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Time for a change

#43
jthisdell said:
Some vintage stuff is great, most of what I played back in the day was crap. The technological advances in bass amplification in the past 50 years is simply phenomenal.
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I couldn't agree more. When I started out back in the early 70's, I was never able to get the sound I wanted from the gear that was available (basses or amps). And while there were big improvements during the 90's, it wasn't until recently that bass amp and speaker technology converged in a way to give me what I was after. This truly is a golden age for bass tech, IMO.

Tomasz s said:
Have any of you ever been through a real turning point in terms of equipment or am I just being a bit nutty on account of lockdown?
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I think it's important to re-evaluate one's beliefs, whether strongly or weakly held, if only to see if your tastes have have changed or broadened to include things you may not have cared for before. Even if it only serves to reinforce your existing beliefs, there's value in that. The lockdown has certainly provided of opportunities for that (as evidenced by what I think are a higher than normal number of introspective threads on TB over the last couple of months).
 
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#45
Tomasz s said:
Hi, I rarely post here but do like to keep an eye on things.

I’ve been arbitrarily ardent on vintage gear for years. It’s something I somewhat loath about myself. It’s been to my detriment and benefit at times.

My last five years have been spent down a total rabbit hole on vintage gear, particularly amplifiers and cabs.

Ive always been left wanting more, it’s been super beneficial to be exposed to a wide range of gear but there comes a point when I’ve had to put function above my own romanticism.

Especially geographically for myself, the acquisition of killer old school valve powered monsters was so attractive but I need a change for the better.

Ive purchased an unassuming Ampeg class D and I have to say I haven’t been this excited for a piece of gear in a while.

Have any of you ever been through a real turning point in terms of equipment or am I just being a bit nutty on account of lockdown? I’d live to hear your opinions, Many thanks for reading, apologies for the essay, Tom
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Me too, I just acquired my first class D head, a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 w/ a tube preamp. I had shied away from class D because all the bad stuff I read here on TB, but this blows away all preconceptions. And it kinda has shifted my thinking about what I want in a rig.
 
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#46
Ellery said:
Me too, I just acquired my first class D head, a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 w/ a tube preamp. I had shied away from class D because all the bad stuff I read here on TB, but this blows away all preconceptions. And it kinda has shifted my thinking about what I want in a rig.
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Good for you. Unfortunately, not everything you read on forums proves to be as accurate as portrayed. Your reality is what really matters.
 
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#47
Hi Tom, I agree whole-heartedly with you . . .

my own experiences appear to be very similar to yours . . . for many years I ached for the arguable holy grail of bass amps - an Ampeg all tube SVT (or even a V-4B) ooooh! the all tube bassiness seen at most major concerts and used by top performers for decades. But alas, I couldn't afford the purchase prices, so for many years I carried on with lower cost solid state or hybrid amps. Finally about five years ago I decided to 'bite the bullet' and saved up for a used SVT-CL (!)

Wow. It had so much volume and honestly the tonal quality clearly stood up to its reputation - I was excited! I gigged with it for a couple weeks and was thrilled with my bass playing through it . . . BUT I became not quite so thrilled with hefting it about - it's crazy heavy so I needed to also carry a dolly with me to get it from the parking lot to the stage.

And then just before the 30 days since I'd purchased it were up - the amp crapped out on me one evening at home. I found that if I turned it off and waited a moment and then turned it back on it seemed fine, but within a short period of time it would give out again. It did this repeatedly over the course of the next two days and so regrettably I decided to return it and get my money back. Then as I considered the 'pains' of loading that heavy of an amp each weekend (I ain't getting any younger) and further considered the eventual costs of maintenance (tubes) for such a sweet machine, I decided to replace it with a much lighter - and lower cost - Ampeg SVT-7PRO. I've used this now at hundreds of gigs and I continue to be very happy with its usability, sounds and portability.

I say: "embrace the change" and be happy.
 
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#48
agedhorse said:
Good for you. Unfortunately, not everything you read on forums proves to be as accurate as portrayed. Your reality is what really matters.
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You're not kidding. I rarely have a chance to try before I buy. And I don't have any friends who are tenured bass players with all kinds of gear knowledge and experience. So my only access to the word on the street is online forums. I had hoped I could rely on that to make online purchases less of a gamble.
 
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#50
We've seen some incredible advances in cab and amp design . Even in the last five years most of the major manufacturers have released new additions to the lineup . My current stage rig isn't all that big , but I strongly suspect it would be louder than a vintage rig if it was cranked . It would certainly be cleaner .
 
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#51
Bushrod Johnson said:
How many of times have you been asked, “Why does your guitar only have four strings?”
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A drunk came up to me one night and said (Hey, your guitar only has 5 strings", I replied "Well it had 6 at the beginning of the night so some thieving SOB has stolen one. You didn't happen to notice who it was did you?". He wandered off scratching his head.
 
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#52
Ellery said:
Me too, I just acquired my first class D head, a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0 w/ a tube preamp. I had shied away from class D because all the bad stuff I read here on TB, but this blows away all preconceptions. And it kinda has shifted my thinking about what I want in a rig.
Click to expand...

You do know that our @agedhorse designed your Shuttle?
 
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#54
Tomasz s said:
Hi, I rarely post here but do like to keep an eye on things.

I’ve been arbitrarily ardent on vintage gear for years. It’s something I somewhat loath about myself. It’s been to my detriment and benefit at times.

My last five years have been spent down a total rabbit hole on vintage gear, particularly amplifiers and cabs.

Ive always been left wanting more, it’s been super beneficial to be exposed to a wide range of gear but there comes a point when I’ve had to put function above my own romanticism.

Especially geographically for myself, the acquisition of killer old school valve powered monsters was so attractive but I need a change for the better.

Ive purchased an unassuming Ampeg class D and I have to say I haven’t been this excited for a piece of gear in a while.

Have any of you ever been through a real turning point in terms of equipment or am I just being a bit nutty on account of lockdown? I’d live to hear your opinions, Many thanks for reading, apologies for the essay, Tom
Click to expand...

You’re fine. It’s the rest of us nut cases that still want to be in the 70s. Most of my gear is at least 20 you are old BTW, and it’s all going to the grave with me cause nobody else will want it.
 
#55
Leonid Nidis said:
I switched to vintage gear but basses only.Its all player grade vintage,nothing that worth too much.
When I had modern gear I was always happy to let it go in order to get something else.
With vintage stuff I get attached for some reason.Cant let go,so cant buy anything else(no room).Less looking for gear more playing.

BTW The first paragraph made me look up the meaning of 3 words I didnt know :)
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See that’s interesting as I was the opposite. I figured instrument construction has remained unchanged in 70 years. Sure the Machinery and equipment have changed but the instruments are the same. The amps by and large aren’t, for better or for worse. I’ve lusted after certain vintage fenders, particularly 58 ps and 62 ha but deep down I know a modern RI would do the same thing for a fraction of the price. To each their own of course, everybody has their thing :) cheers
 
#56
Well all, my pf 500 showed up today and it’s night and day from my old stadium rock dinosaur rigs.

It actually creates frequencies so low I can barely comprehend them! The cab I’ve got it running into is an old Bassman 2x15 that’s by no means well designed or efficient and it sings.

It’s almost as if every point of the frequency spectrum that my bass can create is filled and present.

I’m very happy so far, as part of an ongoing quest though I’m thinking a matching portaflex 1x15 could be a good acquisition, for both transport and tone reasons. Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading and the replies. Cheers !
 
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#60
Tomasz s said:
I’m very happy so far, as part of an ongoing quest though I’m thinking a matching portaflex 1x15 could be a good acquisition, for both transport and tone reasons. Let me know what you think, and thanks for reading and the replies. Cheers !
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I run a PF-800 and a PF-115 - sounds great and relatively easy to transport. I play with flats on a PBass, usually blues/outlaw country/classic rock type stuff and that rig fits right in.
 

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