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What I like when it comes to amps...
- Thread starter ndrly
- Start date
BurningSkies
CRAZY BALDHEAD
- Feb 20, 2005
- 27,956
- 20,348
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Dingwall Guitars
Too much.
I don't want my amp to take the attention away from my virtuoso performance or my stage outfit.
Yes there is. The BA-150 is worth about 600 AU. A damn good deal if you ask me. Honestly if your looking for a sweet amp that costs less than 1k, your dreaming. Unless you find a good deal on Ebay. Oh wait you cant be bothered.
mdrly, at the risk of sounding like I'm talking down to you, I might be able to give you a lesson that will be valuable your whole life.
Don't get sucked into the hype about brands. Try to look at each product based on how good it is and most importantly how good it is for you.
Artists use certain equipment for all kinds of reasons including being paid to, because it suits their style, because they have certain touring needs, etc, etc. Choosing something because they use it can be pointless because you probably won't sound more like them by using the same gear anyway.
Also, what you see in videos and even on stage is not necessarily what you are really hearing. Recording is one thing and playing live is another, and live you're often not even hearing the stage rig but usually a direct line to the board.
Some companies use the reputation of their pro or top price gear to sell less expensive product lines with their name on it. Not all companies are the same- some have excellent budget lines, some have crappy ones, and some don't have any at all. There is nothing wrong with a company only making high quality expensive gear- why should they make other stuff just so someone can have the name badge on it, even though they might not have the more important things, namely the quality. design, tone, reliability, etc.
Start a lifetime habit and don't believe the hype, believe your own senses. Take the time to ask questions from others and to listen to their answers, without assuming too much beforehand. You'll save yourself a lot of time, money, and you'll get to know yourself better, too.
And good luck with your education and job searching. You might not ever have enough money to buy what you want, but you'll surely be able to afford what you need if you really want it enough.
Don't get sucked into the hype about brands. Try to look at each product based on how good it is and most importantly how good it is for you.
Artists use certain equipment for all kinds of reasons including being paid to, because it suits their style, because they have certain touring needs, etc, etc. Choosing something because they use it can be pointless because you probably won't sound more like them by using the same gear anyway.
Also, what you see in videos and even on stage is not necessarily what you are really hearing. Recording is one thing and playing live is another, and live you're often not even hearing the stage rig but usually a direct line to the board.
Some companies use the reputation of their pro or top price gear to sell less expensive product lines with their name on it. Not all companies are the same- some have excellent budget lines, some have crappy ones, and some don't have any at all. There is nothing wrong with a company only making high quality expensive gear- why should they make other stuff just so someone can have the name badge on it, even though they might not have the more important things, namely the quality. design, tone, reliability, etc.
Start a lifetime habit and don't believe the hype, believe your own senses. Take the time to ask questions from others and to listen to their answers, without assuming too much beforehand. You'll save yourself a lot of time, money, and you'll get to know yourself better, too.
And good luck with your education and job searching. You might not ever have enough money to buy what you want, but you'll surely be able to afford what you need if you really want it enough.
One Drop:
Succinctly and pithily put sir.
I sincerely hope that it will not fall upon deaf ears.
Succinctly and pithily put sir.
I sincerely hope that it will not fall upon deaf ears.
I'm drawn towards Ashdown because of the price, and to Gallien-Kruger because of the tone. You seriously think I'm considering buying those amps JUST BECAUSE my favourite bassists use them?
We only know what you tell us about yourself, which was at the beginning of this post, the opposite of this...
Don't bloody tell me that Ampeg makes anything affordable. I've been to Billy Hyde.
I don't know Billy ;-)
They DO NOT stock anything affordable by Ampeg. There is nothing there under $1000.
You could look somewhere else...
I once considered using Ampeg because they LOOKED good. And anyway, the coolest basslines I've heard haven't all been played on Ampeg. Only some RATM/Primus
There are other cool bassists who use amps that I'm not interested in. I'm not interested in Hiwatt or Marshall amplification (used by Peter Hook and Chris Wolstenholme).
I admit some artists have drawn me to some of their equipment. Yes, I like the sound of the StingRay through a GK rig. But that was based half on RHCP, half on one of WalBassPlayer's videos. I'm not interested in the exact same bass/chorus pedal Peter Hook uses. I'm interested in the current Clone Theory. I'm not enough of a fanboy to search the world for a late 70's Clone Theory. And another thing, the BOSS CE-5 is pretty good too.
220v, 221v, whatever it takes...
Unlike some other users I could mention, I'm not interested in getting a setup that is a complete clone of the setup of my favourite guitarist/bassist. Anything will do, as long as I can afford it, and it sounds good to me.
????
JKT
We only know what you tell us about yourself, which was at the beginning of this post, the opposite of this...
Don't bloody tell me that Ampeg makes anything affordable. I've been to Billy Hyde.
I don't know Billy ;-)
They DO NOT stock anything affordable by Ampeg. There is nothing there under $1000.
You could look somewhere else...
I once considered using Ampeg because they LOOKED good. And anyway, the coolest basslines I've heard haven't all been played on Ampeg. Only some RATM/Primus
There are other cool bassists who use amps that I'm not interested in. I'm not interested in Hiwatt or Marshall amplification (used by Peter Hook and Chris Wolstenholme).
I admit some artists have drawn me to some of their equipment. Yes, I like the sound of the StingRay through a GK rig. But that was based half on RHCP, half on one of WalBassPlayer's videos. I'm not interested in the exact same bass/chorus pedal Peter Hook uses. I'm interested in the current Clone Theory. I'm not enough of a fanboy to search the world for a late 70's Clone Theory. And another thing, the BOSS CE-5 is pretty good too.
220v, 221v, whatever it takes...
Unlike some other users I could mention, I'm not interested in getting a setup that is a complete clone of the setup of my favourite guitarist/bassist. Anything will do, as long as I can afford it, and it sounds good to me.
????
JKT
Look at the Kustom 1200HD and 1300HD Groove Bass heads and Avatar cabinets. The heads are about $600, will go up to 1200 watts at 2 ohms, and have great tone. Avatar cabinets are cheap, high quality, and sound great. I highly recommend you check them out.
YAY! More old Sunn heads for the rest of us
Whew: and I thought everyone was going to start buying them up again after OX went crazy with the Schroeder Cab.
Thank Ford!
Whew: and I thought everyone was going to start buying them up again after OX went crazy with the Schroeder Cab.
Thank Ford!
Honestly, if you just want something cheap to get the job done, go with Behringer. It sounds like you just care about the name of the product without how it actually sounds. Two people playing through the same amp can be two entirely different worlds. Buy a Behringer rig, be happy.
mikeboth
The last thing you'll ever see
I didn't realize that at first. I still recommend the Kustom head though.
If you want your rig to sound like **** and be completely unreliable, go with Behringer.
You obviously haven't been paying attention during sex ed class.
Seriously, I only joined like a month or two ago. I'm a bit of a noob. That's why some of my comments may sound a little strange. I was just posting my opinions. I was not trying to discourage anyone else from their choice. So, please, cut me some slack.
Also, I was thinking maybe I could get Ampeg as soon as I can afford it. In fact, I was thinking of a rig that included Ampeg, Ashdown and Gallien-Krueger. Maybe I could play through them simultaneously to create a unique sound. Good idea?
First you complained about Ampeg being too expensive. Now you want to combine it with two other brands. Hrmmm....
I got my GK Backline 115 and my GK Backline 600 together for $350. They're not top of the line gear, but it's an affordable set up and it gets the job done.
I got my GK Backline 115 and my GK Backline 600 together for $350. They're not top of the line gear, but it's an affordable set up and it gets the job done.
Believe me, I don't know THAT much about amps. So if it's affordable and if it's by a big name, I suppose I could use it.
Unfortunately, sound is a weird thing to try to mold to your liking. It always does what it wants to do and we can only work with what we're given via EQ and the naturaly inherent tone of the amp. And in trying to blend the sounds of different amps, you get good and bad.
I tried getting the mid and top-end crunch from a Mesa Bass 400+ to sit on top of the low-end rumble of an Ampeg SVTII-Pro. If you isolate the two different sounds during recording you can layer them over each other and get what you want, but when you try it live, it all just blends together and you won't get what you're after. However, you can set it up to be a bi-amped rig which will give you a lot of great clean headroom.
