Not Happy With My Tone.

[bobm2112]

Hey guys, my amp setup is a SWR Power 750 Power amp into a SWR Interstellar Overdrive Preamp into a Epifani 2-12 cabinet.

My basses I use most of the time are a MMSR5, Warwick Thumb BO 4, Fender P-Bass, And Geddy Lee Jazz.

I cant seem to get any big bass out of this setup. Even when I crank the bass EQ on the ISO, it still is pretty thin sounding. If I boost the active bass on my MM it sounds much better but I dont like to rely on active EQ because of the passive basses I also use.

I am wondering if its the pre or my cabinet choice?

Any thought or ideas are greatly appreciated

[hyp.spec]

*** waits for JimmyM to pop in and say get a VT BASS ***

[funkifiedsoul]

Sometimes the solution is as easy as changing strings. You obviously have decent gear to work with.(though I can't speak to your pre). Flats in particular will thicken things up.

[JimmyM]

jimmy's not going to say that in this case however, i am going to say that since the marcus will do it for you and the iso won't, you may want to try another pre or try more settings on the pre. i have no experience with the iso so i don't know it's the problem for sure, but going by your own words, it sounds like you could get it done if not for the pre. one thing that might help is instead of boosting the bass on the iso so much, try reducing everything else instead and turning up to compensate.

[JoZac21]

Originally Posted by funkifiedsoul

Sometimes the solution is as easy as changing strings. You obviously have decent gear to work with.(though I can't speak to your pre). Flats in particular will thicken things up.

^ This... whenever I go through the "this tone isn't working for me anymore" phase, a change in string model/brand is like getting a whole new bass.

[bobm2112]

Right now I have the horn turned off on the cab, The mid flat, the Treble cut back to about 11 a clock, and the bass boost to about 3 a clock.

I have used DR stainless for years and years. I dont see the strings being the problem.

[Rockman]

Part of your problem might be your cabinet choice. From my experience Epifanis tend to go very very deep but don't have the same kind of low end boost(or upper range cut i guess) that you get from many other cabs. Thats been my experience with Epifanis that every frequency seems to come through and its more a matter of getting rid of the ones you don't want that boosting the ones you do want.

[mellowgerman]

Sounds like you could use some Dark Stars

[blockinlay]

I looked at a pdf file for the overdrive. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't believe it's supposed to be between the amp and speaker. It can actually be a practice amp by itself with 5 watts. Perhaps you have it hooked up wrong, because that set up should kill. Look over the manual.

[LowB-ing]

Originally Posted by bobm2112

Hey guys, my amp setup is a SWR Power 750 Power amp into a SWR Interstellar Overdrive Preamp into a Epifani 2-12 cabinet.

Any thought or ideas are greatly appreciated

Well, if your running your Power amp into your pre, and then driving your cab with only the (5Watt?) output of the pre, I wouldn't expect great results.






Sorry, couldn't resist

[bobm2112]

Originally Posted by LowB-ing

Well, if your running your Power amp into your pre, and then driving your cab with only the (5Watt?) output of the pre, I wouldn't expect great results.






Sorry, couldn't resist

lol im not that much of a ******. The power amp is driving the cabinet

[Kirkowitz]

Maybe a stupid question...
Any chance the speakers are wired out of phase in your cab?

[Zooberwerx]

Originally Posted by Kirkowitz

Maybe a stupid question...
Any chance the speakers are wired out of phase in your cab?

Speaking of phase...

IIRC, the IOD has a phase reversal option (between the SS and tube sides) which provides a smoother overall response and no harshness in the mids. Have you tried that and, if so, did it help at all?

Riis

[timbledum]

*Curious cat* - subscribed

[seedokebass]

I was having similar problems with a 750x and a Markbass SD800. Both powerful, great sounding amps, just lacking in the beef department. I was about to sell the SD800 and move on, but the RBI saved it.

That pairing is with an Aguilar DB412, and an Avatar b212 for smaller gigs. Very similar basses too, I use a Thumb BO4, Lakland 44-60, various Fender MIJ P's, and whatever else I have or come across.

I would take a serious look at incorporating a Sansamp BDI, or an RBI. I think an RBI would be killer with the IOD.

[BassmanPaul]

How are you connecting the pre to the power amp??

Paul

[bobm2112]

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

How are you connecting the pre to the power amp??

Paul

Here is a picture for you to gander over



Unbalanced out from the pre to the unbalanced in to the power amp.

The effects send and return is just my compressor

[pin_head_47]

How are you setting your gain and aural enhancer? Can you we get a quick shot of your complete settings up front?

[JGR]

I had that exact setup for some time (IOD+Power 750) - has to be one of the coolest looking with all that chrome! Before anyone says that the Power 750 is anemic based on their experiences with the 750X head, it's not - it was the preamp voicing on that head. I have a CA9 for comparison, the 750 is solid!

I had good results with that rig running into the Berg NV's and SWR 12-stacks/packs. Tone was never thin, but there was not a lot of big low end either. The preamp has a strong mid voicing, and the bass control doesn't do much until you get to around 3 o'clock, so don't be afraid to crank it. The aural enhancer was actually a good thing on this preamp, and I think I used to run it around noon. Running the mix and noon as well seemed to yield the best results. The mid control is voiced low (250Hz I believe) so it may add body or mud depending on your rig. I usually left it flat or slightly boosted. You may wan't to check the EL84's and the bias setting as well. If they aren't getting enough juice, the tone will be thinner. No need to bias it - there isn't enough power to hurt anything like a regular tube amp, so just play with the trimmer on the inside. Also, the mini power section drives a dummy load in normal operation - the tone of the preamp gets huge and very responsive if you plug the 5W speaker out of the preamp into an actual speaker while connected to your regular rig. That will fatten it up immensely. That said, you don't want to carry around another speaker cab so it might be cool to get one of the low powered Weber Mass attenuators to go with it if you like the tone. Other than that, you may want to just put an EQ pedal in the loop. Being that it was designed for a rock/OD type tone, big low end isn't really it's forte.

[will33]

Looking for too much fullness by boosting a low set bass control? Try adding some lowish midrange instead, ie: 200 - 400hz instead of 40, especially on an SWR preamp. Just an idea.