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Difference between an amp and a 'pro' amp?
- Thread starter Ggaa
- Start date
Some day maybe I'll start a survey thread to ask which make of amps TB'ers have personally encountered in backlines. I know I could personally check off Ampeg, GK, Peavey, Mesa, Fender, Acoustic, SWR & Eden just off the top of my head. I suppose it depends which continent we're talking about, but it would be interesting to see which make would get the most checks, worldwide. Does that make them all "pro amps" by definition?
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Yeah, Realistic or Crate might be suspect...I generally interpret it to mean that the person posting the ad is a douchebag.
Actually, it would be, since the Olympics finally dropped the facade in 1989 to allow professional athletes, so the rest of the world could compete with, for example, the USSR "military" teams that were made up of thinly disguised professional athletes. The most notable team is, of course, the 1992 USA all-pro basketball "dream team" that mopped up the court with all the other teams.
I generally interpret it to mean that the person posting the ad is a douchebag.
LOL! A douchebag with a Fodera and an Ampeg SVT-CL ?
I finally had to look at what a Fender Rumble was. I knew they made those combo amps, but never saw the head.
Nowadays it may be based on Quality of preamp/DI and IEM System used [also person turning knobs and pushing sliders analogue or digital]
[also person turning knobs and pushing sliders analogue or digital]
let the soundman provide your bass too, that really brings you up a few more notches on the pro spectrum.
I assume this is the same amp you show up at recording sessions and rehearsals with, right?
I'm sure I'm not alone in having turned up to a plug-and-play 'back-line provided' gig, only to find decidedly amateur-grade equipment and sub-standard sound. And I'm not talking about 200-seat bars or gutter dives. An electric bass player's amp can be as much a part of the sound as an orchestral bass player's bow. Asking an orchestral bass player to 'use the bow provided' would be unthinkable.
YMMV
I know this has nothing to do with music equipment, but from personal experience, I learned the difference between pro and non pro hockey players. I was playing in an amateur league but one member of my team was a former minor league professional.
Even though he was only mediocre at that level of professionalism, he was like a superstar among us amateurs. Even when he was loafing on the ice and putting forth less than full effort, he played at a level that none of us could come close to.
A few years after that, my amateur league team got to play a charity game against the Blackhawks Alumni team. These were former NHL players who were now in their 50s or older.
If it had been a real game they would have kicked our butts by a score of 20 to nothing. But it was for charity so they took easy on us and let us score a couple of goals and didn't run up too many goals of their own.
I don't know if that was helpful to this discussion, but there it is.
Even though he was only mediocre at that level of professionalism, he was like a superstar among us amateurs. Even when he was loafing on the ice and putting forth less than full effort, he played at a level that none of us could come close to.
A few years after that, my amateur league team got to play a charity game against the Blackhawks Alumni team. These were former NHL players who were now in their 50s or older.
If it had been a real game they would have kicked our butts by a score of 20 to nothing. But it was for charity so they took easy on us and let us score a couple of goals and didn't run up too many goals of their own.
I don't know if that was helpful to this discussion, but there it is.
It doesn’t take in to account the equipment you all were using, but I found it very informative, nevertheless.
The biggest difference between an amp and a "Pro" amp is the owner.
Plenty of pro's using cheap gear (like Rick Deininger using Peavey Classic series) and many more guys who are just learning and using really top shelf gear (like 90% of the guys with Soldano amps and Mesa stacks)
Plenty of pro's using cheap gear (like Rick Deininger using Peavey Classic series) and many more guys who are just learning and using really top shelf gear (like 90% of the guys with Soldano amps and Mesa stacks)
Good point! We were talking amps, but you're absolutely right: a true pro is happy to play whatever bass the bandleader, producer, or engineer thinks is best for the session or gig.
I think of a pro amp as having features like input pad, switchable pre/post DI, effects loop, mute switch, tuner out etc.
Some smaller amps don’t have these features and are generally relegated to practice/rehearsal use.
Some smaller amps don’t have these features and are generally relegated to practice/rehearsal use.
