Jaco sound on SVT classic

[Muyy]

Hey everyone, I have a Geddy Lee jazz and an SVT classic through a 1x15. Does anyone have some suggestions on how to dial in some Jaco tone on the head, I feel like I can get close to the pop and treble but I lose some of the bass fullness and richness. I know its partially because he had a fretless, but lets see if anyone has gotten close!

[RickenBoogie]

I don't have an answer, but is your 1x15 an 8 ohm cab? The SVT wants 2 or 4 ohms only, is why I ask. If it's a 4 ohm cab, then nevermind.

[fenderhutz]

Turn off your neck pickup, run the bridge only. Crank your mids on the SVT. I would recommended against using the Ultra switches if you have them.

[Muyy]

it is an 8 ohm, ive been meaning to run it in a series along with my 4x10 but i just havent gotten another speaker cable for it, i know it would probably sound bassier with just a 4x10 for now, but i was mostly looking for EQ settings to dial in

[fenderhutz]

Running that SVT at an improper load is a major no no.

[Muyy]

would it really matter that much? arent i just underpowering cabinet?

[okcrum]

Yeah, I think no load at all is the major no no. If you're really worried about it, pull two opposing output tubes and you have 3 and 6 ohm outputs instead of 2 and 4, close enough for 4 and 8 ohms. You do lose 100W of output though.

For tone, pretty much what fenderhutz said. Then season to your taste. Oh, and play down on the bridge pickup too.

[christw]

Originally Posted by Muyy

would it really matter that much? arent i just underpowering cabinet?

No, you're putting unnecessary stresses on the amplifier. Running a solid state amp at a higher than rated impedance is no big deal. Running a tube amp at incorrect impedances can end up ruining your amp

[Muyy]

i tried more midrange, that helped a bunch, thanks. As far as the amp goes, is it just being stressed because its trying to power an 8 ohm cab with only 4 ohms? im not cranking this thing, so how damaging is it?

[Kwesi]

Originally Posted by Muyy

i tried more midrange, that helped a bunch, thanks. As far as the amp goes, is it just being stressed because its trying to power an 8 ohm cab with only 4 ohms? im not cranking this thing, so how damaging is it?

Frankly, it doesn't matter. If you don't want to fry your amp I suggest getting making sure you only run it with a 4 or 8 ohm load.

[okcrum]

Originally Posted by christw

No, you're putting unnecessary stresses on the amplifier. Running a solid state amp at a higher than rated impedance is no big deal. Running a tube amp at incorrect impedances can end up ruining your amp

...ruining the amp in what way? There have been loads of tube amp designs over the years, using off the shelf output transformers, that are not an exact match to their normal load. In fact, the speaker itself is not a constant impedance with frequency.

IME the two things that can kill the OT are running with no load at all and arcing over the OT or output tubes, or running with too low a load impedance and overheating/shorting the OT or output tubes. Staying within a 2:1 ratio above the rated output impedance is not going to hurt anything.

[kayakbass]

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

I don't have an answer, but is your 1x15 an 8 ohm cab? The SVT wants 2 or 4 ohms only, is why I ask. If it's a 4 ohm cab, then nevermind.

Should operate just fine at 8 ohms. Just less power output. The danger is going below 2 ohms!

[JOE EDO]

The engineers who design these things put alot of thought in the stress and loads encountered at minimum/ maximum impedence. The amp is designated as a 2 or 4 ohm load for a reason. Everything above or below the specified ratings is at the the risk of the user and can result shorter amp/ componet lifespan. Just sayin.....

[Sartori]

Yeah... probably not that great an idea to run a tube amp that's supposed to go into a 2 ohm or 4 ohm load into an 8 ohm cab.

Also, forget about "underpowering" the cab. That's a myth.


Anyway, Jaco-ish sound on an SVT. As others have said, back off the neck pickup on your bass, use mainly the bridge pickup. On the amp, do not use either the ultra low or ultra high switches/buttons. Boost the mids a bit and play around with the frequency selector to see which gets closest to what you're after.

[randall p]

Not to hijack, but running a "4 ohm" amp into a "8 ohm" speaker will do nothing. Been running my SVT CL through an 8 ohm cab for years, and no problems. Just don't run speakers BELOW the amps minimum, above is OK.
Lower impedance speakers put MORE stress on amps. Higher does not. Just don't run speakers with too LITTLE electrical resistance.

[JOE EDO]

try the mid selector at position 4 and mid knob at 3 o'clock. Bass and treble at 12 noon. Tone is 70 percent in the hands - attack / hand positioning, so no amp settings will get you there exclusively. Try the above settings to start and move your hand position/ finger attack around a bit. Figure out where the sweet spot is and the roll in your bass and treble. This could take hours or years to get just right. I've been playing 32 years and everytime I pick up a bass I hear something new/ different.

[JimmyM]

the 8 ohm cab CAN stress out an svt, but if you play at a reasonable volume it's not as likely. i would never do it with my svt, but i've done it a lot with road svt's.

[paganjack]

Jaco sound= bridge pickup solo'ed, play wayyyy down at the bridge and dig in hard. That is the bulk of it IMHO. Jaco had a 60's jazz and the GL is 70's spacing IIRC, but that probably doesn't make a big difference.

For the SVT, play without either ultra-what-have-you. Maybe dial in some more bass or low-mids.

[Muyy]

thanks for all the input, ive got a few settings to try out, Im going to continue using my head into the 8 ohm sub, I dont really see how that could mess it up, its using its whole load to power the cab, so it should be ok. Has anyone actually had a friend or known someone who used 4 ohm amps into an 8 ohm cab and had the amp mess up?

[Freddels]

I ran my Sunn 2000S into an 8 ohm cab for years and never had any problems. :-)