What amps were people playing in the 70's?

[markjazzbassist]

I'm big into old school tone and was wondering what were the big amps played during the 70's. I know the Ampeg SVT was big for rock and the B-15 was big for R&B but what was everyone else playing. Please indicate which style/genre of music the people were using it for and if it was solid state or tube. Also indicate whether it was a studio rig or a stage rig.

[KJung]

Acoustic 360's and later 370's... ! Peavey heads were popular then, and lots and lots of Cerwin Vega 18's (folded horns and front loaded)! Of course, SVT's and V4B's as you mentioned, with a smattering of Bassman 100's.

And.... of course, the Kustom 200... a classic of underpowered mud! But... we all thought they sounded OK back in the day!

This was all stage stuff, and is based on my rigs and other bassists' rigs that I knew at the time.

[Plain Old Me]

Was Sunn around in the 70s yet?

[Turock]

I was playing through an Acoustic amp in the 70s.

[xring]

I was running the Bassman 100 Tube through the 4-12 bottom. This was around 76-78? 400 bucks for the whole rig - brand new.

[Munjibunga]

Peavey.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by xring

I was running the Bassman 100 Tube through the 4-12 bottom. This was around 76-78? 400 bucks for the whole rig - brand new.

I was using a Fender 100 (4x12) cab with a Pre-CBS Bassman(50 Watts).
I bought the amp with my milk money...$100 used.
The cab was a Xmas gift from my parents...IIRC, it was $200 & I still use it as my at-home practice cab.

The Bassman amp I replaced in '77 with a Music Man 65($280 brand new). The above cab with this amp served me very well through the '80s.
I wish my current set-up sounded a good...and loud.

[JimK]

Originally Posted by Plain Old Me

Was Sunn around in the 70s yet?

Most definitely.

Orange amps, too.
...which reminds me of the guy in my neighborhood that had a red Kustom head with a green Kustom cab.

[markjazzbassist]

were the majority of the rock players using the SVTs and the funk, r&b and jazz cats using the acoustic and other solid state rigs?

just trying to get a feel for what amps were used for what styles

[The 0x]

Originally Posted by Plain Old Me

Was Sunn around in the 70s yet?

Oh hell yes!!!




Hell, Sunn was available in the 60's!

[The 0x]

Also, alot of bands were using Hiwatt & Marshall back in the day as well.

[Kenny Allyn]

Back in those days I was a guitar 6 slinger ... and every bass player I knew either used a Peavey 300 head and 2x15 cab or the ones that had money used Acoustic 360s ... and almost all used a "black" Ric 4001 or a P bass ...

[georgestrings]

Back then I was playing guitar, and used a Marshall or a Twin Reverb - but as I remember, the bassists were using mostly Acoustic, Sunn, and Peavey...



- georgestrings

[BassGreaser]

Originally Posted by The 0x

Oh hell yes!!!




Hell, Sunn was available in the 60's!

that is a huge rig!! who's was it, and how many Sunn heads did they need to power all those cabs

[The 0x]

Originally Posted by BassGreaser

who's was it

Exactly.

[sedan_dad]

Thats The Who.
Entwistle

[8mmOD]

Originally Posted by sedan_dad

Thats The Who.
Entwistle

about 15 or so years ago, John Entwistle was hosting a music awards show where I lived & at the after party I drank scotch with him & we chatted for quite awhile. It was a pretty cool experience & he was a super nice guy, at least to me. I was bummed when he kicked the bucket.

I got my first amp in the early 80's, not sure of the brand, but my second amp was a Peavey I think Peavey was doing endorsement deals with a lot of bands in the 70's to get a better share of the market. I remember seeing a video of Lynyrd Skynyrd shot in the 70's and thinking how bad their tone was. IIRC, they all were using solid state Peavey's.

[savit260]

These guys played Sunn's too.

[Interceptor]

What was using - for big band jazz and theater work - Fender Bassman 100 with 2 x 15 or a Standel with a Fender Precision. For rock, either a Sunn Coliseum with 2x2x15 or a Standel with 2x2x15, either a Precision or a Gibson EB-3 bass. Rotosounds were the string of choice for rock, Fender flats for jazz / theater. I occasionally rented an Acoustic 370/371 for outdoor festival work in that era.

I wasn't recording in the 70's, so I lack any insight if your reference is recordings from the 70's.

[KJung]

All I can say is... stuff sounds MUCH, MUCH, MUCH better now.... I wouldn't want to go back to those Acoustic/Sun/Kustom/Cerwin Vega days... Been there, done that!