LOL! Yeah, I'd have done the same thing. Love most Ampeg but not so much the SS SVT or B2 series. SM-900 is a good amp, though. RIP SWR.
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My rented backline adventures
- Thread starter JimmyM
- Start date
Eh, I know lots of people liked SWR, but I'd much rather use a solid state Ampeg or a GK if I couldn't use my first choices.
Eh, for me it's just that I can get sounds that while they aren't what I usually prefer, I really like, out of SS Ampegs and GKs, but I've never been able to get a sound I was more than just kinda "eh, this is okay I guess, it'll work" out of SWR amps.
But then, not every product is made for me.
But then, not every product is made for me.
It's not?
I don't know...I think they got unfairly slagged for being mid scooped with knobs at noon. They're certainly not the only one who had a mid scoop. And at least their EQ sections were pretty versatile. I could always dial out the scoop. Had to boost mids on the graphic of my old SM-500 considerably but it worked. Greatly prefer my Ampegs, though...I just stay away from the B2RE/SVT 450h and their descendants as much as I can
Everything else sounds great to me, but never got used to that one.
Yeah, it's just not the sound I prefer. I mean, playing them it's possible to mostly get rid of the scoop, I just don't like having to work against an amp's baked in voicing quite that much. I mean, yeah, I'm not afraid to turn knobs to extreme degrees to get the sound I want, it's just that if I have to do so, it generally means that there will be fewer sounds available that I dig.It's not?
I don't know...I think they got unfairly slagged for being mid scooped with knobs at noon. They're certainly not the only one who had a mid scoop. And at least their EQ sections were pretty versatile. I could always dial out the scoop. Had to boost mids on the graphic of my old SM-500 considerably but it worked. Greatly prefer my Ampegs, though...I just stay away from the B2RE/SVT 450h and their descendants as much as I can
But then again, my own amp is kinda like that. It has the Fender tone stack, so with the rotary EQ, there is exactly one spot I've ever found the regular mid knob that is at all useful, and that is maxed out. It's just that the couple sounds on my amp that I enjoy, I don't just like, I love.
I actually quite liked my 350H. Not the loudest head, but it did all right in my metal band of the time, even through my single 15. I would have kept it if I could have afforded it.
Of course, now I have the VT Bass pedal, so as long as I know basically what the most "neutral" setting for an amp's controls are, I can make it sound very close to my own amp (even though my amp is a Mesa and the VT Bass pedal is obviously modeled on Ampegs). I actually carry it as my "backup" so that if my amp has a problem, I can use basically any amp to get a reasonable approximation.
Got to play the whole enchilada fest tonight. Had a SWR 750x and 2 4x10 goliath 3's running tonight. Dead phone couldn't snap a pic. But I kinda dug that 750x... it was kinda like SWR set out to make a rock amp. It was fairly aggressive and forward. I did end up cutting the upper 4x10's horn by quite a bit, but wound up enjoying the amp overall.
Can't remember if I ever used the 750x or not. I think I did. Don't remember much about it, though. Glad you had a good time at the Enchilada Fest.
The 750x has a bit of that "good GK bite" in it.
I imagine the porta-potties take quite a beating at that festival.
I imagine the porta-potties take quite a beating at that festival.
This is more of a "green room" adventure than backline..... But it reminds me of a gig we did at a Vineyard a couple summers ago where they expected us to change into our tuxedos in the portables!! I think the response was simply, "That's not going to work for us". IIRC, it was also just getting dark and had cooled down to about 93F. These were not the nice portables w/ AC, sinks, mirrors, lights and complimentary mints either..... they were hidden around the back for workers to use during the day I presume.
Played a Hartke 3500 though an SVT 8x10 cabinet last week. Not my thing. I got an OK sound, but I'll take the SVT head and cabinet over anything. I've been really lucky because the back lines that have been provided this year, except for last week have all been SVT heads and cabs.
Well, I have no clue what notes I was hitting. But they felt right and I didn't get any dirty looks from the guitar player. Lol
I know this material forwards, backwards, upside down, and inside out so it really wasn't a big deal. But even the singer said, "It just didn't feel full up there tonight, like something was off."
On the plus side, the FOH engineer and two cats from the audience were questioning me about the bass cuz they loved the tone. All in all, the whiskey was free so I can't complain.
I know this material forwards, backwards, upside down, and inside out so it really wasn't a big deal. But even the singer said, "It just didn't feel full up there tonight, like something was off."
On the plus side, the FOH engineer and two cats from the audience were questioning me about the bass cuz they loved the tone. All in all, the whiskey was free so I can't complain.
Tonight in Wildwood, NJ at the Wildwoods Convention Center with Bowzer, Gene Chandler, The Tymes, Johnny Tillotson, and The Original Comets. Was honored to have performed with my old friends Joey Ambrose and Dick Richards from the Comets...RIP and respects to their original bassist/singer Marshall Lytle. Our road saxophonist Jay Leslie isn't part of my rig, but he can't resist a photobomb. 1999 SVT-AV and 2005 SVT 810e, with (get this) a Carlo Robelli upright
Was not horrible...it had a Realist pickup, which I'm not too fond of, but with some EQ it worked alright. In retrospect, I wish I'd have brought my little MXR 6-Band EQ, but I was trying to keep the pedalboard small. The cab was a dark era cab and it certainly was on the dark side, but once I dimed the mids at 800 and pushed the treble up to 3:00, I got a good sound. They also had a second SVT-AV as backup, which was unusual, but I didn't need it.
okcrum
in your chest
LOL! No, as a matter of fact, I was told specifically by the backline company that I wasn't to stand on it. But Joey and Dick didn't really want me doing stunts with them anyway. That was Marshall's shtick, and it was their night, not mine, so I let them go. Hard to believe that Joey is 80 and Dick is 90 now. They were so good!
