krispn

Tube rolling can be fun but expensive! The 12AX7 -12AU7 swap to reduce preamp gain is a common one to offer a bit more 'clean headroom.

@Al Krow when did you hear my amp?

So here’s my humble little pedal board. It covers me for all my gigs... Basswitch (with Cali76 in the series loop) HPF/LPF ToneHammer The Basswitch allows me to have full eq if needed for a dodgy room, big hollow stage etc. as well as a great DI. The Cali is just wonderful and provides a nice piggy backspace for the LPF/HPF which in turn helps when I’m running my amp loud - it keeps the signal nice and ‘clean’ and everything working efficiently. Finally the Tone hammer for drive duties. It’s such a good drive unit with sweepable mids. It can do a couple of flavours of ‘Ampeg’ if need and help the sound poke out in a full band setting with the mid freq control. I sometimes swap this out for a Darkglass AO if I’m needing more filth.

It tells you all that in the amp description on the website except d)

Yeah a very well respected comp and on the Pro I think Keeley was aiming to have the controls set so everything sound good at noon so on a gig If it got knocked or kicked you could just set it at noon and not have a terrible sound. Clever man that Keeley fellow!

Yeah my eq pedal worked well with it. It sounded good but lacked some of the features many similar priced amps have but still it's lightweight and did the job just plug and play. Simple and effective! The tube comp was a nice feature too. The Fender amp is a far more versatile amp and works perfectly for my needs when playing live. I prefer it over the TTE but they are two very different amps in some respects in terms of sonic goals and overall features.

I used one for a few years. Good amp but some may find the eq limited with only three bands.

The TTE amp had 4 valves- 3 in the preamp and eq plus one in the tube compressor. The TTE was in relation to emulating power amp valves with the class d power section.

@Al Krow What about connecting a mic and recording the same part again? The Mesa demo looks like its being mic'd. Might be more representative?

Might be best to contact Keeley direct. I know Juan form Pedal and Effects did some play through stuff with Robert Keeley gear and Robert is sitting with him. He might say something on that video - there is the pro and the bass versions so maybe the info has gotten mixed up?

Joe has a very funky style but you whack that Vulf compressor on a (bass) track and you immediately get that distinct sound they’ve been doing for years. There’s more going on that flats v rounds. This is 50% playing 50% production imho and I’d recommend the vulf compressor demo’s on you tube to hear what it brings to the party.

Our guitarist does but i fear if I did that they'd have me out at the front of the stage and not cowering at the back in the shadows where I prefer!

True dat!

One of my gigs is a choir and band thing and the 'musical directors' always complained about the sound guy but they kept using him? We consistently told them to find someone else or us the in house guys whenever possible to compare. I think they might now default to a new guy it gets tricky though as we have to balance a full band volume and about 8-10 mic'c to pick up the choir. It'd be a nightmare to engineer! I was gonna add this in my previous reply - I always come to a gig prepared and take responsibility for my own sound - I can eq myself to fit in with the band and compensate for big hollow stages etc I ask what the sound guy needs from me and am happy to be directed for the overall sound mix. Often on these gigs it's not DI'd and the amps on stage have to loud enough to fill the room which can cause it's own issues!

Yeah I totally understand the weirdness of some rooms/venues and I've played a few dodgy rooms in my time but the job of the sound engineer is to mitigate issues, especially if it's the 'in house' engineer - there's an expectation they know the room and its deficiencies. I've no idea if the tech in this case was just hired in for the night but to get it so wrong -sub bassy is how the OP described it - then some responsibility has to be taken.

Often the problem isn't what you're giving them its what they do with it. Even giving them your preferred sound they can still mangle it up. And to all the good sound engineers out there keep doing the good work!

Pic a Ric

@Al Krow basicslly the answer to that question is yes and that’s the whole business model and the point of multiple price point instruments from entry level to pro level. By creating brand loyalty there’s the lure of continuity from first bass to first intermediate bass to high end bass. A company hopes that those same people end up buying the most expensive instrument as the pinnacle of ownership and brand loyalty. A company isn’t cannibalising sales by having good quality across the broad spectrum of their product range. I may never be in a position to spend 2k on a single bass purchase but I could own 4 models across a brands range. I have no evidence to back this up other than the amount of Fender basses sold but many people starting out on a less expensive Fender see a Mexican or American made model as the natural next step up the ladder and this may well continue to those aspirational upgrades of an artist dig model of a custom shop purchase. The point of a cannibalised sale is surely as relevant in Yamaha’s case if their BB1024 isn’t three times lesser an instrument to a BB2024. Has Yamaha done themselves out of selling the higher ticket item due to the good quality at the Bb1024 price point? People will spend big money on these basses due to the perceived increase in quality, as a status symbol, their fav player uses it etc. and that’s the point of having multiple in’s for the potential customer. Folks who buy an Ibanez ‘standard’ model may never have the cash or inclination to buy a Premium model irrespective of the hardware but they could change the pick ups at any time and still be happy with their bass purchase. Many people like Bartolini pick ups and many people like Nordstrand. Your views or preferences do not speak for the bass playing community as a whole but as possibly more reflective of your own experience and the groups you subscribe to online, confirmation bias etc. Many of the guys on the Yamaha threads and Ibanez threads are indeed fan boys and as such they are more likely to have models form across the era’s and might never buy the BB2024 or prestige model but again they own three or four models across the brand/ages. They’re also a breeding ground of enablers feeding into the futile acquisition of multiple basses in the quest of some ‘legend status’ based on ownership and product back catalogue knowledge. 🤣😀 Oh and we get it you like Nordstrand pick ups😀 Maybe Ibanez will make a Prestige pj soon or is that just a NAMM rumour?

Maybe we can go as a team next time 😀

It’s a nice change from the usual glasto debate of “Who are these gobshites I’ve never heard of them!” and “Why is that pr*ck headlining he’s sh*te!” oh wait...

I’d love to help but I’ve got gig commitments otherwise I’d have jumped at the opportunity!

Yamaha have eye watering prices too but unlike Ric’s they have products available at many price points. I’m not debating the quality and playability of the Yamaha stuff at each price point but have you seen the cost of an Attitude bass, the BBNE, TRBJPII? They must be more than a Ric. The problem is you can’t get a ticket to the Ric party for under about £1500 but you can with a whole lot of other brands for a fifth of that cost. The bonus of these high ticket models like with Yamaha is (or should be if a company has good leadership) the techniques and tech used in their high end model R&D should eventually filter down into the less expensive models so the standard across the range improves and value to the player is enhanced and that’s why so many people like Yamaha for instance. The idiosyncrasies of a particular model like a Ric or MM from the other thread is what we love/hate about those models. What we value in terms of look, feel and sound and overall cool is sometimes irrelevant because folk just think they’re cool in spite of the feel tone or playability.