Stereo Amp Combinations

[Open Lane]

Thanks a lot for responding, Jim! Using a setup (identical amps and cabs), would you put the settings dif on either set or would you keep both of their eq's the same? I was thinking it could be cool to give one more mids and treble than the other?

 

[LanEvo]

I've got a first-generation Yamaha Attitude Limited. Sending the two pickups to different amps/cabs really opens up a ton of options.

What most people seem to do is keep the neck pickup relatively clean and "dry." If you want to get really crazy, blend in an octave pedal to get a synth-like tone. For the P-pickup, they bump up the mids, then add some overdrive and compression. It's a killer bass.

 

[beezerjoe]

I've done a bit with stereo basses and the sound to me is worth the expense. Most of what I used for amplification were tube preamps or a rack mixer with EQ's and a stereo power amp with my pair SWR Goliaths. I did like most do and set the bridge pick up for lows or a good clean tone and the bridge for mid and high end, for effects and to get the bass to cut through everything. Right now I'm using my old Rickenbacker 4001 split into both channels of an Ampeg SVT. Same great stereo bass effect and only one amp. If you can find a two channel amp it will save some bucks and space.

 

[Jim Carr]

This is jumping into and entirely dif topic but how do people around here generally feel about hartke practice amps in a context like this?? They seem well priced and a lot of guys seem to use them. Opinions?

I've used a big kickback Hartke 115 combo a lot for both upright and electric with Big Band I used to play for. Heavier than a neutron star, but sounded fine.

 

[Jim Carr]

...I did like most do and set the bridge

[did you mean neck?]

pick up for lows or a good clean tone and the bridge for mid and high end, for effects and to get the bass to cut through everything...

 

[edwinhurwitz]

I run my bass in stereo. It's a '67 Starfire with Series II Alembic pickups and electronics. I've done everything from a separate rig for each pickup to blending them in an Alembic F2B. I mostly do the latter for convenience, and send the mixed signal to a power amp and fEARful, but sometimes I'll still send each pickup to its own DI to FOH. Sound people seem to really like the options it provides. I definitely EQ each pickup differently, both with the onboard filters and with the F2B tone controls.

Experiment! What's to lose?

Another option I tried and loved was the new Grace Design Felix, which should be coming out soon. I got to take a prototype for a spin for a weekend. It's a stereo preamp/DI with stellar sound and EQ and a bunch of routing options. My intention is to use it instead of the Alembic once it become commercially available. It's perfect for a stereo bass, with both stereo outs and mono outs. It's not cheap, but it is cheaper than the M103 I've been using when I want to go mono and sounds just as good. Something about their circuits just do low end right, nothing gets as deep and yet clear that I've heard. Their boxes are my favorite DI choice, and I've used just about everything out there.


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Here's the big stereo rig:

 

[Open Lane]

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate all of the input, i feel like i have gained a lot of this discussion. So i mean it, thanks!

 

[Open Lane]

I've got a first-generation Yamaha Attitude Limited. Sending the two pickups to different amps/cabs really opens up a ton of options.

What most people seem to do is keep the neck pickup relatively clean and "dry." If you want to get really crazy, blend in an octave pedal to get a synth-like tone. For the P-pickup, they bump up the mids, then add some overdrive and compression. It's a killer bass.

So you run both at the same time, right? Or do you switch back and forth?

I had been pictured them both function in unison?

 

[friendlybass]

I run my bass in stereo. It's a '67 Starfire with Series II Alembic pickups and electronics. I've done everything from a separate rig for each pickup to blending them in an Alembic F2B. I mostly do the latter for convenience, and send the mixed signal to a power amp and fEARful, but sometimes I'll still send each pickup to its own DI to FOH. Sound people seem to really like the options it provides. I definitely EQ each pickup differently, both with the onboard filters and with the F2B tone controls.

Experiment! What's to lose?

Another option I tried and loved was the new Grace Design Felix, which should be coming out soon. I got to take a prototype for a spin for a weekend. It's a stereo preamp/DI with stellar sound and EQ and a bunch of routing options. My intention is to use it instead of the Alembic once it become commercially available. It's perfect for a stereo bass, with both stereo outs and mono outs. It's not cheap, but it is cheaper than the M103 I've been using when I want to go mono and sounds just as good. Something about their circuits just do low end right, nothing gets as deep and yet clear that I've heard. Their boxes are my favorite DI choice, and I've used just about everything out there.


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Here's the big stereo rig:

View attachment 584019

Does the rig on the right color the sound at all couldn't help it

My carvin lb50 has stereo outs. I ran one to my rumble 350-swr goliath Jr 3+son of bertha stack and the other to my swr bass 350-goliath 3. The second out is for the bridge pup and adds a lot of bite and twang so I send it to the rumble stack to shape the miss and then the main out to the 410. Sounds great!

 

[LanEvo]

So you run both at the same time, right?

That's the whole idea: huge, pumping, articulate mids of a (compressed and overdriven) P-Bass combined with the low-end weight of an old Gibson EB-0 rounding out the bottom.

 

[Open Lane]

That's the whole idea: huge, pumping, articulate mids of a (compressed and overdriven) P-Bass combined with the low-end weight of an old Gibson EB-0 rounding out the bottom.

That's what I thought. Thanks for confirming, Lan. And thank you to everyone else who has chimed in so far.

 

[4001]

I run my bass in stereo. It's a '67 Starfire with Series II Alembic pickups and electronics. I've done everything from a separate rig for each pickup to blending them in an Alembic F2B. I mostly do the latter for convenience, and send the mixed signal to a power amp and fEARful, but sometimes I'll still send each pickup to its own DI to FOH. Sound people seem to really like the options it provides. I definitely EQ each pickup differently, both with the onboard filters and with the F2B tone controls.

Experiment! What's to lose?

Another option I tried and loved was the new Grace Design Felix, which should be coming out soon. I got to take a prototype for a spin for a weekend. It's a stereo preamp/DI with stellar sound and EQ and a bunch of routing options. My intention is to use it instead of the Alembic once it become commercially available. It's perfect for a stereo bass, with both stereo outs and mono outs. It's not cheap, but it is cheaper than the M103 I've been using when I want to go mono and sounds just as good. Something about their circuits just do low end right, nothing gets as deep and yet clear that I've heard. Their boxes are my favorite DI choice, and I've used just about everything out there.


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Here's the big stereo rig:

View attachment 584019

One clean, one psychedelic.

 

[strictlybass_ic]

The gist of what everyone here is saying is that "special" feature (being stereo capable) requires careful gear choices and a considerable amount of knob twiddling to be of any benefit, and can very easily become a detriment instead. Not trying to say it can't be done, or that you shouldn't do it... just be warned that it's a slippery slope of buying gear and a potential sound check nightmare. [I used to run a dual amp setup with effects. Balancing the volumes between the two amps and then making sure effects, levels, etc were all good turned into a timely and eventually very annoying endeavor.]

 

[john_g]

I have a Ric 4003 that has Ric-O-Sound which allows you to run each pu individually just like the Attitude. For a couple of gigs, I have run my lows into my SVT CL/410HLF for the neck pu and Markbass LMII/210AV for the bridge pu. Really only because thats the amps/cabs I have, but it did sound "pretty cool" especially when I ran some effects separately.

I get it, its new and OP wants to use that option, however, I wouldnt bother with two amp setups for just practicing at home in the bedroom but thats just me. I would get a dual channel amp/preamp, or a mixer so you can adjust levels...Ive used a Boss LS-2 pedal to mix the different pu's and it got me close to the dual setup that I used live.

 

[MattZilla]

I had always planned on sticking a p pup on my eb3 to plug into a bass channel and run the mudbucker through fuzz, distortion, then into a guitar channel with the bottom completely cut out because the mudbucker was really great at catching pinch and tap harmonics.

I bi- and tri- amped plenty with matching and non-matching amps/cabs. It's a pain. It does sound really cool when only playing with a drummer and maybe a violin, sax, or flute player. If I had an alembic, the true stereo thing might be appealing, but with two muffly pickups, I'd be apt to treat only one as the bass pickup and one as the treble pickup, have the soundguy mix one centered and the other off to one side to play ball with the guitars and keys.

I "biamp" my b15n now and it sounds better than the separate amps and cabs when mixed with one or more non-drummers in addition to being easier to dial tone and volume. It is easily loud enough to piss off the neighbors unless you put up plenty of soundproofing. Its only problem is that it can't really hang with a rock or metal drummer unless it's driving 4 or 8 15's.

I've been considering (among other less frugal options) getting either an old two channel V4, or a Bugera 1960 to open up my options of people to jam/perform with.

For home jamming/recording I highly recommend getting in the classifieds and on CL and finding a lightly-beaten but functional small 60"s/70's B series tube amp. Most if not all have two channels and fantastic tone.

 

[edwinhurwitz]

The gist of what everyone here is saying is that "special" feature (being stereo capable) requires careful gear choices and a considerable amount of knob twiddling to be of any benefit, and can very easily become a detriment instead. Not trying to say it can't be done, or that you shouldn't do it... just be warned that it's a slippery slope of buying gear and a potential sound check nightmare. [I used to run a dual amp setup with effects. Balancing the volumes between the two amps and then making sure effects, levels, etc were all good turned into a timely and eventually very annoying endeavor.]

I'm not saying that at all. It's very easy to setup and tweak. I don't know that I'd do it the first time out at a gig with no soundcheck, but it's not all that hard and has never been a detriment. I usually bring up both channels pretty flat, it sounds good and then take it from there. I've never had a nightmare due to a stereo rig at soundcheck or otherwise.

 

[strictlybass_ic]

I'm not saying that at all. It's very easy to setup and tweak. I don't know that I'd do it the first time out at a gig with no soundcheck, but it's not all that hard and has never been a detriment. I usually bring up both channels pretty flat, it sounds good and then take it from there. I've never had a nightmare due to a stereo rig at soundcheck or otherwise.

It all depends on how you set it up. If it's strictly stereo (two channels at more or less the same volume and with identical effects, etc) then it can be relatively minor difference from a typical regular setup. Just trying to caution that it can easily get much more complex.

 

[friendlybass]

I'm not saying that at all. It's very easy to setup and tweak. I don't know that I'd do it the first time out at a gig with no soundcheck, but it's not all that hard and has never been a detriment. I usually bring up both channels pretty flat, it sounds good and then take it from there. I've never had a nightmare due to a stereo rig at soundcheck or otherwise.

Yeah the only nightmare I ever had was figuring out how to keep the 2 cords in order going through my strap but a Velcro cable wrap fixed it up quick. Sound check was actually really simple, with that much speaker on stage I played, the sound guy told me to turn it up or down, and then we were done!

 

[DudeMann]

There is this band called Clatter which is a two piece bass and drums band. Here is a video of the bassist talking about her set-up.
I know this does not really answer your question, but I thought it might still be relevant to your interests.




But to answer your question, yes, the three hundred watt amp will totally overpower the 150 watt amp in clean volume.

 

[hasbeen]

Open Lane;

First off, welcome to TB. I hope you enjoy your new bass.

Secondly, what application will you be using the stereo rig for?....practicing at home? Small venues? etc.

I run stereo quite a bit: I do a lot of looping and I bounce tracks back and forth. Perhaps I can help.

Peace,
Roger