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So what's the stereotypical "Dad" amp?

#141
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#146
Hey now, what about us old farts that never managed to become dads?

Just kidding. Most of my friends are Dads, and it's not like my wife and I didn't try...

The younger dads manage to pick up an SVT head and 810 fridge before they got married / had kids, probably handed down from their dad.... Or a late 80s / mid 90s Peavey combo with a single 15 that weighs about what my truck does. Or a 90s / 2000s Crate BX100 combo. Something cheap, and obnoxious, that weighs a LOT needlessly. The heat sink design was probably done in 1965, and not thought about since, and don't forget particle board cab construction, must have particle board...

As these guys got some miles on them, the weight starts coming on, back issues creep in, maybe not in that order, but.... they have a bit more money but start hunting for lighter rigs, maybe a Rumble 500c, or a 500 or 800 head and 410 cab, or pair of 210s, just whatever sounds good that is easier to move. Or maybe they are an Ampeg guy, and the lightweight Ampeg 210 combo fills the bill for them. All the while, the old SVT +810 is still in the basement, waiting for the kid to hit his teen years, maybe con the kid into schlepping it for a couple of years before finally handing it down them...

I should mention, my amp progression went something like this...

Crate BX15 tiny combo amp for learning, practice. I quickly realized how massively undersized it was. The Rumble combos of that era that I was exposed to didn't impress me, nor were the Peaveys, I knew enough to steer clear of Rogue, so the options were Ampeg and Crate as I was committed to a combo for portability. My brain said Crate and Ampeg, both St. Louis Music products, the specs looked the same on paper, and Guitar Center actually HAD the Crate in stock! SO a Crate BX100 came home with me. It really wasn't bad. I ended up doing a lot of coffee shop and BBQ joint gigs with it. I stopped playing for a few years as I went through a divorce from my ex, and spent most of my time getting myself back together, went and found a great new wife and restarted my life, but damage from a prior car wreck left me with back issues and weight coming on, rapidly due to not enough excersize and some medication related issues, and no doubt diet had something to do with it is as well, long story short, my beautiful bride saw me browsing and trying out the v3 Rumbles when they came out, to which she said, "get the loudest one" I did, and when the 210 cab came out, it was close to Valentines day, that cab was her gift to me. Love it still...

So no, I never got the hand me down SVT + 810, my oldest brother did get my Dads Stratocaster + 1960s Fender amp. Don't recall the model. Good thing neither of us ar the middle brother who took up Clarinet... Bleh...
 
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#148
dougjwray said:
Maybe a GK 800RB with a Hartke 410XL (aluminum cones) cabinet.
Dad bought them in 1990 when the combination was absolutely ubiquitous, and he hasn't shopped since then. He keeps them in the garage next to the leaf blower, the hedge trimmer, and some old child car seats.

(Mind you, that was a great combination!)
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Still not a horrible combination lol I still have mine albeit, I have since moved way on from those days but someday I will get back to my parents house and reclaim my 800RB and use it with my Hartke 410XL before I die! :roflmao:
 
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#154
two fingers said:
I don't understand any of these threads. Honestly, nothing about my preferences in bass gear changed when I became a dad (which wasn't until I was almost 40 and had been playing for 25 hears).

I know dozens of musicians who became parents long after they became musicians. Same thing. Nothing about their gear changes I'm a notable way. The one exception would be transitioning to lighter or ampless gear.... which the entire industry seems to be doing, so we can't exactly pin that on dads.
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There’s a dad band phenomenon where dudes pull their old gear out bc they got stuck at someone’s house and everyone brought over the kids. It’s coming back to who you were at 15-25yo after a long hiatus, usually 10-20 years.

I first recognized the dad band concept in the early 90s from all the old dudes that happen to be my age now trying to give me dating advice based on whatever state I crawled out of a rehearsal spot I wasn’t supposed to be sleeping in btw girlfriends.

They had either their old gear, bought gear they’d wanted back in the day bc they had money now, or whatever the cool thing of that time that was conspicuously expensive. It’s usually a mishmash of stuff, bc when you are older you can afford to play a graphite necked Koa Kawaii or Metallica era Aria thru a Bergantino rig. You may have your rack rig from the early 90s. I found gear I forgot that I couldn’t sell 30 years ago.
 
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#157
two fingers said:
I don't understand any of these threads. Honestly, nothing about my preferences in bass gear changed when I became a dad (which wasn't until I was almost 40 and had been playing for 25 hears).

I know dozens of musicians who became parents long after they became musicians. Same thing. Nothing about their gear changes I'm a notable way. The one exception would be transitioning to lighter or ampless gear.... which the entire industry seems to be doing, so we can't exactly pin that on dads.
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I don't disagree with what you're saying but I think "dad" in this context should be translated as "middle aged man who can now afford the expensive stuff but is out of touch with what's cool" rather than being an actual dad.

As for which amp... I think the "dad" bass thread was easier. I'm not sure to be honest. I think I'll have to go with Ampeg SVT. Not that an SVT isn't cool but it's certainly in the "can finally afford it" category, it's old school and if it's totally overkill for what "dad" really needs there's an element of poor taste there as well, lol.
 
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#158
two fingers said:
I don't understand any of these threads. Honestly, nothing about my preferences in bass gear changed when I became a dad (which wasn't until I was almost 40 and had been playing for 25 hears).

I know dozens of musicians who became parents long after they became musicians. Same thing. Nothing about their gear changes I'm a notable way. The one exception would be transitioning to lighter or ampless gear.... which the entire industry seems to be doing, so we can't exactly pin that on dads.
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Oh, lighten up, this is supposed to be fun..
I'll play...a Peavey Combo 300. Oh, and a Pbass with flats and tort. What else?!?!
 
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