Hi all.
A run of festivals this year has left me a little torn. Last weekend I found myself getting a weird squelch on the last few songs of the set. Any time I hit a note on the low E, it sounded like an octaver failing to track. Checked my pedals, filter was off, OC2 was off. I was running my Tonehammer DI as a preamp through a Spectracomp set low into a rather weak sounding Ampeg SVT 'fridge' set up, which is usually pretty dependable or at least workable. Maybe it was over compressed, who knows. I'm pretty sure I turned the compression off on the amp. I've owned and used enough Ampegs in my time to know how to work one but this was weird from the off.
At changeover, I noticed the next bassist had their own head. This has made me think maybe I'm slouching by not bringing mine.
I have another 3 festivals this weekend and will be taking my Ampeg SVT 7 Pro which is great but unwieldy in its rack case when you're hanging off the back of an already overloaded transport buggy with band and gear like some weird Gollum, clinging to all the cases so they don't fall off. Long story short, I need a convenient, dependable, transportable workaround.
I'm thinking about maybe selling the SVT 7 and getting a Tonehammer 700. I love Aguilar amps and they're a little more portable, right? Pretty sure I've seen one fit in the front pocket of a Mono case. Never owned one but played through various Aguilars at festivals and they're to die for.
Anyone have any similar experiences and fixes/advice or recommendations?
Thanks!