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discreet

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Everything posted by discreet

  1. discreet
    [quote name='phil.c60' timestamp='1445520150' post='2892098'] ...can I fit it in my car? Would it be [i]that [/i]outrageous to turn up with it? Can I actually lift an SVT and plonk it on the top at my age? [/quote] There's not much beats a fridge, as you discovered. I recently went through all this in my mind (yet again) and came to the conclusion that it's largely about having drivers up at chest height where you can hear 'em. And one fridge is equivalent to two of any other cab, so you get all the advantages (and disadvantages) of a two-cab set-up. I'd go with Lw above and get another Compact. You would see a huge difference, but two Compacts are a hell of a lot easier to haul than a fridge and I can tell you that hauling a fridge gets old really quick. If two Compacts don't do it for you and it HAS to be an 8X10, there are other brands available... and some of 'em are smaller and lighter! Edit: Bertbass of this parish gigged pubs for decades with a fridge and no-one batted an eyelid. They may have gone home deaf, but they didn't bat their eyelids.
  2. discreet
    [quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1445451668' post='2891630'] ...Although my band is punk we`re not particularly loud - full on yes, but not overbearingly loud. I`ve been in bands where the guitars turn up ridiculously loud cos "its rock" or the drums do rim-shots all the time... [/quote] This. A fair number of 'rock' players think that 'loud' means 'heavy', but of course it does not. 'Heavy' is a state of mind and can more than adequately be represented by a band that [i]isn't[/i] playing at 120db. Of course bands are populated mostly by young men who have what I call the 'Top Gear' attitude, i.e. bigger, louder, faster must be better, right? Our current guitarist is a Marshall stack and Les Paul merchant, but we're constantly telling him to turn up. He sounds great and plays like a demon but is a model of restraint otherwise. He's never too loud and he cuts the bottom end from his EQ so as not to encroach on bass or kick drum territory. One in a million!
  3. discreet
    AFAIK it was made for a relatively short time before developing into the SVT350. It's a solid-state head, but if my recent experience with an SVT350H is anything to go by, this shouldn't put you off. I don't know how rare they are or whether £350 is good or bad, but I'm sure someone will be along very shortly with an opinion on that.
  4. discreet
    [b]*SOLD* Tech-21 VT Bass Mk1[/b] [b]Details[/b] [url="http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/characterseries.html"]http://www.tech21nyc...cterseries.html[/url] I'm not going to go into a full-on explanation - I presume if you're reading this then you know what you're looking at. Suffice to say it makes any amp sound quite like an Ampeg SVT. It certainly does the big fridge balls-out rock thing very well, but it also does the warm, valvey B15 thing very well too and everything in between. Produces cracking overdrive, so can be used as an FX unit, but I use it as an always-on sound shaper. It will warm up a clean, boring amp a treat and is easily powerful enough to be used as a preamp in front of a power amp. This is the third VT Bass I've had and I've no doubt whatsoever I'll be buying another at some point, probably the VT Deluxe. My current project is a rock band and having found my ABM to be more than up to the job, I currently don't need a VT and know for sure I'll be able to get hold of another one whenever, so at this point I'd rather free up the cash. This is the Mk1 version without the cab sim switch. In my opinion it's just one less thing to fret over. This example is in good condition and does what it's supposed to do. Comes with original tin and paperwork. Item will be well-packed and despatched via a tracked and insured method. I will PM the buyer an ETA and tracking information. My feedback is [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/263574-discreet/"]here[/url]. I thank you!
  5. discreet
    [quote name='doctorbass' timestamp='1445425321' post='2891318'] For even more drive and added grit I use an SFX Beta pedal. I think a lot of people miss just how much the gain structure is altered by the use of the EQ and the harmonic emphasis on this particular head too. [/quote] Agreed - I used a VT Bass yesterday and while it's easy to get 'that' SVT sound (and then some - the VT Bass is really excellent), it is possible to get a big, round, warm yet very punchy tone without it. In fact, the more I use my ABM [i]in concert[/i], the more I think Ashdown could well be the British Ampeg and the ABM's natural 'rock' sound - in the context of a band - is second to none.
  6. discreet
    [quote name='gjones' timestamp='1445395587' post='2891174'] I bet their rider stipulates that there has to be half a dozen bottles of Grecian 2000 in their dressing room at every gig. [/quote] Plus Steradent, Ralgex and a nice bottle of Wincarnis...
  7. discreet
    I had a funny feeling too, it was 'How can these old gits get on TV with this rubbish, when... bloody hell, it's Duran Duran!!'
  8. discreet
    [quote name='Ashdown Engineering' timestamp='1445350899' post='2890793'] You didn't have enough headroom because you didn't have the input up high enough and subsequently not enough signal to the power amp... [/quote] Quite, one shouldn't be afraid of maxing out the input gain, no damage can be done. I really need it up at 3 o'clock with my passive P-Bass to get a decent signal. And one needs a decent signal to give the amp something to work with! I think the general misunderstanding about the Input Gain question, added to the confusion over the Shape button, is what leads people to get entirely the wrong impression of Ashdown amps. Or the ABM at least, which is what I have direct experience of.
  9. discreet
    [quote name='M-Bass-M' timestamp='1445245704' post='2889807'] Just a shame they're mixed in with those highly annoying animatronic puppets! [/quote] Come on, that's why you watch it in the first place.
  10. discreet
    [quote name='scalpy' timestamp='1445242932' post='2889772'] ...the legend is he owns all the land he can see in every direction! [/quote] You mean Wimbledon Common..?
  11. discreet
    I think the eternal tone quest is really about how to get the sound of this rig in a form that doesn't burst your guts when you try and pick it up. Good on you for going direct to the source. Can't be beat in my humble opinion. Enjoy.
  12. discreet
    Ungrateful Dad! Genius!
  13. discreet
    Save up a bit more and get a Diamond BCP1. It's not a 'utility' compressor as such, but just makes you sound great. It's lush.
  14. discreet
    I think any sound can be musical. Apart from any sounds made by Metallica, obviously.
  15. discreet
    Jazz basses are tricky. You may be better off with the sort that hold the bass suspended from the neck and have the body resting on foam-covered legs. But IME the Fender headstock isn't best-suited to this type, either. Buy a P-Bass!
  16. discreet
    [quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1445169598' post='2889223'] Show me an objective perception ! [/quote] Heh, OK. It's all about perception.
  17. discreet
    [quote name='ahpook' timestamp='1445167901' post='2889209'] It's a bit like 'What is art ?' - the ultimate answer is "It is what we say it is" [/quote] Had a chemically-assisted days-long long discussion about this many years ago and came to the conclusion that either everything is art, or nothing is. I'd say the same about music - either all sounds are music or none are. It's all about subjective perception, really. One man's cement mixer is another man's sweet, sweet melody.
  18. discreet
    [quote name='leftybassman392' timestamp='1445167072' post='2889196'] "A sound is musical if..." [/quote] You think it is.
  19. discreet
    [quote name='bassix' timestamp='1445165178' post='2889182'] That is good to know, I tend to trust my ears when setting up but this should help with getting to grips with the amp I've bought as a replacement.. An ABM 500 Evo III, I'm excited! [/quote] Ear-trust should be the bottom line, of course. I don't think you'll be disappointed with the ABM500 Evo III, though - mine's an Evo II, so doesn't have the Compressor. Please let us know the situation with the Shape button on the Evo III... it's likely the same as the Evo II, but you never know.
  20. discreet
    [quote name='Merton' timestamp='1445160588' post='2889138'] I concur with Discreet - take the Shape "out" as it just clutters everything and without it you have a sublime tone [/quote] And to take the Shape 'out' on an ABM, the Shape button should be 'in'.
  21. discreet
    [quote name='bassix' timestamp='1444670933' post='2884972'] I had the volume maxed and the input at 3 O'Clock with the "Shape" button unpressed to get heard against a guitarist and drummer. [/quote] This is a major point about the shape button. It's basically like a contour control in that it'll cut your mids and boost lows and highs, i.e. give a scooped sound. BUT, (on my ABM EVO II at least), THE SHAPE IS ACTIVE WHEN THE BUTTON IS OUT, NOT IN. This is counter-intuitive of course, but with this amp at least, if you want to be heard live the Shape button should be IN to provide NO scoop. Perhaps this is why so many people claim they have problems with Ashdown amps and why they're seen as 'woolly' or 'muddy'? Possibly, as the default position of the Shape button provides a scooped sound. To be quite clear, if you want an unscooped sound with an ABM the Shape button should be IN. Then the EQ section works as it should.
  22. discreet
    [quote name='3below' timestamp='1445120966' post='2889017'] Be bold on a new day when you are feeling on form. [/quote] Agreed. If you don't feel right about it you will feck it up. Wait until you have the time to go through everything properly in your mind, you have all the tools you need, you have peace and quiet and no distractions and you don't have a hangover.
  23. discreet
    Ashdown or Ampeg? How about both - I'm running an ABM 575 Evo with the EQ switched out and a VT Bass in front. Rich, harmonic tube-like tone and slam for days, all through a Schroeder 21012L. Hummana-hummana-hummana. Eureka!
  24. discreet
    [quote name='geoham' timestamp='1445120018' post='2889010'] ...make sure you try in a band situation. In my opinion, you won't appreciate flats properly until you've at least had a band rehearsal with them. [/quote] +1
  25. discreet
    [quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1445102146' post='2888831'] I definitely agree that it lacks a bit of growl but it does have a bit of beef. Certainly gonna be loud enough.... put a Hartke bass attack thru the effects loop and got a variety of good tones... I didn't really mess with the eq. Just put all the knobs at 12 o clock and used the hartke. That's how I will be using it. [/quote] It's all good. [quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1445102146' post='2888831'] For 80 quid it's a bloody bargain. [/quote] I think that's the bottom line with this amp really.
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