Thunderbird Club

[Korladis]

What kind of amp?

The one in the shop is a Mesa D-180. I should point out that it actually continued working after the fall, and the flash fire when I turned it on. I recorded for two hours with it after that, finishing my bass tracks before taking it to the tech.

The amp I've been using instead is a Sunn Concert Lead. I have a plug in the footswitch jack on the back to make the distortion "always on." Pretty pleased, considering I got it as a backup amp.

 

[BklynKen]

The one in the shop is a Mesa D-180. I should point out that it actually continued working after the fall, and the flash fire when I turned it on. I recorded for two hours with it after that, finishing my bass tracks before taking it to the tech.

The amp I've been using instead is a Sunn Concert Lead. I have a plug in the footswitch jack on the back to make the distortion "always on." Pretty pleased, considering I got it as a backup amp.

It would be pretty badass to see a bass player playing live with their amp on fire.

 

[Haji]

Knowing how club owners and promoters can be, an amp on actual fire would be disconcerting to say the least.

 

[kat888]

It would be pretty badass to see a bass player playing live with their amp on fire.

You need to get yourself to a Rammstein gig

Congratulations on the new toy. I find the same with my AO, in that just a little boost adds a wonderful organic growl.

It's good at last to have a preamp which properly performs the required/expected functions.

 

[kat888]

For anyone interested in such things, there's a Tone Hammer pre over in the classifieds.

For Sale/Trade - Aguilar Tone Hammer..trade for M87 or similar compressor

 

[hillerup]

You need to get yourself to a Rammstein gig...

Oh yeah! Seen them three times so far, and they never dissapoint...

 

[Gaolee]

For anyone interested in such things, there's a Tone Hammer pre over in the classifieds.

For Sale/Trade - Aguilar Tone Hammer..trade for M87 or similar compressor

I was having a whole lot of fun messing with the TH drive channel and the upright. The big knock on that box is the fact that you have to turn the gain down to keep the drive channel from being overwhelmingly louder than the clean channel. You don't just kick it in. It makes me wonder if there's a resistor somewhere that could have a higher or lower value in one of the circuits in order to even out the volume a bit. I probably won't ever get around to it, since I don't use drive hardly at all.

[edit] If the Darkglass wasn't so expensive, I would want to try one. But, I have a TH, so there you have it.

 

[kat888]

I was having a whole lot of fun messing with the TH drive channel and the upright. The big knock on that box is the fact that you have to turn the gain down to keep the drive channel from being overwhelmingly louder than the clean channel. You don't just kick it in. It makes me wonder if there's a resistor somewhere that could have a higher or lower value in one of the circuits in order to even out the volume a bit. I probably won't ever get around to it, since I don't use drive hardly at all.

Another reason the VMTU is so impressive -- is it has a level control so you can match the clean and drive channels. You could probably find someone to mod the TH with a level control.

 

[Gaolee]

Yeah, that box looks like it's worth the price. It looks like it can blend the two signals, which is another thing the TH cannot do. Too bad there are so many other expensive projects in front of more DI messing around.

 

[JJR58]

Another reason the VMTU is so impressive -- is it has a level control so you can match the clean and drive channels. You could probably find someone to mod the TH with a level control.

Yeah, that box looks like it's worth the price. It looks like it can blend the two signals, which is another thing the TH cannot do. Too bad there are so many other expensive projects in front of more DI messing around.

The VMTu and B7Ku are very impressive in that respect, there is a lot of control over clean and dirty. and how you can combine the two, i'm still in awe of the B7Ku myself.

 

[BklynKen]

You need to get yourself to a Rammstein gig

Duly noted!

It's good at last to have a preamp which properly performs the required/expected functions.

Yeah, it's real quality stuff, with great people standing behind it.

 

[kat888]

Yeah, that box looks like it's worth the price. It looks like it can blend the two signals, which is another thing the TH cannot do. Too bad there are so many other expensive projects in front of more DI messing around.

The list price here is AUD600, I was only ever going to buy a used one from the TB classifieds.

I would imagine the upright wouldn't like drive that much -- it obviously needs more filling.

 

[bylar13]

I am lost in all of these conversations on stomp boxes, pre-amps and "tone shaping" thinga-ma-bobs. It all just seems like something that would come unplugged while you were jumping around or you would spill a beer on end you set early......

 

[BklynKen]

I am lost in all of these conversations on stomp boxes, pre-amps and "tone shaping" thinga-ma-bobs. It all just seems like something that would come unplugged while you were jumping around or you would spill a beer on end you set early......

That would be a YMMV situation. It's never happened to me.

 

[Feral Feline]

And yet Flea does a lot of jumping around his pedals, and bar bands around the world have bass players that have pedals and, yes, beer gets spilled on pedals and yet beer does not get spilled on pedals and players continue to get "their sound" with pedals and others get "their sound" without pedals and the world keeps spinning in spite of it all.




Kat888, Why wouldn't the upright like drive? Feedback concerns?

Charnett Moffett, Miles Mosley and Ali Friend use drive with upright — just sayin' that while unusual, it is not unheard of.


I like it myself, too, driving my upright.

 

[SturmUndDrang]

Driving an upright?

Btw, pics of the 2018 Thunderbird in black and burst are up on Sweetwater now.

 

[kat888]

I am lost in all of these conversations on stomp boxes, pre-amps and "tone shaping" thinga-ma-bobs. It all just seems like something that would come unplugged while you were jumping around or you would spill a beer on end you set early......

A preamp/DI is useful as a backup if your amp self-immolates, which would definitely end your set early, or to use with supplied backline. My drinking days are behind me.

The tuner is the one thing which is completely essential and at least if it's on the floor at the back, I can actually focus on the LEDs to be able to use it. If you have made a deliberate decision not to use batteries, and have a power supply with the tuner, well then, it never hurts to have a backup -- the power's there, just plug it in. You don't want these things moving around or cables coming out or breaking ... and there you have it, the beginnings of a modest board.

Addendum: if I had a second amplifier for standby, him indoors would be extremely unimpressed. He's not bothered by a pedal, therefore it helps preserve domestic harmony.

 

[Gaolee]

The list price here is AUD600, I was only ever going to buy a used one from the TB classifieds.

I would imagine the upright wouldn't like drive that much -- it obviously needs more filling.

The upright actually sounds pretty good with a bit of overdrive. It's got the warm sound that an upright has. A bit of drive keeps that, but makes it sound raspy and aggressive. Too much drive and it sounds terrible. Maybe I'll end up with a Darkglass one of these days. It appears to be worth the cost, but I don't have a compelling current need for it.

As far as jumping around, spilling beer, and all that, wireless is the way to go. That's where my money went. I have been using a Shure digital wireless system with a rechargeable battery. It means I can jump around, spin the upright, pick it up and play it like a guitar, and anything else I want to do without getting tangled up. Same with stalking around playing the 'Bird. Wandering into an audience while playing is a hoot. It doesn't happen very often, but it sure is fun when it does. And then, when it's time to tune, the receiver doubles as an excellent tuner. Beats me what would happen if beer got spilled on it. Nothing good, I assume. But, the pedal board can be out of harm's way, and with no cord, it doesn't get dragged around by accident.

I have a funny spill story about a spill that wasn't a spill. I was playing a show with the Acoustic USA 360. It's got a sloped back panel on the cabinet, just like the original, but there's an on-off switch for the power amp, unlike the original which really ought to have one. That switch is a rocker switch. I had the amp set up with the pre on top, where it belongs. All the cables and whatnot were connected in the back, just as they are, and that makes the usual web. I had a bottle of water, sealed, on top of the whole thing. And then forgot about it. About halfway through the set, my sound went away. I was panicking, looking at all the cable connections, messing with the preamp, checking the conditioner, and all that. Then I looked at the back of the amp - the water bottle had fallen off and gotten snagged by the cables. It landed in a way that turned the power amp off. No harm, but I sure was quiet for about half a song. Nothing, not even sealed bottles go on the amp any more.

 

[kat888]

Kat888, Why wouldn't the upright like drive? Feedback concerns?

Charnett Moffett, Miles Mosley and Ali Friend use drive with upright — just sayin' that while unusual, it is not unheard of.

I like it myself, too, driving my upright.

Yes, was thinking entirely of the way hollow instruments like to ring, but you can fix that with a bit of parametric freq tuning yeah?

 

[Gaolee]

Yes, was thinking entirely of the way hollow instruments like to ring, but you can fix that with a bit of parametric freq tuning yeah?

Yep. There's not much uglier than the sound of an upright feeding back, so there's lots of little things you learn. I haven't put a tennis ball behind the tailpiece yet, but that's one. Then there's the parametric eq and HPF routines. Some purpose built uprights for loud applications have two sound posts and have the sound posts screwed into the back of the bass. I don't know what that does, exactly, but supposedly it helps with feedback. Mine only has one ordinary friction fit sound post, probably in the wrong location. It's a challenge, but it sure is fun and it's worth it. The one thing I can say for absolutely sure is that you don't want compression with an upright. Nothing sucks like sustain enhancement when you are feeding back.

[edit] None of that stuff has anything to do with any kind of distortion or overdrive.

 

[dukeorock]

Yep. There's not much uglier than the sound of an upright feeding back, so there's lots of little things you learn. I haven't put a tennis ball behind the tailpiece yet, but that's one. Then there's the parametric eq and HPF routines. Some purpose built uprights for loud applications have two sound posts and have the sound posts screwed into the back of the bass. I don't know what that does, exactly, but supposedly it helps with feedback. Mine only has one ordinary friction fit sound post, probably in the wrong location. It's a challenge, but it sure is fun and it's worth it. The one thing I can say for absolutely sure is that you don't want compression with an upright. Nothing sucks like sustain enhancement when you are feeding back.

Most of my work is on upright. Yeah, it's a bear to get loud and still sound good. I use a Blast Cult upright. Slightly thicker and deader than a normal upright, so it amplifies easier.
Two soundposts kills the acoustic sound a bit because dampens the top from vibration. Lists of people do it and if you're playing loud, I think it's a great solution.

I use a Grace Designs Felix pre. Huge help and an amazing DI