Finally got them together. The sealed cab is awesome. Way better then the Uber 410 for what I like. It can take the lows without getting boomy and fills the room. The note definition is a noticeable improvement. I'm loving this combo.
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Fender Bassman 100T - chapter 2
- Thread starter BassyBill
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Well, 5 shows with the 100t/410 neo. I can say that it is no svt / 810, or even a v4b, (with which I expected it to compare more favorably) for all that matter. Those amps cut through like the hammer of a norse god...What it IS however is a vintage fender bassman on steroids. A sweet buttery vintage channel. The "overdrive" channel is still a bit of a challenge for me, I have not found much use for that channel yet. In either channel, it seems like it runs out of clean headroom pretty quickly, though I somewhat ameliorated that issue by diming the master and controlling the volume more with the channel volumes. In order to get any gain out of the highs, a significant mid boost seems to be the appropriate approach. Scooping the mids and slightly boosting the treble and bass on the vintage channel for me results in a significant loss of definition for anything past A220. I play mainly classic rock, LOUD, (clubs with no PA support, larger shows with some PA support,) and in that situation the amp seems to move through its available headroom into pretty severe distortion, a bit too quickly for my taste.
The first couple of gigs were with the stock groove tubes. Those were ridiculously short on headroom. I quickly replaced the preamp tubes with tung sols, the power tubes with SED Winged C's. That somewhat helped and actually resulted in a much livelier tonal palette.
I will keep this amp since within what appear to be its limits it has an absolutely delightful sound, but my SVT / 810 will likely still be my "go to" amp for most of what I do.
The first couple of gigs were with the stock groove tubes. Those were ridiculously short on headroom. I quickly replaced the preamp tubes with tung sols, the power tubes with SED Winged C's. That somewhat helped and actually resulted in a much livelier tonal palette.
I will keep this amp since within what appear to be its limits it has an absolutely delightful sound, but my SVT / 810 will likely still be my "go to" amp for most of what I do.
The trick is to use the overdrive channel as an eq system and boost the mids through that, if you want a more svt like sound. Sounds to me like you should have got the Super Bassman 300 (I have both). The SB300 can keep up with the SVT easily and has a few extra tricks of its own (I sold my SVT VR after acquiring the SB300, I had no need for it).
But do give the overdrive channel some time, it is well worth the effort. I hardly blend any overdrive with it, and use the parametric mids to find my sweet spot with whoch ever cabinet I am using.
But do give the overdrive channel some time, it is well worth the effort. I hardly blend any overdrive with it, and use the parametric mids to find my sweet spot with whoch ever cabinet I am using.
I really didn't necessarily want an SVT type sound.I already have that. the 300t woud have added yet another anvil of an amp (though i guess it is somewhat lighter than an SVT) to my stable. I have enough of those! What I do like about the SVT is that it easily cuts through the mix with little effort insofar as experimenting with eq settings, and that it has a lot of head room. Like I said, the headroom seemed to be the larger issue.
I did get the higher registers to cut through the mix after some noodling with the mids on the vintage channel. I like both flavors, Ampeg and this one, so I will keep working with this mini beast and I am sure my expertise will evolve. Works very nicely for slap bass with the 410 neo.
It might have been a nice feature if Fender had given the option to blend both channels (my svt 5pro does that and it comes in handy), so that one could dial in some of the more powerful active eq features of the OD ch and blend them with the vintage channel.
My objective in acquiring this rig was to have a mid sized rig and it was between this and a v4b. My choice of the 100t was largely also driven by the risks of buying and gigging with a vintage v4b tube amp instead of a new 100t. The v4b however, seems to have significantly more power and head room than the 100t, though they are rated the same 100 watt output. But the v4b really does sound a lot like a Jr. SVT, and I also liked the idea of another flavor.
I dont regret my choice at all, just want to offer some feedback to others who might be considering the 100t. Is is a great amp and has a classic flavor that you can really only get from fender. Oh BTW, it absolutely kicks ass for guitar, even with the 410 neo cab!....but doesn't that just make sense?!
I did get the higher registers to cut through the mix after some noodling with the mids on the vintage channel. I like both flavors, Ampeg and this one, so I will keep working with this mini beast and I am sure my expertise will evolve. Works very nicely for slap bass with the 410 neo.
It might have been a nice feature if Fender had given the option to blend both channels (my svt 5pro does that and it comes in handy), so that one could dial in some of the more powerful active eq features of the OD ch and blend them with the vintage channel.
My objective in acquiring this rig was to have a mid sized rig and it was between this and a v4b. My choice of the 100t was largely also driven by the risks of buying and gigging with a vintage v4b tube amp instead of a new 100t. The v4b however, seems to have significantly more power and head room than the 100t, though they are rated the same 100 watt output. But the v4b really does sound a lot like a Jr. SVT, and I also liked the idea of another flavor.
I dont regret my choice at all, just want to offer some feedback to others who might be considering the 100t. Is is a great amp and has a classic flavor that you can really only get from fender. Oh BTW, it absolutely kicks ass for guitar, even with the 410 neo cab!....but doesn't that just make sense?!
I have tried it at home, but not at show since my objective has been to lighten my gear load for smaller venues.
Lord! To hear someone say the 100T/410 Neo won't cut through with a loud band with no P.A. support is like the people telling me sex only burns 4 calories a minute. Clearly, you're doing it wrong. By my count, played my 32nd gig with the rig Saturday night, and the thing blew the walls. Had a well respected bass player in town come up and tell me my sound was "insane". Once again, never been happier with a rig in 47 years of playing.
I know that is the classic flat for the Baxendall passive tone circuit but according to the manual for the 100T, flat is 10-10-10 and the eq is cut only in the vintage channel. Doesnt mean all that much because we should be eq'ing with our ears not our eyes but I thought that it should be mentioned.
Reading all these posts has given me big time G.A.S.!
My problem is that I currently own a Mesa Boogie Buster 200 in which I just replace the 6L6 tubes with SEDs. It sounds great so no complaints with the Buster.
Since I have the Buster, would it be worth getting the 100T? Do you think the tone would be better? Would there be any other advantages? I know the Buster is biased kind of light, but the SED tubes seem to give it a bit more life.
I'm just having trouble justifying getting the Fender when I already have a nice tube head. Do you guys think the Fender would be a major upgrade?
Currently not gigging, but look to be doing some small venue, with some possibly outdoor, starting this summer.
Any advice would be great.
My problem is that I currently own a Mesa Boogie Buster 200 in which I just replace the 6L6 tubes with SEDs. It sounds great so no complaints with the Buster.
Since I have the Buster, would it be worth getting the 100T? Do you think the tone would be better? Would there be any other advantages? I know the Buster is biased kind of light, but the SED tubes seem to give it a bit more life.
I'm just having trouble justifying getting the Fender when I already have a nice tube head. Do you guys think the Fender would be a major upgrade?
Currently not gigging, but look to be doing some small venue, with some possibly outdoor, starting this summer.
Any advice would be great.
Yeah I think its truly in the ears of the player but I agree with you on the sound.
BTW I am very impressed that you are able to keep count like that. 32? I definitely wouldnt be able to keep track of that.
Bass Gear Magazine scoped the Super Bassman, which uses the same preamp, and got 1-10-1 as flat.
Cheers,
Liam
Well, since everyone else in the band appears to be technically-challenged illiterates and I have to keep the calendar and the books, it's easy.
Then they better tell Fender to stop messing up their manuals, lol. Although the SB and the 100T are different amps, I'm sure they use the same tone stack.
I still say, using my ears and not my eyes, that 1-10-1 is nowhere near flat on the vintage channel. If it is, then the center detent positions on the active channel is not flat. The only way 1-10-1 on the vintage channel may be flat is if bass and treble boost are both on. I know everyone is tired of me saying I'll run some sweeps eventually, but I promise I will. Just difficult for me to get the head down to the studio.
I had one of those Fender Basman TV's when they came out and although 2-10-2 was "flat", I never used those settings.
That being said, I find it very hard to find an unusable tone in the 100T. And I've tried to . . .
That being said, I find it very hard to find an unusable tone in the 100T. And I've tried to . . .
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