The stoner/doom bassists thread...

[bassboysam]

Yeah, and great album dude. I remember you guys from when I was lurking stonerrock.com. Blew me away hearing it.

Me too. I have only had it since November last year. Got one of those huge Matamp vertical 2x15's. It rocks.

I would love to add some matamp cabs, looking at a 215, 810 or 2 410s. But I'm not a fan of neo speakers. The cool thing is matamp will install whatever speakers you want, I'm leaning towards an 810 with some eminence legend b810 speakers for a classic kinda sound.

 

[AcidFripp]

I think it's awesome that this thread is now 50 pages long \m/

38 pages.

 

[bassboysam]

38 pages.

50 on the iPhone app

 

[VeeSpade]

Used to play drums in a doom-ish band with neurosis as a primary influence. I'm new to bass but I've been jamming with a drummer and once I get myself a "rig o doom" I want to start something. Thinking about sticking with just bass and drums. Anyone ever try this?

These guys are doin it...

YouTube - Om - Gebel Barkal

(_ _) \m/

 

[GHI]

I would love to add some matamp cabs, looking at a 215, 810 or 2 410s. But I'm not a fan of neo speakers. The cool thing is matamp will install whatever speakers you want, I'm leaning towards an 810 with some eminence legend b810 speakers for a classic kinda sound.

Cool! Classic is allways good.
I almost ordered a 212 to have something lighter weight. I bet a stack of two of those would be really cool. If I understood Jeff correctly they had two options of the 212. A lighter weight with neo speakers, and a much heavier one. I've never played trough neos, but allways thought I wouldn't like them. You don't happen to know what the deal is with the new 215's?

My 215 is of an older design they no longer make. It was almost like they wanted to get rid of it. It is a overdimensioned sealed design. I don't know what the speakers are but they look humungous.
When I turn it up it vibrates and rumbles so much that even with a gramma pad underneath it I can't have the head on top and crank it without the risk of it sliding off. I'm going to try with some gramma in between but I think I'm going to have to get a stand for the amp. That or some dummy cabs
But it sounds godly. I have never encountered anything with so much bass. The midrange is strong and even, and the top is suprisingly well defined and clear. Even with Salt n' Pepper grill cloth!

How are your experience with fuzz and the GT200? I almost don't use my Supercollider anymore because with the depth all the way open on the GT200 I can hear the SC taking away from my lows. I almost didn't use fuzz for 2 months; just the drive on the amp. The Oxfuzz works out much better tho.

 

[bassboysam]

Cool! Classic is allways good.
I almost ordered a 212 to have something lighter weight. I bet a stack of two of those would be really cool. If I understood Jeff correctly they had two options of the 212. A lighter weight with neo speakers, and a much heavier one. I've never played trough neos, but allways thought I wouldn't like them. You don't happen to know what the deal is with the new 215's?

My 215 is of an older design they no longer make. It was almost like they wanted to get rid of it. It is a overdimensioned sealed design. I don't know what the speakers are but they look humungous.
When I turn it up it vibrates and rumbles so much that even with a gramma pad underneath it I can't have the head on top and crank it without the risk of it sliding off. I'm going to try with some gramma in between but I think I'm going to have to get a stand for the amp. That or some dummy cabs
But it sounds godly. I have never encountered anything with so much bass. The midrange is strong and even, and the top is suprisingly well defined and clear. Even with Salt n' Pepper grill cloth!

How are your experience with fuzz and the GT200? I almost don't use my Supercollider anymore because with the depth all the way open on the GT200 I can hear the SC taking away from my lows. I almost didn't use fuzz for 2 months; just the drive on the amp. The Oxfuzz works out much better tho.

The only fuzz that I really like (on any amp) is the OxFuzz Bass, and it works well with the GT200. It's a mild and slightly bright fuzz but in a band situation at volume it is fantastic. Definitely not a bedroom fuzz. Are you using the Oxfuzz Bass or the regular OxFuzz?

I kind of modified the depth knob on my GT200. The brightest setting was too bright for me, so I switched that capacitor with the second position cap and then added a new value in the second position between those two. The difference between the first position and 2nd for me is now very subtle, but it can preserve some headroom buy cutting the super low frequencies. I rarely use the first position on the amp. My 30 year old speakers can't handle it.

 

[Meddle]

loving this thread! Great stuff guys.

so ofc everbody got their fuzz.. **** i'm waiting for my fourth!
But what about reverb?

I'm currently running my basses into a 197X HH Musician 212 amp. Its apparently 100watts but it seems about 164 watts louder than my previous amp which was a Laney 115 combo which was weak and tepid sounding.

As for reverb, whatever feeds the springs in my amp has a hard time sending low frequencies along the springs. So the reverb blends into the signal the higher up I play, which is a cool effect.

So yeah, I'm using the built in reverb in my amp (I'm a surf and garage junkie as well) so its perfect for me. Not tried it in a band setting. Part of me says its wrong to 'verb up the bass but I also think if given enough space it would totally work.

 

[GHI]

The only fuzz that I really like (on any amp) is the OxFuzz Bass, and it works well with the GT200. It's a mild and slightly bright fuzz but in a band situation at volume it is fantastic. Definitely not a bedroom fuzz. Are you using the Oxfuzz Bass or the regular OxFuzz?

I kind of modified the depth knob on my GT200. The brightest setting was too bright for me, so I switched that capacitor with the second position cap and then added a new value in the second position between those two. The difference between the first position and 2nd for me is now very subtle, but it can preserve some headroom buy cutting the super low frequencies. I rarely use the first position on the amp. My 30 year old speakers can't handle it.

Yeah I got the Oxfuzz Bass too. Agreed. Great pedal, but because it is so subtle it left me longing for something a little crazier.. just for sh*ts and giggles we tried out my friends Meathead Standard. I wasn't expecting it to wow me since the Dark didn't work too well with my last setup, but it was the greatest most amazing fuzz experience I've ever had.
So full and articulate. It's like it doesn't take anything from the signal and just leaves the lows untouched while adding this huge hump in the mids along with roaring fuzz and drive. And its just sooo sweet and crusty.. I had to get one.

Very cool! Did you do it yourself? I like having the brightest setting, but I don't use if very often. Would love to have your value in addition tho.
Man, how great wouldn't it be to be able to control the Depth and Drive by a footswitch!

I'm currently running my basses into a 197X HH Musician 212 amp. Its apparently 100watts but it seems about 164 watts louder than my previous amp which was a Laney 115 combo which was weak and tepid sounding.

As for reverb, whatever feeds the springs in my amp has a hard time sending low frequencies along the springs. So the reverb blends into the signal the higher up I play, which is a cool effect.

So yeah, I'm using the built in reverb in my amp (I'm a surf and garage junkie as well) so its perfect for me. Not tried it in a band setting. Part of me says its wrong to 'verb up the bass but I also think if given enough space it would totally work.

That's cool dude! I know MetalMatt uses some reverb. I remember in another thread he said something about that reverb could add sustain if done right as it smooths out feedback by fading out the lows slower and fading in higher harmonics feedback more smoothly.
A part of me was telling me it was wrong too!

 

[bassboysam]

Very cool! Did you do it yourself? I like having the brightest setting, but I don't use if very often. Would love to have your value in addition tho.
Man, how great wouldn't it be to be able to control the Depth and Drive by a footswitch!

I don't remember, I had an issue with my amp earlier on with a loose connection and the screen resistor would also keep shorting out because it would make contact with the chassis. My tech had the thing opened up to fix that stuff (Matamp paid for all the repairs) and we decided to try some different cap values on the depth knob. I think we added a 0.33?

Footswitch would be cool but it would take away from the retro, simple is best feel.

 

[GHI]

I don't remember, I had an issue with my amp earlier on with a loose connection and the screen resistor would also keep shorting out because it would make contact with the chassis. My tech had the thing opened up to fix that stuff (Matamp paid for all the repairs) and we decided to try some different cap values on the depth knob. I think we added a 0.33?

Footswitch would be cool but it would take away from the retro, simple is best feel.

Okay. I see. I will keep that in mind. Maybe I'll have it added if I eventually decide to get a custom faceplate too
Yours is looking awsome btw. Cant wait to see it on top of some cabage with a matamp badge!

Yeah, I agree. But if it could make it simpler for me I would consider it. For example sometimes I can find it hard going from a droney part where I just want massive low end, to a faster more driving type of thing where I want to leave more room for the bass drum and extra headroom comes in handy, I need to turn around to set the depth to second position. And especially so when pedals are involved. For my own stuff it is not an issue. I love space and I like working the knob turning in there, but I got these bandmates on this one thing I'm doing that can be a couple of bitches sometimes.

 

[Lazarus.Bird]

Nice. I just took advantage of the free digital downloaded of their LP at www.orcawolf.com
cool stuff!

As of late I've been really into Ocean Chief. If you haven't checked them out yet, you should.
And just to make it easy for you guys here is a youtube link: Ocean Chief - Sång

Oh, and yeah, I've been enjoying some Billows as well. I'm really digging 'Appalachian Throne' dude !

Thanks for the kind words man We're slowly breaking out into the Baltimore scene and seem to get a better response from the crowd and venue with every new show. We're thinking of putting a small tour together soon but have a lot to figure out before then.

 

[Mattosaur]

Any opinions on how 212s handle doomy stuff? Trying to decide between a 410 or a 212 and I was curious if you guys had any specific opinions on how a 212 might handle fuzz.

 

[bassboysam]

Any opinions on how 212s handle doomy stuff? Trying to decide between a 410 or a 212 and I was curious if you guys had any specific opinions on how a 212 might handle fuzz.

Total surface area almost always trumps speaker size. So if you need loud then the 410 should be louder assuming the speakers are just as efficient as the speakers in the 212. Having said that I don't think speaker size really plays a part in how fuzz will sound, there are just too many variables. Are there any specific cabs that you had in mind, maybe someone that has actually played one can chime in.

 

[Lazarus.Bird]

I'm a huge fan of 12s. If you go back far enough you'll see I'm running an SVT into two EarCandy BassBomb 212s. Each one is quad ported and can handle up to 900w and they bring some serious low end. Anyone here that has seen me play can attest to how terrific these cabs sound.

I've been meaning to record them mic'd up for awhile but I just haven't had the chance. Sometimes people look at me funny when they see me loading them in but once they hear them I think they're sold! I have absolutely zero GAS for any other cab.

 

[dune2k]

Okay. I see. I will keep that in mind. Maybe I'll have it added if I eventually decide to get a custom faceplate too
Yours is looking awsome btw. Cant wait to see it on top of some cabage with a matamp badge!

Yeah, I agree. But if it could make it simpler for me I would consider it. For example sometimes I can find it hard going from a droney part where I just want massive low end, to a faster more driving type of thing where I want to leave more room for the bass drum and extra headroom comes in handy, I need to turn around to set the depth to second position. And especially so when pedals are involved. For my own stuff it is not an issue. I love space and I like working the knob turning in there, but I got these bandmates on this one thing I'm doing that can be a couple of bitches sometimes.

You could built a simple booster/buffer with selectable input caps. Would basically do the same but being footswitchable.

 

[GHI]

You could built a simple booster/buffer with selectable input caps. Would basically do the same but being footswitchable.

Thats a great idea. Thank you.

Any opinions on how 212s handle doomy stuff? Trying to decide between a 410 or a 212 and I was curious if you guys had any specific opinions on how a 212 might handle fuzz.

Some people prefer 15's and 12's for fuzz and distortion.. I think I do too.
A 410 is going to get louder, but a 212 might sound like it isn't far behind in loudness if the speakers are vertical aligned due to the higher midrange dispersion. Basically your mids gets spread out better wich can give you more percieved loudness in a room, while horizontally aligned speakers sounds fullest and loudest when standing right in front of them.

Edit: I'm talking out of very little first hand experience here, but that's my understanding.
The 410 will most likely be louder and punchier. If you have decided on options and have the chance to try them out; bring your amp, your axe, and your fuzz, and get the one you like best. The voice of the cab is what matters. I would perhaps worry more about what speakers they are loaded with then what size they are when concerned about how well a cab will handle fuzz.

You gotta love Lazarus.Bird's tower of 12's. Personally, I would aim for one of those!

 

[Mattosaur]

Thanks for the suggestions, fellas. I'm tentatively planning a 212/410 stack long term, but I'm starting to seriously consider getting a 212 first and seeing how that goes. I'm probably just going to go with something on the cheap end like an Avatar 212 Neo. Cheap yet good quality (and available in red tolex, which will look weird, and therefore cool).

 

[GHI]

I would advice against a 212/410 stack. Do a search on mixing drivers. There can be alot of phasing issues. It can sound cool, but can also sound like crap. I would go 2x 212 or 2x 410.

Also, be careful with the neos. Some neos don't like to be driven too hard I have heard. If you want neo, you better get on it quick, because when distributors are out of stock prices on neo cabs will start rising.

I think that the general consensus is that ceramic gives a vintage tone more suited for stoner/doom.
I can't say, I have never played trough neo speakers.

 

[Lazarus.Bird]

Agreed on the mixing speakers comment. If you want to go the 12s route, I'd suggest 2 212s.

 

[Mattosaur]

Getting ceramics is certainly still an option. Wasn't thinking about phasing when mixing speaks; I'll be sure to test that out before I start mixing and matching.

It's a bit frustrating to be making these choices based on hearsay, but I really can't really tell the difference between 10s, 12s, and 15s when I'm just jamming in a music store. Sure everyone loves a 410, but so much of that is historical rather than based on actual listening.