Bassnut62

Thanks for the great interview with Nile, Bubinga. We cover Get Lucky too, but I am only guitarist and been thinking how the f..k does he play that part! Now I know it's not just me and I can tell rest of band to stop complaining that the guitar doesn't sound quite right!

Nile's book is a great read....definitely a wise man who's lived an extraordinary life. Me too re Good Times, weird thing is I now don't know if I prefer playing it on bass or guitar....both parts are so good and so connected that it really doesn't matter; I just love being in that groove and wish I could play either part as well as Nard n Nile!

PS. 'Nard is reason I own the natural '79 Stingray with black scratchplate that is behind my avatar picture....I saw it on wall of Macaris on Charing Cross Road, London and said...'that's Bernard's bass!'....I tried it, fell in love and swapped a '79 Jazz and a fretless '75 Precision for it immediately and never looked at another bass for 20 years.

'Nard & Nile were a class act alright; in fact Nile is reason I've started playing guitar seriously. In my foolishness I have formed a Disco band just so I can play guitar with lots of Chic stuff......little did I realise how tricky it is to play many of Nile's parts. Many of my mates have said.....'you're mad to try and start playing guitar in a Disco band as first six-string role; try some punk or rock first'......it's taken some time to get the parts licked; but worth every frustrating & rewarding moment.

yup, it's true...saw it on FB here https://www.facebook.com/musicmanamps about bloody time too. EB were nuts to close down the amp wing of MM when they took it over in 80s; these are possibly the best clean amps in humanity!

One word........Burman! Check em out...they're big and wonderful and relatively cheap for the quality they deliver.

Well, after a sleepless night, thinking about the Bassman 135 head and having nightmares about never playing bass again, cos I sold my sound for money, I have decided I can't sell it. I tried it out again this morning when Mrs Bassnut went out (i.e. full throttle) with both bass and guitar and jumping the channels and it sounds so good, that I could not part with it. If/when I do start playing bass again in a band, I could experiment with new lighter gear and sell the Bassman then, if I find I can get a sound and feel I am happy with from modern gear. Thanks for all your excellent advice, which has given me a lot of good ideas to think about and some more valuable knowledge.

The vintage RCF I have in my bass cab is a 15" 8ohm and it can take the full throttle power of my Fender Bassman 135 head, when used for either bass or guitar; so I reckon those old RCFs can really take a lot of abuse. It does start to break up in a wonderful way when being hit with the full 135w of Bassman valve power at 8ohms too!

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1395231186' post='2399935'] Come to the Midlands Bass bash (details in my sig) as there will be loads of rigs to try/hear there IMO, modern bass amps do modern tones best, and old-school valve does valve sounds best. I've tried to get the old valve tone from loads of different modern amps, and many are very close, but ultimately they lack that valve power section compression/sag/bounce. [/quote] just what I thought.....thanks for bass bash details too; i'll try and make it

[quote name='Kiwi' timestamp='1395230602' post='2399927'] in contrast to the above post, I like the compression of valves a lot, it's the single point of difference for me between valve and solid state. I've tried replicating it and the closest I've come is with a trace dual band compressor but even that wasn't the whole deal. I'd say keep the Bassman 135 and use it for guitar with a 12" guitar cab. Its good enough for Ted Nugent. [/quote] Spookily, I have used it for guitar and it does sound great and stays clean at any volume; but it is way more volume than I will ever need on guitar, plus I have a few nice all valve vintage guitar combos that cover guitar needs for me. In fact the guy who wants it, is a guitarist and already bought my 2x15 cab for same purpose. Anyway, I've agreed to sell it to him for a top and fair price, as he really really really wants it and it will go back to be with its 2x15 cab where it probably belongs. My instinct too is that you can't get a modern bass rig to produce that wonderful all valve bounce, with nay kind of trickery and compression, because most of it is in the power stage not the pre-stage; but I reckon there must be plenty of great but different things in modern bass rigs too.....so I'll be on a new journey of discovery if/when ever I start playing bass again. At this rate, I may even start selling some of my basses....I hope not though!

[quote name='SubsonicSimpleton' timestamp='1395228337' post='2399891'] Take a road trip to bassdirect in warwick and try some stuff out, they have a really good selection of gear. You could even take your bassman amp head for proper A/B comparison. [/quote] thanks for that suggestion....there are no worthwhile bass rig suppliers in Nottingham. any other suggestions within reasonable range of Nottingham?

[quote name='xgsjx' timestamp='1395222828' post='2399811'] There's quite a few modern amps out there with a tube pre built in, so you might want to compare them to the non tube ones too to see which you prefer. [/quote] will do, in general though I find tube pre-amps quite unsatisfying.....90% of the tone and bounce comes from the valve power stage though, in my experience. I'm fine with solid state pre and valve power amp stages; but size and weight is in the power stage anyway, so would probably just go for an all valve rig. definitely gonna check out some light modern rigs tho....

[quote name='bassman7755' timestamp='1395175899' post='2399540'] What they havnt worked out to do is overcome the perceptual bias which causes the imagined difference. [/quote] Ha! Well put!....Luckily I have a bias adjust fitted in the back of my head just behind my right ear that directly controls my perceptions.....it's called Mrs Bassnut!! Boom! I would be happy to have a lighter modern rig, if it can give me the big warm clear tones and especially the feel I like. I think I need to go and try some modern stuff out, with all your thoughts and suggestions in my head. Thanks all of you.

[quote name='Bassman Steve' timestamp='1395143899' post='2399089'] I have been exactly there. About 35 years ago I discovered the joy of a 2x15 bass cab. Back then it was an Ampeg V4B cab with a Sound City 120. Then came Boogie cabs and Orange 120's until I got my Bass 400. I have cheerfully carted around that rig for years never expecting to hear anything comparable. Ok, in truth I haven't found anything the same BUT I bought an Ampeg PF500 and matching 1x15 cab (I wanted somerthing portable but big sounding for rehearsals/studio work) and was amazed at how good it sounded. I replaced that with a Boogie Walkabout Scout 15. Both of those rigs had incredible punch and depth and very much reminded me of my usual stage sound. They're not exactly the same but both did an excellent job and I have used them without feeling I was missing anything too much. That said, for real gigs I wouldn't want to use anything but the full blown valve set-up but you would do a lot worse than consider the Portaflex. There's one going now I think. [/quote] thanks for sharing this and while the Ampeg PF sounds interesting, I've already read many horror stories about it for reliability, the Mesa Scout 15 looks interesting though; but I get what you say about the full blown valve set up. I used to have a Hartke 250 as back-up head and found that valve gain stage pushing a tranny power stage just doesn't do it for me; though the other way round can work, ref old MusicMan amps (but their still big and heavy)

[quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1395150573' post='2399197'] I doubt even the experienced listener will be able to tell the real thing from an emulator within the mix of a live band. The only person who will know is the player. For me, running an all-valve amp is more about the feel and response than it is about the tone. I actually prefer the tone I get from my Carvin car stereo amp than the all-valve lump I have, but I take the lump to gigs because it's so much more satisfying to play through. [/quote] that's what I'm talking about, exactly! surely with all the wizardry available today, you would think someone would have come up with something that 'feels' as good as the old lumps......

thanks for v useful thoughts.....so far it seems like I need to keep the Bassman 135 head and 1x15 cab or be forever disappointed by modern 'cleverer' gear. Howie makes a good point too.....I know you're right that most of the audience won't notice or care; but I enjoy playing more and probably play better when I enjoy the sound more. Playing with a good all-valve amp and big cab sound feels v physical to me and I think I would really miss that. Would love to hear more from advocates of modern gear, especially on its other pros/cons vs. vintage all valve rigs.... Are there any musical elements to modern gear that may be different but just as special as that warmth and bounce you get from old valve amps?

I say try them out; if they sound great, you got lucky....

Comrades, I need help........ I have a silver-face Fender Bassman 135 rig that delivers incredible tone, bounce and head-room, through vintage 1x15 or 2x15 cabs. Now I am playing guitar, rather than bass; so I've put the Bassman rig in storage until I play bass again....by which time I could be pushing 60! Someone has offered me a good price for the Bassman 135 head and I am not sure if I should sell; though I already sold him the 2x15 cab. It took me 12 years to find 'that sound' and I have never considered another amp since I got the Bassman rig in '93; though it is heavy and bulky to move about and I have already had some back problems. If I did sell, I would want to know that I could get similarly great tones and 'bounce' out of a modern rig, if and when I need a bass rig again. So...[list=1] [*]Can modern (more-portable) amps and cabs produce the godly sound and feel of a vintage all-valve amp and well-built cab with at least one 15" driver? [*]Apart from the obvious weight/bulk advantage, what other good and bad qualities would I need to know about with 21st century amps/cabs/combos? [/list] Thanks for your help

You may have just scored big.....RCF were some of the best speakers made back 20 or 30 years ago. Are these the modern ones or old vintage ones? Nowadays RCF are known more for PA gear. In fact Martin PA equipment used RCF drivers in the early days. The vintage ones could be worth a bit if in good shape; though maybe not everyone would know about them, so that might keep prices down. I have an old RCF 15" 8ohm in a vintage MusicMan cab and it sounds just fantastic. great warmth, clarity and punch.

sold an EHX pedal board to Dark Heart and he was a pleasure to do business with. prompt comms and payment = top BassChatter thanks Bassnut62