Forgive me if this has been discussed before.

[Cap'n Redbeard]

I've never heard a transparent instrument amplifier. My hi-fi stereo features a single-ended tube amplifier with nothing in the circuit but a volume pot. It feeds a pair of single driver, crossover-less speakers with a near flat frequency response. Now, THAT is transparent or at least close to it. It takes some getting used to and it's not for everyone. I will say, of all my bass amps I've preferred SWR and Markbass the most, which are brands that people consider "transparent" so... I'd imagine the most transparent sound would be to feed the board with a basic DI.

 

[JimmyM]

Slight correction...nobody considers SWR transparent unless they're totally clueless about what transparency is. And you can make a case for some of Markbass' amps being flat response, but their cabs are definitely not.

 

[blastbass]

I guess the most transparent sound I get is when I plug the bass into the J48 then into the RME going into the A7X's. That way I get a reference.

 

[Cap'n Redbeard]

Slight correction...nobody considers SWR transparent unless they're totally clueless about what transparency is. And you can make a case for some of Markbass' amps being flat response, but their cabs are definitely not.

Like I said, I've never heard a transparent bass amplifier but I have heard those two brands referred to as such, whether right or wrong. All speaker cabs have a frequency response curve to them, unless you play through studio monitors I suppose.

 

[Rev J]

I prefer transparent, mainly because I play DB as well as BG and I want the amplified DB sound as close as possible to unamplified...just louder. My experience has been that if an amp sounds good for DB it will sound good for BG as well.

I don't know if you have ever been in a recording studio, but the first time I was in one I was handed a DI box by the engineer and did not use an amp at all. When I listened to the bass track played back in the control room it sounded better than any amp I have tried before or since. That sound is what I have been chasing after.

I used to intern at Hyde Street Studios in SF. One of my old bands recorded our first demo there. I think we used either a Countryman or Sansamp Bass Driver as the DI and my 120 watt Behringer miked for the session

I like both, I have a Carvin micro that's pretty neutral and flexible and a Mesa tube head. Both rock at their own thing. If a room (or house "engineer"...) is swampy, the BX500 does the job better. If I can turn up and thunder away in a good sounding environment, nothing like a big old tube rig for me. If I had to pick, I'd say tubey character wins and I'd deal with the occasional frustration or limitation and not being able to be lazy with the schlep...when it's good, it's a great thing. Kind of like an old Wurly 200A compared to a Nord, gotta pick your compromises either way.

Ore even worse a Hammond B3 with a Leslie.

I'm not sure any amp is transparent outside of audiophile grade studio or home audio ones. As well, Aguilar is certainly not at all transparent, it has a gorgeous complex midrange baked into it which makes it absolutely wonderful.

Never heard of this Fender being the same as Ampeg business before either. I'd be curious to hear where you are getting all this information from.

I remember reading and article either on Ampeg or Fenders histories so many years ago that I don't remember where besides that it was pre internet.

Right now I relegated to playing through a 20 watt Crate practice amp with a Y cord that that shares my drum machine.

Like I said before with the Aguilar reference that pretty much came from their advertising hype. I think one of the best sounding amps I've tried at least for my style at the time was the Ashdown Mark King.

Right now I'm kind of going through a minor league Janek Gwizdala clone phase. Since I also play an active 6 string Fender Steve Bailey it seems like I'm going for kind of an ultra clean modern sound. I was thinking about trying out a Markbass Alain Caron due to the fact that it was designed in conjunction with a 6 string bassist.

C/S,
Rev J

 

[Korladis]

Like I said, I've never heard a transparent bass amplifier but I have heard those two brands referred to as such, whether right or wrong. All speaker cabs have a frequency response curve to them, unless you play through studio monitors I suppose.

SWR heads have a pretty prominent scoop in the low mids.

 

[chadds]

We may need another adjective like "cleaner."

The unintended distortion that some folks get out of their amps tells me, "Lucy. You have some splaining to do!"

(Unintended=cover band every instrument sounds like the cover except the bassist. Barky non clear sound. Too much digging in, pickup too close, preamp gain staging inappropriate, less than optimal use of amp's eq., effects pedals sucking tone so add more pedals to get it back, not enough watts, not enough speakers, less than adequate speakers, too high THD in amp choice, buying your faves bass amp that can't meet your tone goals.......)

Not talking about you peeps with roaring SVTs.

You blues bassists, the bark burp doesn't sound like blues recordings where you have to listen to hear if it's a Fender or a doghouse.

All IMHO.

 

[chris_b]

Transparent? I don't think I've ever heard that.

Something has to be making your sound what it is. IMO everything should contribute to that. From your fingers to the cone there is a jig-saw of electrical and mechanical components, each one leaving it's sonic footprint.

What I hope/aim for is to find a synergy between the pieces that makes up the signal chain. It's the whole or overall sound that matters not any individual part.

 

[Cap'n Redbeard]

SWR heads have a pretty prominent scoop in the low mids.

Yup. As I said now twice, there are no transparent amplifiers. Every amp has its effect on the sound. All cabinets are scooped or tapered somewhere in the frequency range.