msb

This classic Eddie Floyd classic.

Edit … I think of this one as a classic classic.

The joy of being self employed. It always seemed the larger companies would pay after ninety days. My suppliers demanded payment after thirty days. The few that quickly paid within thirty were very appreciated.

I wish they’d put on a master volume like their more expensive models. You use that a lot , if it’s there.

On 03/12/2024 at 17:46, Stub Mandrel said:

 

Sound wise, it's impeccable. Loud, clear uncoloured and copes with a low B easily. Wiser ears than mine were split comparing it to the LFSYS Monza at a bass bash. It was decided it was slightly scooped in comparison.

 

I've been gigging mine for three years.

 

As Bass Direct told me, don't throw it in a van treat it with the same respect as an instrument. I did break some corners, they sent me free replacements in a more resilient plastic.

three years is a pretty good run for a cab , I was concerned at first on how they might hold up. 

I’m tempted , but I doubt they’d ship to Canada.  

Back in the new dive last night , parking can be a misery in the downtown core , found a spot right in front of the bar. It was a Christmas miracle. Numbers were slightly down , but a good crowd , some wonderful regulars up to play. Good night. Just two bassists to sit in. The new room was sounding really nice. Not too loud , place was grooving.

Usual rig , Bergantino 112 , Monique preamp into the effect return of a Bergantino Forte V1. Big orange hollow body Gretsch bass , Dano Longhorn as a backup (not played last night). Black leather Chuck Taylors. ( winter slippers)

Our local L&M had a V4B for $860 Cdn. 

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

41 minutes ago, StingRayBoy42 said:

They are beautiful... I need them!

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

31 minutes ago, Norris said:

Wow. They are pretty vintage. I've not seen those before. Fabulous!

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)

6 hours ago, Norris said:

I think every rig report needs to include the footwear! 😂👍

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!

2 hours ago, peteb said:

 

Always the best way of getting good...! 

 

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.