• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Just the basics....

R

Reverend G-Money

Aug 13, 2001
1,125
4
51
San Diego, CA
www.devices.tv
#1
I'm curious to see some simple set-ups. I've gone through tons of gear and the past 3 years all i've used is my passive American Fender 5'er, a GK800RB, and the SVT 8x10. Tone settings primarily flat, and no effects or "studio magic" outboard gear. i can range from gritty to fat without having active p'ups or tap-dancing through the set.

maybe i just happened on that rare really sweet set of Fender P'ups or maybe i've even got one of "those" fenders... 20 more years i'll know... hahaha

anyone else get all they want from a simple set-up? just the basics. bass, amp, and cab. your fingies do the talkin...
 
#2
I have played for about 30 yrs. thru countless different manufacturers rigs. All sorts of amps, preamps, bi-amped systems, pedals, basses, some active, some not. My current rig is by far the best sounding, most versatile, and lightest weight. A Schecter Stiletto Elite 5-String w/ active EMG's, A GK backline 600 head, full range to an Avatar 212 Neo. Our band has a lead guitar player plaing thru a Musicman HD 130, a rythm guitar player thru a Peavey classic 212-50 watt , and another rythm/lead player thru a Fender Delta blues 410 60 watt. Our drummer only mics his bass drum. I can cut thru all 4 of them w/ my gain level on 60% and my master volume on 75%. I get not one bit of clipping whatsoever, but am wondering if going to the 700rbII or 1001rb would be worth the $ to get more headroom. Everthing is great right now so I just dont know.
 
#3
My band Ariel has a practice rig from heaven consisting of a mid-60's Fender Bassman 50 into a mid-60's Fender Showman cab. Tone knobs cranked, bass switch on, Steinberger XM-2A plugged in with knobs centered, let your fingers do the talkin'!!!

It wasn't loud enough to gig with, though, and I wouldn't have wanted to risk damage by lugging it anyway. The closest in tone and feel I've found since in an appropriate wattage is the SVT-VR through an 810. If it wasn't well out of my price range now, I'd already own it.
 
#5
Simpler is better, IMHO. Let the tone come from your fingers.

There's nothing more annoying to me than over-processed guitar, you know what I mean, compressor, chorus, reverb... bleah. Plug a Stratocaster into a Marshall JCM and leave it alone already. :rollno:
 
#8
middy said:
Simpler is better, IMHO. Let the tone come from your fingers.

There's nothing more annoying to me than over-processed guitar, you know what I mean, compressor, chorus, reverb... bleah. Plug a Stratocaster into a Marshall JCM and leave it alone already. :rollno:
Click to expand...

Woo! Double post :cool:
This just reminds me of last night when I was at jam, our guitar player kept having problems with his pedal board - he's got like 8 and they all run off one power adapter. It kept cutting out every song and he'd be like "What the!? I just don't get it." Me and the drummer just looked at each other and shook our heads.
 
#9
so after my post saying how much i loved my rig, my ever-faithful GK 800RB took a poop last friday. no-biggie i guess, as long as the stuff isn't fried it's all good. i borrowed the newer digital Ampeg 500-something and the power/headroom was MINIMAL compared to the GK. very odd considering the Ampeg should've been pumping more wattage at 4ohms than my GK.
 
#11
I run the rig in my sig straight like that, I used to use a BBE 482, but I ditched it when I got this cab, didn't need it, made my sound boxy. When I use my fingers I run the Eq flat, but when I play with a pick I run the mids at 1/4 and the bass at 3/4s, and the EQ on my bass flat. No pedals, or processors for me.

I won't use an amp if I need fx to make it sound good.
 
#12
Ampeg 500-something and the power/headroom was MINIMAL compared to the GK
Click to expand...

Ampeg really rates their wattage higher than they apparently are. While I havn't owned a GK, I've owned Trace Elliot and both companies are said to have LOUD watts. My Trace 250 blew away my Ampeg.

Back on topic though...

I have a list of things I wanted to buy for my setup back in like July 06 saved on my computer. It had a Bass Exciter, sansamp, Chorus pedal, and a Fuzz of some sort. Ever since I got the Epifani's, the sound has been so tight and punchy that I have abandoned all my tone shaping desires.

I'm rather happy have it simple. Now what do I do with all the patch cables I bought???
 
#13
Rick_no7 said:
Ampeg really rates their wattage higher than they apparently are. While I havn't owned a GK, I've owned Trace Elliot and both companies are said to have LOUD watts. My Trace 250 blew away my Ampeg.
Click to expand...

i will second that. i borrowed a Trace 1x15 combo a while back and it PUMPED.

i owned an SVT-350H or whatever that hunk of a rackmount B2R is, and it had little juice as well. Same with the hi-fi tone of an SWR i had.

I had the B4R ampeg for a short while -(before it was stolen; along with the car it was in), ran that 1000 watts 4ohm bridged mono through an Avatar 4x10. LOUD, but gone. after that, Sansamp Bass Driver DI through a power amp & 2x15. ALSO STOLEN, but way more flexibility and more dynamic than my "heisted" Ampeg. To be honest, the closest to "ample headroom" i've had has been from the GK800RB. the manual (still in the same typewriter font for years), suggests i run the power at "10". but, that's WAY too much for anything i've done in the past five years, including fighting with full-stacks of Mesa's.

i run the GK bassically flat and let my fingies do the talking. Passive Fender '97 AM V, GK, and Ampeg 8X10. nothing between me & what people hear. From Steve Harris-style clank, to salt & pepper (without a fretless) slides like Roger Waters, and the fatness of JPJ, nothing beats a passive-instrument/amp-speaker combo. just ask Jaco... :D
 
#14
...nothing beats a passive-instrument/amp-speaker combo.
Click to expand...

Amen to that!

Passive Schecter Basses>Ampeg SVP-Pro>QSC PLX1602>Schroeder 21012L + no effects = best tone of my 25 years of playing!

I'm not trying to say my tone is any better than anyone else's mind you - I can attest that GK & Avatars setups rule as well! :bassist: I'm just seconding the motion - anyone reading this & in search of killer tone - get yourself a nice passive bass, and depending on SS or tube tastes, a great bass head like Ampeg or GK (already a SS modern classic) and you'll never look back.
Never mind me, I'm just rejoicing in coming full circle back to a classic recipe for incredible tone after playing active basses, way too many effects, etc., for WAY too long. :hyper: YMMV
 
#16
My rig only has two additional units from being a stock rig.

Furman Power conditioner and voltage indicator
Bass -> Nady UHF Wireless ->Eden WT550B -> Korg DT7 tuner "rack mounted"
Eden 210XLT 4-ohm and 212XLT 4-ohm

The Furman and the wireless are, really, extras, but they have proven invaluable time and again. But aside from that, no effects, no stomp boxes, one rack and two speaker cables. I'm set up and tuning in 5 minutes.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back