Ok I need another bass amp..

[Standalone]

I experience the same lifelesness from amps that you're hearing. I have found my solution.

I do like that Rheingold. But for me -- Sensitive, Organic, Vocal -- That equals BAG END S15 or S12. And my old GK's have a responsive give to them that adds to the overall organic response.

Very sensitive cabs. Unified, warm clear sound. People often think of cabs (and amps) as either hi-fi or muddy, but there is a world of warm clarity out there that is not as harsh as the "hi-fi" sound.

 

[HolmeBass]

I suspect the dullness is much more due to the cabinet than the amp.

Get a hifi bass cabinet, like Bergantino, Barefaced, Fearless, Audio Kinesis, etc.

 

[BobDeRosa]

Yup.. I think with the help of Gtiard I may have finally found the right amp.

This is just a cautionary note, not a thunderstorm on anyone's parade. I'm sure you noticed that none of the EBG samples were played with piezo pickup (I don't think), which seems to be a gating factor for you. Even the fretless seems to have magnetic pickups. I'm assuming the upright players were using piezo pickups, but that's just an assumption and those are uprights, with a very different sound profile from your Ibanez. These amps definitely sound amazing, and if money were no object, I might try one myself. But before you order a big-ticket amp from Germany, you might want to seek a more equivalent sound sample. Just a thought -- don't kill the messenger.

 

[Bonecat]

+1 on the Acoustic Image amps. Pair one with an efficient full range speaker and magic happens…

 

[DrummerwStrings]

It's exactly that.. the sound I'm looking for is a spiritual quest more than a simple tone quest.

The universe is conspiring to assist me, I emailed Ampeg have not had a reply in a week.. AEG same story.

Rheingold emailed me back in 15 minutes. Guess who wins. Ordering soon as they are built to order then I will probably got to Germany to collect it myself. If that's not viable i will just have to have it shipped with the stiff import duty of about 20%..

Oh well.. I've spent more than that in a bar before.. and I was alone (to start).

Fretless..



"Give a man a band and he can jam for a day, give a man a tone and he can feed himself for a lifetime"
- Dm7b5 - 2023

Sounds like the beginning of a magazine feature or a short story, at the very least a photo-packed TB thread. Perfect weather for schnapps.

 

[coy garcia]

I've found most amps "lifeless" except for my ampeg pf50t, or my boogie 400+, or a backline svt at some gigs..must be in the tubes for me. Others find their tone in a markbass or rumble etc..

 

[alex1fly]

I suspect the dullness is much more due to the cabinet than the amp.

Get a hifi bass cabinet, like Bergantino, Barefaced, Fearless, Audio Kinesis, etc.

This was my thought. A different cabinet and/or an EQ pedal would likely do the trick. Not as sexy as a spiritual quest for a new amp, but I bet either would work. Lifelessness/organicness is usually the result of the right frequency curve. Cabinets have different frequency curves and EQ pedals allow you to shape what you have.

 

[MVE]

Have you thought about just using a powered PA speaker like a Mackie SRM450 or QSC???
A full range system might be what you’re looking for.

 

[Grapevine921]

A 15" speaker with a piezo tweeter isn't going to give you the midrange/hi end response you liked from your guitar amp. Looking at amp heads is more fun than speaker cabinets but I think others are on the right track recommending a different speaker solution.

 

[CosmicRay]

Guitar and bass power amps by Guitar Sound Systems (GSS)

Have you checked out GSS? I have a Baby Sumo. Uncolored sound. Just an amp. I use it with my A/E Martin & on-board pre.

 

[logdrum]

In the TB tradition, we will not read the responses that you already found the amp. Expect 2 - 3 more pages of answers


Acoustic Image but another full range speaker, even though their speakers are not bad, just low efficiency AER also but the big Fishman acoustic amps are great but maybe the country of manufacture will bug you. There is the Rosetta acoustic amp from Mesa as well.

If you want to go all tube - I would talk to Frenzel amps. Might save you the wait. His Hi-Fi amps sound great and he can probably customize the tone stack and input impedance so it works for your instrument.

 

[groovaholic]

I just bought the new Markbass 58R 500 watt head, and the M58r 151 PURE 400-watt cab.. but I have found that it doesn't quite properly accommodate my 5-string fretless with the piezo pickup.

I have an Ibanez SRF705 5 string fretless that sounds absolutely divine through my Roland JC-40 guitar amp.
The AeroSilk Piezo pickup system sounds very organic, extremely sensitive, articulate and expressive like you cannot imagine. That thing can make you weep simply playing scales..

But as soon as I plug this fretless bass into to the latest MarkBass bass head and cab all of that life seems to get ironed out and flattened.

To me, this reads like an incompatibility between the piezo pickup and the input of the MarkBass.
Normally, I'd suspect an impedance mismatch - but the manuals for both your amps list a 1M ohm input impedance.

How does it sound if you plug into the JC-40, then run the JC-40s line-out into the MarkBass line-in?

 

[Lammchop93]

genzler bass array cab. the MG-350 head paired with the 12-3 SLT would be a great combo.

 

[Maxi Funkl]

Genzler or Phil Jones?

 

[Mark Ambler]

genzler bass array cab. the MG-250 head paired with the 12-3 SLT would be a great combo.

Agreed with the Genzler array cab, they sound nicer than my EV 360 SXA or JBL Eons. I would definitely try one of the Magellan heads with it.

 

[red_rhino]

Ordering soon as they are built to order then I will probably got to Germany to collect it myself.

Envisioning trying to put this in the overhead storage compartment. Maybe purchase an additional seat? Not sure I would trust the airlines enough to check it as baggage.

 

[Cave Puppy]

My Source Audio EQ2 allowed me to dial in some resonant peaks and it changed my life. So did the Lusithand NFP filter. I use high sensitivity speakers and top notch amps, as well.

 

[DJ Bebop]

 

[Koshchei]

I realize that you're waiting for a response re the Rheingold amp, but one last attempt to sway you down the Canadian-made path:

This was more meant to showcase the dynamics and facility of the Rickenbacker 4005XC, but I realize that it also makes the Traynor sound glorious as well:



Recording notes: this is two tracks, one with the semi-parametric mid bumped up around 800Hz and the other track around 400Hz.

The tubes are all MESA-labelled: 1xSPAX7 (low noise 12AX7), 2x 12AX7s, 4x 6L6s.

 

[Klangfarbe]

I'm looking for a bass amp that accentuates all frequencies and can stand completely alone as a solo instrument. No mix.. no band. Just this bass. I'm looking for the highest sensitivity, high definition, audiophile quality I can get across all the entire tonal spectrum and as expressive and as close as I can get to the human voice 'a cappella'.

Well... This Guy doesn't seem to have a Problem in achieving exact that with "just" a couple of Markbass-Amps.