This and they last forever so once you get one you keep it for decades ... until you die and then your kids have to figure out what to do with it!
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Are the big amps history?
- Thread starter jkalads
- Start date
This and they last forever so once you get one you keep it for decades ... until you die and then your kids have to figure out what to do with it!
And I've seen guys with all sorts of fancy gear and pedals who flat out wail and sound awesome, and I've seen guys with a beat up bass and simple combo amp that sound like crap. The musician makes the gear, true enough, and that's why your comparison is a false one.
Here's the deal...bigger is better for bass...always. Notice I didn't say "sometimes"...I said "always." It is physics. This is why people who buy a little cab usually end up buying two of them, and this is why tiny little PA systems with tiny little undersized subs are rarely seen on pro gigs. That is not to say little stuff can't sound good...it can. But even the best and most efficient little stuff always sounds better when it's doubled up...always.
I play both sides of the fence on this one...at 56, I've come to appreciate a nice sounding small rig because I can't do a string of one-nighters lugging an SVT and 810 to all of them, and one-nighters are about all I play anymore. I also have gigs where there are line of sight issues that require something smaller as not to block off the audience's view or hide people onstage behind me. But would I rather have the SVT and 810? Always. It just plain sounds better than my small rigs, even if I'm playing at a low volume that my small gear can easily handle. That's why I still lug it to my gigs on occasion, and it's what I always request when I do a fly gig and have to rent an amp. It has sod-all to do with impressing an audience with visuals and everything to do with creating an environment of comfort for myself onstage. The look is just a bonus. But hey, if it makes you feel better about yourself to assume otherwise, knock yourself out. Just realize I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks, least of all other bass players.
Amen to that!
And I've seen guys with all sorts of fancy gear and pedals who flat out wail and sound awesome, and I've seen guys with a beat up bass and simple combo amp that sound like crap. The musician makes the gear, true enough, and that's why your comparison is a false one.
Here's the deal...bigger is better for bass...always. Notice I didn't say "sometimes"...I said "always." It is physics. This is why people who buy a little cab usually end up buying two of them, and this is why tiny little PA systems with tiny little undersized subs are rarely seen on pro gigs. That is not to say little stuff can't sound good...it can. But even the best and most efficient little stuff always sounds better when it's doubled up...always.
I play both sides of the fence on this one...at 56, I've come to appreciate a nice sounding small rig because I can't do a string of one-nighters lugging an SVT and 810 to all of them, and one-nighters are about all I play anymore. I also have gigs where there are line of sight issues that require something smaller as not to block off the audience's view or hide people onstage behind me. But would I rather have the SVT and 810? Always. It just plain sounds better than my small rigs, even if I'm playing at a low volume that my small gear can easily handle. That's why I still lug it to my gigs on occasion, and it's what I always request when I do a fly gig and have to rent an amp. It has sod-all to do with impressing an audience with visuals and everything to do with creating an environment of comfort for myself onstage. The look is just a bonus. But hey, if it makes you feel better about yourself to assume otherwise, knock yourself out. Just realize I couldn't care less what anyone else thinks, least of all other bass players.
And I play both sides of the fence as well.....I have played jobs with the Markbass CMD121P (alone) and with the extension cab, as well....I have also played jobs with the Heritage 8X10 Rig..
Anytime I do an outside show the MINIMUM I will take is the 4Pro and the 6X10 Cab - but that's just me.
I have been to shows (Trans-Siberian Orchestra comes to mind) where there was no sign of an amp anywhere.... But amps on stage at those shows would just be a distraction. I have also been to shows where the "band" has 20 amps on stage and it is fairly obvious that they are nothing more than scenery.
However, and I will stand by this statement, when I play clubs (like the Hard Rock) the stage is relatively small. But when I take something like the MB CMD121P with the extension - I have to say that all night, I feel like I am playing naked...it just doesn't "feel" right knowing that there isn't a "big boy" (and by that I mean at least a 6X10) behind me..
No. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle shows that to be impossible.
Well yeah, bringing an SVT and 810 to a jazz casual in a 60 seat restaurant is overkillBut having just bought a second SVT/810 recently and paired them up, even though it's highly unlikely I will ever use both of them at the same time, I stand by my statement about "bigger is always better." Remember that "bigger" does not always mean "louder."
Bigger is sometimes better (that is, it's better in the cases when smaller isn't enough). But if bigger were *always* better, you'd add two more SVT/810s and bring all four to your smallest gigs. And your bandmates, SE, and club manager would be grinning all night. And then the next time, you'd double that.
Even if you only pushed the same SPL as you would from a single fridge, you know that the faces of those other people would not be giving a vibe of "oh, good! Jimmy brought a bigger rig!"
And I couldn't care less about that
When I use an SVT/810, I usually don't turn up any louder than I go with my PF-50T and PF112hlf, but while the little rig does sound great, the SVT/810 sounds bigger, and by virtue of that, better, at least to me. When I say bigger always sounds better, I'm mostly referring to the cabs. I just happen to prefer the sound of tubes.Again, it's not about sheer volume. Use two of those Barefaced cabs and I'll guarantee they sound better than just one...at any volume.
A bigger problem was that they just took the masters that had been mastered for vinyl and transferred them to CD without re-mastering for the new medium.
Well sure...overkill does enter into it.
Indeed, I remember opening for Iron Butterfly - like in 1972-73. We walked into the hall and the backline had already been set up. I literally had the breath taken out of me....There, stage left was two 360/361 rigs....Oh my God!!!! Yeah, there were also Marshall guitar cabs as well, but who cares!?!?!
But remember, back then - the PA's were crap - But God!! Did we sound good that night!!!
Possibly - and it would likely sound better than 2 Ampeg 8x10s while being... smaller.
My fEarful 15/6 is WAY smaller than a Peavey 2x15 bass cab I used to occasionally play - but it sounds way better, gets way louder, and pushes way more air.
More displacement sounds better when it comes to cabs - but more displacement doesn't necessarily mean bigger physical size.
Extremely debatable.
True...with neo magnets, the increased xmax in neo speakers can greatly increase displacement. I would still debate if they sound better, though.
You don't even have to go that far...
Take a good Ampeg 8x10. Quadruple the size of the box. Keep all the speakers the same.
It'll be bigger - and sound way worse.
You would debate whether a fEarful 15/6 sounds better than a crappy 1970s Peavey 2x15? Yikes... that is one of the crappiest sounding cabs, of ANY size, I've ever played.
+1
More xmax and increased displacement doesn't automatically equate to better tone. All it means is that it has more xmax and increased displacement.
