BassAdder60

Continued …. Band rehearsals last night, started with Ray and swopped over to my PBass ( there it was again my tone ) Came home with the intention to sell the Ray and even posted it on here .. however … I love playing the Ray but I need to get a tone out of it I like. Tried it with my ABM600 head and it’s better sounding than with the GK Legacy.. The GK head is a very mid voiced amp, pair it with a Stingray and it’s nasal city ! So I’m now looking at keeping the Ray34 and find a better combination of bass / amp and that looks like my ABM600!! Wow the joys and perils of tone chasing hey !!

Hardly a reason and definitely not why it’s up for sale ( but now withdrawn ) I do prefer my PBass though .. So I’m looking to mod the Ray and get a deeper fuller tone from it Not sure how but maybe a different pickup / preamp ?

I’ve decided to move mine on and will be sticking it in the for sale section soon Sterling Ray34 in Black Purchased new in May 22

I gigged the Legacy 800 last week and it did a fine job. Ih has a definite clarity to its tone so more modern sounding perhaps. I’ve learnt a new trick too with the Drive engaged ( loses a little bass ) and that’s max out the amps bass tone and this balances out with the drive on. Then use the Edge Control to brighten things up. Im liking it plus for home use it sounds great with headphones

Enjoy 👍

Ok .. I made a mistake with the Ray34 string gauge When I took the stock old factory strings off I assumed they were 40-100 .. they are not as they are EB super slinky 45,65,80,100 Now I can see my error as I put 40-100 on it and the G and D strings sounded weak. To get them sounding less weak with EQ I spoilt the A and E string tone. Then I fitted 45-105 thinking it was the solution and it helped as it matched the G and D but now my A and E were perhaps too bassy ! Just ordered a set of EB super slinky RW to put on it and it should be spot on. Phew !!!

Cab is Ampeg SVT212AV and I play a Stingray bass

Here’s my settings I don’t use bump but max the bass and back off the low mids a tad I gigged mine last week and bump added too much boom.

I think you’re right about the middy sound. Although the ABM600 sounds deeper standing in front it might sound too boomy to the audience The GK amp seems excessive in the mids especially near to the cab but out front it cuts through well

On my Stingray bass it has a slotted string tree for the A and D strings I changed string gauge from 40-100 to 45-105 and the A string doesn’t sit in the slot. Do you think this is an issue ( plays fine ) ??? I have a spare chrome string tree that I could file out if it’s crucial it sits in the slot

I’ve tried that and don’t care for it Far too much mids going on unless you’re playing an overdriven metal tone ? Also the treble maxed makes too much hiss through the horn

Wow that’s a low output volume! At rehearsals my Abm600 output is around 9 o’clock to 10 o’clock and we are a loud band !

Bass frequencies travel a long way and in all directions but close to your cab seems to be the worst place to hear them ( especially if a good sound makes you play well )

Standing next to my cab at last nights gig ( used GK Legacy for first set ) I thought it was an ok but not great sound. Some phone clips showed it sounded really good in the mix. Second set used my ABM600 and this felt and sounded nicer to my ears standing by cab. Vid clips I heard later sounded a good mix ( more like what I was hearing standing close ) but overall it sounded about the same out front It can really make you doubt your settings when standing close yet seems to sound so different to the audience which is what matters. This was without PA support in a large pub venue.

When I had the V4B reissue head the band said it was the best sound they have heard from me, it was good but for a band very overdriven ( great for rock ) It was tough saying goodbye to it but I have the excellent ABM600 and newly arrived GK Legacy and they provide me more tonal options The V4B is a truly wonderful amp but could do with a bit more clean headroom for live work I had the SVT CL in the past and was never pushed as it was too loud Ideally a 200w version would be nice

The Legacy 800 is very loud and more powerful than my ABM600 or certainly as close to it. The best way to describe it is a less bassy, more mids and top kind of tone With good EQ adjustment you can go super bright or deep and punchy and full. The ABM can go deeper and fuller but often find it’s not really needed I think for an American built product at just over £500 it’s a great amplifier. With Bob still running the company and directly being involved in the design ( as an engineer and musician) says a lot for the well thought out design. They are not a huge company so in that comparison not too dissimilar to Ashdown etc At first I struggled to get my Stingray sounding how I wanted it ( too much mids ) but my PBass sounds really nice. String gauge change on the Stingray made a far better match with the amp

The opposite in fact, more than enough mids in the Legacy.

They are a brighter amp compared to say Ashdown and Ampeg. Inherently more mids too. Once you find the tone you want they are very nice sounding, very loud too. Hopefully reliable, we will see At just over £500 new they are a good amp to consider ( EBay via Polar )

I’m finding bass maxed, mids backed off and treble centred works but depends on amp settings etc my 45-105 Elixir strings have improved things no end

My PBass stock have all got 40-100 nickel RW and they sound great My recent addition Sterling Ray34 was also fitted with new 40-100 RW strings and I struggled with the tone ( too mid focused ) Popped 45-105 Elixir RW on the Ray and it changed the tone drastically. More deep bass and the weak G string is way better More balanced across the strings and seems a better gauge compared to the factory stock gauge. The PBass didn’t alter much from 45-105 but made it a tighter full sound The Ray came alive in comparison with the larger gauge strings. Might of also been the Elixir strings adding to the warmth Just shows you the smallest change can make a bass a keeper or up for sale !!

I’ve improved things by putting 45/105 roundwounds on it Adds to the fullness of the tone and less mids dominating the sound Did notice the string tree on the headstock has slots that don’t quite fit 85 A string gauge

I was considering selling it today but … taking the advice from others back off the mids ( most ) lots of bass and treble slightly boosted I get a nicer fuller tone. It’s the sound I was looking for I’ve read the Mid control is 500hz but it’s already a mid heavy sound due to pickup location. This change has improved things and I’m happier with the sound

On my new Sterling Ray34 3EQ I’ve found that to get a better sound ( less honk ) I’ve backed off the onboard mid control ( a lot ) boosted the bass and treble around centre Any other Ray users found it had too much mids ? In our band I found the Ray34 was a loud bass and very prominent but lacked the deep thump that a PBass gives you. Turned the mids down a lot and it sounds better in the band context ( deeper, fuller and less angry sounding !