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Is anyone image conscious about their rig?
- Thread starter Din Of Win
- Start date
i like you, bassk. i think you and i are going to hit it off very well
ah, to be a supporting member, so i have the space to put quotes in sig
I love rolling my 1989 Peavey Databass into a gig and then taking my 1965 P-bass out of its case. It's the nonverbal equivalent of daring ANYONE to talk smack.
it's sort of fashionable and aloof to have the "if it works who cares how it looks" mentality. i myself partially agree with it. but the truth is, if you're a gigging musician, looks absolutely matter. your audience is there to see you just as much as to hear you, and there's a big difference in the audience's mind between an enormous ampeg rig and a little markbass one. just imagine if lemmy kilmister and michael manring switched amp rigs...ridiculous. image is part of being an exciting performer. the trick is to find something that fits you as both an instrumentalist and a performer.
I am a BIG fan of aesthetics, but Ive sold more than a few beautiful rigs over the years because they didnt get the tone or clarity or moan I was after.
I prefer classic matched rigs like my v4b and 610av...or my old Ashdown Labs rig..or my old Ashdown ABM rig...I just feel inspired sitting in front of em...not to mention playing em...
BUT.. a good friend of mine (you know him Matt) plays a cobbled together rig of beat up mismatched stuff.. like an old peavey 118, an old gallien 15, an swr 610 and an old sunn coliseum with an EQ pedal jimmied rigged onto the front panel as a graphic EQ... and IT SLAMS!!! and I would be PROUD to lug it around!!
When it comes to heads though.. Im a big fan of both the look and tone of tube amps.. or that classic old school preamp look of the Ashdown.
I prefer classic matched rigs like my v4b and 610av...or my old Ashdown Labs rig..or my old Ashdown ABM rig...I just feel inspired sitting in front of em...not to mention playing em...
BUT.. a good friend of mine (you know him Matt) plays a cobbled together rig of beat up mismatched stuff.. like an old peavey 118, an old gallien 15, an swr 610 and an old sunn coliseum with an EQ pedal jimmied rigged onto the front panel as a graphic EQ... and IT SLAMS!!! and I would be PROUD to lug it around!!
When it comes to heads though.. Im a big fan of both the look and tone of tube amps.. or that classic old school preamp look of the Ashdown.
I love rolling my 1989 Peavey Databass into a gig and then taking my 1965 P-bass out of its case. It's the nonverbal equivalent of daring ANYONE to talk smack.
HILARIOUS!!
I probably wouldn't play small gigs with an Orange Tiny Terror Bass and an SP212 if I was that concerned about image. Isn't that why so many bass players are afraid of the PJB rigs? People will laugh at all those tiny speakers.
It would probably explain my inherent love of SWR cabs. THOSE SHINY GRILLS ARE SEXY!
However, I don't even own anything SWR.
However, I don't even own anything SWR.
Not as much as when I started playing in the late ‘60s.
Then kustom tuck and roll and blond Fenders were for the Ramada Inn crowd with matching suites and guitars.
Tweed was for those Elvis players or “old” country guys LOL
I wanted my friends Acoustic 360 for about a year, then I got to play through an SVT and never wanted any thing else.
Now I have my Ampegs, it’s the sound I like.
They do look cool and it does feel good standing in front of an SVT.
MM
Then kustom tuck and roll and blond Fenders were for the Ramada Inn crowd with matching suites and guitars.
Tweed was for those Elvis players or “old” country guys LOL
I wanted my friends Acoustic 360 for about a year, then I got to play through an SVT and never wanted any thing else.
Now I have my Ampegs, it’s the sound I like.
They do look cool and it does feel good standing in front of an SVT.
MM
If it sounds good to me and my bandmates, I don't give a <put words here yourself>!!!
Here, my thoughts by my favorite physicist:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Care-Other-People-Think/dp/0553347845
Here, my thoughts by my favorite physicist:
http://www.amazon.com/What-Care-Other-People-Think/dp/0553347845
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HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!! I can hardly type cause I got this goof pulled up in a second window on my other screen... WOW, he should post his bass somewhere on this forum page so we can hackle him.
I'm digging the red head though
The squeeze box is hot!
Nobody in KC recognizes my Genz gear, but I feel that having a clean-looking, professional rig is a part of my presentation. We want crowds to see us as polished as possible, and I think that the appearance of gear definitely factors in.
I was gonna say i'm not image conscious at all, but then i started thinking if my rig were orange yellow and purple would i still use it because of its (killer) sound, and the answer was no. So i guess i am image conscious. I can live with that!
The size of the rig doesn't necessarily determine how good it looks. I mean, look at early rock bands. The Beatles played Vox AC30s and looked FANTASTIC.
That said - I loved how my Ampeg stack looked with the white pinstripe around the perimeter of the grill cloth (head + 2 cabs), but I recently traded out the head for a Peavey VB-2 and although the Peavey isn't aesthetically pleasing as the SVT450 was (much more modern looking) I think the trade off of the look for the power and tube tone is worth it. Plus the Peavey isn't nearly as hideous as the VB-3 or countless GK/Markbass type heads.
That said - I loved how my Ampeg stack looked with the white pinstripe around the perimeter of the grill cloth (head + 2 cabs), but I recently traded out the head for a Peavey VB-2 and although the Peavey isn't aesthetically pleasing as the SVT450 was (much more modern looking) I think the trade off of the look for the power and tube tone is worth it. Plus the Peavey isn't nearly as hideous as the VB-3 or countless GK/Markbass type heads.
+1
I got a mark VIII for 99 bux used at gc....needed suttin in a hurry...and found that gem...like 600 watts, all sortsa eq-ing slides/medeocre compressor/medeocre(at best) chorus...
Its definately solid and so far (knock wood) been reliable.
How can you beat that for 99 bucks?...how?
This photo is not of my amp...mine is in slightly better condition...
$99...Cant beat it.
I'm dealing with an image issue right now. I gig with a Mesa M9 carbine powering a Mesa 1x15 and an Aguilar GS410. The rig sounds great but I'm bothered by the look of the Aggie cab. It just doesn't fit in. I've been going back and forth on buying either a Mesa 4x10 or 2x12. It's an expense I don't need to make because I doubt it'll make my bass sound any better. I would be laying out cash just for the purpose of enhancing (in my mind) my rig's image. And the bottom line is that nobody really cares but me. I'm glad this thread came up so I can voice my issue.
