Best venue amp you've ever come across?

[Bankai]

I just remembered another venue I've played which I'd forgotten about.

Krakatoa in Aberdeen. Their house bass amp is a Hiwatt 200 complete with a very large 8x10 or similiar. Magical!

But that venue in general is the most highly specced small venue I've ever come across. Full Funktion 1 FoH and Mons even!

[Bankai]

6 hours ago, Muppet said:

There's probably a reason you find a lot of Ashdown combos.  They're pretty reliable and don't cause a problem for FOH engineers.

Unfortunately, most of the places I go to haven't opted for the agreeable ABM series kit which I think would be a stellar choice for a venue, but instead usually one of the small MAG units or even the EB combos which aren't really anything more than an entry level amp. 

I've previously owned multiple Ashdown units. Some were good, some were bad. None were what I'd consider top notch. 

[ryancowell25]

I was an Ashdown naysayer for a long time due to some unfortunate experiences with some MAG heads and combos've encountered in beat up rehearsal rooms.

Now I own a Little Stubby and a Head of Doom - which are without a doubt exceptional and indeed top notch.

[gjones]

Entered Non Zeros, in Dundee, to be welcomed by a shitty old Laney trannie head with half the knobs missing (looked like it was from the 80s) and a knackered old 4x10, with the cloth grill kicked in. 

It sounded absolutely excellent. I was dumbfounded 

[paul_5]

3 hours ago, stewblack said:

Get paid, get out and don't hurt your back!

A fine maxim for life!

[Lozz196]

6 hours ago, redbandit599 said:

Somehow the concept of supplied backline has never filtered out to ANY of my venues, ever...only been gigging about 25 years though, so maybe I'll find one before my back gives out....

Is this more of a city centre/originals circuit thing in reality?

Yes, on the originals circuit on most gigs there’s usually an agreed gear-share, and at many of the bigger more established venues there’s at least drum shells, plus guitar & bass cabs. It makes 15min changeovers between bands a lot easier (and more realistic).

[Lfalex v1.1]

At a venue in Leicester Square, I ended up with a Hartke HA3500 and 4.5XL 4x10.

That was a nice surprise.

Post-gig, some lovely gentlemen pursuing me with the intent of parting me from my Infinity SN4 was a less pleasant surprise.

[SamPlaysBass]

I love seeing an Ashdown at a venue. Even if it’s been ragged to holy hell and back, they still sound great and have plenty of volume. MAGs usually, EB180 a couple of times. Never had the luxury of an ABM provided by the venue.. yet! 
 

Charlie Wrights in East London had a great vintage Peavey Session bass head into a TVX 4x10 cab when I played there around 5 years ago. That had been scouring eBay for a few weeks. 

[CamdenRob]

I have never encountered a reasonable provided back line... it’s always sh*t.

I always take my own now. Rehearsals and Gigs.

You work hard on your bass parts, acquire instruments that allow you to express yourself with the tone you want, then you end up running through some Ashdown monstrosity which renders all notes an ill defined wooly mush.

FOH issues are even worse and have so nearly lead to me packing this in on numerous occasions. I suspect some day it will be the death of my time gigging. It’s completely out of your control. A surprising number of FOH engineers seem to think bass guitar is something to be seen and not heard. At least not at the bottom end. Clank is fine... you can have loads of that... oh you want it to sound like an actual bass? No sorry can’t do that. 😐

[Jack]

90% of backline around here (live venue or rehearsal room) is either an Ashdown or a TC Electronic. Both of which are fine by me to be honest. There's a rock club in town that used to have 3 Marshall half stacks, 2 DSL100s and one VBA, all with 4x12s, that was a good one. I assume somebody went into a music shop and asked for 3 amps for a band and the salesman took advantage. Under new management now and the backline is gone. 

[Twincam]

Re Ashdown

Was at a multi band thing last year, just spectating I may add. They were having issues with the provided pa and no bass was being put through. Different bands had different equipment, up steps one bass player with a rik and old mag 250 1x15 combo. I thought no way, no way. I even sent a joke about the impending situation to a fellow bc member. 

Had to eat my words. Sounded fine and clearly heard. Band were not the loudest, certainly not quite though and it wasn't a large venue, semi open marque. I was impressed. I collard the bassist after and he said "he had never had to turn it up that loud before in 15 odd years" or something like that. In isolation it may not of been the best but it worked in a band. 

 

 

[chris_b]

Back in the day I toured with a hired SVT and 810. There's not going to be much that can beat that rig. Since then I rarely have a back line provided, but when I do it's usually a pile of junk and 2 times the amp sitting on the stage was broken so I had to make do with DI into the PA and very poor monitors. Usually I'll insist I use my amp.

[Muppet]

Sometimes it's not the amp itself, but the condition it's been left in by the number of bass players who simply don't care because it's not their gear.  What started out as a passable or good amp ends up being left in a terrible condition.  Then you find FOH engineers using DI boxes instead as they're more reliable. 

[Sven]

A pub I sometimes go for jam / open mic nights had an interesting stack (Hartke HA3500 head, TC Electronics 2x10 cab) residing on stage for almost a year. It was somehow leftover on permanent loan by some friend of the pub's owner and although neither the head nor the cab would have been my first choices (being an Ampeg / Ashdown kind of guy), it made do for all the bassists that used it aver the nights.

But the friend finally reclaimed it and now it's DI only to the FOH. Meh.

[Owen]

On 20/03/2020 at 08:39, Lozz196 said:

At The Hairy Dog in Derby they have a TC Electronic BH250 into a really old 610 of some sorts. They prefer bands to use it to make changeover quicker. I looked at it and thought it would struggle, not a chance, plenty loud enough - too loud if not kept under control - and a really full sound.

7th generation super displacement drivers with their hyper efficiency etc etc etc.

 

There is no substitute for surface area shifting air. 

[CamdenRob]

18 hours ago, owen said:

7th generation super displacement drivers with their hyper efficiency etc etc etc.

 

There is no substitute for surface area shifting air. 

Apart from heft of course... heft trumps objectively verifiable science every time 👍 

[Jack]

On 25/03/2020 at 10:34, Muppet said:

Sometimes it's not the amp itself, but the condition it's been left in by the number of bass players who simply don't care because it's not their gear.  What started out as a passable or good amp ends up being left in a terrible condition.  Then you find FOH engineers using DI boxes instead as they're more reliable. 

I have often thought that this may be the reason for a lot of the Ashdown digging around here. It's objectively true that over 50% of the Ashdown amps that I have used have been useless, rubbish, pieces of carp. Of course, that's not how those amps left the factory at all and you can't blame Ashdown for what happens after. I've been beaten around and abused my many people too, and I don't look as good or work as well as I did when I was new either.

Edited March 29, 2020 by Jack

[Bankai]

I am in the early stages of planning to open a grassroots music venue. One of the things I’ve resolved to do is ensure the bass amp is actually decent for a change. Whenever I’ve been to a small music venue (except for Krakatoa, Aberdeen), the Backline is always terrible and the bass amp is usually the epicentre of that, an afterthought if you will!

To that end, I have acquired an ex-touring Orange AD200B and Ampeg SVT810E. Both are completely battered aesthetically (I like to think of it as hardcore aged), but fully serviced and ready to perform. They shall reside in my storage unit until such time as we locate a suitable building to take over for the project..

The AD200B was chosen because it is such a simple user interface, that when someone turns up to play through it who has never used one before it means there’s no faffing around trying to work things out. It’s just; Gain, Bass, Mid, Treble, Master. Job’s a good’un. Whereas on the other hand, if I were to put my SVT-II Pro on the backline, I think the abundance of knobs and graphic EQ may be a bit intimidating and confusing for someone not used to it! Still, I’ll keep the SVT-II Pro in the storeroom to be available on request for the more experienced player..

Edited March 29, 2020 by Bankai