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Question for blues, Americana players

#61
turf3 said:
Flatback Romanian double bass.

but I don't play electric blues.
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Jens Telemark said:
No insult intended. I've probably been playing as long as your friend while continually working to refine how my touch can alter tone. Fair to say it's been a lifelong obsession so I probably do something to pass along. I threw the idea out there because it's the first thing that comes to mind when someone with a good bass and a decent amp isn't happy with their sound. Sorry you read this as arrogant.

I play the same kind of music as your friend and use a Quilter BB800 or a Mesa D-350 with a Bergantino NXV112 or Barefaced One10T without tweeters. It could be anything decent though. A Noble preamp and flats (Galli Synthesis nylon core flats on a P lately) are integral to the sound. There's a parametric EQ (mostly for the acoustic bass) and a compressor too but I could live without those. If I had to pick just one amp and cab with nothing else it would be the Berg and the Mesa hands down. The Mesa is one of the easiest to use, best sounding amps I've ever played and the present mids of the Berg is a combo that works for me to get a big fat sound that's still well defined in a stage mix. If that's more the kind of answer you were after I hope it helps.
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I appreciate the response. I was a bit prickly as it is my good friend and I know his playing well. ✌️ Peace.
As for gear, you've got some good suggestions. I also owned a BB800 and now have a D-350 and it is a very nice amp for many reasons. I can see it working well with the Berg cab. But he doesn't have the budget for that rig plus a Noble preamp. I think a change of cabinet would serve him well though.
 
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#63
DJ Bebop said:
What gear does your friend have currently and what kind of budget is he working with?

Never mind, I see he has some Markbass stuff. Maybe if he you suggested, playing with his EQ a bit, maybe a second cab 🤔
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Right, and he has a 15" cab too. I'm not sure what combo he's using now.
He should be able to get a good tone.
I think it's all about settings for him. I'm going to stop by when I get a chance a "fiddle" and bit with his gear.
 
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#64
Perhaps a simple compressor could give him some pillowy lows and take some of the sting out of the old P bass? Maybe a tube driven compressor if he's feeling fancy?

You should also let him try your Tonehammer in place of the Markbass and see if it doesn't get him there.
 
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#65
Jens Telemark said:
In a pond full of gear fish this may be heresy but if your pal can't get a decent sound with what he's got throwing money at different gear probably won't fix much. Taking some lessons with a player who can show him how much tone control is in the hands might.
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The "in your hands" comment is actually spot on with "decent" gear. The worst piece of :poop: I ever played through was a GK Backline 250 into a GK115bpx. That cab was impossible. nothing you could do with it could get rid of the boomy and muddy sound. It was not capable of discerning how you were fretting the notes (pad or tip of fingers), where you were plucking the string; or how you were handling your muting - nothing sounded good out of that. I was shocked because I'd actually used a GK guitar amp into a couple of JBL 12" with full width horn cabs, that sounded really good at one time. The rest of GK's gear may be great, but that "Brat Pack", as they marketed it, was terrible.

Plus it had an 8Ω minimum load so you couldn't add another cab to it to improve the sound. I got around that by hooking a second cab up in series and that second cab, a Sunn B202 (212 cab) helped get some clarity. Then I got an Eden Nemesis RS400 and at least the amp itself was putting out a clean, clear tone, but it was too much for the Sunn cabinet (only 100-watts rms handling power). When I added an acoustic B410 cab to that GK115bpx, AND cut the Bass EQ down to 10 o'clock, then I got a decent sound out of the rig. And THEN, my hands made a difference.

The reason I kept buying better and better gear is because back in the early 70's, when I was making a good living touring for 3-years, I had the best gear I could get at the time. Then in 1976 it was all stolen from me in a house burglary. Went without any bass gear until 1985 when I bought the bass in my avatar, a 1982 Jazz Bass with the same neck shape, profile and radius as my 1965 Jazz bass that I bought in 1966. In 1997 my son gave me his old Yamaha 115 combo and I could gig again. Then from 1998 until 2005, I couldn't gig because of crazy work schedules. Started gigging again in 2006 and continued buying better and better gear from then until 2021, when I bought my last amp, a DNA-800 that David Nordschow built for me from parts he had on hand because his factory was waiting on parts. I bought all of that with money made by playing music and I'm not about to apologize for that to anybody. You want it, you work for it. You work for it, you get it.

If you have decent gear, your hands do make the difference. If you have gear that can capture all the nuances your hands can supply, that's even batter sound. I used that darn GK115bpx as part of my 410+115 rig for 5-years because I could get a decent sound out of it. I use my DNA and Eden gear because it has the sound I hear in my head and has the clarity and articulation to pick out and project everything that my hands are doing. I didn't let that Yamaha 115 stop me from gigging, nor did I let that GK115bpx stop me from gigging. I got the best I could get out of it but I knew I needed better gear. So I worked and gigged and got a DNA endorsement after I'd been using their gear for 4-years. I continued to "buy better" until I was pleased with the sound I was getting and had the appropriate gear for all the different venues I would play.

I'm actually agreeing with you that hands make the difference in tone, rhythm, and articulation as long as you have decent enough gear to hear it. Not necessarily the best gear, but decent enough. Speaking from experience, it's really hard to put up with :poop: when you've had the best, at least the best at the time.
 
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#66
SJan3 said:
Right, and he has a 15" cab too. I'm not sure what combo he's using now.
He should be able to get a good tone.
I think it's all about settings for him. I'm going to stop by when I get a chance a "fiddle" and bit with his gear.
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I enjoy my WD800 and SW 115. I understand that it is not in everyone's budget. It wasn't in mine either, I sold my dad's bashed and battered B-15 to finance it, and despite the collector value of it or the fact that my dad owned it. I didn't have that attachment to it. My dad was a piano player and as cool as the B-15 is, I was never going to use it out of the house or in my recording endeavors so out it went and the Mesa stuff came home. It gives me a lot of options from modern sounds to a fantasy best-of sound of a B-15. I am not missing anything.

Having said all of that, I could get a decent tone out of any amp I have to play through. Not always the volume needed all the time.

Is he getting enough volume for his gigs? That would be my concern, if he is then it could be just a tone issue as you have pointed out.
 
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#67
DJ Bebop said:
I enjoy my WD800 and SW 115. I understand that it is not in everyone's budget. It wasn't in mine either, I sold my dad's bashed and battered B-15 to finance it, and despite the collector value of it or the fact that my dad owned it. I didn't have that attachment to it. My dad was a piano player and as cool as the B-15 is, I was never going to use it out of the house or in my recording endeavors so out it went and the Mesa stuff came home. It gives me a lot of options from modern sounds to a fantasy best-of sound of a B-15. I am not missing anything.

Having said all of that, I could get a decent tone out of any amp I have to play through. Not always the volume needed all the time.

Is he getting enough volume for his gigs? That would be my concern, if he is then it could be just a tone issue as you have pointed out.
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You did well in selling the B15 for your Mesa rig. Just no comparison.
Yea, he gets plenty of volume. Like I told someone else, he just isn't bonding with his tone and, in his case, I think at least a cabinet change would help him. He wants something more vintage voiced. He would love my Aguilar gear, especially the Tonehammer into my SL112.
He doesn't need too much volume, just a good "ol skool" tone. Maybe Ampeg..
Maybe your dad's amp!! 😁
 
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#68
SJan3 said:
You did well in selling the B15 for your Mesa rig. Just no comparison.
Yea, he gets plenty of volume. Like I told someone else, he just isn't bonding with his tone and, in his case, I think at least a cabinet change would help him. He wants something more vintage voiced. He would love my Aguilar gear, especially the Tonehammer into my SL112.
He doesn't need too much volume, just a good "ol skool" tone. Maybe Ampeg..
Maybe your dad's amp!! 😁
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I had head a vintage sound is attributed to the Markbass gear. I have only given them a shot at GC, not the best environment but they always hit me as meh. I am sure I probably didn't give them a fair shot though.

I do like what I have now so no need for me to explore them again 😊
 
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#69
DJ Bebop said:
I had head a vintage sound is attributed to the Markbass gear. I have only given them a shot at GC, not the best environment but they always hit me as meh. I am sure I probably didn't give them a fair shot though.

I do like what I have now so no need for me to explore them again 😊
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I like MarkBass gear very much. It served me well for many years. But I reached a point where I just needed a change. I played a Stingray bass for 22 years exclusively. Then one day I woke up and needed a change from it. I bought a P bass and then a Jazz bass and was back "at home". My 1st real bass was a '66 Jazz bass.
 
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#71
SJan3 said:
If Blues and/or Americana is your gig, what rig do you use or suggest?
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Whatever works. I don't consider bass amps to be genre specific. I can see the cliche' P and an SVT work for Metal, Alternative, Hardcore Punk, Prog, Bro Country, etc, let alone Blues or Americana. But then, it isn't the only default way to go. If you're going for cosmetics, to give off some sort of would-be authentic visual vibe(like all blackface or tweed Fender)that's an entirely different thing, but there's a reason players moved on from those particular amps after the 50's/60's.
 
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#72
Michedelic said:
If you're going for cosmetics, to give off some sort of would-be authentic visual vibe(like all blackface or tweed Fender)that's an entirely different thing, but there's a reason players moved on from those particular amps after the 50's/60's.
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Yup

Me before:
20220812_150630 Copy.jpeg


After:
33808.jpeg


Or size, going from this:
1757012331098.jpeg


To this:
IMG_3174.jpeg


Same artist different gear 👍
 
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#79
SJan3 said:
Well, that's a bit simplistic. If you had a choice, what would you bring? Those who are suggesting that it doesn't matter what gear you use are likely happy or not overly concerned with what they've got, and that's great.
Other players are more discerning.
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I can dig both answers.
I have and used just about anything most bass players have at one moment in time. In my old age of playing like most, I can get a usable tone and feel out of anything of 20-50 watts and up for most occasions, regardless of label.

But if I had my choice, I would have a barn with, you know who you are with the vintage trove of tube amps, Peavey amps, and amps I run into at work, and the rest of you. Yes all that would be in my dream barn. Think the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark 😊

And out of that barn or warehouse the amp I posted above would be in heavy rotation 👍
 
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#80
DJ Bebop said:
I can dig both answers.
I have and used just about anything most bass players have at one moment in time. In my old age of playing like most, I can get a usable tone and feel out of anything of 20-50 watts and up for most occasions, regardless of label.

But if I had my choice, I would have a barn with, you know who you are with the vintage trove of tube amps, Peavey amps, and amps I run into at work, and the rest of you. Yes all that would be in my dream barn. Think the warehouse at the end of Raiders of the Lost Ark 😊

And out of that barn or warehouse the amp I posted above would be in heavy rotation 👍
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We can all dream. But I've become more pragmatic in my senior years.
If it's more than 30 lbs, it's no longer practical for my use. My "barn" is more like a "tiny house."
 
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