• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Thunderbird Club

I am probably just used to Ampeg’s and the ultra low. Also, how it sounds when I practice alone and with the band can be really different. To me (sometimes) the Ampeg Ultra low and (more so) the shape on the ABM, give a bottom end I can feel in my bones. It’s also very dependent on which bass and which tuning and which room and…

But for me, on the Ashdown I have, the shape engaged, a little bit of tube, a little bit of sub, with the ported 212 GK cab is pretty sweet, quite the little powerhouse.
I like massive lows. Used the ultra low on my Ampegs at times.
 
Black would look good. I changed mine from tort (on “white”-looks pale yellow to me) and it made a big improvement:

View attachment 7321621
View attachment 7321622

The original tort wasn’t a very good one, and had cracks, but I had Irv make a new one in a nicer brown tort, as well as the black one.

However, I just couldn’t stick with the too yellow “white”, so it’s in Pat Wilkins’ hands now. I just have to decide what color I want. If the grain is interesting, I may go with a dark green burst. Also considering a black with blue translucent over, so it basically looks black except in some light…

I also may chicken out and go with a white as possible Olympic white or black….
Tort (for tort) doesn't look bad on ivory/white.
 
Why wouldn't a pro want less that indicate peak levels?
Pure opinion and possibly preference. I figure pros get things set by the crew in a standard way each night and wouldn't be looking back at levels indicated by lights and would likely just do so by ear if something didn't sound right. Not to say it has no use. Peaking or clipping possibly (like the old Peaveys), but then again that's what the crew is to get right before the player plays. Just my thought. May not have any validity. Doesn't seem to be a thing in use or being asked for, but were it on more amps maybe it would catch on. Ashdown hasn't thought is necessary on their more pro lines like ABMs. But it may be loved if they did, who knows.
 
If Chuck can have an American breakfast….

IMG_3279.jpeg
 
Used the 300 ABM yesterday with the newer Epi Embassy. Normally I like that with the Ampeg because the tubes add some 3-D texture over more SS. But the newer ABMs have more mids than the previous version, and the single tube seems more promemant as well. I was very happy with it and never thought about going to the Ampeg. I just know the 300 was a better match with that Epi than the 500. I could have had a little more of something, but couldn't figure out exactly what. Mids or upper mids possibly. Wasn't enough that I even wanted to start fooling with the EQ. EQ was essentially flat with slight boost of the bass knob. Much easier to adjust vol on the 300 vs the 500 (which is actually 575w). Nice how Ashdown undersells some things instead of overselling an under-delivering. Haven't heard if the 300 is actual 300 or a tad more, but I can't image needing more watts--unless one was playing woodstock with no PA support. I suppose insane stage vol levels could be an issue, but fortunately I've never played with anyone/group that seriously lacked stage manners.
 
I like massive lows. Used the ultra low on my Ampegs at times.
We had a weekend music festival 1km from my house. I have to say I enjoyed the mixes that didn't have massive lows.
I cant remember which band, but at one point a guitarist friend and I were standing about 20ft from the big stage. He noted the bass guitar was too loud, yet you couldn't distinguish the notes he was playing.

Nick Dika of the Arkells had a killer tone with his J. No amps on stage, but whatever he was running through worked.
Sounded like stainless rounds, a little grind, lots of high mids. I could hear every note, and he's a great player.
 
We had a weekend music festival 1km from my house. I have to say I enjoyed the mixes that didn't have massive lows.
I cant remember which band, but at one point a guitarist friend and I were standing about 20ft from the big stage. He noted the bass guitar was too loud, yet you couldn't distinguish the notes he was playing.

Nick Dika of the Arkells had a killer tone with his J. No amps on stage, but whatever he was running through worked.
Sounded like stainless rounds, a little grind, lots of high mids. I could hear every note, and he's a great player.
It’s kind of a constant struggle. I like the low end full but not muddy, and it is always a fight to get a beefy tone from the thinner strings. Neck through basses tend to be better for this, it seems to me. Logically, I know it’s probably best to dial back the lows and push the volume, but that is a fine balancing act. It can quickly get to where I feel too loud, as well as not as warm. Not to mention that what I hear on stage is not what it sounds like out in front. It’s about 50/50 as to when we get mic’ed up vs the PA being only for Vox.

Also since I’m using lower tunings, it’s really important to pay attention to the low end of the eq. A HPF is a must for me and it’s usually hovering around 40Hz.
 
We had a weekend music festival 1km from my house. I have to say I enjoyed the mixes that didn't have massive lows.
I cant remember which band, but at one point a guitarist friend and I were standing about 20ft from the big stage. He noted the bass guitar was too loud, yet you couldn't distinguish the notes he was playing.

Nick Dika of the Arkells had a killer tone with his J. No amps on stage, but whatever he was running through worked.
Sounded like stainless rounds, a little grind, lots of high mids. I could hear every note, and he's a great player.
I agree, it can turn into bass mush, and generally does so. Seems to fit better in certain contexts, and not at all in some. My regular sound big but punchy, not massive lows (along the lines of scooped sound). Only on occasion will I go there, but think it sounds good when it fits and works.

My first encounter with Big was Leon's live tone. I never heard such bass in all the shows I had attended and still to this day. I recall like it was yesterday the moment he started playing and thinking OMG, that is unbelievable. You felt his sound as much as heard it, and he didn't throw and blanket on what all the others were doing. At least the two times I heard him play live. But he was able to pull it off and not sound like bass mud. But big and low was a great in a band that had a massive amount of every other frequency covered a few times over. In ZZ Top it would have been a disaster. Basically Leon was not trying to "cut through" anything, but be the massive foundation everything else sat inside, might be a way to describe it. That said, I love other bass tones as well as long as they serve the song, even if something I would never go for myself.
 
I agree, it can turn into bass mush, and generally does so. Seems to fit better in certain contexts, and not at all in some. My regular sound big but punchy, not massive lows (along the lines of scooped sound). Only on occasion will I go there, but think it sounds good when it fits and works.

My first encounter with Big was Leon's live tone. I never heard such bass in all the shows I had attended and still to this day. I recall like it was yesterday the moment he started playing and thinking OMG, that is unbelievable. You felt his sound as much as heard it, and he didn't throw and blanket on what all the others were doing. At least the two times I heard him play live. But he was able to pull it off and not sound like bass mud. But big and low was a great in a band that had a massive amount of every other frequency covered a few times over. In ZZ Top it would have been a disaster. Basically Leon was not trying to "cut through" anything, but be the massive foundation everything else sat inside, might be a way to describe it. That said, I love other bass tones as well as long as they serve the song, even if something I would never go for myself.
It was the same for me with Leon. It was true at the Omni (indoor pro basketball arena) and in a smaller venue (think college gymnasium). Absolutely amazing.
 

Latest posts