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Small Studio Amp?

Davebass

Davebass

Jul 14, 2006
230
14
Newcastle England
#1
Me and my band have just been given the green light to go into the studio (which we are all very excited about)

Im looking for a smallish amp to use on the recordings after our potential engineer commented that my GK backline 600 and 2, 2x12 ex-DJ speakers wouldnt be up for job in the studio. They are loud enough to power our gigs but at a massive sacrifice to audio quality.

My question is, does any one have any experiences with small amplifiers, im really looking for quality at a reasonable price? (arn't we all?) No more that 50W should see me through.

Cheers, Dave

P.S i play mostly fingerstyle funk (maybe a fretted jaco sound?) and also slap bass.
 
#5
Any decent recording studio should already have a high quality bass amp/cab available for (microphone) recording, and/or a quality direct recording preamp/DI box or hi-end mixing console chanel in place for you to use.

Baring all that, and If you just need something for the session, dont overlook renting an amp. A nicely maintained Ampeg B15n would be a really great choice.
 
#6
This doesn't sound like it's a high end recording studio so there may not be a dedicated bass amp there for recording. Hopefully they'll have a decent direct box. Even small studios these days usually have them. If you want to stick a microphone in front of the amp then there are a number of decent amps available. One of my favourites for recording was Polytone, but they're fairly expensive and probably hard to find in England. It was a better recorded sound than an Ampeg B15N I also used, despite it being all solid state and having very limited low frequency output.

I used a little 35 watt Peavey Minx for a number of recordings. Miced up and at low volume it sounds pretty good, as good as many expensive tube amps guys buy for recording. Something similar from Peavey would be a good low cost bet. These days I use a GK MB150S combo. Great recording amp but probably out of reach price wise.

I don't know what you have available in England. But I'd look for something about 50 watts or so and with a 12" speaker. That's if you're going to use the amp to mic up and play at low volume through it. That's the best way to get a big sound when recording anyhow.

Another possibility is a 4x10 tube guitar amp such as a Fender Concert. A lot of hit records were cut in the 60s using that amp for bass.

A mixture of direct and miced amp would give you a very good sound if the engineer is any good.
 
#7
Ive disscussed it with the potential enginner and his plan is to use the DI and a mic. We arnt technically going into a studio, we are hiring a independant producer and engineer who have their own gear. From what ive heard their recordings are very respectable, i think they sold 15,000 dance albums in spain or something along those lines.
I was hoping to have the amp for use around the house as well which i should have mentioned earlier!
Cheers, Dave
 
#8
You already have a versatile head that sounds good at about any level (I use mine in all types of situations). What about tracking down a good quality 1x12, 2x10 or 1x15 cab? IMO your current cabs (ex-DJ you said) are likely the weak link. Just a thought...
 
#9
dealbreaker said:
You already have a versatile head that sounds good at about any level (I use mine in all types of situations). What about tracking down a good quality 1x12, 2x10 or 1x15 cab? IMO your current cabs (ex-DJ you said) are likely the weak link. Just a thought...
Click to expand...

Yes, the head with a good 1x12" cabinet would do okay in the studio. The cabinet doesn't need to have huge low frequency response (you can get the lowest octave from the direct) or be able to handle a lot of power, either for recording or use at home.
 
#11
There were threads posted around here that compared recordings of a VT Bass pedal with a real B-15 and SVT and it fooled many many people. You can plug the pedal straight into the desk and it approximates a mic'ed up Ampeg tone pretty well.

I'm sure Jimmy M would have chimed in with the same response had he still been with us!
 
#12
That engineer is talking out of his ass. The backline 600 will be fine for studio recording. Just get a decent speaker cab and ditch the DJ speakers. Most bands will use the same speaker cabs in the studio that they use on the road. Large speaker cabs are fine for recording and they will sound different than a smaller cab. Sounds like you just need a speaker cab upgrade in general. Look for something used if money is an issue.

Also, most decent studios will have a bass amp and cab already available, although they sometimes charge rental fees. It this engineer is saying that your GK won't cut it AND his studio doesn't have it's own bass amp, it sounds like an amateurish operation to me IMO.
 
#13
I can assure you this isnt a amateurish job. The engineer has worked in proffesional studios in england and had succsess in europe. I don't like to bring money into it but his studio we is recording our band with he says is worth over £20,000. So please understand than anything he is suggesting is for the best interestes of the recordings.

Thank you everyone for your clear and helpful advise, i am going to look into replacing a cab soon rather than buying a small amp for studio purposes. Any other suggestions or advice is welcomed!

Cheers, Dave
 
#14
Davebass said:
I can assure you this isnt a amateurish job. The engineer has worked in proffesional studios in england and had succsess in europe. I don't like to bring money into it but his studio we is recording our band with he says is worth over £20,000. So please understand than anything he is suggesting is for the best interestes of the recordings.

Thank you everyone for your clear and helpful advise, i am going to look into replacing a cab soon rather than buying a small amp for studio purposes. Any other suggestions or advice is welcomed!

Cheers, Dave
Click to expand...
I think it sounds like a skin up, there are loads of music tech students roaming the earth with a laptops full of dodgy software claiming to have worked at name facilities all with big hits in Latvia but are now only working from their bedrooms.
There is a studio run by a bloke called Andy Sneep just over the border in Yorkshire and if you don't love his work there is always Colin Richardson at Driffield.
Slip Knot said he was very reasonably priced.:D
 
#15
Sorry if i am coming across wrong, but our engineer isn't a student or anything. He has been credited engineer for over 20 years, he has worked with our manager before and had good success. I feel we are moving away from the point of this convocation, i just wanted to know if any body has had any good results from certain amplifiers.
Cheers, Dave
 
#16
dannybuoy said:
There were threads posted around here that compared recordings of a VT Bass pedal with a real B-15 and SVT and it fooled many many people. You can plug the pedal straight into the desk and it approximates a mic'ed up Ampeg tone pretty well.

I'm sure Jimmy M would have chimed in with the same response had he still been with us!
Click to expand...

:cool:

If you don't have a B-15, Traynor YB-1, Sovtek MB-50. ( with a 1x15 cab)

That's the way to go.
 
#17
Dave, all the best with the recording - I hope the session goes well.

It sounds as if you're putting trust in the engineer, and that he has specific ideas about capturing the bass sound. How about asking him if he has preferences as to the amplified signal - which amps & cabs he likes? From there maybe you can rent something from either a music store or a backline company....or even test drive and purchase if you have the means.
 
#18
I sat next to a guy on a flight from Atlanta to LA, that works with Dallas Austin. He was heading there to work on Stevie Nicks recording. We started chatting becaus we both pulled our own copy of the Economist and I pulled a Bass Player and he pulled Keyboardist magazine. This was 3-4 years ago.

He told me they use Line 6 pods frequently for recording. Really pleased with the results.

FWIW
 
#19
I should've added...FWIW I recently purchased a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 rig, with the single 12" cab. It sounds amazing! I would not hesitate for a second to use it in the studio, even though I generally prefer to go direct...as do nearly all the producers and engineers I've worked with (besides the point). In any case, fingerstyle funk with some slap pretty much fits into my wheelhouse :D and I can offer that this amp projects both really, really well.
 

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