It also could be the room and or where the rig is in the room. Acoustics matter. Sounds like everything else was on point. We all should be so lucky as to only have a mediocre (maybe broken) bass sound on an otherwise great gig.
Mugre
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Last night's backline.......not impressed.......
- Thread starter DWBass
- Start date
It also could be the room and or where the rig is in the room. Acoustics matter. Sounds like everything else was on point. We all should be so lucky as to only have a mediocre (maybe broken) bass sound on an otherwise great gig.
Mugre
Hmmm...
+
I wonder if he intentionally sabotaged the rig because the stage and room are difficult to mix.
I gig a TH500 through both a 210 and a 410 cabinet and I’ve always gotten plenty of low end right down to low B. Not just R&B and pop gigs but reggae gigs where the bass is super fat. The TH is just as big in the low end as any other amp I’ve owned. Great with upright as well.
If you are after a modern sound as opposed to a vintagey tube sound then yeah, tone hammers aren’t for you. I sold my modern sounding GK MBF800 for my TH500 to get more of a tube amp sound. It definitely does the trick for that with plenty of low end to spare ...but only AFTER I learned how the knobs interact. It took some getting used to. As mentioned, your gain setting at noon and drive knob at 0 was probably cutting low end, but not enough to make it as bad as you experienced.
That rig should have had PLENTY of lows, so I wouldn’t base your opinion on these amps from this one experience where the cab was probably abused and damaged. That said, tone hammers are not going to be for you if you’re after a modern sound and/or don’t want to spend time learning their unique controls.
I think a lot of it has to do with what kind of bass and cabinet you are using. My main bass is Lull M5V with Sadowsky preamp and my cabinets are Bergantinos and I would say that the sound I get is pretty “modern”; more tubey than my Puma amp for sure, but still on the modern end of the spectrum. And I generally have my gain set to around noon with the drive at zero. I still have plenty of low end at those settings.
To check means to substitute one cable with another. Even a new cable is not exempt.
I have plenty of amps but if I ever needed to buy a new one, def won't be a Tonehammer. Honestly, they never were on my radar. I just expected more since they get talked up a lot.
I have a TH500 and felt the same way when I went my standard knob positions. The gain doesn't do all you expect. You have to back it up with some Drive and it shapes really nicely for me. I dunno what bass you were playing but I almost to play my P bass with that rig. I get a lot of compliments from other bass players when I run my jazz through that head.
I played through someone's GK head and brand spanking new Hartke 4x10 aluminum cone driver once, when Hartke itself was brand spanking new. I had to stand with just my heels on the stage so I could hear myself through the mains subs underneath me and I had started right in front of the rig, which was pointed sideways across a very wide stage. I was like 6 - 7 feet away from the drummer and no guitar cabs pointed at me. I knew the head was a good one and the name 'Hartke' makes me cringe to this day 
That’s kinda like not knowing how to drive stick shift, then test driving a stick shift sports car that has a flat tire and misfiring spark plug and saying, “I expected more.” Granted, that sports car may not be for you, but you don’t have a good idea of what it can do when in proper working order and operated correctly.
I get it but I desire a straight forward amp with a simple eq section. I don't know anything about the amp and the soundguy didn't mention it was a different type of amp and I just didn't have time to mess with it.
Goes to show different strokes and all that. In the 80's my rig was GK/Hartke combo and that combo stills shows up in backlines, I'm never bummed because I still think that's a great combo.I played through someone's GK head and brand spanking new Hartke 4x10 aluminum cone driver once, when Hartke itself was brand spanking new. I had to stand with just my heels on the stage so I could hear myself through the mains subs underneath me and I had started right in front of the rig, which was pointed sideways across a very wide stage. I was like 6 - 7 feet away from the drummer and no guitar cabs pointed at me. I knew the head was a good one and the name 'Hartke' makes me cringe to this day
Could also be speakers wired out of phase. I had that with an old SWR 2x10 combo years ago. No “punch” and no deep lows ... even by SWR standards LOL. Would completely disappear on stage. Turns out the two speakers weren’t in phase
The head should have been good. However, the GS speakers kinda sucked in my opinion. The DB series is much better.
If "a lot of bass players complain about the rig", you'd think they'd get a clue and do something about it.
I hate having to roll the dice on backline amps. So about a year ago I bought an Eden WTDI, which is a stompbox-sized DI box with a built in Eden preamp and adjustable compressor. I just plug my bass into the WTDI and then plug the WTDI into the effects-return of the backline amp - I have great sound again.
Doing that effectively bypasses the preamp of the backline amplifier and only uses its power section to amplify my preamp. Since I use Eden and DNA gear, it has a sound I'm familiar with and know how to adjust to get the sound I want, which is warm, clear, and articulate. It won't fix problems with speakers, but it sure beats trying to mess around with an unknown-to-you amp head to try to approximate your sound. Here's a shot of it:
Other companies have also have DI boxes with their own preamps in them. If you have a different preference, check out some others. This Eden one is great and I've used it for backlines, straight into FOH, and also for recording sessions. It's been a bit of a kick to make other amps (Peavey, Ampeg, GK, MarkBass, acoustic, and more) sound like an Eden.
Isn't that always the way? You want some kind of standard top of the line stuff, and the offbeat stuff can be the worst. But a weird low-budget setup with a sound engineer with great ears can be spectacular if it's well-maintained.
You know that locally, the best sounding player in town usually plays through a giant 80s Peavey combo or some such non-coveted rig. He's not gonna spend more money; he already sounds good!
I've played through that exact same setup at clubs here in NYC and it sounds great...there had to be something wrong with the rig you encountered.
I played that same exact club a week ago. It's not the room. It is a really well set up music club. But they let me use my own head. Curious what story they gave our esteemed brother...
