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Help with Nemesis tone

guitarsark

guitarsark

Nov 30, 2007
114
0
www.bluesteelguitar.com
#1
I have a Nemesis na320 that i bought on ebay. Last night i brought it to the practice space to use it with my band. I ran it thru an ampeg 4x10 cabinet.(i have an avatar 210 neo at home). I played both my fender jazz and my epi Jack Casady and I have to say I prefer the tone i get thru my Harkte Kickback 12 combo!! It just sounds ballsy-er than the Nemesis. I cant really put my finger on it but it's almost like the Harte sounds warmer and more tube like. Maybe grittier??
Would i be better off with a Hartke head or a Markbass LM2 or a GK head? Or maybe I'm just not setting up the Nemesis right? any ideas? i'm pretty new to all this so any opinions greatly welcomed. thanks.
 
#2
I have a Markbass now and have played it versus a Hartke, I prefer the MB.. I also think G-K makes some of the best heads out there, for the money.

As fot the nemesis heads, i have never used one, but even the Eden heads aren't my favorite, although I love their cabs.

Hartke heads are similar to G-K in that they are workhorses...but for my money, go with the G-K
 
#3
I've got a nemesis 320 and IMO it's not designed to sound warm on its own. If you want a warmer sound you'll probably want to look elsewhere.

I personally like the drier, very clean tone of the Nemesis, particularly for "electronic" jams. It warms up well if you put some kind of tube pre in front of it, and it's great for recording if you intended to wet up the dry sound "in the studio".

I'm not bashing the amp at all - I find it to be very "transparent" (if such a thing is possible for an amplifier). Then again, I have a tube amp to use when I want a warmer tone - to me, SS is more about clarity.
 
#7
guitarsark said:
would a fulltone bassdrive pedal help with this do you think?
Click to expand...

Ya know what I would look into? The Sansamp VT.

I don't have or really need one but there's a thread going on it this month with tons of info, and lots of raves - even from people with multiple tube amps.

But honestly, there are a lot of pedals you could choose from. Like I said, the Nemesis warms up well with a tube pre, for instance.
 
#8
allexcosta said:
Try this:

Enhance on MIN
Boost 400hz on the semi-parametric
Lows around 9 o'clock
Compressor off
Rest is flat


Nemesis heads can be VERY boomy...
Click to expand...

+1, the semi-parametric EQ is your friend!

Also keep in mind that the EQ settings on the NA320 are VERY powerful. Most of the time I only move them between 10 and 2 o'clock. A small knob turn makes a big difference in tone.
 
#9
allexcosta said:
Try this:

Enhance on MIN
Boost 400hz on the semi-parametric
Lows around 9 o'clock
Compressor off
Rest is flat


Nemesis heads can be VERY boomy...
Click to expand...

RCCollins said:
+1, the semi-parametric EQ is your friend!

Also keep in mind that the EQ settings on the NA320 are VERY powerful. Most of the time I only move them between 10 and 2 o'clock. A small knob turn makes a big difference in tone.
Click to expand...

+2. This advice comes from happy Edenites!
 
#11
I have never heard of a Nemesis anything not sounding warm. I own two Nemesis combo amps - the NC410 and the NC210 - and warmth has never been a problem.

I agree with the previous post(s): It may just be that you haven't dialed it in properly... :eyebrow:

MM
 
#12
Don't use the Enhance as it tends to suck the body out of your tone. I don't think I have ever read where an NA user has used very much Enhance. Might be helpful if you're looking for more of a hi-fi tone, but otherwise, leave it off.

I have been using an NA650 with an Avatar SB112 Delta LF for a few years and I love it. I like that I can run most of the tone/EQ settings nearly flat at 12 o'clock. I also pull my mids back to about 11 o'clock and run the Para EQ around 400hz. This combination is perfect for allowing me to quickly dial in anything I need directly on my 7 string, from warm and punchy to hi-fi, without ever having to touch the amp.

I have played a number of amps (Ampeg, Ashdown, Hartke, Genz-Benz) and have found the tone of the Nemmy NA hard to beat. As a matter of fact, a few months ago, I tried both Genz-Benz Shuttles, hoping to move to something smaller, but after playing around with them for a while with my bass I found neither gave me the warmth and fullness of my rig. I also had a chance to play a Hartke Kickback 12 at a church last year and it didn't even come close to having the fullness of tone that I can get with the Nemesis.

I would say, try setting up your Nemmy according to what has been suggested in this thread as that amp should be able to give you some tone that is hard to beat!
 
#14
MysticMichael said:
I have never heard of a Nemesis anything not sounding warm. I own two Nemesis combo amps - the NC410 and the NC210 - and warmth has never been a problem.

MM
Click to expand...

Funny - I also own an NC410 and NC210 combo! (also grabbed the 2x12 Nemesis cab to pair with them)

My 4x10 is set up to sound pretty "active". (bass and mid knobs are broken off, so not sure what they are set at! hahaha) My 2x10 combo is where I set my "real" tone (and run DI from).

I leave the eq flat, and adjust usually 1 click. The parametric eq kicks butt. I usually set it for a 3-4db boost, and then sweep the frequency to find "the tone" for the room/bass. I sound checked my 2 basses at the last gig, and the P bass required a slightly different frequency than my J bass - to produce roughly the same tone. I didn't touch any other controls, just the freq range knob.

Took me a while to get a hang of setting up the Nemesis amp - don't know why. It seems so simple to me now... but it's just knowing what you want, and which knob to reach for to get it.

+3 on keeping the enhance to a minimum (mine on 9 0'clock).
 
#18
guitarsark said:
good. i was hoping it was just the settings. i've had the hartke for a long time and had plenty of time to mess with it. i just need to dial in the nemesis it seems. i'll keep you posted.
Click to expand...

I consider Hartke and GK the only plug and play amps that I've tried. All others need some tweaking for my taste. Please take my advice with a grain of salt. I never really connected with any Nemesis or Eden gear and sold everything that I had. The settings I posted may or may not get you there, but one thing is for sure, it won't sound Hartke'ish no matter what. I've learned thru the years that nothing but GK will give you the GK grit and nothing but Hartke will give you the Hartke grit.
 

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