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A simple killer rig...

O

OxJohnson

May 28, 2007
649
2
Atlanta, Georgia
digitalmirth.blogspot.com
#1
I was out in Austin, TX with my guitarist and trombone/harmonica player last night when we heard some good blues coming from a small corner bar (nothing out of the ordinary in Austin, I guess). We decided to stop in to check it out (It was a small 3 piece band) and lo and behold, my guitarist used to play with the bassist many a moon ago. We decided to stay and check it out, and give the guitarist a chance to say hi.

The tone off of the bassists rig was flippin' incredible! It was bone simple too, from what I could see. It was a GK head (700RB?) with a 1x15 Ampeg cab. That was all I saw. The bassist (Dave) played mostly fingerstyle with some slap thrown in on a song or two. The lows were nice and deep, and the slap was crisp without too much "honk". It was PLENTY loud for the small club. He was playing a well "loved" Fender Jazz.

The bassist, Dave, was just killer. Period, end of discussion. The shocking thing was that he never adjusted anything that I saw for the 2 hours we watched. His style varied pretty well from song to song, but it all sounded top notch. I could not believe that such a "simple" rig sounded that good. As for reliability, my guitarist said that Dave has been using the same rig as long as he has known him, and he hasn't seen Dave in over 6 years.

I think I may have to get a GK head now. If only they came with skills too.

And Dave, if you are reading this... you F'in rock dude. :bassist:

Ox.
 
#3
Yup. I was going to rave more about Dave, but the subject was supposed to be the amp... You are right though, I could have played the same exact rig, and it would have sounded... ahem... different. :rolleyes:

The best "simple" rig IS practice.

But I was diggin' the GK sound. Oh, and the 1x15 soiunded pretty darn tight! I play a 4x10 and always thought that a 1x15 wouldn't have the punch... this one did!

Ox.
 
#5
Some things just work for some people. That right combination of everything. Technique is important but that, his strings, bass, amp and cab sound like they must just click.

Besides if you were using the exact same setup for 6 years or more I bet you'd find the best way it sounds too.
 
#6
Daytona955i said:
Besides if you were using the exact same setup for 6 years or more I bet you'd find the best way it sounds too.
Click to expand...

Apologies if this ends up derailing the thread, but that quote is golden. It shows the dark side of GAS ... so many of us (and I've been guilty as well) get excited by new or different gear, and addicted to the experience of acquiring New Stuff ... how many of us actually stick with the same set of perfectly fine, reliable gear for 6 years until we know every quirk it has and how to make it sound the best? Some other TB poster I've seen has a quote in his sig from Marcus Miller, saying something like "I do think you need to get a good gear setup ... but get it quickly, then leave it alone and play."

I'm trying ...

Liam
 
#8
liam_g said:
Apologies if this ends up derailing the thread, but that quote is golden. It shows the dark side of GAS ... so many of us (and I've been guilty as well) get excited by new or different gear, and addicted to the experience of acquiring New Stuff ... how many of us actually stick with the same set of perfectly fine, reliable gear for 6 years until we know every quirk it has and how to make it sound the best? Some other TB poster I've seen has a quote in his sig from Marcus Miller, saying something like "I do think you need to get a good gear setup ... but get it quickly, then leave it alone and play."

I'm trying ...

Liam
Click to expand...

I could've used my Trace Elliott rig for ten years and it wouldn't have sounded any better. That rig and I just didn't click.

And if you look at how many basses and amps Marcus has had, it becomes clear it's do as I say, not as I do;)

It is good advice, to a degree... but I've been playing for over 30 years and I bought a new amp last year and couldn't be happier with it.

But I learned how to play first.
:smug:
 
#9
OxJohnson said:
Yup. I was going to rave more about Dave, but the subject was supposed to be the amp... You are right though, I could have played the same exact rig, and it would have sounded... ahem... different. :rolleyes:

The best "simple" rig IS practice.

But I was diggin' the GK sound. Oh, and the 1x15 soiunded pretty darn tight! I play a 4x10 and always thought that a 1x15 wouldn't have the punch... this one did!

Ox.
Click to expand...

And practice is the advice that many here just don't want to hear.

What compressor do I need to fix the volume difference between my slap and fingerstyle? Practice.

Can I use roundwounds on a fretless without chewing up the fingerboard? Sure, if you practice not doing it.

How can I avoid a floppy B string? Practice playing without flop.

What EQ settings do I need to tighten up my sound? Practice.

Ugly word ain't it?
 
#10
In the spirit of the OP, I obviously agree that a good player is going to sound good, period. HOWEVER, I had a similar experience as you somewhat recently. Saw a band in Detroit (blues oriented 5 piece) and the bassist sounded great.... clean, great time, great groove, nice fat tone.

He was using a Fender Marcus Miller 4 string with roundwound stainless steel strings and had an old SS Ampeg head and a 'no name' 115 cab. It was full, fat and warm... and... it made his bass sound like a PBass with flats on it. I actually asked him if he was using flats and he kind of bummed out, since the 'sound in his head' was a more bright, J bass tone. My guess is, it sounded a little more growly and bright up on stage, but without a more articulate rig with more power, etc., that tone just never made it past the edge of the stage (there was no front of house support on this gig).


Good playing AND a rig that is voiced and has the power to deliver 'the tone in your head' to the audience is the best combination IMO and IME:smug:
 
#12
OxJohnson said:
The tone off of the bassists rig was flippin' incredible! It was bone simple too, from what I could see. It was a GK head (700RB?) with a 1x15 Ampeg cab. The lows were nice and deep, and the slap was crisp without too much "honk". It was PLENTY loud for the small club. He was playing a well "loved" Fender Jazz.
Click to expand...

Ha ... almost the same story

I bought my 400RB when I sat in at a blues club one nite and the bass player had one with some old 1x15 cab, man with my old 68 P-bass it was just heaven (I had let him borrow my P-bass that nite) liked the rig so much ... I went out and bought an old Carvin RL115 cab, to go with the head.


;) ... Still have both the amp and cab oh and the P-bass too ... and it still sounds great!
 
#15
oh heck .. I'll jump on this "band" wagon too. ha ha.

As a medium term TB supporting member, but a loong time bass player (over 35 years .. geez) I have to say that TB does seem to have it's share of pretty meaningless GAS inducing issues. The folks here who have said that, practice and steady experience ... NOT gear..., are the keys to this post, are right on the money.

Gear is nice, great even, new basses, new amps, cabs, strings etc etc etc ad nauseum .. all cool, fun to get, fun to talk about, fun to trade, get them all.....

But

(there is ALWAYS a BUT ), eventually you have to settle down and shed till you drop, play as much as you can, all the time, all styles (if you really want to be a well rounded professional), all techniques, theory, reading, improvising .. on and on, a true lifetime of effort. But see, that's the completely cool thing about music (or any creative venture), your journey can just keep going your whole life and there is NEVER a point when you can't get better. very cool. :cool:

So, when you hear cats like the blues player you heard the other night, check the gear for sure, cause thats fun, but don't turn that around into a "boy, I should pick up XX piece of gear" thing. Because what turned you on was his PLAYING not the gear. The gear is just the vehicle for transmitting his skills and experience.

Gotta decide if your a player or a gear collector/trader, then act accordingly.

(whew, sorry of that came off as too preachy, I probably need a nap ;) .. old guy's ... you know)

but most importantly ...

ENJOY!
 
#16
leftymike said:
What club where you at, Nuno's? Do you remember the name of the band?
Click to expand...

I believe it was! I don't know the name of the band as it was not listed anywhere. They were opening for another band, but we didn't stay for the other band because we had to be up early the next morning. They played from 8-10pm on Thursday night of this week. Do you know them?!

deepbluesuk: I don't know what type of 1x15 it was. It was just a 1x15 with a pronounced Ampeg logo on it. I am not an Ampeg connosuier so I would hate to speculate.

pfschim: I don't think you were preaching. It was certainly his playing that I was digging, it was just nice to see that something so simple sounded so good. It is true that the caveat was that the skill made up 99% of the tone. I actually made this post so that if anyone was looking for a new beginning rig, they would see that you don't need the next rig of doom to sound good, but you do need practice.

One thing that I would like to point out though is that I think it is worth investing time and money upfront to get something that will last awhile. That way you can focus on playing, on not on upgrading every other month. I say, get it and be done with it. Would I get a GK now? Sure, if I happened to see one for a good price, but I ain't going to rush out and buy one new (hopefully). With the help of some folks here on TB I got my main rig at a good price I am more than satisfied with it for what I will need to do (Sansamp->QSC->Avatar 4x10).

Ox.
 
#17
Ohhh... I also meant to add that this guy actually inspired me to try some new things. Just watching him play I picked up a few points about left hand technique that I had been wondering about. I also was watching his walking which was very efficient and picked up some good ideas there too. In addition I payed very close attention to when he came out of the pocket and where he went... and for how long (great turn around techniques). All good stuff... but not really amp related.

Anywho, last night I took all of my mental notes and saw how they translated to the neck. Wow... It really helped out a lot. Just seeing someone else who has perfected their technique playing solid in a live environment set me ahead a few weeks of practice. I am sure that I missed 80% of the stuff because it is currently beyond my level, but it did "unstuck" me on a few points.

Ox.
 
#19
Everyone writes off Ampeg cabs, but the two I own among others, sound great. The SVT Classic 1x15 is a killer single 15! Warm tone but it doesn't sound muffled. I use one with my Thunderfunk and the rig always sounds good (even at gig volume).

I also own a 6x10HLF which is for the big rooms-that cab just thunders.
 

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