Is anybody truly happy?

[JTUK]

[quote name='OzzyGreg' post='1330628' date='Aug 7 2011, 08:54 AM'].


Man, I'm [b]SO[/b] with you on that!

It was these buggers ( [i]ie talkbass guys[/i]) talking about their heads and cabinets and stuff that made me begin to release the moths from my wallet. They're still flying out!

I almost have my perfect rig assembled. Just waiting on the GB Shuttlemax 12.0 and Eminence Kappalite 3015LF to arrive.

Greg[/quote]


But those same guys go through so much gear that you'd have to say they can't be happy otherwise they would stick...so why would you put much stock in that process..??

Bass amps have too much EQ..... IMO, and I can't recall when I touched more than the gain/master even if I take different cabs out.

Edited August 7, 2011 by JTUK

[OzzyGreg]

[quote]But those same guys go through so much gear that you'd have to say they can't be happy otherwise they would stick...so why would you put much stock in that process..??[/quote]

I'm hearin' ya there! Fair call.


[quote]Bass amps have too much EQ..... IMO [quote]

Now that's a point I have to disagree with you on, sorry.
I'm always tweaking the EQ to suit the room, the way the band's sounding, etc.
I'd be lost without sweepable mids!

To each his own as they say!

Greg

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='cetera' post='1329416' date='Aug 6 2011, 12:02 AM']2) Sansamp RBI/RPM thru Peavey 1u digital amp into Bergantino NV610[/quote]

Now if Tech 21 would just make a single lightweight unit consisting of an RBI preamp and a decent class D power amp, that would be the ultimate single box solid state "rock" solution.

[Guest bassman7755]

[quote name='nottswarwick' post='1327068' date='Aug 4 2011, 02:52 PM']So in all honestly who is truly happy with their rig having used it for a good while without feeling the need to change?[/quote]

Sonically I cant fault my SVP-PRO/QSC/epifani setup but have decided to go ultra light/portable as humping around gear is the thing I hate most about gigging to the point where it was spoiling the fun for me.

[JTUK]

Now that's a point I have to disagree with you on, sorry.
I'm always tweaking the EQ to suit the room, the way the band's sounding, etc.
I'd be lost without sweepable mids!

To each his own as they say!

Greg
...............................................................

Had problems parapharsing your point, Greg, so I have pasted it as above
Both my amps have semi para EQ, and my basses have sweeps, but again, can't recall ( literally) the last time I had to touch that in any room or stage.

The basses are good out the bag..so with a decent set of strings and its sthere. The sound might change a tad, and have a different nuance, but it is never bad, so I don't fight it.

I can rotate basses, amps and cabs and I have no problems at all.

This is why I say people invite too many complications in their signal chain.

Each band sound is sorted as well, IMO I don't have to contend with space problems with gtr,
keys or drums..and sound checks are 10 minutes typically...or little more than line-checks.

Quite happy with that...

Edited August 7, 2011 by JTUK

[ern500evo]

I'd say my two rigs keep me pretty happy!

[attachment=86471:ashdown_rig_pic.jpg]


[attachment=86470:new_rig.jpg]

[4-string-thing]

I must be happy, I've owned it for 31 years.....

Bought an Ashdown head and with the intention of building a diy 2x15 about 8 months ago, not because there was anything wrong with my old rig, just needed more volume for my last band.

[Delberthot]

Before I discovered Talkbass, let alone Basschat I had a Gallien 800Rb and Trace 1153 About 10 years on I now have a Gallien 700RB II and Laney NX115.

Put it this way, I now have more or less what I started with and I am very happy with it plus the cab is a good bit lighter

[bigbottomend]

73 SVT + 77 P = Total pleasure

[Ian Savage]

[quote name='Wilco' post='1329689' date='Aug 6 2011, 10:47 AM']Y'know for some reason I hadn't thought about that. I have changed the valve but other than that, my technical skills are limited to plugging it in & switching it on, so I have less than half a clue! I will endeavour to find someone locally who can do that - thanks for the suggestion![/quote]

Apparently these guys are Swindon/Wiltshire way, never used 'em myself but a mate of mine's recommended them: [url="http://www.svlguitars.com/"]http://www.svlguitars.com/[/url]

[clauster]

[quote name='clauster' post='1327846' date='Aug 4 2011, 09:49 PM']Another happy BF Compact owner. I'd like to add either a midget or (more likely) a second compact one day, but no rush yet.

The head I bought to go with it is the Hartle LH500. Not a bad head, especially once you realise that everything at 12 O'clock is not flat eq, but in attempt to see if I could hear how sensitive it was I got out my Ashdown EB180 combo and swapped between the two speakers. As soon as I unplugged the combo speaker and plugged in the compact, THAT was the tone I wanted Now thinking about saving for an ABM500, or a PF500 (as the cab has woken me up to the whole lightweight thing).[/quote]

I tried the LH500 with my latest Boss CS-3 (monte allums opto+ mod on this one): much punchier Rather than change the head, I'm going to stick with it for at least 6 months. In any case, I really need to do something about changing my bass more than my amp

[nottswarwick]

Some ace replies here. I getting towards being sold on my Compact....this weekends gigs should tell for sure.

At the end of the day I am a working musician, and just need gear that works and is easy to shift around.

Headwise I am not so sure yet. My ABM is up for sale, but I am not desperate to see it go.....I would like to AB it with a LM3 and a few others ideally.

[Wiggybass]

Not sure 'happy' is the right word, but perhaps 'satisfied until I find something better'...

The key for me was finding the Sansamp RBI, of which I now have two. It has a number of key advantages that keeps it as my 'what-I-plug-into' device regardless of the rest of the kit:

1. It has a flexible and responsive EQ, plus enough input gain range to dial in pretty much any sound you want.

2. Its many outputs include a proper electronically balanced DI, with front-panel level control, which I can connect to the house PA, tell the engineer to flat the channel EQ and I know that what's coming out of the PA is exactly what I want. I can also send him a dry feed from the (also electronically balanced) un-effected output if I wish.

3. Its output topology also means that I can keep my stage sound fairly distinct from that in the PA, because I use the unbalanced effected feed for my backline and then use the EQ on that device to deal with any peculiarities on stage and control my onstage volume

4. Its FX loop is quiet and has a choice of input levels so I can easily trim levels on the odd occasion I use effects. I mostly use it with a Korg rack tuner in the FX loop which gives me silent tuning (by muting the Korg)

5. It has a built-in PSU so no need for silly wall-warts, just shove an IEC lead up it

6. I use it as a preamp in front of a MarkBass head and keep the master output around half with the preamp input on the MB also around half, which gives me plenty of level whilst keeping the noise floor low. However it just about has enough output to drive a stereo power amp if I wished, depending on the amp's input sensitivity (though TBH I don't care for this as the sound is too hi-fi and not gritty enough). I've been using Bergantino cabs for a couple of years and am extremely happy with them, comfortably the best bass cabs I've found yet.

7. Perhaps best of all, by using it I can get consistent results wherever I go, even if I'm using someone else's backline, an unfamiliar PA, pretty much anything I might encounter. It's been with me through various combinations of Trace-Elliot, EBS, SWR and MarkBass amps and cabs, and it's the one thing I always miss when I don't use it.

BTW, in case you're wondering, I don't work for Tech 21 / Sansamp, I'm just a happy camper with my RBI - check it out here:

[url="http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/rbi.html"]http://www.tech21nyc.com/products/sansamp/rbi.html[/url]

If anybody is sad enough to want to see my little racks then I'll post a pic for you.

Enjoy your playing and your gear but remember - almost all the sound is in your hands, not in the equipment!

Wiggybass

[krysh]

Yes, I'm very happy with my rigs. They amplify all of my basses the way I love.

[neilb]

Yes....very.

[Delberthot]

I'll add that I've now put my Laney cab up for sale here about 3 times now but you'd probably not have noticed as I have changed my mind within a couple of hours of putting it up as I just can't bring myself to sell it.

[electric nate]

I'm constantly wanting this or that, sometimes it's enormous solid state headroom and clarity, sometimes it's all-tube overkill, sometimes I think a small package would be nice, sometimes I think 'damn the consequences, a whole host of massive cabs is worth the effort'. *shrug* I tend to go for flexibility and capability, but then I start thinking 'well it's ok at that kinda sound, but it's not quite as genuine and authentic as having ____ amp'. I think the problem is that I love pretty much all kinds of music and tones, textures, timbres and vibes. It's hard to pick one and stick with it.

My most recent philosophy has been one of comparative minimalism. Just bass, a dirt box, input gain and power amp into a single well-chosen cabinet. I'm thinking in the direction of fEarful or barefaced cabwise as the consensus seems to be that they're scarily transparent, efficient, powerful and lightweight.

Kinda thinking some sort of EQ would be a good idea in case i have to deal with crappy room acoustics, but I feel torn up enough about having an overdrive pedal in there! It ruins the minimalism! Ideally, I'd literally just have an amp with a single input and volume knob and amazing tone would magically come out! I suppose having as few componants as possible, and as well made as possible is the closest I can get to minimalist nirvana.

[cureswhatailsye]

I think no matter how much you try a rig before buying it, it's so tricky to know whether you will get on with it long term. I lusted after Aguilar GS112s for ages and then after about 2 months I was just really unhappy with them.

My tactic is just to keep my eyes open on Ebay and on here for things and see if anything comes up - that landed me a lovely Eden rig and although it's too early to say, I'm pretty sure it's marriage material.

[Lozz196]

[quote name='Lozz196' post='1327433' date='Aug 4 2011, 05:00 PM']Well I`ve had my Ampeg PF-500 for about 2 months, my Barefaced Compact for 12 days, and my Barefaced Midget for 1 day. Some might say that is a long time for me.

The Barefaced cabs aren`t going anywhere, as for one I like the sound/performance, and two, I just can`t carry anything else anyway, due to my shoulder really playing up recently.

That leaves the Ampeg. Now to me, Ampeg is the God of bass amps, and this little guy means I get Ampeg sound, in an amp I can carry in a lap-top bag. Ever since trying to go lightweight with gear, I`ve been after the Ampeg sound, now I`ve got it. So it`s a keeper.

And basses, well I`m a Fender Precision man through and through - any other bass in my hands just seems "wrong".

Edit - to be honest, if I still had the ability to shift things about, I`d probably have kept my Marshall DBS 7400 amp and Marshall VBC 412 cab, as they both worked great for me, but they just hurt too much, so each had to be found new homes. And I do like buying new gear.[/quote]

Update to the above, I`ve now used the set-up in two different bands, with very different styles, and I can state that I really can`t see me wanting to change anything. It all just "fits" perfectly with what I want. And, if anything, they have a better sound for me than the Marshalls I mentioned, so at present, yes, am truly happy with my set-up.

[Merton]

Love my "A" rig - Eden WT550 into BFB Vintage. Still have amp and cab GAS for rig "B" tho. Currently a GK MB200 and homebrew cab but thinking of adding an Eden cab for that since I can't afford the Midget I really want

[chrismuzz]

I was perfectly happy with my rig... Until i tried a Barefaced Super Twelve T. Grrrr!!!

[dave_bass5]

Ive been struggling to buy a new bass recently but my heart just isnt in it.
I guess this must mean I'm content with my gear, for now.

[nottswarwick]

I had a bit is a blonde (well, thinning to be truthful) moment at my last gig and it made for interesting results:

We were really rushed after set up to get the first dance done and set one - they were arseing around with the speeches for too long and we could not get in to set up...anyhooo, quick change in Hotel Blue Transit, and then on.

Having gigged for years with Markbass, I did not unmute the ABM head...no sound from any output, so as the band merrily tore into the first number I stood there wondering. Could not work it out, so whipped the lead form the amp, and plugged it straight into the PA desk (next to me, luckily, unplugging my DI as I went. Quick PFL level check, a guess of the channel fader, put me into aux 1 and 2 (monitors) and GO.

And it sounded mint. I could hear myself, and it was good out front (roadie gave the thumbs up). So, BASS -> DESK -> MONITORS AND FOH. Minimal rig to say the least.

After a couple of songs I realised what I had done and reverted, but I could have done the gig, no worries.

The band missed the rig on stage, and I guess I did too, but it worked.