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Club Fbass (Part 4)

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#243
Awesome job Donovan. The Genz Benz for me was head and shoulders better sounding. Although the TC has potential.

Granted while a flat comparison keeps all things equal, that doesn't always indicate what an amp is entirely capable of when set up as optimally as possible for a given player, different fingers, playing style etc.

But with all things being equal, I would never even consider that Ibanez. Yuk.

I had a Genz Benz SHuttle 6.0 for half a year or so and gigged with it. It was pretty nice into a 4 ohm Bergantino cab. But I largely preferred the Markbass LMII. Ton's more headroom, just as much neutrality, but it seemed way more versatile, louder, or at the very least, it had more clean power headroom. Just throwing that out there for those checking out micro sized bass heads. And ...that is just 'my opinion.' Your mileage may vary.
 
#244
dkb said:
Okay, here's the link to Pt. 2. All of the amps were set flat for this recording:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzal2VXmpQ4
Click to expand...
Awesome! Man what a different story this tells, and IMHO lots more informative.

Just as another data point, I forgot to ask before, I remember you said you had the pickups blended, but what was the bass preamp set to?

You rawk. :)
 
#247
Vic said:
Exactly, and I'm a firm believer that at least some, and maybe most amp manufacturers carefully design their "native voicings" to match what they think will work best for the gigging musician (as opposed to look the most "accurate" to the laboratory tester). Bottom line, IMHO, what looks the most impressive on a scope is not necessarily what works best on a gig. The question is, how much do you design into your native voicing, and how much do you relegate to the user's choice via the EQ you provide? That piques my curiosity these days.
Click to expand...
This being yet a great reason to show amp heads set flat. [wink] :smug:

Yeah, I'm only recently coming around to that idea.
 
#248
dkb said:
Okay, here's the link to Pt. 2. All of the amps were set flat for this recording:

Click to expand...
Loved it again!

That innovation of yours, the drum loop running while you move the cable from head to head is brilliant.

Vic was sure right about the value of demoing the heads all flat as well.

These two clips together are extremely useful, Donovan. Thanks.
 
#249
thndrstk6 said:
Yeah their differences are more distinct in that one. I like the clarity of the Genz Benz but
it sounds a bit thin compared to the others. ...
Click to expand...
I feel just like you do. I've never given a Genz Benz any thought, but hearing it in this clip, I'm impressed. It reminds me a lot of playing through my small gig rig: a Bose L1 (a 6 foot column of speakers with two subwoofers attached). I love the clarity, but it still could stand a touch of EQ to fill it out... hence the value of Donovan's part 1 clip. I thought the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 would probably be a great match for an ash and maple BN5.

All flat though, I was REALLY impressed with the TC Electronic RH450 finger style tone. That was meaty, full, articulate and very desirable!

Great job, Donovan.
 
#251
GRoberts said:
Awesome job Donovan. The Genz Benz for me was head and shoulders better sounding. Although the TC has potential.

Granted while a flat comparison keeps all things equal, that doesn't always indicate what an amp is entirely capable of when set up as optimally as possible for a given player, different fingers, playing style etc.

But with all things being equal, I would never even consider that Ibanez. Yuk.

I had a Genz Benz SHuttle 6.0 for half a year or so and gigged with it. It was pretty nice into a 4 ohm Bergantino cab. But I largely preferred the Markbass LMII. Ton's more headroom, just as much neutrality, but it seemed way more versatile, louder, or at the very least, it had more clean power headroom. Just throwing that out there for those checking out micro sized bass heads. And ...that is just 'my opinion.' Your mileage may vary.
Click to expand...
Yeah, that Ibanez wasn't for me either.

As I wrote earlier, I was pleasantly surprised by the Genz Benz, but reading your comments, it sounds like you don't give your Arizona boys the nod over the Italy based Markbass, huh? Well, it looks like Invalid Link Removed, so who's to argue?

BTW, I think it is interesting that, on MarkBass's artists page, Invalid Link Removed has him playing none other than... a lined 5 bass AC5.

But lest we all get too swayed by MarkBass artists, [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]:

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#252
Tom7 said:
Yeah, that Ibanez wasn't for me either.

As I wrote earlier, I was pleasantly surprised by the Genz Benz, but reading your comments, it sounds like you don't give your Arizona boys the nod over the Italy based Markbass, huh? Well, it looks like Invalid Link Removed, so who's to argue?
Click to expand...

I'd love to support the local Genz Benz boys. Great people there. Truly. But the amp did not perform to the level of my Italian Markbass LMII. True Dat.
 
#254
puff father said:
Here's a clip someone put up on YouTube of our band playing last Sunday at an Alzheimers Association benefit near where I live.

'06 BN5
Thunderfunk 550A (w/switch)
2x EA 1x15" cabs
No PA support

Please excuse my obligatory clams on the bass.

4i Band - BN5!!!

:bassist:
Click to expand...
I love youtube, I really do. Years ago I told a group of people that society would look back on that site as an important piece of our social evolution.

Anyway, loved the clip.

I was struck by how vintage your bass sounded in that song too, which runs contrary to the BN5's reputation.
 
#255
Tasty playing puff.
Vintage tone was the first thing that popped into my head too. Maybe old strings and the 15's contributed to that.

Of all things great about BN5's, their versatility really sets them apart from other instruments. They can do legit vintage and more modern tones, either pu solo'd sounds great, and the preamp allows for an unbelivalble, and IMO, unparalleled amount of usable tones.
 
#257
Dave Hill said:
Tasty playing puff.
Vintage tone was the first thing that popped into my head too. Maybe old strings and the 15's contributed to that.

Of all things great about BN5's, their versatility really sets them apart from other instruments. They can do legit vintage and more modern tones, either pu solo'd sounds great, and the preamp allows for an unbelivalble, and IMO, unparalleled amount of usable tones.
Click to expand...
Years ago, when I was considering buying buying my first Fbass, I read a Bass Player magazine review, and probably the most influential thing from that review were the remarks they made about how flexible it was tonally.

My experience bears that out.

In fact, while my BN6 is my go to bass for most everything, and it has a fantastic tone that I cannot part with, I haven't been able to make it as flexible as my BN5.
 
#260
Tom7 said:
I was struck by how vintage your bass sounded in that song too, which runs contrary to the BN5's reputation.
Click to expand...

Hmm... I don't think that really runs contrary to the BN5's reputation. For me, it's the perfect mix between vintage and modern, but, leaning more towards the vintage end of the spectrum.

The preamp can be very transparent and subtle, or if cranked, can definately bring out more modern tones. As it's been said before, the beauty of the Fbass preamp is that is sounds good throughout the entire sweep of all three bands. For the vast majority of preamps I've tried this is not true. I had a Sadowsky, and while it sounded awesome, the preamp added so much boost that I could never use more than about 10% of the sweep of either band before it became too "boomy" or "twangy". As a result, it was more of (but not totally) a single-tone bass.

I guess it's a different philosophy in design, which George seems to have (and use) in several aspects of his basses. Because I share his views (or "philosophies"), I feel lucky to be able to get a bass that is so close to perfect for me.
 
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