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Will bass amps ever be obsolete?

#201
biff malibu said:
that association of loud and rock has nothing to do with the amps on stage. it has everything to do with the PA. unless you are playing a backyard party or a coffee shop with some little stick PA in which case you arent going to be "bringing the rock" in that environment anyways. you may think you are....but you arent.



also, your choice in gear has nothing to do with your level of creativity...to the guy who was talking about "getting the job done, left brain, right brain, etc..."
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What is it you have against people who choose to have a big rig? Why does it matter to you what other people use to achieve their tonal goals?
 
#202
I'm holding on to my amp and cabs for a good long while. Not only do I play a lot of small jazz venues where pa is overkill, I like having control. Most of the soundguys I work with ask for a post eq signal anymore...plus I'm in the "I like having the feel of the amp/cabs behind me" club :)
 
#207
the best tone i personally ever got was thru headphones at a studio in detriot. p-bass to sans-amp to bass pod to board. granted the SABDDI was set up to sound like an svt, but i loved that i could hear so clearly even with a guitar that thought he was playin the f***ing garden! i refuse to engage in stage volume wars (cause the guitarist HAS to play this loud to get his tone) and watch people leave & get told to turn down by bartenders, when i have a p.a.. so im gonna try stereo iem's and a personal monitor mix to replicate live what i got in the studio. p.s. the well respected engineer @ that studio was very impressed by the tone created by the above set-up.
 
#209
Ya know, for me, not having an amp on stage is a little like picking up the hottest chick at the show and getting back to her place only to find out she lives with Grandma... Not quite as exciting now, is it?
 
#210
Stage amps are becoming obsolete period. I remember years ago at a Ted Nugent concert... he had rows of Marshal amps stacked up and they were all just for him. I saw him a few years ago... the wall of Marshall amps were still there.... Except, they were just stage props. Before the concert started just as the sun was setting, I could see that there were no speakers in the cabs on stage. You could see the sun exposing the holes where the speakers used to be behind the cloth covers. He was going straight into the stage board, which in turn sent a bus to the main mixer.

Digital stuff is getting quite impressive, but I guess I'm old school... I still love the sound you get from a 15 inch cab. the 4 or 8 10inch cabs are nice and tight... but they just don't boom like a 15. I guess I'm a bit of a hybrid player... I used digital pre-amp with a solid state amp through real speakers. When people hear my tone they can't believe there is not one tube in my system at all.
 
#212
R Baer said:
Having your amp onstage isn't about getting an amazing tone to the audience. 95% of the crowd is hearing the PA and the quality of modern day PA gear is simply incredible. With the right DI and outboard gear, pumping amazing bass tone out to the audience is a no brainer, provided you have a good sound engineer and a good bassist.

Personally, having an amp onstage is all about me! IMO, in ear monitors just don't replicate the experience of having your amp behind you. Sure you can pump great tone into your ears, but man, it just kills the vibe for me. Maybe I'm old fashioned, but having that amp cranking away behind me is just part of the experience. Also, without an amp on stage, where the hell am I suppose to set my beer... or is the world taking that away from me too? :help:
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I must play louder than you... Everytime I put my beer on my amp it vibrates right off and onto the floor. But I hear ya man... the bass amp only has to tickle my balls, It's the soundman's job to tickle the audience.
 
#213
biff malibu said:
i dont think i said i have anything against people using big rigs. i have simply stated the case against big rigs.
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I dunno, just the attitude I'm perceiving is that you think no one should use large rigs ever. For some of us, it's how we prefer to do things, for tone as well as volume. It's not all just to be loud. What's so wrong about that? If I'm willing to haul amps and cabs around, why shouldn't I? I'm young and reasonably in shape. There will still be ultra lightweight amps and also DI's when I'm old and my back and knees have gone.
 
#215
HookerRoad said:
Stage amps are becoming obsolete period. I remember years ago at a Ted Nugent concert... he had rows of Marshal amps stacked up and they were all just for him. I saw him a few years ago... the wall of Marshall amps were still there.... Except, they were just stage props. Before the concert started just as the sun was setting, I could see that there were no speakers in the cabs on stage. You could see the sun exposing the holes where the speakers used to be behind the cloth covers. He was going straight into the stage board, which in turn sent a bus to the main mixer.

Digital stuff is getting quite impressive, but I guess I'm old school... I still love the sound you get from a 15 inch cab. the 4 or 8 10inch cabs are nice and tight... but they just don't boom like a 15. I guess I'm a bit of a hybrid player... I used digital pre-amp with a solid state amp through real speakers. When people hear my tone they can't believe there is not one tube in my system at all.
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ted nugent does not go straight into the board. if the dummy cab story is true, and i can actualy believe it is, ted has an amp somewhere offstage or one of his cabs is live. there is no way he goes straight in.

also, i have heard 115 cabs boom, and i have also heard them be as tight as a sealed 410 or 810. as a matter of fact, i own 115 cabs that are as tight as an 810. the only thing you can predict by speaker size alone is the amount of beaming the highs and upper mids will do.

and i've been hearing that amps are becoming obsolete for 30 years now. hasn't happened yet...isn't bloody likely in my lifetime.
 
#216
mwbassace said:
the best tone i personally ever got was thru headphones at a studio in detriot. p-bass to sans-amp to bass pod to board. granted the SABDDI was set up to sound like an svt, but i loved that i could hear so clearly even with a guitar that thought he was playin the f***ing garden! i refuse to engage in stage volume wars (cause the guitarist HAS to play this loud to get his tone) and watch people leave & get told to turn down by bartenders, when i have a p.a.. so im gonna try stereo iem's and a personal monitor mix to replicate live what i got in the studio. p.s. the well respected engineer @ that studio was very impressed by the tone created by the above set-up.
Click to expand...
you can still get told to turn down by bartenders if you use a pa and no amps.
 
#217
Zombbg4 said:
For shows maybe, I don't think I'm ever going to get a PA system and a sound guy for my room when I practice:D
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That's what Invalid Link Removed is for. I almost never turn on my amp at home. I have neighbors close by and don't want to disturb anyone...not to mention, I don't want to advertise to the neighborhood that I have basses and amps in my home. I'd hate to come home one day to a broken door and find my music gear gone! :bawl:
 
#218
Sartori said:
I dunno, just the attitude I'm perceiving is that you think no one should use large rigs ever. For some of us, it's how we prefer to do things, for tone as well as volume. It's not all just to be loud. What's so wrong about that? If I'm willing to haul amps and cabs around, why shouldn't I? I'm young and reasonably in shape. There will still be ultra lightweight amps and also DI's when I'm old and my back and knees have gone.
Click to expand...

well, i dont want to dissapoint anyone but i truly dont care what you do. however i challenge the rationale behind SOME peoples choices.

the lifting heavy gear argument isnt going to work on me. i gigged with an 88 key fender rhodes stage model for a year. :o
 
#219
Without reading anything here to point me in a direction.

My opinion is YES. Times change, 20 years ago would you think a 4 lb. amp could make so much power? Where in ear monitors even a thought of yours? Did you think a pedal could sound like an SVT? Cool I say! As much as I've always considered the amp to make the man, "NO" amps will do the same or more. I mean if I have great tone, yet no amp, what can you do to copy it? Same as usual, buy the program I did and get on with your life.
 
#220
biff malibu said:
well, i dont want to dissapoint anyone but i truly dont care what you do. however i challenge the rationale behind SOME peoples choices.
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Yes.

Why?

the lifting heavy gear argument isnt going to work on me. i gigged with an 88 key fender rhodes stage model for a year. :o
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The only reason I'd not use a set up like the one I do is if I became physically incapable of moving it without large amounts of pain. Hopefully that won't happen soon.

Otherwise, again, my rig delivers the sound that I like. The rest of my band likes it, too. Why not use it?
 

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