BlacknWhite Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 Hey guys what's up. I love vintage bass gear. Everything back in the 50's, 60's and 70's was just built better and looked cooler lol. Plus the tone you can't beat. My current rig is an early '70's Ampeg BT-25 bass head going through a 1978 Ampeg B25-B 215 bass cab. I also own a early 1970's Northern Pbass and a Fender Jazz. Quote
JTUK Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 Plenty of guys I know wont look beyond a Fender Bassman and a P... How many guys can handle a much cleaner signal anyway.. You want your playing torn apart...? Quote
Jus Lukin Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 (edited) - Edited February 28, 2022 by Jus Lukin Quote
BlacknWhite Posted July 25, 2015 Author Posted July 25, 2015 [quote name='Jus Lukin' timestamp='1437815252' post='2829205'] The closest I get to vintage gear is are a Boss OC-2 and CE-2. There is something about the ol' Black/Silverface Fender Bassman which really does it for me though. I've never had the chance to play through one of the classic shallow 2x15's, and have heard nothing but bad things, but they are also cool as anything! [/quote] I was a little iffy about buying the shallow 215 as I have never played through one before and I bought it online without trying it lol. But had to have it and it sounds amazing! The low end it produces is insane and my highs are clean as well. It has the classic Ampeg tone and is built to last a couple life times. It's in better shape than my newer cabs lol. Quote
JTUK Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 Not sure about 30 year old speakers tbh... I've been through plenty of ragged 810's and the most polite thing you could say about them is that they sounded somewhat 'tired'.. Where has the cab beed stored..what sort of playing life has it had. Old chassis ..and especially the cheaper ones, were pretty poor to start with... that is why premium brands like JBL, EV, Gauss, got the reputations they did. I'd be interested in the JBL and EV cabs, but not the stock units... You may possibly be able to recone JBL and EV today pretty easily..not so sure about the stock ones..and also..why would you bother..?? The old Ampeg 10's..Marshall 15's etc etc were very low powered and IMO, par for the day.. but those units have been massively been overtaken by recent tech.. Quote
VTypeV4 Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 I like viintage valve amps although the limitation of cheap old bass speakers like Oxford and the like don't do much for me. Vintage JBL and EV on the other hand still sound cool to my ears. I like to think I have the best of both worlds with my Trace / SWR setup.. Quote
discreet Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 I'm totally with the OP, I love vintage bass gear too. But unless I can find someone to carry it around for me, it's a G-K MB500 Fusion and Schroeder 21012L for the foreseeable... not that I'm complaining too much, you understand. Quote
BlacknWhite Posted July 26, 2015 Author Posted July 26, 2015 (edited) [quote name='JTUK' timestamp='1437818664' post='2829243'] Not sure about 30 year old speakers tbh... I've been through plenty of ragged 810's and the most polite thing you could say about them is that they sounded somewhat 'tired'.. Where has the cab beed stored..what sort of playing life has it had. Old chassis ..and especially the cheaper ones, were pretty poor to start with... that is why premium brands like JBL, EV, Gauss, got the reputations they did. I'd be interested in the JBL and EV cabs, but not the stock units... You may possibly be able to recone JBL and EV today pretty easily..not so sure about the stock ones..and also..why would you bother..?? The old Ampeg 10's..Marshall 15's etc etc were very low powered and IMO, par for the day.. but those units have been massively been overtaken by recent tech.. [/quote] I was pretty shocked actually. For 37 year old speakers they sounded pretty good. It's almost like the cab just sat in a jam room or basement for years with no use as the cab and speakers were in amazing shape for being that old. The tolex is almost perfect, no dings in the wood... the only wear is faded color on the grill cloth. I popped out the original speakers and put in two [url="https://www.amazon.ca/gp/r.html?C=28VHL5UCHS8OH&K=A1X8BLZL4C1OPB&R=2EV3TGN2QJGYF&T=C&U=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.ca%2Fdp%2FB0002Z243Y%2Fref%3Dpe_386430_126088100_TE_item&A=YCVFGZVPPVHRCDOMJ1BYFQN2PYWA&H=CJYI3T6H0VCFMNQJ4GMHHM2VQ8AA&ref_=pe_386430_126088100_TE_item"][color=#000000]Eminence BETA15A[/color][/url]'s just so It could handle my higher wattage heads. I am very impressed with the workmanship on the cab though. It will out last any of my newer cabs thats for sure. Edited July 26, 2015 by BlacknWhite Quote
Dan Dare Posted July 28, 2015 Posted July 28, 2015 Still miss my Bassman 135 and 2x15. Don't miss the size/weight, though. Quote
Modman Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 The idea of vintage bass gear is nice, but the real life situation of maintaining, transporting the stuff just seems like a nightmare and back buster. I am pretty glad to get some fantastic vintage tones from my current lightweight setup without busting a gut Quote
jensenmann Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 I´ve always been into vintage rigs from my early days on. Whenever tone was important I chose my Ampeg SVT, B15, Hiwatt DR103 or Bassman 135 rigs. Back in my days as professional player most often serving certain types of music was more important than my own tone, though. Therefore I used to play Trace Elliot and SWR amps + Boogie cabs. That combination always delivered but never hurt anybody or came into their way. Since I don´t gig that much anymore but mostly record originals in my own room I´m back to those old mofos. Not having to carry them doesn´t hurt either.... I don´t miss the days when I had to load my cased SVT and 8x10 into my car ALONE Quote
discreet Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 [quote name='jensenmann' timestamp='1438361806' post='2833974'] I don´t miss the days when I had to load my cased SVT and 8x10 into my car ALONE [/quote] I did that a couple of times, too. Couldn't do it now - guts would explode. Quote
jensenmann Posted July 31, 2015 Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Luckily these days are over for some reason .... called age and damaged back. I can´t even lift my SVT on top of the 8x10" alone anymore. Edited July 31, 2015 by jensenmann Quote
chriswareham Posted August 1, 2015 Posted August 1, 2015 The speakers in my Vox cabinets are 43 and 49 years old. Never been reconed, and still sound great. I know one has had an easy life, having only been used a few times until I got it, but the other one is in a cab that bears all the signs of long use. Quote
disssa Posted September 16, 2015 Posted September 16, 2015 (edited) I play an early 70´s Ampeg B25B and an early 80´s Music Man 100B... I love these little amps! Edited September 16, 2015 by disssa Quote
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