and todays quiz is.........advice needed on amps

[Dad3353]

[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1406436579' post='2511431']
Oh, and I'm UK based if that makes any difference
[/quote]

Apologies, I have no idea why I took you for being in the US. Doh..! The 'Fender for old-school tone' still holds, but there are many other options in the UK, including more than a couple of very powerful valve amps in the forum Marketplace. I assume you've had a glance in there..?

[HowieBass]

I stll think some of the 'problem' here might be strings/playing style related - your quest for deep clear bass and sounding like an 'old school' rock bassist to me cries out for changing your flatwound strings to roundwounds and playing with a pick - that's the cheapest change you can make and it'll make a world of difference to your sound IMHO.

[xgsjx]

I suppose "clear bass" & "Ashdown cabs" are 2 terms I've never associated with one another & adding flatwounds into the mix is going to be like putting a wooly jumper on a sheep.

I do prefer flatwounds to rounds though.

[Mr.T]

A big +1 for the VT Bass pedal!
Put one in front of your amp and I would be surprised if you could not get a sound that you like.

... I agree that you might want/need to change cabs.

[Lozz196]

You can get very trebly sounds from Ashdown cabs - Bruce Foxton & JJ Burnell use them, both of whom are famed for their trebly sounds. But for vintagey sounds to me is drop highs and lows, and boost low-mids. Sounds rotten on its own (imo) but in the mix is where it`s at. The VT pedal is also vintage-in-a-box. I have one and it`s the most amazing little bit of kit I`ve ever had.

[gsgbass]

You've got the right head, just add two TC E BC212 cabs to it.

[IMG]http://i.imgur.com/9sZtVUi.jpg[/IMG]

[charic]

You might need to look at the height of your pickups too, oh and try playing much nearer the neck!

Boost low mids and keep your other settings at around noon, try to cut instead of boost. Make sure you've got the gain set just short of growling. Still not loud enough? Run a DI out to the PA

[Sean]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1406556001' post='2512380']
All the above is true.

If you're used to Class D solid-state 500W amps, then you will be utterly staggered at how loud a 200W all-valve can go.

And you will utterly stagger along under the weight of the damned thing, typically over 25Kg and sometimes much more.

Form follows function ... where will you be playing? If you're mainly looking at pub & club gigs, then don't buy anything until you've tried an Orange Terror Bass 500. It's very much a one-trick pony, but that trick is almost exactly what you've described as your target. Run one through a Barefaced Compact (no tweeter) and you have a rig that's a one-handed lift from the carpark but will do at least 90% of what you want.

If you're as obsessed with old-school tone as I am, try a Demeter pre-amp into a clean power amp (maybe a PA power amp). The VTBP-201 is ideal for this, really warm and smooth. A Barefaced might be a bit too 'transparent' with that rig.

If you're absolutely determined to go all-valve, then be prepared to throw some serious money around. The ideal solution might be an Orange AD200 into an Orange 410, plus the cost of the roadies you'll need to move it, and a supply of ear-plugs to your audience at the Dog & Duck.
[/quote]

This is a pretty normal rig. A lot of folk have devolved and are no longer able to lift more than the weight if an iPad so take their advice with a pinch of mono sodium glutamate.

[donslow]

Jesus wept, I don't get a chance to get on here for a day or so and there's a myriad of overwhelming information from all of you lovely lovely people so thank you all for your efforts and suggestions so far

From what I can tell, a cab change and/or a vt pedal may be a big solution to my self made problem, am I wrong?!

The question is, what cabs hahaha

Thankyiu all for suggestions of round wound strings and a pick but I have tried that with many different strings and it just makes for very uncomfortable playing for me, I just can't seem to be able to play with a pick at all, I found it all sounded a little too cutting for me also

I'm now officially , REALLY confused as to which way to turn, someone suggested new tone caps in my guitar may help but I recently upgraded the pickups for what I believe to be near the best gear, fender original 62 ri pickups, cloth wiring, CTS pots and switchcraft jack and, if I remember rightly a 0.47 ?! Orange drop cap

Could this setup be causing any I'll effects?

[HowieBass]

Regarding playing with a pick; I'd wrongly assumed that as a lapsed guitar player that's how you'd played before adopting bass; my mistake. What you have in your bass I think should pretty much nail a classic rock tone, though from what you've said above I can't tell if you've already gone down the roundwound string route and didn't get along with them? I used to play nothing but steel roundwound strings for many years but I now much prefer the smoother feel of nickel rounds and they're a warmer, less strident string than steel rounds when new. Since none of us can hear what you're hearing or where it may be lacking I think it might be worth your while taking your bass and amp head to a decent music shop/store (sorry but I don't know where you live so can't offer any suggestions) and try your bass through a few cabs to see whether your Ashdown cabs are the limiting factor and whilst there try your bass through whatever else is available (other heads/cabs/combos) and see if the tone you want is found in another rig.

[donslow]

It is certainly an oddity, played guitar for 16+ years with a pick and can't use one on a bass for 16+ minutes

Have tries many different types and brand of round wound string and for some reason unbeknownst to me, seem to play better and easier with flatwounds but maybe I should reconsider my choices

Not too many shops within a reasonable distance of me are well stocked in bass gear unfortunately so there's little opportunity to try a lot of amps/cabs/ combos

[Mr.T]

[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1406667380' post='2513629']

....I'm now officially , REALLY confused as to which way to turn....

[/quote]

My gut feeling is....
You could probably get the sound you want from the kit you already have with some time spent setting it up
....and save yourself a lot of money!

Maybe if you let us know your amp settings?

[HowieBass]

Definitely give nickel roundwounds a go if you haven't tried them yet, the difference in feel when playing fingerstyle is noticeable; I'd never go back to steels again though I'm quite happy playing steel flatwounds. Oh and by the way, I started out using a pick when I first played bass many, many years ago but now play exclusively fingerstyle as I feel it gives me more control over dynamics so I totally understand your choice, but a pick certainly gives definition and attack to a note which is what you'll have heard on a lot of recorded music. Hope you get sorted soon anyway!

[JamesBass]

[quote name='donslow' timestamp='1406670490' post='2513684']
It is certainly an oddity, played guitar for 16+ years with a pick and can't use one on a bass for 16+ minutes

Have tries many different types and brand of round wound string and for some reason unbeknownst to me, seem to play better and easier with flatwounds but maybe I should reconsider my choices

Not too many shops within a reasonable distance of me are well stocked in bass gear unfortunately so there's little opportunity to try a lot of amps/cabs/ combos
[/quote]
Hi Donslow, I see you've had a LOT of helpful replies thus far, hopefully this might help.

I'm also predominantly a blues/blues-rock player, my originals band, who also do some covers are very much influenced along the same line as you are. As a bass player my tone quest basically has me dreaming of building a time machine and just living in the 60s! Sadly I've not got a perpetually collapsing star, nor am I a time lord

I have however, had the same issues you have with the tone quest, I'm about as close as I'll ever get with my current rig, just waiting to now add another P to the stable, as well as upgrading my current MIM P. Currently I'm using a HUGE Ashdown CTM300 head, which is all valve and is about as ballsy as you'll get! It's SUPERB! I usually run my settings along the line of; Mellow switch on, this scoops the mids and adds some bass and treble, I then further remove mids by moving the pot back to 11 o'clock, treble then stays at 12, while the bass gets boosted to between 1 and 2. This head is then going through a Laney Richter 410 of all things! I often switch between tweeter on or off depending on the room and that is all the correcting I do to my rig. My MIM P and Ric are both strung with D'Addario rounds currently, namely the EXL170BTs and the EXL170s respectively, both have the tone on about 1 or 2 for the most part and give me enough cut and punch while still being sufficiently thumpy without being wooly and messy, my P is also a maple board! Though it sometimes wears chrome flats and when it does the tone knob on the bass goes to half and then gets fiddled with to suit a room.

Hope there's some good things in there for you to mull over and consider, feel free to drop me a PM at anytime and I'll try and answer any other questions you have!

[donslow]

What does anyone think of the gk heads, specifically 2001rb or the 700rb in Regards to what I might be looking for

[lownote]

I don't know nuffing about nuffing, but i struggled for a year to get a tone out of my TC head that I liked. Then I bought a 400w Warwick Pro Fet IV and fell instantly in love and have persuaded it to come to bed with me. Clean clean bass sound with EQ totally flat. I'm not sure my current TC 210 cab is the ideal partner for this threesome but on the head side of things I am sorted.