Help me stop the tube snobbery in my band.

[creis2]

Originally Posted by 45acp

Threads like these... and all the stories within... make me appreciate the guys in my band alot. This thread makes me want to bro-hug my guitar player.

I agree. When I lived in NYC, I played in a band with some close friends that lived on Long Island. I would pack up from work in Manhattan at 5, take the subway to the Long Island Rail Road, ride that for an hour, get picked up by a bandmate for a 20 minute drive to our practice space. After practice I would get back on the railroad, back into the city, it was about a 2 hour commute. I would often sit on a freezing train platform in the middle of winter.

I did this twice a week, a round trip railroad ticket is about $20. About $160 a month.

People told me I was crazy, I did it because I knew how hard it is to find decent people to make music with.

[creis2]

Originally Posted by lbbc

It's your gear....end of discussion. I had a similar experience....my guitarist used to tell me to bring my Carvin bass guitar instead of my Alembic (which I prefer) until I told him to bring his Line 6 guitar instead of his Les Paul. We both had a good laugh and the subject has never come up again.

I might do something similar. Kill him with kindness

[1958Bassman]

Originally Posted by fdeck

At the next rehearsal, maybe I'll tell the sax players what kind of mouthpiece or reeds to use.

If you really want to make them go nuts, tell them their C# pad sounds like it's worn.

[bassybill]

Originally Posted by fdeck

At the next rehearsal, maybe I'll tell the sax players what kind of mouthpiece or reeds to use.

Bingo.

[BogeyBass]

Nah, no need for a Sax player.

Line 6 has a saxophone emulator and I heard its really close.....

just kidding

[sunbeast]

I think the SVT/tube beast love in lots of rock bands has alot to do with appearance. Not dogging on how sweet they sound by any means- but an SVT or comparable huge tube amp on top of a fridge looks a heck of alot cooler and muscular behind a rock band than a wee little console on top of a 2x12 (or a micro on top of a fridge for that matter!).

[rubbadubdub]

Maybe you could tear out those nasty valves and those heavy transformers and put one of those simulator pedals in the SVT casing? A good compromise all round. You get the look and sound of an SVT with half the hassle. You could sneak your preferred rig in disquised as a flight case. You could even hide a hair dryer in the SVT to radiate some fake heat. Remember to tell the engineer to di you rather than mic you and tell him that he if he tells anyone about your secret you will make him carry your gear to the van.
An added bonus is that you now have somewhere extra to stash beer and contraband and you will never have to worry about biasing, microphony or any of that. You may have to tell the wife not to dust the strange industrial relic which as miraculously appeared in your music room looking like something from an early episode of star trek as it's actually a valuable artifact of rock and roll history.
Running............

[Bearded Wizard]

Originally Posted by fdeck

At the next rehearsal, maybe I'll tell the sax players what kind of mouthpiece or reeds to use.

I don't think that's a very good analogy at all. Unless you yourself are in fact a horn player, with knowledge on the matter, in which case you'd likely have a valid reason to make a suggestion. And if you did, I think it would be quite unprofessional for your sax player to get standoffish about the suggestion. I also think the assumption that the guitarist in question knows nothing about tone because he prefers tubes is a bad one. It all depends on the musical context, but guitarists and bassists have more in common when it comes to the technology producing their sounds than a bassist and a horn player.

I think many of us are still operating under the assumption that there is no conceivable valid reason why a bandmember would prefer an SVT over a Genz Benz. I'll say again, I don't think that is a good assumption. There could be any number of valid reasons, but we don't have that information. It seems like people are taking the suggestion to use an SVT as a ridiculous one, which makes no sense to me. Since when is an SVT a crummy bass amp not worthy of considering?

Also I don't think any of these standoffish suggestions are very constructive at all. I believe it's better to strive for harmony in our collective musical efforts (pun intended). The guitarist's avoidance of conflict or social inadeptness (whichever you construe it to be) aside, I don't think the type of responses suggested in this thread are up to par with the standard of professionalism that I feel we as bass players should hold ourselves to.

All I'm advocating is a general respect towards your fellow bandmates' preferences with what you're doing, the same as we like to have from them, and a little professionalism about it. I don't know all the facts here, but I see no reason why the suggestion to use the SVT one owns is so inflammatorily offensive as to cause the uproar it has.

[Clever Moniker]

Maybe try something like this guy?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEHRINGER-BX...20e6ed&afsrc=1

[Nashrakh]

Originally Posted by Bearded Wizard

All I'm advocating is a general respect towards your fellow bandmates' preferences with what you're doing, the same as we like to have from them, and a little professionalism about it. I don't know all the facts here, but I see no reason why the suggestion to use the SVT one owns is so inflammatorily offensive as to cause the uproar it has.

Conditioned reflexes is my guess... They don't come from nowhere. I mean come on, have you ever seen a thread around here that was not about bashing bandmembers? (I mean honestly, no one ever posts about how great their mates are, and threads usually pop up when problems become so inflated they need a little vent or something)

[vin*tone]

Originally Posted by B-string

You can do what I used to do to audiences. Bring both amps, only power on the SVT in standby (not in operate) with the cab hooked up to the "backup" amp cause the SVT was acting a little funky.
When they tell you how much better the SVT sounds, turn off the power on the SVT and play a line. Then ask them "Like this?"

This.

[geddeeee]

Screw them.. Play through what you like. The bass end is your territory. I'm sure they would get pissed if you told them what amp to play through...

Guitards??? They ain't too clever!! Yuck, yuck!!!!

[slagbass]

I have to side with Wizard and Jimmy on this one. Your tone should inspire not only yourself but your bandmates on stage. Personally, I LIKE to get feedback on whether a certain bass or amp is cutting it with the other band members.

Originally Posted by guy n. cognito

Many musicians listen with their eyes. Bring the SVT, but hook up the GB behind the cab and use it. Don't tell him your doing it, and I'll bet that he raves about your tone all night!!!

I have a hard time imagining the scenario where this would actually fool anybody.

Originally Posted by creis2

My guitarist every so often tells me to bring my Ampeg, and when I try to explain to him my reasons, he starts soloing at staring into into space.

Which would be my cue to look for another band....

[uglybassplayer]

Originally Posted by JimmyM

First off, nobody would ever take a Line 6 guitar over a Les Paul so that's not exactly an apt comparison.

Never say never Jimmy ...
http://www.spetersonmusic.com/

[Bearded Wizard]

Originally Posted by Nashrakh

Conditioned reflexes is my guess... They don't come from nowhere. I mean come on, have you ever seen a thread around here that was not about bashing bandmembers? (I mean honestly, no one ever posts about how great their mates are, and threads usually pop up when problems become so inflated they need a little vent or something)

Yeah, I just don't see any good reason to have to "vent" because of something silly like a bandmember expressing a preference between the various rigs one owns. Even if it were simply because the Ampeg is tube and no other reason (including the obvious tonal differences), why is it so taboo for him to express a preference? And why is preferring tubes so offensive on this forum? It seems we've actually got an anti-tube crowd weighing in here. That's just as bad as being anti-solid state.

[corinpills]

Well, I totally agree with your bandmates, so I'll just stay out of this one.

[bigmoosepi]

just tell him to pick up your SVT.

He will probably say "oh" and forget about the whole thing.

[rpsands]

Bring'em both and A/B them. I did that with my Hexavalve and Bass Terror and it changed minds--they still preferred the Hexavalve slightly, but not enough for me to shlep it every gig.

[nutdog]

Originally Posted by Bearded Wizard

Yeah, I just don't see any good reason to have to "vent" because of something silly like a bandmember expressing a preference between the various rigs one owns. Even if it were simply because the Ampeg is tube and no other reason (including the obvious tonal differences), why is it so taboo for him to express a preference? And why is preferring tubes so offensive on this forum? It seems we've actually got an anti-tube crowd weighing in here. That's just as bad as being anti-solid state.

It doesn't really have anything to do with tubes/SS. The guitar player is nagging and then noodling while the op explains his amp choice. Nothing wrong with expressing a preference. But at some point you decide to take advice or not. Once you decide the advisor needs to shut up and get over it. Or kick him out, or quit or do whatever he thinks he needs to do. Nagging and noodling sound bad through tubes and solid state.

[jbrew73]

Honestly. I would reach down grab a pair and play whatever amp that you want to play. If thats a problem with them ,find another band.