msb

Welcome!

I gig every weekend , but spend far more time with practice amps than my gig gear. I keep them separate. So I’ve acquired a bunch of heads in the 200-500 watt range for home use. I’m sure they would cover most gigs I do , but I have just used them for practice. My practice volume is not loud , but I’ve always felt the only way to develop your tone is to plug in and hear it. Probably my favourite practice head is a Darkglass e500. It’s a digital head that runs software containing about two dozen pedals and effects , and forty something cab sims. The software is fairly intuitive , it’s easy to create presets. You can make the amp do almost anything. We also care for my 99 year old mother-in-law , so I have a little practice nook set up in her house too.

There are quite a number of Ampeg inspired preamps out there , Broughton in Toronto make several. Arkham in Southern Maine have made some beauties , and amps too. In Quebec there’s Jo Chiou , but he’s stopped manufacturing for the time being. He’s got a great YouTube channel for tone nerds. Some of Jo’s creations are out there , but are difficult to find. The Noble DI pre , was inspired by that tone too. I don’t know how big Broughton is , but the rest are simple one man shops that have found a worldwide audience. I find that inspiring. I think Jule’s Monique is the queen of them all though. There is something about that tone. Now I have various Class D heads that try and emulate that tube thing. And they are good sounding gear. GenzBenz , Darkglass , Aguilar , GK , I’ll just dial in a touch of the drive but they do not do what Monique does.

I have the birdcage version of Monique. When I bought it , I mentioned one was on the way (in another forum) and Jule contacted me to say he wasn’t aware of my order but he would make it right. I immediately told him I had bought a used one , he told me I could have kept him going for a week or two. I’ve since had several keyboard contacts with Jule , and he seems to be a wonderful character. I like him. Monique is truly a thing of beauty. I was running a Bergantino Forte amp , something that’s renowned for having clean transparent power , it’s a good back end for Monique. I use the effect return channel rather than the regular input to bypass the Forte pre and tone stack. Monique gives me that tube warmth and saturation , and there is magic in the sensitivity knob. Yes indeed. I want a rich old school thump , with warmth , and some serious slam. I want things to feel deep. I love what Monique does. I am a believer. Paid more than I wanted to , and today have no regrets whatsoever. Knowing what I know today I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Is your volume maxed out at gigs? If it is you might look at more power. So if you still have some headroom I wouldn’t worry about changing things , unless you really want to try out another amp. I have modular mixed cabs that were designed to be used together , but most gigs only require a single cab. Generally have a ton of headroom.

I’m approaching mid 70’s , and still gig every week. Load the car , drive it downtown , lug it , set it up , play , tear it down and drive ‘er home. Generally in mid sized rooms where my amp is the room sound , not in the PA. My slightly older Berg cab is 12.7 kg , so it’s not bad. I use a light class D head and a tube pre. Usually bring two basses , just in case. It’s manageable , sounds deadly. When I was younger I was dragging an SVT fridge out to similar rooms. And we played much louder …

Those GK RB rigs are great. I’ve shifted to modern tiny/class D heads and lightweight cabs , but those RB heads are legend.

As you’re in England I’d be looking local , both BF and LF Sys make world class cabs.

Drop the whole Fender schtick and have a look at some short scale hollow bodies. … welcome

They fetch a premium price today because of the recall. edit googled them … they’re fetching over $600 Cdn now …

Chuck Taylor also did a Hendrix shoe with the Axis Bold as Love motif , unfortunately some Hindu community activists called the shoes insulting , and Converse immediately stopped selling them. They fetch a premium today. (image from the net)

As it happened last night I had on a pair of Chucks from the Jimi Hendrix collection.

Our Sunday night jam gig has resumed , second week back at it , the original dive was legend but the building was in sad shape , the new dive is actually nice. It’s a different room , but the sound is good and the usual characters have all returned , so I know most of the faces. Unfortunately it’s in the downtown core , and parking is a misery. That’s the only downside. I think it should work out well. Had four bass players up. Several horn players , several drummers , the usual line up of guitar players. It was a good one. Hopes are high. Herself and I dropped in for lunch the other day , it was quiet , I took some pics of the new dive in daylight. The food is excellent!

Bergantino HDN 112 with a Forte and Monique preamp , orange Gretsch 5123B , Bergantino HDN 210 , Darkglass e500 Exponent , Gretsch 6129B ThunderJet , Aguilar SL112 , Aguilar TH350 , Dano Longhorn , Barefaced One10 with a Darkglass M200 , Gibson SG. Stingray in the back Epi V on the wall. Had to take a quick photo , don’t usually have this much stuff out.

I play in the house band that does a weekly jam night. I let other players use my bass and rig. Same bass , amp and settings … and it sounds completely different with different players. And the same room can sound completely different depending on the number of people and volume … and sometimes I swear the humidity makes a difference.

beauty!

Unfortunately , at this stage I seem to have become somewhat of a mentor for quite a few younger players …

I was just fortunate to consistently play with people that were much better than I was.

I dropped in a Tbird style humbucker. Much closer.

I’ve got close to twenty new tunes to learn. I’m expected to know them exactly as they’re played , and then be able to transpose to a variety of keys at rehearsal. I’ll make up charts as I learn them , and through repetition commit them to memory. I can use charts at rehearsal , but not on the gig. I’m good at writing charts , but don’t write or read the dots. If I did , and could bring written music on the gig it would save me the considerable time needed to memorize everything.

Try to Incorporate interpretive dance into your practice routine. You never know when it might come in handy.

I’ve heard more horror stories of guitars going missing from cars and trailers than hotel rooms. Even on busy streets in broad daylight. Amps too.

Welcome Antozzi48. This place is full of other bass players so it may not be the most suitable spot to search for new bandmates. But you never know , it’s a strange place , and sometimes things happen.

Good to hear you made it out of the woods intact. … welcome Project_gemini.

Welcome GloomB. Is that a Ric I see in that little avatar ? I’ve never thought of them as gloomy. … gorgeous , yes. I still get a little weak in the knees when I look at one.