brensabre79

A better comparison might be with particular musicians / songs: ...as in "I really like that sound on the first Yes album, what equipment was used?" The net is full of geeksome lists like this - they can be useful as a starting point of reference. You'll never sound like Chris Squire (only he can) but if you say - I'd like an amp that sounds like him its a consistent point of reference... Even then its not exactly an exact science

Sorry, what I was getting at was if you don't have a consistent reference then any such description is useless. Theres only the sliding scale of dirty vs clean - the rest is down to EQ, everyone has their own 'sound' particular to them. So... A GK Amp, has that sort of GK sound An Ampeg, sounds like... an Ampeg The common point of reference is the gear itself. IF you haven't played on that gear then its a bit like trying to describe the colour of grass to a blind person isn't it? Take my friend James, he's easy to recognise because he looks almost exactly like Roger, you don't know Roger? Oh well he looks like a cross between Alan Sugar and Sid Vicious but with glasses Could you spot my friend James in a crowd?

Dont forget the SVT 7, that is lightweight (Class D), and should sound like an SVT!

I insure my gear with Musicguard, which comes with PL Insurance too. Not sure how good they are as I've never had to claim (touch wood)

Or you could just get a passive DI box and put it after the pedal...

I used a small hand-drill (2mm) to make little holes (about 1-2mm deep) in the top edge of the board where the frets would be, filled them with a mixture of baking soda and superglue (you have to work fast!) and sanded back to smooth. If you want lines under the strings then you'll have to get the saw out and fill with veneer like Mr Letts says. Its actually quite important that the lines are filled with a suitably hard material (like the wood its replacing) so as not to cause the neck to become more bendy - sawing lots of lines along a length of wood is exactly the technique used by furniture makers to get a strip of wood to bend!

It looks like there's two different ones... http://www.bugera-amps.com/EN/products/BVV3000-INFINIUM.aspx Coming Soon! http://www.bugera-amps.com/en/products/bvv3000.aspx Available now, but does not include the Infinium Auto Biasing

Me too but nobody actually seems to have one in stock except the mail order companies, and I'm dubious about those having waited 6 weeks for a 'next day delivery' of an item that was 'In Stock' only to find that it is actually 'on order from the manufacturer'

Yeah thats not the sort of thing I mean, its the "how to play....." type ones where they have got all the notes in the right order but clearly not grasped the style and expression within the music. I think its the arrogance associated with having learned a technique perfectly and thinking that they have mastered the instrument. Its the sort of thing that builds fear into anyone who is self taught ever getting a bass lesson because they think they will be told to start again, and "do it properly this time!" Not all teachers are like that!

I've always found that the players have 'exemplary technique' have so because they have spent years mastering technique, not music. Generally they have no 'feel' or taste and an unhealthy obsession with playing as many notes as its possible to fit in a bar, and a few more for good measure. The expressive players, the ones that have soul, tend to be self-taught and tend not to post videos on YouTube every week showing people their excellent technique... (runs for cover) on another note, I will say that although I can't stand Rush, I observed Geddy Lee's technique, I don't know if its bad or good, but I tried it, it was hard at first but for the first time in 20 years of playing I got the sound I wanted without the string clanking against every fret on the board!

Hey Bert Its such a difficult thing to describe in a way that resonates with every reader. One mans meat etc etc. how I would describe the tone of an amp is probably not the way you would. e.g. Woolly = Warm, Crisp = Sterile etc. GENERALLY speaking, the tube amps are used by people who want a slightly softer edged sound because, when you drive tubes, the sound 'breaks up' (starts to distort) in a warm, smooth way. You can still get a very HiFi sound from a tube amp (some of the most expensive Hi-Fi's are tube). Transistor (Solid-state) based amps tend not to sound so pleasant when they start to distort, a bit more brittle and nasty. So they tend to be played more by people who don't really want the warm overdriven sound of a tube amp, but a crisp, clean sound. Its also a lot easier (and cheaper) to get more power out of a solid state amp as the components are cheaper, and last longer, so you can have a very loud, very clean amp quite easily. If you want a very loud tube amp you basically have to add more tubes, which is expensive and difficult to do. Hence a 300w all tube amp will cost over £1,000, wheras you can get a 300w solid state amp for £100. The best compromise of these is a hybrid amp, which has a tube pre-amp (for the valvey warmth) and a solid state power section (for cost and durability) and they generally sound pretty good for it. Now the thing is, a number of manufacturers make some very similar products, in a very similar way, for a very similar price. SO they need to differentiate themselves. A large number of these manufacturers also make the more expensive All-tube amps, and try to replicate the sound of those with their Hybrids. So if you look at Orange and Ampeg for example you'll be getting quite a 'dirty' tubey sound from them because they have been designed to sound a bit like an all tube amp. Many manufacturers also have a loyal following based on a classic 'sound' and the new products they bring out need to have at least a passing similarity to that sound for their loyal customers to be satisfied. This is basically pre-shaping the EQ settings so that when you plug in an Ampeg or an Eden amp, it'll sound pretty much like an Ampeg or an Eden. Other manufacturers prefer to trade on the versatility of their range of amps too, so you won't find so many people going on about 'that Genz-Benz' sound for example, as their range consists of a few amps that are very different from each other in character. The bottom line is you need to try out a number of amps and find what suits your ears, your idea of what you should sound like. You're right in that the more technical players generally prefer the Hi-Fi sounding amps because all the subtlety of their technique comes through. But for many these amps can sound sterile, no personality. For others, the sound of the amp is very much integral to their sound and the subtlety is in the tone. Well thats my take on things. I hope it helps, probably not

I think Thomann have it cheaper http://www.thomann.de/gb/bugera_bvv3000_infinium.htm

By then I'm sure there will be something better

+1 DO NOT just stick any old speaker in a box. The box has been designed specifically for a certain speaker so that the volume of the cabinet, size of the port (hole) and the speaker itself work in harmony. Adding any old off the shelf speaker will more than likely disrupt this harmonious relationship and make the whole thing sound completely different*. *Note: By 'different' I mean like when the guitarist plays an A chord and the bassist plays a G# underneath it. you know... different

Its an Ampeg SVT clone - basically a copy of the circuitry, but with modern (or cheap, chinese) components (just like a genuine Ampeg these days then!). The Infinium auto-biasing sounds promising (if it works) as it will save a fortune in matched valves. But I looked around for one of these to try a while ago and came to the conclusion that they didn't actually exist as nobody had one in stock and I've not seen a single owner review! I'd love to know what you think if you can get your hands on one!

RME user here (Fireface). When I first plugged mine in and ran a mix I'd done on my old MOTU I could not believe how good it sounded! As I said at the time it sounded 'expensive' even though really, it wasn't.

In my studio I have: Native Instruments Guitar Rig - has Bass stuff in it too Lots of useful fx some not so useful Ampeg SVX (Good for basic recording sounds when you can't be arsed to fire up the SVT) Amplitube (rubbish) but I tend to just record dry and then use other (non bass specific) plug ins like URS compressors, EQ etc. in the mix. I have also used my Zoom on occasion. I would not ever use a laptop/ipad as my FX unit for live work (I know people who do), latency can be an issue, as can interference, and software crashes mid set are the worst! PABCAK errors are also quite common under pressure of a live show. For live work, where there are no second chances, I prefer to buy solid equipment designed to do one job well, call me a ludite if you will, call me what you like - I won't hear you because my gear will be working properly

If you're speaking with Ampeg tech guys, they should be able to tell you what the original driver is. If it can't be repaired you should be able to get a replacement from Ampeg using the part no. I think the Ampeg ones will be OEM - so only available from Ampeg even if they are made by Eminence or Celestion etc. Whatever you do, DO NOT just stick any speaker in there. The cabinet has been designed to work with a particular driver. There is a reason why £100 of drivers and a plywood box cost a lot more than that. If you just go and stick any old driver in there you are likely to have issues with some frequencies being excessively loud, and others being excessively quiet. i.e. some notes will sound much louder/quieter than others. If you can find out the right driver it will be worth just sticking with that. Trust me!

You can touch up the paint on the cab too if you do knock it hard enough to take a chunk out Not that I have, mine still looks brand new!

Very basic wiring Diagram here, this is the one I used as it does not allow you to turn the bass 'off' in certain combinations! [attachment=123605:ser-par-lp-N.gif] The pickup selector switch stays as is.

The logical thing to do would be to have a variable resistor of the correct value in line, so you can turn down the signal going to the speaker - however this will not only need to withstand an awful lot of current, it will increase the resistance of the second cab upon the amp - which will f**k things up for the amp, especially for a valve head! I think the simplest option would be to get a power amp and take a line out from the guitar amp. Or just get a cheap powered monitor running off a line out from the amp. You don't want to be messing around with the impedance (resistance) where an amp is concerned IMO. The volume needs to be adjusted at line level.

I stand corrected. Still doesn't really look like a Gibson though

Hmm don't think so... http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Gibson-Vintage-SG-Bass-Guitar-RARE-/321016860500?_trksid=p2047675.m2109&_trkparms=aid%3D555001%26algo%3DPW.CURRENT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D125%26meid%3D3294215332216362657%26pid%3D100010%26prg%3D1071%26rk%3D1%26sd%3D230876263064%26

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1352249049' post='1860811'] I don't believe it....and how can he say it has had a full pro set-up? [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/EB3-bass-by-Gibson-Epiphone-with-full-pro-set-up-by-me-/190727801901?nma=true&si=qDrLjeQsMVWOS%2Fz8U%2B11rnirmCI%3D&orig_cvip=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557"]http://www.ebay.co.u...=p2047675.l2557[/url] [/quote] And nearly 100% mark up! http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280958454861

Here's one being used by some bloke... http://youtu.be/zlUlFvkQL0k