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Ampeg tube amp for home recording
- Thread starter Bantopodu
- Start date
I'm a big fan of biamping/re-amping w/ a good crunchy guitar amp as well. Some of my favorite driven sounds live so far have been courtesy of the PF50T or PF500 for the fundamental bass part of the tone & my OR50 into a PPC212 w/ a G12H30 55Hz & G12 Gold. You're more at the mercy of the room, mic capabilities & placement, volume level to headroom of the amp then recording it though, & it's way more gear than I want to haul around when I'd actually need the volume.
I have the pf20 and a portaflex 410 cabinet. Its a great clean amp but I have a hard time getting breakup out of it. It doesn't require a cabinet or dummyload so it would be good for recording but it doesn't sound like a svt.
Others have said this as well. Have you ever tried pushing it with a clean boost?
I should try that I have one laying around somewhere. I currently just use it for practice and my pedalboad run to FOH with a B7K which I really like.
A sweepable mid boost might help too. My PF50T is much more VT like w/ the mids on the 4 or 5 setting & boosted a moderate amount.
Unless you’re cutting a record that’s expected to sell missions of copies, aNAmpeg plugin or even a SansAmp will get your there in a mix. I think Amplitude makes a good plugin suite?
You can buy or build a "silent cabinet" which is basically a well sealed box with a speaker and mike inside.
You can buy a very low wattage tube amp and run it through a small cabinet. Here is a one watt Marshall.
These are not cheap solutions, however unless you are willing and able to DIY.
Your idea of too loud and mine must be a lot different
You can buy a very low wattage tube amp and run it through a small cabinet. Here is a one watt Marshall.
These are not cheap solutions, however unless you are willing and able to DIY.
Your idea of too loud and mine must be a lot different
Since the CL is a master volume amp and overdrives at low volumes with the gain up I believe you’re really cranking it to get the power tubes a little “hairy” as well.
Get a low wattage all tube power amp and run line out of your SVT Classic into it. If you play guitar try using the guitar amps power amp into the bass cab.
Alternatively you can get a Two Notes Torpedo or one of the computer interface load boxes and just use line out into its line in. It has both power amp simulation and some excellent bass cabs sims. Since your amp is such high wattage you can’t use the speaker load on any of their products without also having a speaker connected as well, or building a big resistor array to make up the extra wattage, but the line out should sort you fine enough so I think it’s still a great recording solution.
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I can only vouch for the 50T, but it KILLS for home recording. Will it get a bit loud through a cab when you crank it hard? Yes. But it's a reasonable loud volume, and certainly less loud than an SVT. A 20T is another possibility, but I've yet to try it and don't know anything much about it. And if you want to get deluxe about it, the B-15 is never a bad choice.
As for cabs, the PF cabs do record well. Some go way low and some don't, and I prefer the ones that don't like the PF210he and 112hlf. Another great inexpensive choice is the SVT 210av.
As for cabs, the PF cabs do record well. Some go way low and some don't, and I prefer the ones that don't like the PF210he and 112hlf. Another great inexpensive choice is the SVT 210av.
if you really want to get the sound, load up your tracks on your laptop DAW and go to your practice space, mic it up, crank it up, get the sound, then go back home and mix.
to me it sounds like you already have the sound you want, but you want it at home.
How often do you NEED to record the final bass tracks at home ?
use a DI box at home, get your playing dialed in on the songs playing along with the tracks,
THEN setup a day or two to record at the practice space to get the sound.
much easier and cheaper than all these suggestions.
to me it sounds like you already have the sound you want, but you want it at home.
How often do you NEED to record the final bass tracks at home ?
use a DI box at home, get your playing dialed in on the songs playing along with the tracks,
THEN setup a day or two to record at the practice space to get the sound.
much easier and cheaper than all these suggestions.
They are rack mounted preamps. The SVP-BSP was Billy Sheehan's signature pre and the SVP-PRO is based off the preamp from the SVT 2 Pro.
Also - I specifically mentioned the B-15S because it shares some of the V4 architecture, is rated at 60 watts, and gets really mean when pushed. You can channel jump just like the SVT's and get some nice overdrive by utilizing both channels. The same can be done with a B25B.
Here's a good video of an Ampeg B-15S.
...and a sales pitch for a T-Bird and B25...
That pf20t is the center if my little home studio, and i use it for exactly what you are describing, but with different cabs.
IMO it makes an absolutely fantastic preamp/di front end for recording. And it’s low wattage enough that you can get the power amp tubes cooking at a reasonable level if you want to mic it up.
I use with a 210 AV and a Genz Benz 1x12. I greatly prefer the GB 1x12.
It’s a great little amp for home studio tube goodness
I recorded with a PF20T, I can confirm that it was sublime, and at a low volume, but it wasn't an SVT-type sound if that's what you're after. It was very much a slightly crunchier, slightly more hi-fi B15.
PF-20T and no cabinet. You can record direct with it, or play through phones. If you're not gonna gig with it, and your neighbor gets ticked off, don't even bother spending the money on a cab.
RNDI: Rupert Neve DI
Some have had luck with these as yet another option. Pft20/50 as mentioned above should be tried out if you can. Good luck.
Some have had luck with these as yet another option. Pft20/50 as mentioned above should be tried out if you can. Good luck.
