Stoner/Doom Bassists Thread, Part 90: Maxed Out

[Deleted member 132197]

But I can't concentrate much these days. I hope this will improve once resignation prevails.
BTW sorry for the vent, and thanks for being kind and supportive… Makes me feel a little less alone.

what helped me was following some music courses that went really back to basics. Great as a refresher, but also helped igniting the joy of playing again.

And of course, venting is more than ok. Everyone needs it once in a while and this is IMHO a very welcoming corner of Talkbass (and the wider Internet in general)

 

[br1qbat]

Our gig looks cancelled. Michigan back under covid closures. Oh well. We've been writing away. Really need to record something now. Lol

 

[lucas303]

I'm building an EMG Geezer equipped P bass at the moment, so he can shut his mouth if I also want a 6 stringer

I don't even own a four string. I wonder which circle of bass player hell I'll be damned to?

 

[Deleted member 132197]

I don't even own a four string. I wonder which circle of bass player hell I'll be damned to?

probably the circle where the guitar playing doesn't pick up on the drumbreak and keeps his solo going whole he already broke his B string and doesn't know how to transpose those notes, so half of the solo is in another key

 

[oZZma]

Not at all! We're here for each other. Vent away, if needed.

Thanks

what helped me was following some music courses that went really back to basics. Great as a refresher, but also helped igniting the joy of playing again.

And of course, venting is more than ok. Everyone needs it once in a while and this is IMHO a very welcoming corner of Talkbass (and the wider Internet in general)

Yes it is
I'll follow your advice... I have the Alex Webster book, I'll start from that again, when I was doing that on a daily basis I was improving... I'll even stop watching those demotivational videos of Colin Marston playing the crap out of his bass

Geezer only needed 4

 

[lizardking837]

Thanks


Yes it is
I'll follow your advice... I have the Alex Webster book, I'll start from that again, when I was doing that on a daily basis I was improving... I'll even stop watching those demotivational videos of Colin Marston playing the crap out of his bass

How is the Alex Webster book? It's been on my Amazon wish list for about 6 months

 

[Novarocker]

Our gig looks cancelled. Michigan back under covid closures. Oh well. We've been writing away. Really need to record something now. Lol

Nice! I'm wondering what's gonna happen to the auto industry, I think they'll keep it going since they might consider it "essential" to build cars... Kinda looking forward to another shutdown in a weird way.

 

[br1qbat]

Nice! I'm wondering what's gonna happen to the auto industry, I think they'll keep it going since they might consider it "essential" to build cars... Kinda looking forward to another shutdown in a weird way.

I work in the insurance industry. We insure trucking. I'm essential. I'll be in the office day in, day out like usual.

 

[oZZma]

How is the Alex Webster book? It's been on my Amazon wish list for about 6 months

I have done only the left hand exercises and scales for now... I didn't buy it (my drummer was a bass player, he lent it to me), unfortunately it has a section completely focused on stuff that it's of no use for me such as three fingers plucking (I only play with a pick...) or tapping...
Then you have rhythm patterns examples... A way too big section for my needs, I would have preferred a bigger section with technique exercises... But I'm using this one because it's more fun than the "Bass Aerobics" I had bought that instead of "exercises" had annoying crappy melodies you needed to learn to play along. Horrible
Worst money spent in my life

 

[kleinenenten]

Just this week I've decided to go back to my essentials, both for guitar and bass. Been trying to re-learn how to use a pick on guitar (the "right" way) and will be trying to transfer that skill to bass as well. Typically, I'm a flats guy, but the past few weeks I've been changing my tones and have a few basses with rounds, and most of my basses tuned differently. Doing the same with guitars. Makes writing songs easier, and keeps me from re-using the same keys etc.

I've also been downsizing my gear overall, and using the cash to buy more usable and productive musical equipment. I'll be using the cash to upgrade some of my guitars, but not my basses. For some reason, I feel like stock guitar pups are terrible, but my basses all sound great! Of course, I have replaced the pre amps in two of them, but still.

 

[YawningJorin]

Just this week I've decided to go back to my essentials, both for guitar and bass. Been trying to re-learn how to use a pick on guitar (the "right" way) and will be trying to transfer that skill to bass as well. Typically, I'm a flats guy, but the past few weeks I've been changing my tones and have a few basses with rounds, and most of my basses tuned differently. Doing the same with guitars. Makes writing songs easier, and keeps me from re-using the same keys etc.

I've also been downsizing my gear overall, and using the cash to buy more usable and productive musical equipment. I'll be using the cash to upgrade some of my guitars, but not my basses. For some reason, I feel like stock guitar pups are terrible, but my basses all sound great! Of course, I have replaced the pre amps in two of them, but still.

My impression is that guitarists care a lot more about their pickups and pick them based on how they interact with amps a lot. Bass is more often than not played clean and you can just kind of shape roughly the tone you want in a pre-amp with two or three bands of EQ to dial in some boomy bass along with some definition in the mids and treble. As long as your pickup is picking up a bit of the needed frequencies, you can work with it.

Anyway, to do exactly the opposite of what you are up to, I'd like to ask how the stoner doom feels about tube pre-amps. Do you think they give your tone that elusive warmth, or are they just hot air? The reason I ask is that I'm looking at the Correct Sound Sunn pre-amps. I have been feeling like my Burning Sunn isn't quite cutting it. It doesn't go extreme enough for my tastes, it barely reaches unity gain when it's cranked, and dialing in the treble causes it to lose almost all its volume. It has one setting that works for me, and it's great for that setting. But it's what I'd consider the very heart of my dirty tone, and I want that to be a really really good tone. I've been waiting for the Dunwich Mojo to release but I think Magic Pedals is a bit swamped in keeping up with demand just for the DA120 while also trying to get other Dunwich classics out on the market every once in a while. And as I understand it, the Mojo is going to be a transistor based Model T pre with a baked in boost. Which I have tried with my Burning Sunn, but not with results I've quite liked. So I'm not sure if I should count on the Mojo. What do you all think? I figure this is the best place to talk Sunn on here.

 

[cornfarmer]

My impression is that guitarists care a lot more about their pickups and pick them based on how they interact with amps a lot. Bass is more often than not played clean and you can just kind of shape roughly the tone you want in a pre-amp with two or three bands of EQ to dial in some boomy bass along with some definition in the mids and treble. As long as your pickup is picking up a bit of the needed frequencies, you can work with it.

Anyway, to do exactly the opposite of what you are up to, I'd like to ask how the stoner doom feels about tube pre-amps. Do you think they give your tone that elusive warmth, or are they just hot air? The reason I ask is that I'm looking at the Correct Sound Sunn pre-amps. I have been feeling like my Burning Sunn isn't quite cutting it. It doesn't go extreme enough for my tastes, it barely reaches unity gain when it's cranked, and dialing in the treble causes it to lose almost all its volume. It has one setting that works for me, and it's great for that setting. But it's what I'd consider the very heart of my dirty tone, and I want that to be a really really good tone. I've been waiting for the Dunwich Mojo to release but I think Magic Pedals is a bit swamped in keeping up with demand just for the DA120 while also trying to get other Dunwich classics out on the market every once in a while. And as I understand it, the Mojo is going to be a transistor based Model T pre with a baked in boost. Which I have tried with my Burning Sunn, but not with results I've quite liked. So I'm not sure if I should count on the Mojo. What do you all think? I figure this is the best place to talk Sunn on here.

I've had a couple of amps with either a tube or tube+SS hybrid preamp, the power section being SS.....this might not be the info you're looking for, but they fell short of a fullly tube'd amp sound/experience. The lush quality is mostly what I'm getting at. They aren't bad per se. One of my first amps was a 1st generation Hartke 3500 head/combo that sounded pretty great. In the last few years I've used a Bassman 100 and even a Danelectro DM 25, which were just so much better producing that room-filling satisfying pillow. I finally got around to getting an early V-4B and it's the best in my collection. I still like my SS amps though, especially the Traynor's/Yorkville's.

 

[lucas303]

I've got a question that I started as a separate thread because I'd like to draw on the broader TB knowledge base, but at the same time I think some of you might have some useful info so I want to make sure you're aware of it: Guitar amp question (bear with me)

 

[br1qbat]

Based on my experience, trust your ears. Tubes, transistors, mosfets, dsp, whatever. I haven't experienced in using most of the above that any one category 'wins'. Whatever sounds the best to you wins.

 

[YawningJorin]

I've had a couple of amps with either a tube or tube+SS hybrid preamp, the power section being SS.....this might not be the info you're looking for, but they fell short of a fullly tube'd amp sound/experience. The lush quality is mostly what I'm getting at. They aren't bad per se. One of my first amps was a 1st generation Hartke 3500 head/combo that sounded pretty great. In the last few years I've used a Bassman 100 and even a Danelectro DM 25, which were just so much better producing that room-filling satisfying pillow. I finally got around to getting an early V-4B and it's the best in my collection. I still like my SS amps though, especially the Traynor's/Yorkville's.

Yeah I'm not expecting a tube pre to give me the full tube experience. But it's not really what I'm after, either. Would love to play some massive amps if I could but I'm choosing to not go down that path due to my other questionable choices. What I'm mostly wondering is how tube pre-amps compare to their solid state equivalents.

 

[tewnty_two]

I used the Verellen Meatsmoke preamp in front of a Fender Rumble 500 head bypassing the Rumbles preamp and it sounded fantastic.
Way better than the Rumble on its own, not that the Rumble was bad but it was no contest.

I was lucky enough to pickup a Sunn 2000s and matching 2x15 cab locally and that is it. It doesn't get any better than that.
My issue now is do I sell my Meatsmoke now I got the Sunn?

 

[bassboysam]

if you want a tube pre then go with a Reiner. most are just gimmicks, but Reiner is the real deal

 

[xJasonSmithx]

My impression is that guitarists care a lot more about their pickups and pick them based on how they interact with amps a lot. Bass is more often than not played clean and you can just kind of shape roughly the tone you want in a pre-amp with two or three bands of EQ to dial in some boomy bass along with some definition in the mids and treble. As long as your pickup is picking up a bit of the needed frequencies, you can work with it.

Anyway, to do exactly the opposite of what you are up to, I'd like to ask how the stoner doom feels about tube pre-amps. Do you think they give your tone that elusive warmth, or are they just hot air? The reason I ask is that I'm looking at the Correct Sound Sunn pre-amps. I have been feeling like my Burning Sunn isn't quite cutting it. It doesn't go extreme enough for my tastes, it barely reaches unity gain when it's cranked, and dialing in the treble causes it to lose almost all its volume. It has one setting that works for me, and it's great for that setting. But it's what I'd consider the very heart of my dirty tone, and I want that to be a really really good tone. I've been waiting for the Dunwich Mojo to release but I think Magic Pedals is a bit swamped in keeping up with demand just for the DA120 while also trying to get other Dunwich classics out on the market every once in a while. And as I understand it, the Mojo is going to be a transistor based Model T pre with a baked in boost. Which I have tried with my Burning Sunn, but not with results I've quite liked. So I'm not sure if I should count on the Mojo. What do you all think? I figure this is the best place to talk Sunn on here.

What amp are you using?

 

[kleinenenten]

My impression is that guitarists care a lot more about their pickups and pick them based on how they interact with amps a lot. Bass is more often than not played clean and you can just kind of shape roughly the tone you want in a pre-amp with two or three bands of EQ to dial in some boomy bass along with some definition in the mids and treble. As long as your pickup is picking up a bit of the needed frequencies, you can work with it.

Anyway, to do exactly the opposite of what you are up to, I'd like to ask how the stoner doom feels about tube pre-amps. Do you think they give your tone that elusive warmth, or are they just hot air? The reason I ask is that I'm looking at the Correct Sound Sunn pre-amps. I have been feeling like my Burning Sunn isn't quite cutting it. It doesn't go extreme enough for my tastes, it barely reaches unity gain when it's cranked, and dialing in the treble causes it to lose almost all its volume. It has one setting that works for me, and it's great for that setting. But it's what I'd consider the very heart of my dirty tone, and I want that to be a really really good tone. I've been waiting for the Dunwich Mojo to release but I think Magic Pedals is a bit swamped in keeping up with demand just for the DA120 while also trying to get other Dunwich classics out on the market every once in a while. And as I understand it, the Mojo is going to be a transistor based Model T pre with a baked in boost. Which I have tried with my Burning Sunn, but not with results I've quite liked. So I'm not sure if I should count on the Mojo. What do you all think? I figure this is the best place to talk Sunn on here.

You may be on to something there. I also think it may partially be my choice in basses. All of mine are active, and I do use the tone shaping options to give me a little bit more mids and definition to my base tone. My guitars don’t have active pres, so I guess I just get the right pickups for my tone.

In my opinion, tube preamps (or anything) are hot air. I’m not discounting their viability, but they don’t do anything special to me. I’ve tried playing SVTs in the store, but they just didn’t feel right. No immediacy in the attack. I can dial in some boom on my SS rigs, but can’t dial it out of the tube rigs I’ve played. Granted, I’ve not played many tube amps, but none of them did anything for me. SS rigs are just more my style. Again, personal preference and all that. For reference, I’m talking pretty much GK vs. Ampeg here, and as much as I used to want Ampeg back in the day, I just have no interest anymore.

Part of me also wonders about the tone goals - I typically prefer flats for the thump, but many people find them to be dull and lifeless. In my brighter and often more articulate SS rigs, they can be plenty lively. But most people prefer rounds. And with their natural tendency towards treble, may work better for a tube amp that isn’t quite as articulate. Anyway, not sure, as I haven’t tested these things, but that is my thought at least. I’m sure someone with more experience can chime in.

 

[YawningJorin]

My issue now is do I sell my Meatsmoke now I got the Sunn?

That Sunn rig should be all you ever need, but it might not be too much fun to lug around. If the Meatsmoke can act as an all in one solution for running straight to FOH and you're fond of it, I'd say keep it. If not, sell it and pick up a cheaper portable solution if you need to. Spend the extra cash on someone you love!

if you want a tube pre then go with a Reiner. most are just gimmicks, but Reiner is the real deal

I shall look them up! I think you are a very cool bass boy and value your input greatly

What amp are you using?

I run into a cab sim with studio monitors most of the time, sometimes a Warwick BC80 with a class D power amp and a tweeter, which is in effect a bass-heavy hi-fi speaker. I think my biggest challenge for dirt comes from a lack of saturation. My current approach is to use my Dunwich DA120 and Burning Sunn as stand-ins for power amps, meaning I run more dirt into them when wanted. With the DA120 this is no problem at all as it's built to emulate a power amp and does a great job of it. The Burning Sunn, however, doesn't have that same edge. Not that it quite needs to since it's more responsible for the lower end of things, but I should very much like a bit more punch to it.

In my opinion, tube preamps (or anything) are hot air. I’m not discounting their viability, but they don’t do anything special to me. I’ve tried playing SVTs in the store, but they just didn’t feel right. No immediacy in the attack. I can dial in some boom on my SS rigs, but can’t dial it out of the tube rigs I’ve played. Granted, I’ve not played many tube amps, but none of them did anything for me. SS rigs are just more my style. Again, personal preference and all that. For reference, I’m talking pretty much GK vs. Ampeg here, and as much as I used to want Ampeg back in the day, I just have no interest anymore.

Part of me also wonders about the tone goals - I typically prefer flats for the thump, but many people find them to be dull and lifeless. In my brighter and often more articulate SS rigs, they can be plenty lively. But most people prefer rounds. And with their natural tendency towards treble, may work better for a tube amp that isn’t quite as articulate. Anyway, not sure, as I haven’t tested these things, but that is my thought at least. I’m sure someone with more experience can chime in.

This is a very good point. I'm on flats myself and they have plenty of boom just going straight from pickup to DI. It's not the extra boom I'm after so much as that earth shaking rumbling distortion.