While people make some pretty amps these days, nobody is making an amp like that these days.
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I hate all amplifiers
- Thread starter Savoury Salmon
- Start date
While people make some pretty amps these days, nobody is making an amp like that these days.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,051
- 5
- 221,021
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Not really... the Subway amps are built in the US, always have been.
Well he would sound that way through the amps you already tried, I don't think it's the amp that's giving him that tone. You mentioned the GK 700rb, and I own that amp also so let me just say that there is a learning curve with that amp and I think it is capable of sounding fantastic, a lot like an 800rb, but can also sound terrible. Even the demo videos of that amp doesn't sound good, GK should work on getting players in their demo videos that don't make their amps sound sterile and anemic.
I always set the 4/5 string switch to 4, I don't use the presence knob at all and I have to either use the -db pad or turn the input volume way down because even my passive basses seem too hot for the input. The rb amps are kind of confusing at first since they have what seems like 4 volumes knobs and you may not know how they work together. I always keep the input volume low, or I press the -db pad in and then boost it up. The boost is good around 12 o'clock. I don't have a GK cab so I don't use the tweeter at all. And the woofer just go ahead and crank that as high as you can and adjust the input as necessary to get the volume you want. But the woofer should always be much higher than the input. The 4 band EQ is pretty good but to warm up your tone cut the hi mid and boost the lo mid. At first I kept trying to boost the bass and cut the treble and that doesn't do it as much as you might think, it's the mids that have the biggest effect.
Yes, they do. I do not understand the dichotomy on TB of buying a pre-amp pedal with a DI to send “your sound” to FOH, simultaneously combined with the near religious conviction that an actual amp’s DI should always be pre.
If you are in a difficult room that requires serious EQ’ing you can ask the SE for a DI to get around this.
More and more, in my experience, SEs are asking me for a post signal, or saying they don’t care. I will say if I have to make heavy EQ changes to handle a bad room I do send a pre DI signal, but those occasions are rare.
I recommended the BB800 because it seems like that’s the sound OP wants from his amp. The BB802 has a selectable DI, but it’s not an XLR!
None of these are things that make either amp unusable though.
I had a sunn 2000s with the standard twin 15in cabinet which had 2 JBL D140 in it. Great amp but the weird thing is I could be standing in front of it playing at normal levels and not hear myself but out in the dance floor I was blasting. I might add that sound reinforcement wasn't anything like it is today... bands using guitar amps for PA was not uncommon and in a pinch a Lafayette microphone would do just fine.
BTW we had a string clubs that we played, all were these converted Quonset Huts insulated, and fairly good-sized. They were bottle clubs in those days in quite a few places down there in NC and those quonset huts were phenomenal sound chambers.
I had a fender Bassman for a while I wasn't really happy with it - it was a nice Fender Rhodes amplifier but I didn't like it as a bass amp. Ampeg B15 that was pretty nice for a smaller casuals.
Whether or not it makes sense to you, many of us (some of whom don’t often use pedals) very much want to have a DI XLR out that is not tied to the master volume on the stage amp. I’ve no wish to add a DI box to make up for what I consider a design shortcoming. Yes, it’s a make or break issue for me, which I told Mesa when I sold off my first Walkabout. Fortunately, they listened.
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Post master and post eq are a big difference. With the BB if I turn up or down on the master during the gig, it really changes the level sent to FoH. With post eq master doesn't change this.
There's nothing at all weird or inconsistent about that. The amp is a monitor for me. I want to be able to control how loud my personal monitor volume without affecting the FOH. I can't imagine tying the DI volume to the master volume being of benefit to either the bassist or the FOH engineer.
I first realized that my old M9 had a post master DI on a gig. I thought there was something wrong with it. I still do.
But in any case, I had it modified to be pre-master. I also had the volume taper changed to be more linear, both of which made the amp infinitely more usable for me. By the way, Mesa consulted with the local shop for these mods, and even they didn't seem to have a justification for the post-master thing. @agedhorse ?
Funny you mention that. Way back when the Walkabout first appeared, Mesa did give me their explanation for the design. I wish I could recall it, but it didn’t make sense to this touring bassist. As I mentioned, Mesa has re-thought the approach and I believe all the Subway amps allow pre/post with no connection to the master. Andy can straighten me out if I’m wrong. I can only speak for the D800+ and it’s a perfectly designed amp in my book and for my needs.There's nothing at all weird or inconsistent about that. The amp is a monitor for me. I want to be able to control how loud my personal monitor volume without affecting the FOH. I can't imagine tying the DI volume to the master volume being of benefit to either the bassist or the FOH engineer.
I first realized that my old M9 had a post master DI on a gig. I thought there was something wrong with it. I still do.
But in any case, I had it modified to be pre-master. I also had the volume taper changed to be more linear, both of which made the amp infinitely more usable for me. By the way, Mesa consulted with the local shop for these mods, and even they didn't seem to have a justification for the post-master thing. @agedhorse ?
Build a recording studio control room (you can skip building the rest of the rooms) and install huge monitors. Plug your bass direct into the mixing board and crank the monitors. That's the best bass amp I ever played through.
I have never had a post DI level affected by Master volume. Pre volume, or gain, and EQ, yes they affect it, but never Master volume affecting DI level.There's nothing at all weird or inconsistent about that. The amp is a monitor for me. I want to be able to control how loud my personal monitor volume without affecting the FOH. I can't imagine tying the DI volume to the master volume being of benefit to either the bassist or the FOH engineer.
I first realized that my old M9 had a post master DI on a gig. I thought there was something wrong with it. I still do.
But in any case, I had it modified to be pre-master. I also had the volume taper changed to be more linear, both of which made the amp infinitely more usable for me. By the way, Mesa consulted with the local shop for these mods, and even they didn't seem to have a justification for the post-master thing. @agedhorse ?
And when you change the volume/EQ on your preamp pedal, that also effects the send from there.
So I still don’t get the dichotomy.
Again, I have never had an amp where Master volume affects the DI volume. I do not believe that the Quilter does this, but I will check.
Input gain and EQ definitely affect the DI send, which what “post” means to me on an amp’s DI.
I see, I will have to check it out. I don’t want Master volume affecting my DI send level, I can understand that shortcoming.
I get the feeling the XLR out is really to attach subordinate amps in a chain, more like a power amp feature than a bass amp feature. But if they intend it to be used as a DI that is bad.
I will run some tests with mine this weekend.
