Count Bassie

I still, after 40+ of playing, like Jack Cassady's angle, which was to run two amps: a bass rig and a guitar combo. I don't know how he split the signal, but what a sound. He's got a full, funky, solid low end from the bass amp and a lovely distortion from the guitar amp. About the funkiest dirty tone I've ever heard a bass player jam on. I think my next trip is to find a simple crossover and a decent guitar combo. It'll be a small hot mess to carry around, but I could see it being worth the trouble.

Here's Tubezilla Vol 2... Here's the 810, Vol 3 coming up...

New thread! Lol...

Interesting. The way frequencies represent to the ear and to machines... Gotta be different, right? I don't recall exactly what that curve is, but although the bass may be at a level of dB, that's not to say that to the ear it overwhelms the mix...

Bag End used to make an ELF system- Extended Low Frequency- that generated "lows" from harmonic content of your signal. It sounded like sub-lows but without the mud. I don't know how that works, but you don't see those systems around anymore...

At FOH that makes sense to me. I send via DI to the board and to the house. On stage my volume is not as hot I don't think, but present.

Yes. And I'm venturing here that you mean 'relatively loud'. I play with a couple dudes from St Thomas, and they like to hear it low but not loud... It's a presence, not overbearing. I suppose much of that comes from the mid content being de-emphasized and the lower content being given some room to stand up. It's not that the bass is boosted, it's that the more forward, mix-hogging mids are cut and moved out of the way, generally speaking. And yeah, 60-90Hz is a pretty good range. Even up into 100Hz or so has some nice 'push'.

It's so easy to get pulled in to the whole "Deep" thing! I went through a very unhappy period of working it to death- modding cabs, hauling cumbersome gear around. It was pretty liberating to discover I didn't need anything special to play reggae. I use a hpf as a permanent part of my rig now, and pull down the mids with a lot of harmonic content (most of them, lol) out of my signal for the reggae band. I leave a touch of highs just to get a little definition to my attack, maybe pull the tone knob on my bass back a bit. I keep my touch light, play up closer to the neck with my right hand. I pretty much never boost the bass. Don't mean to "give a lesson", here! Just to say that getting the tone is probably something you can do with what you already have, or most good sounding modern cabs out there. I mean, really, most of us have gone through enough gear-hounding to have probably landed something that sounds pretty good... I'm as guilty as anyone...

I think a sub is overkill. It fills the stage with super-low, mostly in-usable freqs, gets sent to FOH and muddies up the mix, and eats up your amp's power. I play in a reggae band during the summer, and don't try to push to much low end. I have a little going on back in the 'engine room", by me and the drummer, who loves that deep stuff. Beyond that, I DI to three board and let the pa do that work.

I skipped the 810... I got the 810. 🤪🤣 I have space for it, as it turns out. I'm totally riding a rollercoaster at this point, but it'll slow down...

I skipped the 810... It's really not a good time for having an 810. My little Toyota is a little little for that and the small house sized Fender head 😅. I would love another Bag End loaded Big Ben however! But I'm able to be happy as is. Looking for a gig now, lol.

When I got the amp it came with the manual, and also with the Sunn 300T manual. The Sunn manual was a much better read: comprehensive, actual written text that was to be read by people using the amp. Friendly in tone and concise in content. The Fender Bassman 300 Pro manual was like a mail-in in comparison. The amp sounds effing gorgeous, and through the Bag End 18 is killer. I think I said something like that already, but it bears repeating... A musician friend told me the other night that this is likely the most responsible thing I've done, for gear at least, ever. She may be right.

No clips yet, and it's been busy around here so I'm very slow... The amp sounds beautiful. I'll get descriptive next time, but the tube power is very impressive. Clean, deep, and details however you want them. There are some presets in the manual, and you can get a drop dead Felix Pappalardi/Jack Bruce out of it. Through the SWR Big Ben it's really shines. I'm debating a Jensen loaded, re-hab'd 810, though it might be an awkward time for something that big.

I've wanted a Kubicki since there early 80s. Now they're starting to make them again. $4,800 US for a simple color, $5,100 for a burst finish. That was one of my grails... Now it's a mere first-world, 1%-er annoyance. Meh, screw them, I'm on with my playing. Perfect bass? The one I'm playing.

Oh whatever... 😂

I've been through way too much, but in this mod I've gotten the best feeling player and one of my favorite sounds ever. Old edition Hamer Cruisebass, chopped and modded with Rickenbacker 4003 p'ups and guts. A friend who was at art school did the graphics after I asked her for something "psychedelic"... I was a little taken aback, but I liked and appreciated it pretty quickly. I've gotten a lot of grief over this particular mod, and sometimes I do regret it somewhat... But I love playing it, and it is kind of a trademark now in my circle. Anyway, I bring you the Heckinhecker. Played it last night through the new-to-me Fender Bassman 300 Pro and confirmed it's place in my Favorites Ever list... I'm doing a new pickguard...

Might be an interesting idea to do some recording that way...

I was actually told that you can use KT-88s or 6550s, or any 8-pin tube, just replace, bias and balance. The thing that makes the 120s work is the extra transformer, which handles the filaments and keeps the main transformer from overheating. So I'm told.

It is possible to use 6550s or KT-88s, but I'm getting that what you're suggesting is way more radical, and would get the tube breakup I'm talking (trying to!) about. I'm still just getting to know the amp, we'll see down there road a'piece. I appreciate all the participation and contribution!

After hearing what it does with the present tube complement, I'm going to stop worrying it. I've never heard lows so pristine- reminds me a little of Dee Murray's clear, huge, round but defined sound on those old Elton John records. That's pretty cool.

Ha ha, ok... Pretty good, pretty good you guys... 😄

😅 Ok, fair enough!

Lol, yeah. Had to ask!

After a bit of playing through it, I'll just say I'm glad I went this way. This is a killer amp... I like that there is a certain amount of procedure to follow when using it, and the lows out of this head are spectacular. It's a sonic realm of it's own. I'll get healed up from my hernia and won't mind carrying it around one bit. 😅 Now I'm curious if a lower output power tube, like a KT-88, would get me some power section breakup without making anyone go deaf...

That's not really a small cab, that SWR Big Ben! Edit... I suppose that was the point... 😄