How many bass amps (or heads) do you own?

[JTE]

One stand alone amp head (Eden WT-400), one rack preamp/power amp combination (Peavey T.B. Raxx pre with a QSC PLX 1202), and one small practice amp (Peavey Max 110, I think. Don't gig much any more so I got rid of the extras. When I WAS gigging regularly I had two WT-400s, and an Eden WT-600 in addition to those. Always took both WT-400s to the gig.

John

[oddgrowth]

Mesa M2000 (600w) - into 2-1x15 Mesa RR's (each loaded w/ Eminence Kappa 3015s)

Marshall JCM 800 Bass Series Superbass MkII (100w) - into a Marshall 1935 bass 4x12

Ampeg BA115 (100w, 1x15")

Eden VT-250 (250w) - for something inbetween the top 2.

[Pbassred]

NO!
Its all garbage. I've played for 30 years. I started with a Marshall "lead and Bass" 100W head and some home made 2 X 12 speaker Cabs. The cabs were stolen and the amp sold by a "friend" of mine while I was on holiday!

I bought a Peavey TNT130 in 1986 which I have used up until this year. I'm looking for a good home for it now since I just bought a Littlemark 800 tube and a Barefaced 2X12. That's not quite the end of the story.

Yesterday I played a Bossanova gig using the new head (without a cab) as an uber DI box. The guy running sound for us said that it was so easy to get a good smooth sound. No cab at all. How's that for a cohesive sound?

The moral of the story is that while I have experienced some appalling sound from really poor gear, if you can get a good sound out of your PA and pump that out to the audience, the sound will be the same for the whole audience. Not just the ones at the sweet spot. Your cab is just a monitor. The notes I play are in my fingers. NOT my transistors.

P.S. I am playing the wrong instrument anyway. My bandmate was playing a soup can filled with dries beans. Cost - less than £1. The audience was completely happy about it.

[english4bw]

Originally Posted by Pbassred

NO!
The moral of the story is that while I have experienced some appalling sound from really poor gear, if you can get a good sound out of your PA and pump that out to the audience, the sound will be the same for the whole audience. Not just the ones at the sweet spot. Your cab is just a monitor.

Amen to that. This is the whole reason why I don't bother with the "optimum" amp setup and waste too much money in that. Instead I invested my hard earned $$$ in a) the best basses I could get (Fender Deluxe Jazz V-Series, and EBMM Stingray-5 Classic) and b) the best tube direct box for bass on the market (A-Designs REDDI). The combo of a great bass and a great direct box will sound as good and/or better than mic'ing a great amp tone. The end result is a perfect bass tone out of the FOH desk and Mains speakers every time. Sound professionals LOVE it. Audiences rave about it. Other bassists DROOL over it. And yeah... my amp is just a monitor after that. It's a good thing.

[Blue]

In no order:

Lab Series L2 with two 1x15's
Gibson BH440
Thunderfunk 440
Thunderfunk 550b
iAMP 600
Roland SIP-301
Two Ashly PB-41
Alembic F1-X
Alembic F2-B
Three EA-VL-208's
EA Wizzy-M

I must be forgetting some.

Two QSC 1804's
Full PA
Then there's Guitar Stuff

Yep: Too Many

[rodl2005]

4.
'11 Traynor YBA300
'79 Fender Studio Bass 200
'10 GB Shuttle 6.0
'12 Aguilar TH500

Traynor for the big stuff
Fender for the gigs I can do with one 8 ohm 1x15"
Shuttle-used mainly at home, but also for rehearsals, some gigs & as an "always there in case" back up
Aguilar as it sounds damn similar to the big tube amps, but has no glass- so eg- multi-band nights, when others wanna use my rig, or when I'm lazy

[iualum]

LOL. Way too much stuff for my skills, or mainly lack thereof ;-) .

Have come to the conclusion that I need to hang on to my faves & send the rest to great new homes where they can be put to good use & be enjoyed as they should be.

They'll be available in the near future in the classifieds. Keep on the lookout for them. They'd make great Christmas gifts!

Basses:
Lakland Hollowbodies (2)
Martin Alternative X Hollowbody
Ric 4003s (2)
Gretsch Broadkaster & Thunder Jet
Valenti 5A Quilt J
Rob Allen MB2 lined fretless
Benavente Vintage Vortex 4 & 5
Cort Curbow (2)

Amps:
Mesa 400+ (7, not a typo, lol)
Trace Elliot V4 (2) & V6
Fender 300 Pro
SWR Mo'Bass
T.C. Electronics RH450
EA iAmp 800

Combo:
Phil Jones Suitcase & 4B extension

Cabs:
Schroeder BMF 412
Bill Fitzmaurice Omni 210 (2)

Effects:
~35 boxes

[4-string]

Two, Ashdown MK-500 and TC RH750.

I used to use the Ashdown/Barefaced rig with the cover band, and the TC rig for everything else. I just left the cover band, so I could theoretically sell one rig. Not going to happen though.

[Green Lantern]

Originally Posted by Pbassred

NO!.

Yesterday I played a Bossanova gig using the new head (without a cab) as an uber DI box. The guy running sound for us said that it was so easy to get a good smooth sound. No cab at all. How's that for a cohesive sound?

if you can get a good sound out of your PA and pump that out to the audience, the sound will be the same for the whole audience. Not just the ones at the sweet spot. Your cab is just a monitor. The notes I play are in my fingers. NOT my transistors.

If you love the sound of your bass, and don't want to alter the sound you can go direct into the sound system. I read at the Alembic web site that Jimmy Johnson likes to do that. He also said the cabinet affects your sound more than the amp which I believe is true. There are others though who want the sound of their amp in combination with their bass on stage. I have done both, and I clearly prefer having a bass amp over going into the sound system. You have more control over you sound, and your volume on stage. Plus there is the sound that comes out of your cabinet (if you like your cabinet) that is enjoyable. When I went direct into a DI and used in ears I felt disconnected from the audience and felt like I was doing a studio session more than playing live. I hated it.

[derridiandrift]

I've narrowed it down to three. I use an SVT-VR or V4BH for gigs, and I have an ancient 800RB that lives in the rehearsal room of one of the bands I'm working for.

[dmrogers]

Thunderfunk TFB750A (primary/backup)

Thunderfunk TFB550B (primary/backup)

Fender Bassman 100 (gig head back in the '70's can't sell)

Through a combination of 3 Aguilar GS112's.

I, like many others, tend to sound like "me" (or close enough) no matter what I play through. However, it is nice to have the tools that satisfy what you are searching for.

I am satisfied with the Thunderfunk heads. I can get "my sound" with either while playing the J or P bass. Solid, well built, can get the owner/builder on the phone just about any time.

I always take two heads to gigs.

[perogato02]

I follow option D:
I am a hoarder. I just can't say goodbye to the amps that have served so well during the years I have been playing bass.

I started with 1) an Ampeg SVT-15T combo, then came 2) the Hartke 3500. In search of more overdrive I acquired 3) a Warwick Quad IV (for silly money).
I found 4) a Fender Bassman Export for less then what I paid for second hand basses so that joined the collection.
And what would you do if you found out that the best bang for your euros in Europe is an 5) Orange AD200b Mark III? SO yes, I bought that one too.
Silly me, why have a tube amp of 200 watts if a 100 watt tube amp is enough?
Lets find 6) an Ampeg V4B ... found and acquired. Still rocking with that one.

Do I need therapy or just more cabs to hook up to all my amps?

[rtslinger]

1 head 300 watts
1 head 100 watts
1 head 75 watts
5 combo amps all at different wattages 10,25,30,60,100
1 battery power mini amp 5 watts 10 watts peaked

[armybass]

ummm.... lets see...

4 heads

6 cabs

5 preamps

3 combo/practice amps

and I just sold a head an a cab.... think I need to off som more gear but I do gig 2-3 nights a week but am now remarried and have way too much jank.

[MrLenny1]

One.
WT-400
Covers everything.

[Bassmann1968]

Eden WTX260 for practice
Eden WTX1000N for smaller gigs
Self build 1.5kW power amp for more speakers with the WTX1000N
Eden NAV + WT1000 for real Rock
H&K Bassmaster for practice at home
DNA 1350 for everything soon.

[etoncrow]

Euphonic-Audio iAmp 500
Euphonic-Audio Micro 300
Euphonic-Audio Micro 550

[goldenglory18]

Zero.

A 9v battery and Tech-21 BDDI is all I need.....

[Sav'nBass]

I have two. A sWR La-15 which was the first amp I bought once I started playing again. I do not really use it any more but at one time I left it at our bandleader's house touse as a practice amp for rehearsals. Now we rehearse at the church.so I use my SL900 through an Avatar B212. For gigs I run it through an AccuGroove Tri115. That's it for me..

[steve_rolfeca]

I keep swapping amps. The last three or four have sounded pretty similar once I got them tweaked to my satisfaction, so I guess it's more about satisfying myself, than the audience.

Also, I have chronic back trouble, so I have a strong bias towards small/light/loud gear.

I currently get the closest to the tone in my head, with a G-K MB800. Out of the dozens I owned, borrowed or rented, it's my favourite amp of all time.

At the moment, I'm still hanging onto the runner-up, a Genz Benz Streamliner 900. Partly for backup, and also because of the stellar tube DI.

When the G-K MB Fusion 800 hits local stores, I may take a look at it, with the idea of having it replace one of the others.