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Which bass amps for a recording studio ?

#21
pelaurendeau said:
Hello everybody,

Which bass amps would you want to have at your disposal in a studio ? I explain my question View attachment 5107018:)

I’m a sound engineer (not a bass player, sorry…) and I have in mind to open a recording studio in a few years. I want to put great recording instruments at the disposal of musicians, and to do so, I started buying a few.

Bass amps are often overlooked and I'm trying to be clever about my selection. I don't want to have to have hundreds of them, just a few really good and versatile ones. The studio will be open to all kind of musical genres.

So my first choice would be a SVT-VR (Made in USA - from early 00's). Somebody is selling one not far from me (I'm in Europe) and I'm considering buying it. I really like this amp.

The guy is also selling an Heritage SVT 810E, should I take it ? Or should I find an old 8x10 ? Somebody is selling one not far from me, but it's been painted in blue, including the speakers ... I already have a SVT 9 cabinet (which was for guitar & synths) who could work with the SVT head, but it's maybe not as good as an original 8x10.

What else should I look into ? A Blackface Bassman (could work also for guitars) ? An Ampeg B15N ? Or maybe a V4 ? A Vox AC50 ?

Where I worked before, I didn't see a lot of bass players coming with their amps. They were always using the gear of the studio.

I will have to buy some bass also, but that's another story !

All the help will be gladly appreciated View attachment 5107028:D
Click to expand...

I might not be the right guy to post on this subject, but most of the sessions I’ve been in over the past several decades, I’ve run straight into the board, and let the engineer add what he wants after the fact.

That said, depending on the size of your studio, I’d be impressed with any of the gear that was mentioned, I love SVTs and the 8-10 cabs on stage, but in a studio just might be a bit of overkill. That’s a lot of amp.

If it were me, a 100 watt tube amp (Ampeg V-4 for instance ), and a 1-12 and or 1-15 cab, and class D head with a good EQ (Mesa WD-800 or a hybrid Eden World Tour amp) would be more than adequate for me.

Guitars gear is a whole nother issue. Coming up with suggestions would be like you were opening a beach and asked which grain of sand should I get? LOL!!!

But, I’d limit wattage to about 25 watts max. A Marshall , Vox, and a Fender tube amps would be my choices.

One other suggestion, until you are up and running you may want to consider renting gear if an artist demand a certain amp as opposed to buying and roll it in to your fee.

Best wishes.
 
#22
I get called to several different studios and I am amazed at the great sounds they can get with such different equipment. One studio has this "crappy" little Peavey combo bass amp. I'm not even sure which one it is but it records amazingly well. One other studio has a Fender Rumble 25 and they get a great bass sound out of that. Yeah, a lot of people will say you need a B-15 or other high dollar this or that but I've found that a good engineer can get a good sound about of just about anything that doesn't buzz or have ground issues.
 
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#23
I'd toss a GK head in along with whatever B15 rig you land on. You'd probably get more legs out of a Mesa rig if you want a versatile DI out to record with.

May be best to invest in a high-quality tube DI box though, which will help you save on bass amp specific mics and such. I'd be looking at REDDI and Noble preamps if I were in your shoes.
 
#26
REV said:
I get called to several different studios and I am amazed at the great sounds they can get with such different equipment. One studio has this "crappy" little Peavey combo bass amp. I'm not even sure which one it is but it records amazingly well. One other studio has a Fender Rumble 25 and they get a great bass sound out of that. Yeah, a lot of people will say you need a B-15 or other high dollar this or that but I've found that a good engineer can get a good sound about of just about anything that doesn't buzz or have ground issues.
Click to expand...

Very true. There aren't that many portaflex B15 and when they have it, it's in some closet and they really do not want you to mess with how they have set it. If they use a closeted B15, they almost always have a secondary track record direct to the board and man, those console strips are dope, some of them are full on with a gain staging preamp, compressor, HPF and very versatile EQ, that will make any bass gear pale in comparison.
 
#27
If you’re hell bent on getting something, a Darkglass MT900 v2 might be a cool option, good eq section and the ability to use and/or blend either the vintage Microtubes or B3k circuit for vintage or modern flavors of dirt, has 2 DIs, pre/post, has cab sims and the ability to plug into the computer and load your own!
 
#28
logdrum said:
Get a used EA Whizzy Cab and if you can find - when EA describe it as the B15 of the new millennium they were not merely making ad print. They are really good for micing and studio monitoring. They also sold a Cab that is sealed and you sat on it and you felt the bass. It helps if the bass player is on the DI and monitoring by phones. I forgot what it is called but I think Nashville studios started this anyway. I played through this in a private studio in Colorado and saw one on sale here
Click to expand...

This setup would work well because of its well balanced sound and the fact that the cabinet is easy to mic because the speaker is a coax. That means the LF andHF sounds all emanate from the same plane. I’ve been using an EA rig for years and they sound fantastic
 
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#33
BASSDROID said:
I agree that a large investment in a variety of bass amplifiers is probably not the best use of resources. I have been fortunate to record in several very high end studios, and it is unusual to see an extensive selection of different bass amps.

More often I have seen a reasonably good selection of DI boxes. The Acme Motown, REDDI, Countryman, Sansamp, Radial JDI, etc.

With any recording studio, floor space is usually at a premium. I would think that any bassist who is wedded to a particular amplifier's sound would care enough to bring their own amp if that is what is needed.

Personally I would go with the B15 and a variety of high-end DI's.
Click to expand...
b15, di's and some great mics
 
#34
I have a Bassman, Polytone MBIII and a GK RB400 but honestly rarely use them or any other amp as recording direct and processing in the box is so much easier and can sound just as good IMHO. When I have recorded other bass players they most often chose the Polytone and mixed that with parts recoded direct or through my mic processor.
 
#36
B15N, Acme MTP-66 pre, Acme Opticom XLA-3 limiter and done. Great bass tones from this combination.

Also, a V4B or some other 100 watt tube head would work through a single 15 or 12. I’d leave the SVT and 810 fridge for the stage and not the studio. Probably the best recording amp I’ve ever had was a B12N, it’s like 16 watts. Very hard to find though.
 
#37
pelaurendeau said:
Hello everybody,

Which bass amps would you want to have at your disposal in a studio ? I explain my question View attachment 5107018:)

I’m a sound engineer (not a bass player, sorry…) and I have in mind to open a recording studio in a few years. I want to put great recording instruments at the disposal of musicians, and to do so, I started buying a few.

Bass amps are often overlooked and I'm trying to be clever about my selection. I don't want to have to have hundreds of them, just a few really good and versatile ones. The studio will be open to all kind of musical genres.

So my first choice would be a SVT-VR (Made in USA - from early 00's). Somebody is selling one not far from me (I'm in Europe) and I'm considering buying it. I really like this amp.

The guy is also selling an Heritage SVT 810E, should I take it ? Or should I find an old 8x10 ? Somebody is selling one not far from me, but it's been painted in blue, including the speakers ... I already have a SVT 9 cabinet (which was for guitar & synths) who could work with the SVT head, but it's maybe not as good as an original 8x10.

What else should I look into ? A Blackface Bassman (could work also for guitars) ? An Ampeg B15N ? Or maybe a V4 ? A Vox AC50 ?

Where I worked before, I didn't see a lot of bass players coming with their amps. They were always using the gear of the studio.

I will have to buy some bass also, but that's another story !

All the help will be gladly appreciated View attachment 5107028:D
Click to expand...



I think a lot of people missed your question which had nothing to do with anything but bass signal and bass amps:


OP: Which bass amps would you want to have at your disposal in a studio ? I explain my question :laugh:

I would buy the Heritage 810, get a B-15n and maybe a blackface Bassman with the original 212 cab and maybe think of picking up a tube reddi for a direction box.
 
#38
Ampeg has the modern gear too
Ampeg – Bass guitar amplification

SGT-DI_Top.jpg


Ampeg – Bass guitar amplification
SVT-Suite-hero-code2783.jpg


If you want a different brand amp, just look for a plugin or captures. All the software and plugins have free trials so you can see for yourself. Locate a bass track and try the plugins.

If you try plugins and like the sound but you still want hardware you'll at least know what amp to search and price out.

If you want "Captures" of amps, like Kemper does, then check out.
IK Multimedia Tonex has many people capturing their own amps in their home studios.
TONEX
ToneNET

NAM is a great Free option with many people doing captures of amps.
https://www.neuralampmodeler.com/
ToneHunt | Sound Better!
 
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#39
pelaurendeau said:
Hello everybody,

Which bass amps would you want to have at your disposal in a studio ? I explain my question View attachment 5107018:)

I’m a sound engineer (not a bass player, sorry…) and I have in mind to open a recording studio in a few years. I want to put great recording instruments at the disposal of musicians, and to do so, I started buying a few.

Bass amps are often overlooked and I'm trying to be clever about my selection. I don't want to have to have hundreds of them, just a few really good and versatile ones. The studio will be open to all kind of musical genres.

So my first choice would be a SVT-VR (Made in USA - from early 00's). Somebody is selling one not far from me (I'm in Europe) and I'm considering buying it. I really like this amp.

The guy is also selling an Heritage SVT 810E, should I take it ? Or should I find an old 8x10 ? Somebody is selling one not far from me, but it's been painted in blue, including the speakers ... I already have a SVT 9 cabinet (which was for guitar & synths) who could work with the SVT head, but it's maybe not as good as an original 8x10.

What else should I look into ? A Blackface Bassman (could work also for guitars) ? An Ampeg B15N ? Or maybe a V4 ? A Vox AC50 ?

Where I worked before, I didn't see a lot of bass players coming with their amps. They were always using the gear of the studio.

I will have to buy some bass also, but that's another story !

All the help will be gladly appreciated View attachment 5107028:D
Click to expand...

I’ve done many sessions and almost never use an amp. The best sounds I’ve gotten are from an Avalon U5 and my Alembic F1X
 
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#40
This is what I would do.
1. Good tube DI (Noble, reddi etc)
2. Ashdown little stubby amp (or LB2.n)
3. Ampeg pf50T (vintage b15 if you can find)
4. Fender bassman
two cabs, a 15” vintage sounding one and a 2x10 more modern.


I can’t imagine trying to mike anything bigger and getting a decent sound without a lot more extras.

I would think that would cover everything, but 90% will use #1.
 
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