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Share your weird/unconventional rigs!

#41
Before I discovered my love for the bass, I played guitar foremost. I found an old antique radio from the 1940's in a Home Depot parking lot. It seems that someone left it by the curb with other junk to make room in their vehicle for sheetrock and whatever else. I brought the radio home, and found that the speaker worked, but the amp was shot and way beyond my ability to repair. I removed the receiver/amp from the radio cabinet and just used the speaker.

I ran my Les Paul into my Fender Twin's preamp, out of the effects loop into a Korg A3 guitar multi-effects unit, out of that into one channel of a small, cheap Radio Shack 10 watt stereo amplifier, and into that 1940's radio speaker.

The sound was absolutely amazing. I turned up the cheap amp until that speaker distorted, and got the most dynamic and bouncy tone. All speaker overdrive: play soft, clean anf full. Play harder, and it broke up nicely, yet had wonderful clarity and crisp highs. I used to cart that speaker and the 10 watt amp around to recording and late night jam sessions and it sounded fabulous. One inconsiderate person threw his bass case on top of my speaker when I wasnt around and ruined it.
 
#43
I don't remember the brand of equipment, but when I first started to play bass in high school I had no amp. So I for rehearsal I used my drummer's parent's older radio receiver combo and a couple of tower speakers with the oak contact paper vaneer. Sounded awful, distorted and clipped like a SOB. I then would use a couple of portable Walkman speakers with my guitarist's pocket amp. That wasn't terrible, but couldn't get very loud at all before clipping badly. I then graduated to a small karaoke machine that me and my guitarist would practice through together when he came over to my house lol. We were high tech! Eventually I got crate 50 watt amp to rehearse with haha.

A few years later I got a nice ampeg combo amp, but got the brilliant idea to pull the head unit out and build an enclosure around it with my buddy. It actually looked decent but all I ended up doing with it was plopping it back down on top of the cabinet I pulled it out of lol.

Fast forward quite a few years and after using combos mostly, I needed more power for a project I was in. We ended up using my guitarist's tech 21 bass driver DI into an 800 watt pa power amp then into an ampeg 6X10 cabinet. It actually sounded killer!

Now even though I have a decent little combo ampeg 450, I still mess around with my Vox amplug acting as a preamp into one of those door buster Harbinger powered pa amp that are always on sale from guitar center. Its 600 watts I think with a 12". It actually sounds surprisingly good! Bright and clear!
 
#44
Gaolee said:
My first amp was a Scott stereo receiver with a couple Advent 1 speakers. It's a miracle nothing blew up. It must not have existed, since I don't have pictures. Sorry.
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Funny you should mention the Advent 1. I had four of them powered by a Marantz 1200. It was all I had in the beginning as an amp. I blew, as I recall, 12 woofers and over 20 tweeters. Fortunately, my dealer took advantage of the free replacement warranty, so my poor judgment didn't hurt me. But I got the message and set out for the big city to try and find an Ampeg B15 used....no luck...so I came back with a red metallized Kustom 100 combo....
 
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#45
0623162057a.jpg

Spotted this at a open mic last week. I didn't get to play thru it. Sound was... adequate.
 
#46
Must have jinxed it, since the guy selling the Fender PA 135 for the agreed upon price of 2 bills decided that he'd rather sell it to someone else.

I sent him 3 messages on Wallapop app, and he finally sent me a text saying he had sold it. Didn't use the app anymore and hadn't gotten my last messages.

Sucker, but then again, I can understand that he would want cash in hand (and possibly more). And I feel like when one door closes another opens. Figure I'll come across a better deal and have the cash for it, and it already found a guitar rig (Peavey Classic 20 mini head, used less than a week for $400).
 
#49
I like to use my fender hot rod DeVille 2x12. I disconnect the 2x12 speakers and plug in my 2x15 mess boogie diesel cab that I loaded with 2 3015 eminence speakers. 4ohm 900w. Sounds amazing, the fender stays loud and clean. Hasn't crapped out yet.
 
#53
Is this the type of thing you are after?

P1010289.JPG


Stick/MIDI Rig, MOD Duo (in-f%^$#ing-credible) and Boss GP-10.

Stick bass side goes through GK guitar jack (to cut down on cables) into Bass Driver for dirt, through GP-10 uneffected into MOD where it gets processed and routed.

Treble side is MIDI which gets processed by GP-10 for GR type synth sounds and guitar/amp modelling into MOD for routing. GP-10 also sends out raw MIDI data via Primova MIDX-20 to play MOD soft synths which are also controlled by KMI 12 step. Everything is switchable and assignable and a regular electric or upright bass (or both) can be inserted via LS-2. Phew...

Finally almost got it dialled in for the new awesome action packed ensemble that I am working with. It is amplified by a single powered top and 12 inch sub.

See below for when it all gets too much!

P1010294.JPG
 
#55
ianangus said:
My new janky practice rig:

Custom cardboard and fiberglass 1x15 cab with a JBL k140 paired with a 7w Pepco tube amp pulled out of a vintage guitar combo. Full tube saturation at bedroom levels.
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If this one isn't a winner in the weird/unconventional rig category, it's most certainly going home with the first runner-up trophy! :thumbsup:
 
#56
HeadWind said:
Sadly no pictures, because it was back in the mid 70s when I first started to play. I wanted to play in the worst way but was a broke high school student. I got myself some el cheapo mail order bass (no name) but needed an amp. This was pre-college, but I surely destined to become an engineer because I had this thought: I found an old console record player. Back in the 50s and early 60s, record players would come in pieces of furniture with speakers in them, etc. I found one that was to be thrown out. I figured there had to be two wires coming from the tone arm going into some sort of amplifier. So I opened it up, found the two wires, cut them and soldered them onto a 1/4" jack that I put in a new hole I drilled in the nice veneer finish of the console. Plugged the bass in, and... it worked! I can still remember the first time I used this. I was a real bass player making a nice loud sound.

I think that is probably as unconventional as you will find.
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Great story! :thumbsup:
 

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