Thunderbird Club

[godofthunder59]

I hear this all the time from younger players who use small SS rigs. Your tone is great, why doesn't my bass sound like that? It may be a bit simplistic but you can't get big sound from a small rig.

 

[dukeorock]

I'm not surprised about the Reiner into the
Power in on the Traynor. Makes total sense.

It does for sure. Honestly, since I only paid $450 for the Traynor (with a nice slip cover in fantastic condition), that’s well worth having a tube poweramp for the Reiner, which cost nearly 3x the price of the Traynor

 

[StraffordMike]

Some of us don't learn. I had a '54 Triumph, a '65 Mini Cooper S, and a '72 MGBGT. If I could get my hands on another TR-2, I would happily subject myself to the Prince of Darkness, SU carbs, a top that blows off at any speed beyond walking, and everything else. My TR-2 wast the perfect car, flaws and all. Its simplicity is probably why I ride th motorcycle all the time now.

Worked on European stuff all through the 80's and worked on many MGB's, Jaguars and so on. I can remember scaring the bejeezus out of a young kid I was working with by putting a TR-3 into a four wheel drift at something like 30 miles an hour. LMAO! The fact that you were practically sitting on the ground made it seem like you were doing 100! Junks, every last one of them, but what a blast when they are running. But for real horror stories work on some French or Italian stuff from that era.
It wasn't all bad though. IMSA was running the Class B rally cars at the time. Renault LeCars with 400 horsepower. Or the Lancia's making 700 running 4wd and 4ws. This is where Audi left their mark with the Quattros. Awesome stuff.

 

[BklynKen]

So, if anyone is interested, I gave the Traynor a good workout with Prayer Flags today.

View attachment 2859100
Man, I missed having an all tube rig. Goes a long way toward explaining why I never hang on to OD pedals. They just can’t emulate this, for my tastes. Not that I think the Traynor is faultless, but it is cool for what it does. Harlowe (guitar player) loved it, but Paul (steel player) said, though he liked it, he was still getting used to how different it sounds from any of my other rigs. I couldn’t get anything resembling ‘clean,’ but in this band, that’s not a terrible thing. It was a big, messy rock bass sound. Distorted (very), but sounded cool and aggressive.

Pros- super aggressive sounding and gets really loud. I never took the master above noon.

Cons- at least with just the single, 8 ohm 1822, I found it a bit shy in the lows. Certainly useable, but I’d say this amp is a bit light in the lows. I had an idea, so when I got home, I tried this...
View attachment 2859101
Empress ParaEQ. First I tried putting it in the fx loop, but that was really distorted, so I ran it inline. Better. Boosted a little at around 110hz and maybe 300ish. Warmed up quite a bit, but I won’t know for sure what I think until I try it with a band.

Then I tried this...
View attachment 2859102
From my Reiner 6SL7 tube pre, into the amp in on the Traynor (which bypasses the Traynors gain and eq). Sounded MASSIVE. The low end got considerably bigger and cushier and I have a whole lot more clean headroom. I kinda missed the edgy, grindy thing the 12ax7’s do a little, but really it’s a huge improvement overall. The Reiner has a super nice Jenson DI, which is very FOH friendly (we’ll do a mic and DI at the gig). To be fair, it’s a pretty darn expensive, boutique pre, but mated with a tube power section, it’s very impressive

So with all you need to do to get a sound you really like out of it, is it a keeper?

 

[Shannon]

It does for sure. Honestly, since I only paid $450 for the Traynor (with a nice slip cover in fantastic condition), that’s well worth having a tube poweramp for the Reiner, which cost nearly 3x the price of the Traynor

Where do you people get your money? I clearly picked the wrong hobby when I wince at the price of a set of flats and have to do installments on Epiphone and Squier basses...

Everything I have aside from that is luck finds.

 

[theFixer]

Not your problem, get a refund or at the least a credit.

That's why they get dealer prices, so they're covered when things like this happen

Honestly... this is the point at which one of my few superstitions usually kicks in. History has shown that... for me at least... if something (most consistently, cars & guitars) starts exhibiting signs of trouble right after I get it, and continues exhibiting those signs after more than one attempt at correcting the situation... it's "cursed", and will take all your money & never be right. Taking that into consideration... I would LOVE to get the money back. Unfortunately... (though I haven't specifically asked yet), it appears that option does not exist. Perhaps they'll feel differently about that once they've experienced it for themselves, but I'm not counting on it. Unfortunately... they have nothing else in stock that has the right combination of features and price, so swapping is out too. They have a couple Lull's that make my peepee tingle, but the price tag is an effective cockblock. Though you can't tell it by looking at it... it's a used piece, and I'm well beyond their posted return policy, so I'm fortunate that they're helping me out at all...

 

[StraffordMike]

Mechanics nightmare? Setting points on a Triumph Trident. Or any three cylinder two stroke bike from that era. And people wonder why I drank and drugged the way I did. Geesh! Omaha Beach got nothing on replacing the starter in a Maserati Bi-Turbo.

 

[dukeorock]

I hear this all the time from younger players who use small SS rigs. Your tone is great, why doesn't my bass sound like that? It may be a bit simplistic but you can't get big sound from a small rig.

Kind of a no brainer, ain’t it?
I do think some of the newer (and IMO better) speakers that have come out make it easier to get a big sound with less size and weight, but no matter how nice of a 5lb amp you have, going into a 30lb 112...even the nicest boutique 112 out there. Your rig is gonna make that sound like the toys they kinda are. That said, I gotta build myself a second 1822 for the big, loud gigs. Two 18’s with get me where I want to go, since these Faital 18’s are at a whole other level from yesteryears 18’s. Just my opinion.
I’d love to stand in front of your rig one day!

 

[kat888]

So, if anyone is interested, I gave the Traynor a good workout with Prayer Flags today.

View attachment 2859100
Man, I missed having an all tube rig. Goes a long way toward explaining why I never hang on to OD pedals. They just can’t emulate this, for my tastes. Not that I think the Traynor is faultless, but it is cool for what it does. Harlowe (guitar player) loved it, but Paul (steel player) said, though he liked it, he was still getting used to how different it sounds from any of my other rigs. I couldn’t get anything resembling ‘clean,’ but in this band, that’s not a terrible thing. It was a big, messy rock bass sound. Distorted (very), but sounded cool and aggressive.

Pros- super aggressive sounding and gets really loud. I never took the master above noon.

Cons- at least with just the single, 8 ohm 1822, I found it a bit shy in the lows. Certainly useable, but I’d say this amp is a bit light in the lows. I had an idea, so when I got home, I tried this...
View attachment 2859101
Empress ParaEQ. First I tried putting it in the fx loop, but that was really distorted, so I ran it inline. Better. Boosted a little at around 110hz and maybe 300ish. Warmed up quite a bit, but I won’t know for sure what I think until I try it with a band.

Then I tried this...
View attachment 2859102
From my Reiner 6SL7 tube pre, into the amp in on the Traynor (which bypasses the Traynors gain and eq). Sounded MASSIVE. The low end got considerably bigger and cushier and I have a whole lot more clean headroom. I kinda missed the edgy, grindy thing the 12ax7’s do a little, but really it’s a huge improvement overall. The Reiner has a super nice Jenson DI, which is very FOH friendly (we’ll do a mic and DI at the gig). To be fair, it’s a pretty darn expensive, boutique pre, but mated with a tube power section, it’s very impressive

That amp doesn't really do clean.

Afaik the Resonance control is after the preamp in, therefore will still be active even with your preamp.

Interesting that you find it light on with the 18" cab. I favour the low mids and bottom end and with the SVT212AV I have to dial the Resonance back to keep the bottom end in check. Would really like to know how you get on with the 212 ... or 2 x 1822.

 

[theFixer]

Some of my gear says otherwise

Do you consider that gear to be "old"?

 

[StraffordMike]

If the Gibson is local I'd suggest going and trying it, let your hands decide what to do.

It's surprisingly warm here, 14*F, damn near swimming weather

It's local, under a thousand bucks. It's an 08, black with what looks like a Hipshot A style bridge on it. No headstock repair. I may score this for around 750. With case.

 

[StraffordMike]

Fastest
On
Race
Day
View attachment 2858696



GREAT FILM!

Long story short. My ex-wife's husband worked on the restoration of the original GT 40 that won LeMans and took the title from Ferrari. The car went on to win Best in Class at Pebble Beach. He brought his work in under budget and ahead of schedule so his boss gave him a 64 Mustang as a bonus. Lucky bast-rd. The guy is an incredible craftsman and fabricator. All out of a non descript little place n Kingston, New Hampshire.

 

[theFixer]

Having known Chad Beeler and dealt with him personally several times over a decade, I'd say your bass is in very good hands.

I appreciate that... and after speaking with them a couple times now... I feel confident that you're not wrong (like that was ever a concern). It just sux.

 

[dukeorock]

So with all you need to do to get a sound you really like out of it, is it a keeper?

Well, I don’t ‘need’ to do anything to get a good sound out of it. I was just messing around with stuff. Also, the Traynor cost me $450. I’m not sure where I could find a stand-alone all tube poweramp for that price. Adding the Reiner into the mix just shows me I have more options in different gigs. For some stuff, the Traynor would be more than fine on its own. I also only have one rehearsal on the thing, so who the heck knows what’s gonna happen?! Just posting initial impressions in case anyone was interested

Where do you people get your money? I clearly picked the wrong hobby when I wince at the price of a set of flats and have to do installments on Epiphone and Squier basses...

Everything I have aside from that is luck finds.

I do spend too much money on gear, but I make my living playing bass, so...
My last new car I bought was in November, 2001 and I still drive it because I like bass gear way more than cars. Then again, I have the mind of a special needs child

 

[theFixer]

Here's one I was looking at as well...
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
No idea if that's a good price or not but the wood looks beautiful.

WOW!!! That IS a looker!!!

I don't know if you've tried it yet... but check out Craigslist. Not necessarily to buy... but to see what others in your area are selling for. There are a number of them available in Michigan... surely California will have sup'm to look at

 

[Nocturnal]

I wonder if logging out and back in would fix it for you.

same

I have now received 2 notifications so seems to be back in order.

 

[BklynKen]

I have now received 2 notifications so seems to be back in order.

Great. Without having to log out?

 

[dukeorock]

That amp doesn't really do clean.

Afaik the Resonance control is after the preamp in, therefore will still be active even with your preamp.

Interesting that you find it light on with the 18" cab. I favour the low mids and bottom end and with the SVT212AV I have to dial the Resonance back to keep the bottom end in check. Would really like to know how you get on with the 212 ... or 2 x 1822.

Good to know about the resonance control! I’ll mess with that as soon as I can!

The 1822 isn’t a typical thing folks think of about 18’s. It is thick, but the enclosure was designed for a tight, punchy sound. I know that cab very well. The Traynor isn’t shy in lows because of that cab. My Mesa M9, for example, is much deeper through the same cab. My 212 goes deeper, but overall I’m still hooked on the 1822

 

[PillO]

Where do you people get your money? I clearly picked the wrong hobby when I wince at the price of a set of flats and have to do installments on Epiphone and Squier basses...

Everything I have aside from that is luck finds.

I do spend too much money on gear, but I make my living playing bass, so...
My last new car I bought was in November, 2001 and I still drive it because I like bass gear way more than cars. Then again, I have the mind of a special needs child

I'm the other side of that. I too spend well on gear, but for me it is only a hobby. I earn well, so it isn't a stretch for me to buy anything I want. And I would never go into debt for any gear; these are not operating assets, it is just stuff.

 

[hillerup]

Hey Michael, that wasn't my post originally.

Yeah, I can see that... That’s pretty strange, I pressed “Reply” on @PillO’s post... Fourum is acting strange today.