The Combo Club

[G-Dog]

Is the opposite of ampliphobe an ampli-dude?

I think the opposite of -phobe is -phile. So ampliphobe vs ampliphile. I believe we all know some, or are, ampliphiles. But then, there is the dreaded ampliphage, to whom you must never loan your rig.

In the vernacular of yestercentury, I believe dude was the opposite of chick, and only more recently dudette, which I always thought was just a small dude instead of a chick. But, what do I know, by cracky?
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[GonePlaid]

The Library!?! That's a new one on me for rehearsal space! What? A sound treated room in the Audio Section, or something? My college Student Union had that kinda thing many, many moons ago. I never saw them used that way, but seems to make some sense now you mention it.

And that no-amps rule makes sense, too. Especially since bass frequencies propagate through buildings so easily! Even something like the low power Fly might be able to offend there. I dunno.

You may have found the place for an unamplified acoustic bass guitar! Although, you may struggle to hear it yourself, much less the others. And, what are the long term prospects of continuing there that would justify that kind of expense?
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AC1 Rhythmvox Bass - no longer in production, used market, possibility
VX50BA - no battery power, way overpowered
PB10 - no battery power, I think, possibly overpowered?

- See above reference to bass frequencies propagation.

Just my 2¢. Good luck.
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I had a Michael Kelly AEB. I bought a 5string version. EADG sounded great, amped or acoustic, but the B was 'lost', both amped and acoustic. Methinks the p'up was for a 4stringer.
I couldn't get used to the bass's deeper, thicker body when on a strap in front of my thicker body. Sold it(the bass, that is).

 

[G-Dog]

I had a Michael Kelly AEB. I bought a 5string version. EADG sounded great, amped or acoustic, but the B was 'lost', both amped and acoustic. Methinks the p'up was for a 4stringer.
I couldn't get used to the bass's deeper, thicker body when on a strap in front of my thicker body. Sold it(the bass, that is).

I hear ya. I still have my JBPlayer acoustic bass, in case I ever need that look for my bluegrass efforts. It is a real joy to play seated. But, you're totally right about the deep body and the, uh, mature male standing figure. I have the same problem with my acoustic 6-strings. I can play 'em standing, but I'm SO spoiled to the thinlines and solidbodies, especially with the contours!
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[GonePlaid]

I hear ya. I still have my JBPlayer acoustic bass, in case I ever need that look for my bluegrass efforts. It is a real joy to play seated. But, you're totally right about the deep body and the, uh, mature male standing figure. I have the same problem with my acoustic 6-strings. I can play 'em standing, but I'm SO spoiled to the thinlines and solidbodies, especially with the contours!
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I was told by the other musicians in the big band that the Michael Kelly sounded very upright-y. I was too close to the amp to really hear its tone, but when I could use a long cable, I could hear that 'acoustic' resonance(or whatever). At that time-b4 my knees started bothering me-I always stood playing. That put both body and neck at an uncomfortable distance from my froggy body. My Ibby semi-hollow is thin enuff that it doesn't negatively affect me-or my playing. I almost always attempt to have a Jamerson type bass-y w/o being muddy sound, so I EQ for that tone.

 

[G-Dog]

I was told by the other musicians in the big band that the Michael Kelly sounded very upright-y. I was too close to the amp to really hear its tone, but when I could use a long cable, I could hear that 'acoustic' resonance(or whatever). At that time-b4 my knees started bothering me-I always stood playing. That put both body and neck at an uncomfortable distance from my froggy body. My Ibby semi-hollow is thin enuff that it doesn't negatively affect me-or my playing. I almost always attempt to have a Jamerson type bass-y w/o being muddy sound, so I EQ for that tone.
View attachment 3609992

Some say my JBPlayer has a woody sound, but I think that's just the onboard EQ I like best from it. My Starcaster can give that, and other, sounds and is my current fave, though probably more for the easy, comfy short scale. But, I do occasionally find it's relatively sharp edges, compared to my contoured Pbass & Jag, digging into my arm a bit uncomfortably. Guess there's just no pleasing this GOF.

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[Doctor Intrepid]

That woody and hollow body sound is what I enjoy the most. The 500/1 provides that due to its design; especially since its design elements are so close to uprights.

 

[GwenOnBass]

It's that woody UB tone I chase with tapes on a Chowny CHB-1 and PJB combo. And I can hear that when I'm watching my technique

 

[Flamingo21]

Is the opposite of ampliphobe an ampli-dude?

Ampliphile?

Edit: G-Dog beat me to it.

 

[RodRy]

It's a great little amp from back before Carvin went to pooh. Interesting point: the new mb212 weighs about the same as that little Carvin. I picked them up one in each hand today and couldn't tell which was lighter. That's 500 watts and 2X12's at the same weight as 100 watts and 1X10. SCIENCE!

When did Carvin go to pooh? I have a mighty 1x18 cabinet that served me for many years. Highs? Who needs em?

 

[RodRy]

The Library!?! That's a new one on me for rehearsal space! What? A sound treated room in the Audio Section, or something? My college Student Union had that kinda thing many, many moons ago. I never saw them used that way, but seems to make some sense now you mention it.

And that no-amps rule makes sense, too. Especially since bass frequencies propagate through buildings so easily! Even something like the low power Fly might be able to offend there. I dunno.

You may have found the place for an unamplified acoustic bass guitar! Although, you may struggle to hear it yourself, much less the others. And, what are the long term prospects of continuing there that would justify that kind of expense?

AC1 Rhythmvox Bass - no longer in production, used market, possibility
VX50BA - no battery power, way overpowered
PB10 - no battery power, I think, possibly overpowered?

- See above reference to bass frequencies propagation.

Just my 2¢. Good luck..

Thanks for your 2 bits G-Dog!
The occasion is the Acoustic Slow Jam. Once a month me and a bunch of folks who are pretty much older than me, sit around in a circle and play some easy songs at about 75% speed of the normal versions. It's a jam session for those of us who are too fraidy-cat to go to a normal jam session.

Yes, you see exactly why the no amps rule. I don't want to offend, so I'm looking for something that does not send out lots of low-end. Kinda funny for a bass player. I agree about the ABG, it may be what I have to get on board with. These jam sessions have been going on for at least 5 years now, so I think prospects are good that we'll keep them for the foreseeable future.

I'm looking for an amp that is under about 10 pounds, less than $500, has a battery option, sounds good by itself for my practice amp, and can hang with a few acoustic guitars when needed.

Any and all suggestions will be carefully considered!

 

[RodRy]

Used a bit of time here to A/B the BA108 and Elf at similar volume levels. And yes the little Ampeg has its own tone. It feels less "forward" than what I hear from the Elf. Can a BA108 really hang with a couple acoustic instruments? Not if expecting this:

View attachment 3609373​

But what if one is not expecting that? Then what do you think?

 

[iagtrplyr]

Ladies and gentlemen of the club...

I AM ON VACATION!!!

That’s how many days I get to enjoy a slower, less stressful time. To all, please enjoy your week ahead as much as I plan to.

May I commend the the owners of the three beautiful bass guitars above. Wow, GP, that is one nice chunk of wood ya got there. ‘Dog, your semi-acoustic has one of the nicest sunburst finishes I’ve ever seen. Doc, you stole my heat, you scoundrel, with an absolute breathtaking pic of your Hofner. The gloss on that bass is as deep as the ocean. Thank you, men, for sharing.

Here’s my contribution for this evening. The Superbeetle has been upstairs in the dining room styling and profiling, but as of tonight she’s been brought down to the music room for the next few days to give it a workout.

To give you a size comparison, I stuck her next to my monster Ampeg BA-108 v2 Plus (registered trademark of M’s) and...voila! Need I say more? Enjoy.

 

[GwenOnBass]

But what if one is not expecting that? Then what do you think?

What I want to do first is A/B the tone of the BA108 against the Phil Jones that I may give @rutrho a useful answer. Because the PJB BG-400 can easily work as a doubler's amp. What it feels to me is the BA108 is more of a "neutral" baked-in tone than the Elf. The Elf is not neutral. The BA108 feels to me as if I'm playing my bass. The Elf feels to me as if I'm playing my bass through the Elf.

If it's a quick, down and dirty hang with an acoustic or two ... I would take the Elf and PJB Cab 27 anyway. Could I take the BA108? If the mood suited me, sure, why not.

The BA108v2 Plus (Ampeg plus the Eminence) needs the volume turned up a bit more, as might be expected at 8 ohms.

 

[rutrho]

What I want to do first is A/B the tone of the BA108 against the Phil Jones that I may give @rutrho a useful answer. Because the PJB BG-400 can easily work as a doubler's amp. What it feels to me is the BA108 is more of a "neutral" baked-in tone than the Elf. The Elf is not neutral. The BA108 feels to me as if I'm playing my bass. The Elf feels to me as if I'm playing my bass through the Elf.

If it's a quick, down and dirty hang with an acoustic or two ... I would take the Elf and PJB Cab 27 anyway. Could I take the BA108? If the mood suited me, sure, why not.

The BA108v2 Plus (Ampeg plus the Eminence) needs the volume turned up a bit more, as might be expected at 8 ohms.

Rad, thanks. I played one at GC a bit the other day and it didn't sound too bad paying a poorly setup P bass throug it. I started pushing it a bit and it did fine for what i might be using it for. i'll look the philjones thinger too...

 

[RodRy]

What I want to do first is A/B the tone of the BA108 against the Phil Jones that I may give @rutrho a useful answer. Because the PJB BG-400 can easily work as a doubler's amp. What it feels to me is the BA108 is more of a "neutral" baked-in tone than the Elf. The Elf is not neutral. The BA108 feels to me as if I'm playing my bass. The Elf feels to me as if I'm playing my bass through the Elf.

If it's a quick, down and dirty hang with an acoustic or two ... I would take the Elf and PJB Cab 27 anyway. Could I take the BA108? If the mood suited me, sure, why not.

The BA108v2 Plus (Ampeg plus the Eminence) needs the volume turned up a bit more, as might be expected at 8 ohms.

Most excellent, thank you for that great review, this is indeed the sort of question I was asking.

 

[biguglyman]

When did Carvin go to pooh?

I think it was early 2000's when they started farming out their manufacturing and using cheaper methods and materials. The ribbon connectors in their amps and mixers are notorious for failing. Their guitars never suffered that much, thank goodness, and I think these issues were a big part of Kiesel splitting off from Carvin.

Just my opinion...ymmv

 

[GwenOnBass]

What I gather from working PJB players is two Cab 27s will carry a pub at rock volume. What it seems to me is the Elf / Cab 27 is my stand-in for when I don't need the heft of the BG-400 combo and C4 extension. At least that's my rationale because

Because owing to happy complexities of life I found my BG-400 and I in two different countries for a while. Over here in the New World, it made sense to me to run my C4 with an Elf. With all of us in the same place again, it seemed an easy choice to link the Elf with its own cab. The Elf + Cab 27 sits between the BA-108v2 Plus and the Phil Jones combo. Tools for every job ....

And in that thought working up a chord tone solo to record as part of my virtual calling card. I'm having some fun with it as I play the lines with my eyes closed to track my progress.

 

[SoulReflection]

Happy Thanksgiving to all...

 

[Doctor Intrepid]

Happy Thanksgiving to all...

Thanks Giving!? That's so last month ...

 

[13bass]

My new first bass amp arrived today, Rumble 40