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The Combo Club
- Thread starter ChefKen
- Start date
I hated to retire my Bassman 25, but it has started acting up-like any 14 y/o. I use 4 different stands to angle the amp up to where I can hear it. I've come to realise the term "small" as applied to venues has very different parameters. Kinda hard to define.
Heh, heh, I still have a Bassman 25. I love its sound, but can't get too loud, of course. Great tone, though. I took it camping one time where we had electrical and water hook-ups. Sat out near the fire in headphones playing bass and looking at the stars. Lol, my bass smelled like woodsmoke for about a week
I still love mine for tone but it's 16# heavier than my R40.
hiero (like the nickname 'Dog), you absolutely must join this clan of combo lovers! You have two very nice amps that you have shown us all. Just request a number and I'll get on it right away. We want to know more about the Vox amp too.
Gig tonight-full group(yay!)-@ American Legion, Port St. Lucie, FL. Pretty much our only semi-regular venue where I can turn up the R200c. Played there once with the 200c and 112 cab. A little too much for the room. Sure did sound good though.
Way to rip it up, GP!
mj2, way to fly that flag of the combo lover with your Fender leading the charge. A good-looking rig, if I say so myself. I really like the kickback design for practice so I can imagine how nice it must be for use as a monitor. I must admit that I miss the new Acoustic amp that I led to slaughter. I may need to do a re-think...
![20181216_111111[1].jpg](/data/attachments/5643/5643136-d3dec075e6bf70d1b5e570dd77bea95d.jpg?hash=097Adea_cN)
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,154
- 256,523
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
Yet to hear an ABG that can be actually heard unamplified out there in the woods where there ain't no 'lectricty. There's a few bass amps that run on a battery
but altogether I feel an expedition to the wild needs to include hot water, power, light, and, you know all that stuff we call civilized. A tromp in the forest or up a mountain is a fine thing I enjoy very much but at day's end a proper place to relax with some home-strummed music, that's good by me. 'Jes let me plug in my amp right here ... (and who brought the brandy, hey thanks)
but altogether I feel an expedition to the wild needs to include hot water, power, light, and, you know all that stuff we call civilized. A tromp in the forest or up a mountain is a fine thing I enjoy very much but at day's end a proper place to relax with some home-strummed music, that's good by me. 'Jes let me plug in my amp right here ... (and who brought the brandy, hey thanks)
Around here the question is "what's a backline?" Bring yer own or don't play.
I've given thought to a 'Pignose'(or similar) battery powered amp but really don't have the need. 'Course I don't need 5 amps and 5 basses either.
Either you're not far enough out in the woods, or there are other distractions(players) to overwhelm the ABG. If you can still hear the highway out in the distance, go farther.
Out in the really quiet woods, or at the remote lakehouse with no boats running, is where my ABG really shines. I hear things there that I can't hear at home, which can get pretty quiet, too. Perhaps it's the resonance of the air, or even all the fresh live wood around, that makes a very special sonic environment.
I heartily recommend it.
- Oct 22, 2015
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- 256,523
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
It's not the ABG or far enough away that I can see Banff from here, it's my hearing.* I can play yet IRL largely a lip reader. I like amplification. If it's worth playing, it's worth playing loud, a friend says.
* congenitally predisposed. Great-grandmother wouldn't have noticed a dump truck driving through a nitro glycerin plant. Straight down the maternal line.
* congenitally predisposed. Great-grandmother wouldn't have noticed a dump truck driving through a nitro glycerin plant. Straight down the maternal line.
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I recently heard a “clean” pop band (gtr-bass-drums) whose bass and gtr were run into the board.(no amps for either, and I don’t know if they were using the onstage monitors to hear their instruments).
They sounded great, got me to thinking about doing something like that,then i remembered the bands i play in have loud drummers,and even louder guitarists.
I’ve been into smaller modular rigs since the ‘70s, so the thought of not having ANY amp is kinda enticing.
They sounded great, got me to thinking about doing something like that,then i remembered the bands i play in have loud drummers,and even louder guitarists.
I’ve been into smaller modular rigs since the ‘70s, so the thought of not having ANY amp is kinda enticing.
- Oct 22, 2015
- 21,154
- 256,523
- Disclosures
- I am an affiliate for Ari Cap.
I recently heard a “clean” pop band (gtr-bass-drums) whose bass and gtr were run into the board.(no amps for either, and I don’t know if they were using the onstage monitors to hear their instruments).
They sounded great, got me to thinking about doing something like that,then i remembered the bands i play in have loud drummers,and even louder guitarists.
I’ve been into smaller modular rigs since the ‘70s, so the thought of not having ANY amp is kinda enticing.
Playing out with only the VT Bass as my DI has been an eye opener. Was suspicious I would not be able to hear myself with only the stage monitors. Heard myself fine!
... and come to my attention I've never said anything (or much) here at TB about my hearing so I kind of dropped a bomb :: sorry ::
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Thanks, a number would be great! I am definitely a combo player, I like portability and can't really afford to invest in a modular system right now. Plus I don't need anything more for the level I'm playing at.
I did some recording with the Vox:
I recorded the mic's into my Zoom H6, also did a little bit of video with my iPhone. Not easy! I had limited time, tried a few things, not sure that they came out so well, still working through the recordings. It took me awhile to get things going - I was experimenting with different settings, plus the bass I used (1971 Gibson Les Paul Triumph with LaBella flats) is somewhat high output - I think I was overloading the front end of the amp, I couldn't turn it up past about 10:00 or I would get a clicking on the notes. I also wish I had simultaneously recorded the line out but I didn't have an extra cable.
I also used it with my Tadpole ukulele bass, playing with a friend who was playing regular ukulele and singing. Their cat is my buddy, plus I was sitting on his chair:
I had the amp down to my right - people weren't necessarily listening to us, plus it was our first time playing together, but I did get comments that the bass sounded great - people were more interested in the ukulele bass aspect but the amp was definitely part of the equation. This was also my first time playing the Tadpole in these circumstances, so I was adjusting to that as well.
Finally - I had about a 5-minute walk from my car to my friend's apartment building - it was great, the amp in one hand, my ukulele bass and a bag with cables and 3 bottles of beer as gifts (including one Pliny the Elder) over my shoulder - it was a breeze, and that's a big reason why I went with the Vox.
I used to live next to a Creek in the Sierra Nevada Foothills (on the California side) and I was playing my Precision Bass standing down by the creek using a wireless that went to my amp in the barn above me.
Little bird flys up and lands about 6 feet or so from me on one of the tree limbs, cocks its head to one side and is intently listening.
I got a little too into focusing on the bird and eventually hit a wrong note, and instantly off flew the bird!
So I my playing that day wasn't even good enough for the birds...
Oh well.
I did better years later attracting deer with an electric guitar.
Guess what I am saying is that even out in the middle of nowhere in the woods, we have an audience, and they too have standards when it comes to music.
How close to the fire were you!?
Not very, six or eight feet, but the wind would periodically blow the smoke my way. LOL, I've seen plenty of campers playing guitar, but never electric bass. It was weird, but big fun.
I still love mine for tone but it's 16# heavier than my R40.
Yeah, they are a tad heavy for what they are. I leave mine at our other house so there's always something there for me when I go up.
