deej Posted December 30, 2010 Share Posted December 30, 2010 (edited) Ive been thinking of getting a new rig recently, but im not too sure what im after. Since effects are a big part of what I do, ive been thinking about what type of amp would get the most out of my pedals. I havnt actually played through a tube amp, but im guessing theyre perfect for dirt pedals because of the power and grit they can add. When it comes to things like modulation though, im thinking something with a good high end would be better to give the sound more presence? Ive got a love/hate thing going on with my GK gear. I want a thicker, valve like sound for my core tone, but the power and brightness of the 1001RB-II works great for a lot of my pedals, and I dont want them to sound compressed and thuddy. What amps do you guys prefer to get the most out of your pedals? Edited January 5, 2011 by deej Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassnut62 Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Late 70s Bassman 135 all valve Fender is what I use mostly. Hybrid valve/ss Hartke 3500 works well too. Both are relatively cheap for what you get. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinman Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 If effects are your thing my guess would be that you'd be best off with very neutral amp so probably solid state rather than valve. Cab-wise something with tweeters! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanOwens Posted January 5, 2011 Share Posted January 5, 2011 Doesn't it come back to your core tone? Whether you want your chorus to sound older or more modern? Dan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deej Posted January 5, 2011 Author Share Posted January 5, 2011 [quote name='ahpook' post='1079203' date='Jan 5 2011, 09:31 PM']"complement"...surely. [/quote] You didnt see nothing... [quote name='DanOwens' post='1079265' date='Jan 5 2011, 10:24 PM']Doesn't it come back to your core tone? Whether you want your chorus to sound older or more modern? Dan[/quote] Yeah thats true. Whats going into a pedal definitely affects whats coming out of it too. Some of my pedals sound rubbish with one bass, but nail what im after with another. Do amps really have much of an impact on the sound of the pedals, or is it too subtle to really care in a live situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 I think if you have a lot of high mids and top end in your sound, then amps are going to sound fairly different. Have you thought about buying a guitar amp to run your effects through? It's a bitch to carry extra stuff, but if you have a 1 x 15" bass combo (or similar) and a 1 or 2 x 12" guitar combo, your effects will sound great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='cheddatom' post='1079479' date='Jan 6 2011, 08:33 AM']I think if you have a lot of high mids and top end in your sound, then amps are going to sound fairly different. Have you thought about buying a guitar amp to run your effects through? It's a bitch to carry extra stuff, but if you have a 1 x 15" bass combo (or similar) and a 1 or 2 x 12" guitar combo, your effects will sound great![/quote] Doesn't most modern SS amps have all the top end clarity you'd get from a guitar amp? I don't see the point in carrying 2 separate rigs when 1 will do it better. I put my semi acoustic through my MB combo all the time & sounds more faithful than putting it through any of the guitarists rigs (to me, bass gear is more similar to decent PA). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 yeh, you have good points. In my kind of budgets, I would never afford a bass amp which could handle both lows and highs equally well. Bass amps which handle the lows well are relatively cheap, and the same for guitar amps with the top end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazWills Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='Bassnut62' post='1079182' date='Jan 5 2011, 09:20 PM']Late 70s Bassman 135 all valve Fender is what I use mostly. Hybrid valve/ss Hartke 3500 works well too. Both are relatively cheap for what you get.[/quote] +1 on the bassman, love mine. from my experience, these amps work veeeeery nicely with all sorts of pedals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 Good point, but unless you was borrowing the guitar combo, would the cost of 2 cheaper combos not be far away from 1 decent bass combo? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='thinman' post='1079253' date='Jan 5 2011, 10:14 PM']If effects are your thing my guess would be that you'd be best off with very neutral amp so probably solid state rather than valve. Cab-wise something with tweeters![/quote] +1 I have some very nice dirt/grit/overdrive pedals (Sansamp BDDI, DHA VT2, etc.) and none of them have been used since the day I got my Orange Terror Bass head. If your amp is already delivering a genuine overdriven valve sound, surely the last thing you want to do is plaster it with more overdrive (whether genuine or [i]ersatz[/i])? I now keep my dirt pedals in the studio, where I use them to front-end or warm up an uber-clean Eden WTX-500. With the OTB, I routinely use Octaver, Chorus and Fuzz. I would really struggle to claim that any of them sound better/worse through a valve head than through a SS head. Different, yes, but not better/worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='xgsjx' post='1079675' date='Jan 6 2011, 11:50 AM']Good point, but unless you was borrowing the guitar combo, would the cost of 2 cheaper combos not be far away from 1 decent bass combo?[/quote] Heh, maybe!?! I think i've just fallen into the classic trap of recommending one's own set-up without considering the reasoning behind it. Sorry OP!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xgsjx Posted January 6, 2011 Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='cheddatom' post='1080111' date='Jan 6 2011, 04:56 PM']Heh, maybe!?! I think i've just fallen into the classic trap of recommending one's own set-up without considering the reasoning behind it. Sorry OP!![/quote] But if you have that gear to hand (Bass gear & guitar gear), then why not put it to good use My opinion was only if you don't have the gear to hand & are buying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deej Posted January 6, 2011 Author Share Posted January 6, 2011 [quote name='Happy Jack' post='1080048' date='Jan 6 2011, 04:18 PM']If your amp is already delivering a genuine overdriven valve sound, surely the last thing you want to do is plaster it with more overdrive (whether genuine or [i]ersatz[/i])?[/quote] Which means I could have extra space on my board for more pedals. Result! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassnut62 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 Some great observations coming through. I fell for recommending,well, sharing that my rig works well, but I do use 15s for cabs. Have been using an ancient 4-tweeter Randall bright box to bring out top end too. There, shared I mean got that off my chest! Point is bright box is a lot cheaper and lighter than an additional guitar amp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 I don't normally like the sound of tweeters, they always seem very harsh. I do think that amping the lows and highs seperately can help. When I record bass DI, i'll often have a go at EQ, compression etc in the computer to try and get a sound I like. I can never get as good a sound as when I duplicate the track and use EQ to create a crossover. I can't explain the reason for it, but that's my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deej Posted January 10, 2011 Author Share Posted January 10, 2011 Im not really a fan of tweeters either. Ive got the whole bi-amp thing going on with my GK amp, but I just leave it off because I dont like the sharpness of it. It makes things like modulation cut through better, but I dont like having that harshness with any of my dirt pedals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassnut62 Posted January 10, 2011 Share Posted January 10, 2011 Fair point about tweeters - they can be harsh, especially with dirt and some filters. I reckon they only add a bit with octaves, synths and some modulation, but they have to be used very sparingly and the tweeters definitely need to be controlled via a crossover to avoid compromising the lows and mids. If you have a guitarist in the band there is probably no point either, as those highs will probably be lost in the mix. I bet you're all right about those recording techniques. I am only really commenting re live situations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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