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Ampeg... Am I Missing Something

#21
Ampeg in general is voiced kinda scooped in the mids, and if you engage the Ultra Low switch in a band setting, you will probably be felt and not heard. I personally leave my CL's tone knobs at noon, and boost some mids back in via a Boss eq pedal, then make all other tonal adjustments on the fly with my StingRay's 3-band eq. Even a Precision with flats plugged straight in can be all I need for many occasions. I can get lots of different sounds with my rig, so I also disagree with Ampeg being a one-trick pony.

Now, if you really have to ask for what you're missing with Ampeg, you haven't been listening very hard to the radio, or at concerts, or tv shows, ect... I'm not saying you have to love it, but if you can't find a good tone with an SVT, you're simply doing it wrong.
 
#22
JimmyM said:
ya, that one sound stuff is a lot of horsecrap. move the controls, and then you will find plenty of different sounds.
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Yeah Jim...


Guys like us that make a living with thes damn things must be "old school"...you know, the same way the Rickenbacker is a "one trick pony"...

To the OP, everyone is (obviously) different. What works for old farts like Jimmy and me many not work for you..it's all a matter of tone and what's right for YOUR ears!

But it DOES make me wonder how the hell I've gotten by for so long.....;)
 
#24
Buster Brown said:
To the OP, everyone is (obviously) different. What works for old farts like Jimmy and me many not work for you..it's all a matter of tone and what's right for YOUR ears!

But it DOES make me wonder how the hell I've gotten by for so long.....;)
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lol! yeah, how did we do it?

until these kids came along, i had no idea that tube amps were only good for dirty sounds, nor did i know that ampegs were only good for going booom booom booom, nor did i know that everyone sounds the same when they play ampegs. i could swear that cliff williams sounded absolutely nothing like ronnie lane, who sounded nothing like nikki sixx, who sounded nothing like rocco prestia.

go figure...well thanks, kids...you straightened us all out!
 
#25
I used to not 'get' Ampeg either. One day I found a good deal on a used early 70s SVT and I figured I'd give it a try based on the hype and the price. It's a whole different situation in a band mix vs. trying something in a store... I didn't like P basses either. But my P through that SVT in a live band setting sounded absolutely perfect. Boring, sure, but it's warm, punchy, and sounds just right in context.
 
#26
I think those things just come from trying to categorize everything... I've had people tell me a lot of stuff about amp brands...

For example: How markbass could not be used in a rock context (which is, what I have been doing for the last two years, but never mind that)...

and indeed, also heard a lot of saying about that ampegs are only for the rough stuff and how they all sound the same. Been checking out classics lately and used them clean as soap. The main reason why ampeg is attractive to me is how uncompressed it CAN run cleanly. (don't know if uncompressed is the right word, but there is something that sounds so "right" and "down to earth" about the ampeg clean sound).
 
#28
ReidoT said:
I used to not 'get' Ampeg either. One day I found a good deal on a used early 70s SVT and I figured I'd give it a try based on the hype and the price. It's a whole different situation in a band mix vs. trying something in a store... I didn't like P basses either. But my P through that SVT in a live band setting sounded absolutely perfect. Boring, sure, but it's warm, punchy, and sounds just right in context.
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warm, punchy, sounds right = boring? not the word i would have chosen. besides, boring comes from the player, not the tone. if you sound boring with a precision and an svt, you'd sound boring with pretty much anything.

not you personally...the royal "you."
 
#30
JimmyM said:
warm, punchy, sounds right = boring? not the word i would have chosen. besides, boring comes from the player, not the tone. if you sound boring with a precision and an svt, you'd sound boring with pretty much anything.

not you personally...the royal "you."
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You're right., I probably could have chosen a better word. But regardless, I was never too enthralled by the sound of that combination until I got to turn up and play with a band. Shakes your pant legs but doesn't overpower anything... it's fantastic. I don't think you can really appreciate an SVT until you've played through one in a band, it's not fair to bash them if you've only played them in a store (though that's exactly what I used to do...).
 
#31
Ampeg is the Harley Davidson of bass amps, they have "that sound" that name.
Some guys just have to say I have an Ampeg, others genuinely love the sound.
I comes down to taste, what you like.
I like them all and purchase what fits my needs and budget. :D
 
#33
I agree I'm doing something wrong. I hated the 400+ until I understood it better, I didn't realize the mid was cut only, once I found that out it was a whole new ball game. Is it better to turn up the input gain and keep the master low on an SVT or the other way around? What is your favorite mids setting? When ever I play through the house SVT my band mates (piano player and drummer) comment on how the bass didn't sound right.
 
#34
MK1 said:
I agree I'm doing something wrong. I hated the 400+ until I understood it better, I didn't realize the mid was cut only, once I found that out it was a whole new ball game. Is it better to turn up the input gain and keep the master low on an SVT or the other way around? What is your favorite mids setting? When ever I play through the house SVT my band mates (piano player and drummer) comment on how the bass didn't sound right.
Click to expand...

I Set my mids on the second switch and bump them up a bit. so its usualy at about 2-3 oclock on the dial.

I set the gain low and the master about 3/4.

mm yummy sounding.
 
#35
JimmyM said:
lol! yeah, how did we do it?

until these kids came along, i had no idea that tube amps were only good for dirty sounds, nor did i know that ampegs were only good for going booom booom booom, nor did i know that everyone sounds the same when they play ampegs. i could swear that cliff williams sounded absolutely nothing like ronnie lane, who sounded nothing like nikki sixx, who sounded nothing like rocco prestia.

go figure...well thanks, kids...you straightened us all out!
Click to expand...


:D Somehow I picture Walter Brennan and John Wayne sitting on the front porch "living the old days"...:D

PS...I'll play Walter....


Link Removed
 
#37
One time I saw this band open for another band. The bass player was playing a P through an svt classic and their 8x10.......This tone was, like....Its hard to explain, so Ill just say "best I have ever heard". It was clear, clean and packed such a punch that I have a hard time taking even my gear seriously after hearing it.
 
#38
different folks, different strokes... i, myself, can not stand chocolate ice cream.

if you play bass, liking ampeg sound is not the MUST. no need to beat yourself over it.
do not care if it's ampeg or blampeg or... whatever.
as long as my sound is right, i do not give a flying f*** who's manufacturer. it just happens that i like the best sound of svt or v4b. flat eq. just plug and play.
 

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