It always made me wonder, since Leo first started his selling of Fender electrics with an electric bass guitar ,then started pairing his electric 6 string models with amps why Fender is not really known for bass amps ( per say)...
It always made me wonder, since Leo first started his selling of Fender electrics with an electric bass guitar ,then started pairing his electric 6 string models with amps why Fender is not really known for bass amps ( per say)...
probably because in spite of his best efforts, nearly all of his bass amps were better for guitar than bass. Other people saw this and made amps that were better for bass and it just stayed that way.
Makes sense. I always wondered why people played guitar through Bassman amps, and not basses.
The Bassman is a KILLER bass amp, when it's viewed and used like an Ampeg FlipTop.
I think the real problem is Fender never made an acceptable speaker cabinet for bass. Despite their efforts with the dual 15, they just aren't loud enough for live use. I've tried using them, with upgraded sub woofers too. The dimensions are wrong and they for decent bass tones at concert levels.
So, if you take a Bassman, Showman or Dual Showman, and play it through a respectable cab, then you're good.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I owned a 70s Fender Bassman 50. It sounded good when it worked, but not great. The head was full of noise and was pretty unreliable.
If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison
A recap should fix those problems
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
At the time, I was a dumb kid who knew nothing about amplifiers, which is just a little less than I know now. However, the tech I use knows how to work on 'em...Originally Posted by chuckocaster
If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison
My main bass amp from '64 until around '77 when I purchased a Sunn Model T (driving a pair of 18" folded horn bottoms) was a Fender Dual Showman. I had added a Kustom 2-15 with a pair of D140 JBL speakers (in addition to the Fender D130 JBL speakers) but it was still the Fender Showman head that was used to power the setup.
I used that Model T well into the '90s when I started running a separate preamp/power amp rig that ended up being an Aguilar DB680 preamp into a Crown K2 amplifier driving a pair of 4 ohm Euphonic Audio VL210 cabinets. The Aguilar/Crown rig is still the main amp, but I have started using an Eden WTX500 driving a TC Electronic RS210 cabinet for small venues.
The Fender Dual Showman and original 2 - 15 JBL cabinet is still my practice rig in the man cave.
What I know about bass amps is even less than what I know about amps ("let's see, there are tube amps and solid state amps..."). Back when I was looking for the 'right' instrument I was fortunate enough to have friends who would lend me theirs. I had a drum set in the basement of my folks' house one summer, and a bass in my room for a few weeks. I don't remember much about either the bass guitar or the amp, except that the amp stood about four feet high. Must have had a bunch o' speakers in that there cab...
So, this thread has got me to wondering: since it seems bass players don't use Fender amps, even though they may use Fender basses, what then DO they use for amps? Going back in time, what did two of my favorite bass players of the "classic rock" era, John Entwistle (The Who) and Jack Casady (Jefferson Airplane) use? In the modern era, what does a Nathan East use? And why?
the pictures of John Entwhistle's mountain of bass amps and cabs, Sunns, is an iconic image and one I'd love to try to play through some day
Fender bass into an Ampeg amp is the classic! Other great choices for amplification, but that's a tough one to beat.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
Yep - speaking as a Fender thru Ampeg player!
Yep! I miss my V4B!!! The Ashdown gets really close, but not quite the depth of tone. Still have my FlipTop though
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
Nice! I'm looking at some point to augment my PF500 with a PF50T. Should be fine with my existing cab. A B15N is out my range!
Regarding "what amps do most bass Players use?"...In my experience I see most using older SUNN amps as well as Ampeg heads and cabs...Ampeg seeming to be the "tube" choice for most of my gigging musician friends.
I have mentioned this before, but one night, I got to play my Ric through an old Ampeg SVT stack. It was the most perfect, gut rumbling, great sounding experience I've had before or since. I'm going to give myself one of these as a retirement present one day....just to give my neighbors the same near-religious sensation too.
If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison
If it doesn't sound good through a SVT and an 8X10, you're doing it wrong.
I don't miss picking up the cabs and putting them into the truck though.
What happend?
Who let the magic smoke out?
Preach brother!!! I whole heartedly agree!
I had a SUNN Model T, which was AWESOME, but I always preferred the V4B. It's basically a slightly less loud SVT. Same tone stack, but a more manageable 140ish watts... As opposed to the SVT's 300+... LOL I still have my 6X10 Ampeg cab, but usually play something smaller. Wished I'd kept my 4X10, but oh well!
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
May we all be flute players in the next life...no lifting.
If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison
Oh, heck no!
I love plugging into a substantial bass rig!
That said - I sold all my bigger stuff, and went smaller.
back injury after a car wreck - and no roadies.
I like being able to assemble a lego-like rig as needed.
A couple of Avatar, and Genz Cabinets seem to work well just about anywhere.
Kenny Belmont
>:^{I)>
Truth be told, I've been playing my Mini SVT mostly live. Since I play at church, we don't use hardly any stage volume. So it's basically just for looks. Good thing it has a nice preamp along with the DI out. While big amps look, sound and feel awesome, the volume really isn't required. Unless you're playing with guys who insist on playing loud! But I'm done with that myself
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I've got a little acoustic 260 bass amp that I managed to score back when I was building an amp. I had one before but it had a funky input jack (they're plastic) and I took it back. But it sounded great when it wasn't crackling. Then Acoustic discontinued it. I liked it better than the Ampeg mini SVT.
I'm trying desperately to hold onto it because I do want to get another bass someday, whether I buy a squier or build one.
Those old Acoustic bass amps are RAD AF!!! A buddy of mine has a couple! The only saving grace for my Mini SVT is that I don't actually listen to it acoustically. I use in ear monitors, so it's like listening to a studio mix on headphones. If you use the Mini through a different cab it sounds WAY BETTER. The matching cab is of the wrong dimensions to accurately reproduce the bass guitar. They look cool though, which is why I have 2 of the speaker cabs.
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I wanted to get another SWR Workingman 10 and extension cab. I had one before my huge gear sell off of '05. Big mistake. They're discontinued and hard as hell to get. They had quality issues but if it worked it was a great amp for the home player and maybe coffee house gigs. XLR out to PA for bigger gigs. Nice lightweight 100 watts. I don't want to look for one now because I won't be able to buy it.
*edit*
aw, come on. I took a peek on Talkbass and some guy in IL has one for 100 dollars. I bet the shipping will be at least 70-80 dollars. waaaahhhh
I have been using a Clark Bassman clone since I got back into bass. But I have been somewhat surprised at SS offerings. I ended up getting a Bergantino B|AMP with 3-10HG Cabinet (hope to add another) and have been very surprised at how much I like it. The head (700 watt) weighs about 10 pounds and the cab about 20. A lot easier to haul. Plus it sounds phenominal with violin or acoustic guitar. After being called a caveman by newer players I was glad I tried them. I love me some tubes, but my back likes these better and they do dirt up rather nicely...
I have a Fender Rumble 350, and it sounds as good as the 70s Bassman 50 I had. I am still amazed at how good the solid state bass amps are these days. Of course, the Rumble isn't anywhere as good as a good old SVT, but it does what I need it to do.
If we'd known we were going to be the Beatles, we'd have tried harder.--George Harrison
wow, very interesting concept, 2 front facing one rear firing 10s.I have been using a Clark Bassman clone since I got back into bass. But I have been somewhat surprised at SS offerings. I ended up getting a Bergantino B|AMP with 3-10HG Cabinet (hope to add another) and have been very surprised at how much I like it. The head (700 watt) weighs about 10 pounds and the cab about 20. A lot easier to haul. Plus it sounds phenominal with violin or acoustic guitar. After being called a caveman by newer players I was glad I tried them. I love me some tubes, but my back likes these better and they do dirt up rather nicely...
Quite by accident I've become a fan of Mark Bass amps, I think it's the CDM 121P. I wasn't even looking for an amp, I just wanted to try a bass in the store and it had a cord plugged into it so I used it. Everything I plugged in sounded great and I was like "wow, I've struck the motherlode of good instruments" until I was informed about how good the amp does at making everything shines through it.
I think this kinda completes the circle a bit. Originally the purpose of a tube amp was to create a hi fidelity sound cheaply enough you could use it for an instrument. So like stereo amps the power was higher than intended so you could get clean further up the volume scale. With a bass any dirt or breakup becomes farty quick. Hence the move to either a 15 or multiple 10's on the first ones as they developed. But when Rock and Roll hit and the volumes increased exponentially people discovered how neat the breakup was with guitars. With bass? Roll forward all these years and solid state comes back into it's own. Or never really left (Acoustic).
The Bergantino B|Amp is an impressive beast. I also looked at a bunch of others Aguilar, Ampeg, Acoustic, Mark Bass, Gallien Krueger, Fender and Ashdown. There is a ton of stuff out there which is wonderful. So much gear so little time.
The HG310 (Holographic 3-10) speaker is great for upright bass and acoustic guitar, cello, etc. I think it sounds great for Electric bass as well. It is very 3d with the bass acoustic guitar with the back speaker bouncing off a wall. I have other cabs I can plug into for combos. But at the weight this one is most impressive.
An interesting aside I am now at software download 3.2 on the amp. He sends out a new one every 4 months or so. We are now on fuzz and overdrive. And you enter the speakers you attach and it automatically adjusts the amp for the cabinet.
That's a pretty forward thinking amp developer.
That cab is intriguing me the more I look at it. I just noticed the rotary control on the back, I can't make out what the markings are. Also noticing the pairs of inputs, look like two quarter inch and two XLR? Ganging speakers maybe? Amp into one, second speaker into the other? I don't see any markings by the inputs.
Parallel speaker in and out with standard RCA or XLR. Then you can tune the cab if you plug it into anybody else's amp with the rotary. When plugged into the B|AMP you tell the amp what the cab is and it changes all the amp settings to give you a zero or neutral point to start with. He has built combos for all his cabinets (around 20 I think) and most combinations of them. So if you want to mix this cab for a good woody natural tone with a more SVT type 6-10 cabinet of his you can do it. He has many different combo cabs out there with neo or normal speakers. You can literally get huge room loud sounds with 2-15 pound 12" speakers of his.
I'll take a wild guess that GC doesn't carry his stuff.
I don't think so, but it is not hard to find it.
Seems to me that SS has always worked better for bass amps. I know I sound like a broken record, but I love my Ashdown and Mini SVT. Only thing I have to add is some compression to make them feel like a tube amp, and the Ashdown already has a nice compression circuit in it. The Mini I use an optical compressor out front
"don't worry, i'm a professional!"
I had a GK 700 RBII I really liked but in 2014 needed lighter amp due to back issues so I went with a Genz Benz Streamliner 600 rated at 600 watts RMS @ 4 ohms which I really liked but in 2017 needed more power for outdoors and bought a Markbass Lil Ninja rated 1000 watts RMS @4 ohms. 2020 started getting different weird intermittant issues so I traded it for a new Fender Rumble 800 head rated at 800 watts RMS @ 4 ohms. I really like the old school tones and the features. So far so good :)
CEO of Retired
Not the first time I've heard of issues with Markbass. I wonder if their smaller combos have similar problems. Reminds me of SWR back in the '90s. Sounded great, when they worked.
"Live and learn and flip the burns"
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