Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[Rushing]

There seems to be a lot of the digital/analog debate going on sparked by Neil Young's Pono player. Some think its snake oil and other think its the bee'z knee'z. Too me its a debate that can never really have a clear winner. Everybody has different levels of hearing ability due to natural hearing loss with age or self inflicted, so its all about perception. Also I would gladly trade whatever sound quality that might be considered better on vinyl to have the ability to listen to my music on the go. Crappy quality music is better than no music. Hopefully someday technology will advance to the point of being able to deliver an exact replica of what was originally recorded.

 

[Squanch72]

Most of my vinyls were free, .99 cents or $1.99.

It's a lot of old rock, country, indian and South American music that would be pricier and harder to find on cd, or require pirating.

Also someone on here once said vinyl is more of an experience, you pick an album, you turn on your amp, set it up and listen. It's kind of like my hookah, there's a ceremony involved and it's nice for entertaining or personal enjoyment.

I want the experience of being in high school late eighties and listening to vinyl records in my room while burning. Then going down stairs for some munchies and my grandma saying hey drip you know just because you open your window doesn't mean I can't smell the dope you are smoking, she was a pisser, miss those old days and you Gram!

 

[Blank_0101]

It sounds pretty good on bass but without being able to run it at 2ohms it wasnt loud enough for what I need playing live. I think it would shine though in a recording situation.

I bet it would record nicely. For non stereo bass applications that don't need to be loud it works for me.

And theres definitely that too, but thats when I want that ceremonial experience. If im just listening to music for music im more than likely going digital.

Oh yea, and the ability to playlist is so nice.

 

[kzr750r1]

We used to run our home stereo through a EQ. I always copied my LP to tape for ease of listening and save the LP. The EQ adjustments of the recording was typically to bump low end. These days I know the compressed digital format is dropping frequency dynamics but that is trumped by the convenience.

 

[The_Janitor]

I appreciate all formats. I collect old psych/heavy rock/metal/country/etc records, those are fun for attentive listening or doing stuff around the house. I also love CDs, escpecially now that they're cheap. Those are also good for attentive listening/around the house or in the car.

I also have a ton of music in WMA and MP3 formats, having 36GB of music in a player smaller than a zippo lighter is shaging great.

 

[Speedor]

I only buy LP's for collective purpose. You know, nice, big artwork and stuff. I've got a record player, but it broke some time ago and I didn't get around to fix it. Yes, I'm lazy.
I listen to music almost exclusively in digital form, all my new CDs are ripped to my computer anyways.

 

[Lazarus.Bird]

Man, crazy week for me this week with moving and all. Since we wrote all of Filaments as a 5 piece, we've been seeing what songs can be reworked best to play live as a four piece. Decided to play Coat of Luminous in Drop A and it was really fun. I've never tuned that low with a band before. We hit the studio next weekend!

 

[kzr750r1]

Good deal Laz. Were going from 4 to 5 it seems. Hoping this weekend we jam with amps and a live drum kit. Adding a guitar to the songs isn't going to be that hard but it will allow for more dynamic in our arrangements.

 

[mc_muench]

Had a late night GH practice last night. Drummer finally kicked through the batter head of his kick on the last song of the Peavey Henge unveil show. And someone replaced one of the tuning pegs along the line with a non Slingerland one and it was janky, so we were waiting until the head let go to address it. Took some macgyvering but we got it fixed and working as it should. Then put the new head I got when I originally bought the kit on and hot damn It sounds great now!!!

Big bird Slingerland is better than ever!!!

 

[Blank_0101]

Had a late night GH practice last night. Drummer finally kicked through the batter head of his kick on the last song of the Peavey Henge unveil show. And someone replaced one of the tuning pegs along the line with a non Slingerland one and it was janky, so we were waiting until the head let go to address it. Took some macgyvering but we got it fixed and working as it should. Then put the new head I got when I originally bought the kit on and hot damn It sounds great now!!!

Big bird Slingerland is better than ever!!!

What are the sizes of your shells if you know off hand?

 

[mlove]

Today in "It's about goddamn time" news:

http://www.bossus.com/products/bb-1x/

I love the ODB3, but this is LONG overdue.

an updated website was also long overdue.

 

[mc_muench]

What are the sizes of your shells if you know off hand?

24" kick
15" rack, that thing is a beast.
16" floor

Not sure on depths though.

 

[Turkeypills]

I wanted to shoot a quick doom room poll. What do you guys think about the Mesa Prodigy/Strategy amps? Do you think the Prodigy is loud enough for most doom? Or is the Mesa tone a little to upper mid rangy? I am investigating one of these to replace my 4 pro. I am a little hesitant to go with the strategy as I could buy a whole new amp for the cost of a retube but if the 250w prodigy isn't enough then I guess I will just have to buy tubes over time.

 

[mbelue]

I wanted to shoot a quick doom room poll. What do you guys think about the Mesa Prodigy/Strategy amps? Do you think the Prodigy is loud enough for most doom? Or is the Mesa tone a little to upper mid rangy? I am investigating one of these to replace my 4 pro. I am a little hesitant to go with the strategy as I could buy a whole new amp for the cost of a retube but if the 250w prodigy isn't enough then I guess I will just have to buy tubes over time.

If your 4pro isn't loud enough I'm guessing you have either an EQ problem or a cabinet problem.
I wouldn't think going to a lower powered head is the solution.

 

[Jolagh]

I wanted to shoot a quick doom room poll. What do you guys think about the Mesa Prodigy/Strategy amps? Do you think the Prodigy is loud enough for most doom? Or is the Mesa tone a little to upper mid rangy? I am investigating one of these to replace my 4 pro. I am a little hesitant to go with the strategy as I could buy a whole new amp for the cost of a retube but if the 250w prodigy isn't enough then I guess I will just have to buy tubes over time.

I played one of the prodigy's at a local guitar store and just wasn't that impressed. I'm not sure what it was. They had an 800 rb in the room at the time and i would have bought it over the prodigy. It felt like it was missing some of the tube warmth and was a little sterile to me. I didn't get to turn it up very loud so i couldn't address total volume.

 

[Blank_0101]

I also have a ton of music in WMA and MP3 formats, having 36GB of music in a player smaller than a zippo lighter is ****ing great.

What player you got?

24" kick
15" rack, that thing is a beast.
16" floor

Not sure on depths though.

I want a 15", I think I got a 12" 13" 16" set.

I saw an Interview with Jack White about his drum kit for that one band he was in. He had a really cool setup based on floor toms.

 

[The_Janitor]

The Strategy has 8 KT88s in the power section - claims to put out something like 450W. If I were to get one of Mesa's new tube amps I would save/sell something to get the extra money and buy that one.

What player you got?

Sansa Clip with Rockbox firmware.

Invalid Link Removed

Dirt cheap, tiny, takes an SD card. I've had one running strong for over 3 years with no issues.

 

[Niff]

i tired th JohnK version and was not very impressed at all. it is more of a dark sounding OD. it was way too farty for me.

that's what the bass fuzz review told me. although to be fair all of his demos sound bloated and dark/farty haha.

Stellartone Tonstylers are just a small and convenient package of a rotary switch with a selection of capacitors. Without a separate tone potentiometer each setting is like the tone rolled all the way off only with different capacitor values. Which means you have a selection of deep treble cuts at different frequencies, each one with a slight bump before the cut.
This bump is a resonance peak formed by the impedance of your pickup.

Is that better or more unclear?

i've been back-and-forth emailing with the Stellartone guy the last few days. deciding between the bass six (or ten) and the guitar six (or ten) for my rick, neck and bridge tones respectively.

 

[Turkeypills]

If your 4pro isn't loud enough I'm guessing you have either an EQ problem or a cabinet problem.
I wouldn't think going to a lower powered head is the solution.

It certainly is not an EQ problem as I cut the low lows and keep the low boost switch off. I generally push the low mids and upper mids. As far as cabs go, I am using either an 810e or a Sunn 215 with a BW and a legend in it. I primarily use the 810 for gigs though. Either way, with one cab or both I have the same issue. It is never loud enough and the limiter is constantly on or flashing. I actually think there is something wrong with the amp itself as the limiter light just will not stay off, even with both the gain and master at noon. I used to have a 3 pro and felt like it was hugely overrated in terms of power and somewhat bland tonally. When I had the opportunity to grab this 4 pro for cheap I was hesitant because of my experience with the 3 pro. I had heard countless people speak of its insane volume and I figured I could work around the tone if it had the balls I was looking for. So far I have been completely unimpressed. The amp really is just a bigger heavier 3 pro, same overrated power section and the same bland tone. The amp does not even stress my speakers in the slightest way.

Maybe the mesa isn't the option for me. I definitely would like to try one in person, but in the great fly over state of Missouri, there isn't anyplace that carries the prodigy/strategy. Maybe a pre/power rig with a stupid powerful poweramp is the solution.

 

[The_Janitor]

Yeah, 1200W in bridge mode should be more than enough.

Does this amp need a special rewired speakon bridge cable? You could have it bridge mode, but not seeing the full output if you're using a stock cable. Or maybe a preamp tube is on the way out?

You probably already know about those things, just trying to eliminate simple solutions.