RIGS OF DOOM - Ch. 3

[bassistgook]

Not the best but it works till I have some more money
GK Backline 410 & 115 on the left. GK Goldline 410 & 115 on the right. Marshall MB450H, BBE BMAX-T into the power section of my Ampeg B2-R. A Shure wireless, all charged by a Monster Power power conditioner and hooked up with all Monster Cable bass cables and performer500 speaker cables.

 

[spectorbass83]

Doomy Enough???

I approve

 

[Gadolinium]

Does the job i guess. suitably dressed up for christmas ahaha

 

[unclejam]

Jeremy, I surprised that you're not smiling when playing through that rig!

Aside from your bass and the JBL PA cabinets on stands, those photos looks like it could have been taken 30 years ago... Not a bad thing, just hit me in a flashback sort of way.

well i sorta wanna change the way the rig is powered...... that and its kinda INCOMPLETE....... still need a couple of 18's

 

[Josh Pelican]

This is my current rig. It may not be doomy enough, and I am considering an upgrade.

I think first thing first will be an upgrade for the head! I want more power, and a wider tonal range. I'm thinking about going with a preamp/power amp combination.

Any other recommendations for upgrades? So everyone knows, I'm playing in a deathcore band that tunes down to G Sharp/A Flat. The Ampeg is pushing a sufficient amount of air (it moves my sleeves if I stand against it), but I'm looking for a little more!

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What would happen if I add another cabinet to the 810? I remember seeing Buried Inside play with an 8x10 and a 4x10. This seems like a bit much for me, but what if I had a 1x15 to it?

EDIT: Would it be worth going for some Bergantino or Aguilar cabs in the future? We're basically going for a really, really heavy band with bowel-rupturing low notes. The guitarists want to get 8 strings and play that ultimate F#.

 

[Christian Waiau]

This is my current rig. It may not be doomy enough, and I am considering an upgrade.

I think first thing first will be an upgrade for the head! I want more power, and a wider tonal range. I'm thinking about going with a preamp/power amp combination.

Any other recommendations for upgrades? So everyone knows, I'm playing in a deathcore band that tunes down to G Sharp/A Flat. The Ampeg is pushing a sufficient amount of air (it moves my sleeves if I stand against it), but I'm looking for a little more!

Copy and paste!

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What would happen if I add another cabinet to the 810? I remember seeing Buried Inside play with an 8x10 and a 4x10. This seems like a bit much for me, but what if I had a 1x15 to it?

EDIT: Would it be worth going for some Bergantino or Aguilar cabs in the future? We're basically going for a really, really heavy band with bowel-rupturing low notes. The guitarists want to get 8 strings and play that ultimate F#.

if you already have an 810 with that amp... im pretty sure you will fry your amp if you add another cabinet... i doubt that head goes lower then 4ohm

 

[Josh Pelican]

Sorry, I should have clarified. I meant to say if I upgraded to an appropriate head!

I want to upgrade that before I decide what I want to do as far as cabinets go. I either want to go with a more classic Ampeg head (Ampeg VB-4, SVT-1000, SVT-CL) or something tube or hybrid (that isn't Ampeg). I love the Ampegs, but I'm keeping my options open.

I've been really interested in Aguilars, Carvins, Mesas, Markbasses, Genz Benz, and Ampegs (as per usual). But I have also been sitting on the preamp/power amp fence lately. Budget isn't really an issue to me. But if I can get some doomy low end for cheap, it sure as hell is nicer than emptying my bank.

 

[GeoffB]

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1969!!

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

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1969!!

The amp is from 1969? The photo is recent though although the paneling could be from '69 too!

 

[GeoffB]

The SVT is from 1969. The Panelling is 1989...

I bought the Ric in 1977.

Guess it makes me old!

 

[Deepbuzz]

Sorry, I should have clarified. I meant to say if I upgraded to an appropriate head!

I want to upgrade that before I decide what I want to do as far as cabinets go. I either want to go with a more classic Ampeg head (Ampeg VB-4, SVT-1000, SVT-CL) or something tube or hybrid (that isn't Ampeg). I love the Ampegs, but I'm keeping my options open.

I've been really interested in Aguilars, Carvins, Mesas, Markbasses, Genz Benz, and Ampegs (as per usual). But I have also been sitting on the preamp/power amp fence lately. Budget isn't really an issue to me. But if I can get some doomy low end for cheap, it sure as hell is nicer than emptying my bank.

I'm not sure if your head supports this (it probably does, check your manual) but what about you use your effect out or lin out to a power amp that powers another cab.

Are you sure it isn't over kill though?

 

[Chowderboots]

I used to have a B2RE...it didn't make me happy at all. I've heard wonderful stuff come out of Carvin Mono Block 1500 heads. They can operate between 2 and 8 ohms, I believe. They sound TASTY and they are solid state.

 

[Josh Pelican]

It's definitely overkill. I don't necessarily need to buy another cabinet for the 8x10 by any means. I'm just curious as to what else I could look into for the style of music I am playing. I need serious deep end and I see the Ampeg 810 being questioned a lot.

I notice a lot of people on this board raving about Bergantino and Aguilar cabinets. Troy from Cattle Decapitation also uses a lot of Aguilar gear, and I know that dude loves his deep low end. If I'm not mistaken, he uses both DB 810 and GS 412. Whether he uses them together or not, I don't recall.

I just know I want to upgrade the head first, then go from there.

 

[pharaohamps]

I love the fact that it's a Super "Festival." Makes it sound, I dunno, festive! 200W into 2 ohms, although the rear panel claims it's 4. I'm thinking they intend you to use it with two 4 ohm cabs.

Bottom cab is an Ampeg SVT-1540HE, basically an 8x10 fridge cab with 4x10" and a horn up top, with a 15" down below. It's bi-ampable, too!

I have some more DOOMy stuff but this one is the newest and most fun. The left side has a normal (normal for Peavey anyway) passive tone stack and is a bit noisy. The right side has a three-band active filter based EQ and is amazing. It's actually way more versatile than it looks, not that I'd ever use more than the one sound I dial in.

The real fun bit is that this amp was also made in a 400W version, the VTA-800. The two amps are built on the same chassis, which explains why this 200W amp is the size of a Ford Pinto. I'm thinking I can stick another output transformer and 4 more 6550's and have a true SVT killer.

 

[jjhardy]

that peavey head looks awesome! never even heard of it before.

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

...

I love the fact that it's a Super "Festival." Makes it sound, I dunno, festive! 200W into 2 ohms, although the rear panel claims it's 4. I'm thinking they intend you to use it with two 4 ohm cabs.
...

You might want to ask Peavey about that. I doubt that they'd mis-mark the rated output impedance, especially on a tube amp.

BTW, is the preamp solid state or tube?

 

[The Lurker]

Familiar to PhilFans:

JBL gave them the speakers for free buth they had to pay McIntosh for the 50K watts of MC2300 amps. BTW Phil's stage monitor amp was a tube MC3500.

And the wikipedea link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wall_of_Sound_(Grateful_Dead))

Phil's part of that was quadraphonic-- four amps and sixteen 16" speakers.

Funny thing.... the Dead used that thing for less than a year.... March to October of '74.

 

[pharaohamps]

You might want to ask Peavey about that. I doubt that they'd mis-mark the rated output impedance, especially on a tube amp.

BTW, is the preamp solid state or tube?

This is one of the earlier Super Festivals, before the FW800's. The "Skynyrd" era F800's and F800G (guitar) were SS pre, tube finals. This one is 3x12AX7, 1x6AN8 preamp, 4x6550 finals.

I'm pretty sure they intended it to be used with two 4 ohm cabinets. The schematics and user guide both say 2 ohms.

Since the VTA-400 and VTA-800 are the same bar the extra output tubes and transformer, I'm thinking of converting this one over. I might even put in a different type of power amp for the second channel - 4x6CA7's and a 12AX7 long-tail pair phase inverter to run a 4x12" cabinet I have. Insane, I know, but what's 15 more pounds when you're carting this thing around anyway?

 

[BillyB_from_LZ]

...

I'm pretty sure they intended it to be used with two 4 ohm cabinets. The schematics and user guide both say 2 ohms.

...

Does the amp use switching jacks to switch over to the 2 ohm tap when employing two 4 ohm enclosures? My former '73 SVT did that.

 

[pharaohamps]

Does the amp use switching jacks to switch over to the 2 ohm tap when employing two 4 ohm enclosures? My former '73 SVT did that.

Nope - the first jack is a shorting type, as in Fenders, and the other is just in parallel. The specs in the manual claim it develops 120 at 8, 180 at 4, 200 at 2, 120 at 1 ohm

I'm thinking that that fact alone protects the speakers when one cabinet is used by itself. The change in the reflected impedance to the output tubes reduces the total power (it really just increases distortion, the amp can probably make 250-300W if you don't mind the grinding noises and all the screaming from your neighbors.)

I've decided I'm not modding it right now. I'm going to run it alongside my Peavey Classic Series 120 poweramp (4x 6L6) and Seymour Duncan KTG-1 preamp, with this SVT cab and a Peavey 4x12 bass cab (not the newer TVX one, the old tall 4x12 model with the ports.) I would call it a "sleeper," but the fact is that anyone seeing it would run away, very very fast. I was joking with a guitarist friend of mine who figures I'll be hated by every sound man in town...