http://www.musicelectronix.com/clips/submarine.html"]http://www.musicelectronix.com/clips/submarine.html[/url] and had hoped it might be the panancea? Or would it be a waste of cash?????

[quote name='thisnameistaken' post='487507' date='May 14 2009, 01:57 AM']I think you just don't like the sound of the higher strings. Have you heard other bassists' higher strings that you actually like the sound of, and would like yours to sound like theirs?

Might be an idea to string your bass B-E-A-D and see if you prefer that?[/quote]

Cheers. Well every record I own it seems like the bass is eq'd nicely and string tone is nice and evenly matched. The bass line on kings of Leons song Ragoo spans all 4 strings but still sounds evenly balanced to me for instance (I know it's a Thunderbird but hey) and a bassist who's string use matches mine is andrew (or royston can't remember) langdon of Spacehog, who's all over the neck, but only ever e and a strings, and the occasional d.

I might try flats again....

Strings are D'addario stainless 45 - 105. forget the EXP ESP or whatever. Pickup is a duncan designed vintagey ouput P Bass type - i think about 10 - 11K ohm dc resistance whenI measured it. Pots are CTS 250K 10% tolerance - a standard 0.047uf ceramic tone cap. Body is (shock horror) Agathis (nicked off a squier vintage modified p bass), neck is slab rosewood 'board, medium chunky profile, vintage radius. I play variously fingerstyle, thumb style and with a pick. D and G are always sh*t. Cheers Cheddatom, but I already tried the arse trick. Even using the D string as arse floss doesn't take the edge off..