A good finish to my tone quest

[thumperbob 2002]

Just bought a Mesa Bassbuster 1 x 15 combo from Chris on here. Made me think a little about the changes in rigs I have had. The result of this little journey is probably not what you might expect.

Been playing bass since I was 14- for 36 years now, been semi pro for much of that time- at 16 I was earning as much as my dad!! Was pro for a few years too.

I have had many many rigs- but strangely enough for most of that time stuck to Jazz basses.

A few observations-

Fender Bassman amps sound great through a 2 x 15 but not that loud. Ampeg V4Bs sound even better- a lot louder.

It seems i was always looking for headroom from my rigs- more than tone which I always believed came from my fingers ( still do in some respect )

Trace gear is indestructable- and very loud- but strangely " cold". Had some great Trace rigs ( it was acceptable in the 80`S )
Many many rigs later hung up my bass for a few years whilst I sorted my life out.

6 years back I started again. Everything seemed so different- lots of lighter stuff on the market- with loads of headroom. Was amazed when my LM2 was delivered by postman!! Really happy with my rig- but bought a Marshall VBA stack which sounded great but was massively heavy. Moved into very lightweight rigs- Schroeder Cabs- massively loud and light but quite " modern" sounding. Then got into retro style amps- bought a portoflex Ampeg combo- was OK but a little weak.

Came to the conclusion that lightweight was not the way to go so bought a middle ground rig- A Hartke LH1000 and the Hydrive 4 x 10. Lovely tone- quite lightweight ( when compared to an SVT ) and cheap.

Then bought a couple of Fender TV combos- a 1 x 15 and a 1 x 10. Brilliant Amps- pretty light- look great- great tone. Like my first Fender Bassman 100 but louder- more convenient- no farting/ rattling cab. Superb. Fit in great with my present retro type soul band.

There was a Mesa Boogie 1 x 15 combo for sale here a little while ago- I never have had a Mesa amp before so had a bit of a GAS attack. It was sold to Chris Beedie who put this up for sale and I bought it.

200W of Tube tone- sounds great!! Amazingly loud for 200W- much more powerful than my TV 15 which is 350W ( but a hybrid ). In fact I would say its similar in power to my Hartke 1000W rig. Actually the combo sounds very similar to my Fender TV 15 but just has "more". More depth, more warm tone,more power. The downside is much more weight- this thing weighs an awful amount- 110Lbs?? Thats about twice what my TV 15 weighs. But I suppose the point is - in my experience the right heavy, quality bass rig will murder any lightweight rig.

I still have the Fender TV combos ( will never sell them ) - and I`ll use these for most gigs- but for that gig I play where there is an easy load in and out the Mesa will be used.

[niceguyhomer]

Boogie stuff is amazing - I'd love a WA Scout, they sound amazing but they're silly money. You seem to be in a good place gearwise

[Bassman Steve]

Welcome to the Boogie family. There is nothing better (for me, I hasten to add) and have been a dedicated fan for a long time. The Buster looks a brilliant combo and I can only imagine how good it sounds.

[thumperbob 2002]

Bassman Steve- just looked at your signature- bloody hell!!

[Lozz196]

The weighty gear certainly sounds good. One day, when doing session work, at the recording studio I usually record at, I decided to use an old Fender Bassman amp through a big Ampeg cab - all eq set flat, amazing sound. Wouldn`t want to carry any of it though.

[Bassman Steve]

Bob - kindly you didn't add what you were thinking 'what a [email="tw@t"]tw@t'[/email]. It's all a pain to move but I just love the sound and haven't really ever heard anything which comes close.

[thumperbob 2002]

Really referring to your collection of vintage Fenders.

I have no problem at all about people using massive stacks- it has its advantages ( superior sound and looks ) and its disadvantages- broken back.

I once bought a rig from the nearly famous Dogs D`Amour. This was a Fender 4 x 10 and a 1 x 15- In the same flightcase. This came with a Fender pre-amp and a massive Tube Power Amp. I could only just adjust the EQ by standing on tiptoes- and I am not too short at 5`9.

[chris_b]

Boogie cabs are great.

I played them for 10 years, and if I was 20 years younger I’d still have them, but the time will come when you decide that no matter how good they sound, you can't lift them anymore.

Your quest isn't finished yet, believe me.

[thumperbob 2002]

I think that it is finished ( my quest )- I have a little amp for hard to get into venues, and for my upright- (TV 10)
Bigger Combo for normal gigs ( 90% ) of the time- ( TV 15 )
and the Mesa for gigs where its very easy to load/ unload- or I have help with moving it. It is weighty but the total combo only weighs as much as my old Marshall VBA Head- and less than my old SVT/ V4B. And it has wheels and three handles.

Always use pa support so really the TV 10 is all I really need, the others are just what I want to use.

Strictly speaking, most punters wouldnt know the difference between them anyway, but I would.

[longtimefred]

nice one on bagging that combo. I kept looking to see who was going to have it, looks amazing. 200 valve watts is the equivilant of around 8 million fake digital watts

I had a Trace 4x8 V Type combo for a while, it weighed 32kg if i remember correctly. Was well worth carrying as it sounded solid as a rock and loud as hell!
If you fancy using it more often, get yourself a little sack truck so you can wheel it around easily

Have fun!

[JTUK]

I'll go along with this.

I have my A rig for the better gigs with a decent load-in or even stage crew on hand...but I still have to get it from the car..
which is a great sound, IMO. The amp is 60odd pound racked up and the cabs are the same each...ball park.
For other gigs I have a very decent TF amp with Berg 12' cabs and they do well. I'd move the Bergs on tho if I
see what I want to replace them with crop up and the deal was easy.
It is only against the A rig that you find that little difference.
I wouldn't have been aware of it had I not been able to compare the two....but I knew there was something not quite there..
So, yes..there is something in the weight for me.. for sure.
It isn't a theory I can proove..but my ears tell me that so..??? and I have strange people come up after the gig and
mention it as well.

[Musicman20]

My Orange AD200 is still king for that type of tone. I usually turn it one every few months to check its all ok, (apparently you aren't supposed to leave tube amps turned off for long period of time...eg over a year).

It is a beast, not as heavy as some, and a large amp.

I plugged it in last night to check it over, and it sounded great. The small EQ (whoch I barely touch) makes me want to just use a P bass and have done with it.

[Bassman Steve]

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1370431717' post='2100657']
Really referring to your collection of vintage Fenders.
[/quote]

Ok, I didn't twig as I don't really think of them as 'vintage' Fenders. I've done the pre-CBS thing but found that the period 66-73 seem to work best for me which is great from a buying them point of view. Thanks for the compliment anyway.

Whatever gear you use, it is a very satisfying thing to be able to sit back and think 'that's me done'. I sometimes think I should look at Barefaced but then I love the sound I get so why take a punt for no real reason?

[Beedster]

Great story Bob, glad you like the Buster. For me it was too big for a combo and too small for a rig if you know what I mean. I've now gone back down to a Walkabout - which for the balance of size, weight and tone is THE ideal bass combo as far as I'm concerned - and back up to an SVT amp with a soon to be revealed cab!

I doubt there's a better bass combo on the market that the Buster though.

Cheers

C

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 19, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Telebass]

I too love the sound of a 50W Silverface Bassman into the old 2x15. If it were loud enough and I could carry it, that's what I would use. It isn't, and I can't.
So a LMIII and a BF Super 15 will just have to do. That's a much bigger sound than any vintage Bassman, for a quarter of the weight.

[SparkBird]

I'm about the same age as you Thumper and maybe i've followed a vaguely similar route .
Early on at 15 years old a Selmer TnB 50w you remember them ? (lovely little amp) paid a pair of old Levis and £10 for it haha ,
Marshall 100w, then Hiwatt , both with 4X12 cabs ,great thumping sounds but the cabs couldn't take the punishment and then a marshal 2X15 worst thing i ever owned i still hate 15's .
So on to Yamaha 500w power amp (very heavy) and PB-1 good parametrics and in 1992 ish SWR SM400 and 2 4X10's Golliaths , still using them .
Now want to go back to 100W valve head V4B or something because i still love the FAT valve sound .
My point, there was a time when i wanted to play everything from Bootsy , to Jaco, to Marcus Miller and the newer hybrid amps could cover that with whistles and bells , but now i just want Thump again , with defintion , but thump .
Been using my 63 Pbass with flats and even rolling the treble off on the bass, even guitarists are loving the sound .
Am i getting old , or coming to my senses ?

[Beedster]

[quote name='SparkBird' timestamp='1381476660' post='2239524']
I'm about the same age as you Thumper and maybe i've followed a vaguely similar route .
Early on at 15 years old a Selmer TnB 50w you remember them ? (lovely little amp) paid a pair of old Levis and £10 for it haha ,
Marshall 100w, then Hiwatt , both with 4X12 cabs ,great thumping sounds but the cabs couldn't take the punishment and then a marshal 2X15 worst thing i ever owned i still hate 15's .
So on to Yamaha 500w power amp (very heavy) and PB-1 good parametrics and in 1992 ish SWR SM400 and 2 4X10's Golliaths , still using them .
Now want to go back to 100W valve head V4B or something because i still love the FAT valve sound .
My point, there was a time when i wanted to play everything from Bootsy , to Jaco, to Marcus Miller and the newer hybrid amps could cover that with whistles and bells , but now i just want Thump again , with defintion , but thump .
Been using my 63 Pbass with flats and even rolling the treble off on the bass, even guitarists are loving the sound .
Am i getting old , or coming to my senses ?
[/quote]

Coming to your senses. I've come to mine - Precision, flats, Ampeg V4-B, Barefaced '69er, two cables. Nothing else needed

[SparkBird]

Haha , why did it take soo long ????

Erm whats a barefeced 69'er ?

I had a V4b with an old Hiwat 4 x 12 cab about five years ago for a about a year , but had a brainstorm cos i had too much gear ( guitars nd amps too),
so i sold it , dumb ,dumb dumb .

Edited October 11, 2013 by SparkBird

[nottswarwick]

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1381477459' post='2239531']


Coming to your senses. I've come to mine - Precision, flats, Ampeg V4-B, Barefaced '69er, two cables. Nothing else needed
[/quote]

I'd love to hear that.

[ShergoldSnickers]

[quote name='SparkBird' timestamp='1381478670' post='2239546']
Erm whats a barefeced 69'er ?
[/quote]

All the details here:
http://barefacedbass.com/product-range/69er.htm

[badboy1984]

Do Fender still produce those bassman TV combo? Haven't seen any around for sale for awhile now. I would love to have Bassman TV 1x10.

[JTUK]

BIG power magnets on the amp and ceramic cabs do it for me.
I can get close with a lighter rig but it isn't the same and it is obvious
in comparison.

I understand the need to go lightweight but am glad I don't have to adhere to it.

[drewk_ie]

I've gone down the road of the light weight gear, Phil Jones 4b cabs, Genz Benz shuttles etc while they're practical and easy to move around nothing comes close to a tube head in terms of sound and headroom... Shame my back doesn't share this love of tubes with me anymore...

[Prime_BASS]

Love to be able to lug a big ole valve 200watt beast with me but weight is a massive issue for me. My amp now cost me very little weighs less and fits in my gig bag.