STU-SBL Posted December 30, 2007 Author Share Posted December 30, 2007 Thanks for that Steve. I did consider the all EA route, but after A/B-ing the available combinations I preferred my 310 (I owned the Epi before I got the EA, having previously owned an SWR 750X). I may however look at getting a 210 as I've spent quite a lot of time playing through them and while I never disliked them, they may require reconsideration. I'm gigging tomorrow night so I'll take the time in sound check to see what I can do. I'm going to add a compressor into the equation to see if I can tame my slap sound. I really like my overall sound when one-on-one with my gear (something I've spent a number of years working on) - it may just be the gig situation that's colouring my ears. Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 [quote name='bleedproof' post='110905' date='Dec 30 2007, 12:22 PM']I may however look at getting a 210 as I've spent quite a lot of time playing through them and while I never disliked them, they may require reconsideration.[/quote] I guess the thing to watch out for with many 2x10 cabs is that the bottom end can sometimes sound poorly defined. Best sounding combination of speakers I've generally heard to date in a small to medium sized rig is a 2x10 and 1x15. The 2x10 adds a nice load of punch and the 1x15 puts out some tight, full bottom end. Also consider getting wedge shaped 2x10"s if you can find any you like. Having them angled up at you off the floor makes a tremendous difference to what you can hear. The other thing I haven't asked is what kind of slap sound are you after? There's a load to choose from Louis Johnson, to Mark King and Marcus Miller. I could also put a quick plug in for my Acme 2x10's but I'm not sure whether your EA head would put out enough for them. Generally they need 500w each. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STU-SBL Posted December 31, 2007 Author Share Posted December 31, 2007 Slap sound wise I'm partial to that of Mr Miller... although I appreciate a lot of that is in his hands The EA iamp 800 will put 800 into 4ohms and 1000 into 2... so it depends on what the cabs are! Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carlosfandango Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 Hi I had an iAmp800 and got a really good slap sound with it and my CXL112's. it has a quite extended low end and high end I found that just engaging the 3rd preset did it for me (using all sort of differnet basses but eh jazz basses normally worked best...and my Wick Stage 1 too of course) Soemthing that I learnt when I started to play more slap was that I had stop digging in when playing fingerstyle as the volomue differnence simply was to big in terms of what my fingeres produced...it took me a while to learn to play softer (being an old rocker...) so that when I switched to slap the volume would stay consistent without that I had to change any amp settings. I have never tried the 310 b ut I hear its a great cab and I'm sure you would be able to dial in a good slap tone with the iAmp. Have you tried to set bass tone controls to "0" to keep the mid frequency and just boos a little low/high end on the amp? cutting mids )around 500Hz) is norally a good thing but as Kiwi said above you have to be carful to not dial away your tone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 [quote name='bleedproof' post='111461' date='Dec 31 2007, 01:19 PM']The EA iamp 800 will put 800 into 4ohms and 1000 into 2... so it depends on what the cabs are! Stu[/quote] Well the Acme B2's need ideally 4-500w into each cab at 4ohms as a minimum and you can probably put up to twice that into them if you need to. Huge sounding, relatively even response (can be used as PA cabs) and nicely defined low end for 2x10's, they probably won't sound quite as loud as your Epi though if you normally run the rig at full tit. Given the price I've put them up at in the Gallery, you could easily purchase them as a back up and sell them on for what you've paid if it doesn't work out. The only reason I'm selling is that my Trace couldn't power both sufficiently and I already have a GK rig so a third rig was unnecessary if the cabs could sell. I tend to run my basses flat for slap, it saves on faff when switching from slap to fingerstyle and back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted December 31, 2007 Share Posted December 31, 2007 [quote name='bleedproof' post='111461' date='Dec 31 2007, 01:19 PM']Slap sound wise I'm partial to that of Mr Miller... although I appreciate a lot of that is in his hands Stu[/quote] I think you have found a good staring point I have heard players slapping a Passive Jazz bass through a polytone combo.. With a big funky tone... Amps and cabs are only part of the problem.Along with over EQ'd Basses.. What sounds good in the Bedoom etc , does not usually translate to a gigging situation. To low a action can sound great at home solo'd...but on a gig to thin... For me a higher action worked..ment a lot of woodshedding. infact to a point where it got to loud... [and cured my Gas...in search of the Holy Grail of Basses and amps for sound] so a compressor came in handy to tame the pops. and pulls.. Not so sure mid scooping is such a good idea... I should think you should be looking for a consistant sound for Finger and slap.. Just my two pennies worth ...what do i know..just a middle aged ******** Garry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammie17 Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Crazykiwi' post='110839' date='Dec 30 2007, 09:31 AM']Well the thing I'm aware of is how the mids get soaked up by the punters in a venue. [i][b]Good mids are the key to any decent bass sound on stage[/b][/i] so I'm wondering how much of your issue is caused by the venue and how much by your rig? If its caused by the venue, there's no point in getting better quality kit unless it solves a specific problem. If your rig is the issue then you should probably tailor your set up towards more mid emphasis. I'd imagine the EA is a pretty aggressive sounding amp in being solid state however I wouldn't have made Epiphani my first choice in cabs. They tend to be quite warm sounding and a bit lacking in upper mids generally but I have no way of knowing whether your EA amp compensates for that in any way. The Epi cab + solid state head generally seems to be a popular choice with other BC'ers (particularly GK and Epi) so there's an inference that it might be OK. But what I also don't know is how loud your onstage monitoring volume is. You'd probably find it more difficult to hear yourself if everyone else is playing loudly even if you had lots of power because the sound will get muddier as it gets louder. So if you do play loud on stage maybe the cheapest answer would be to ask everyone to turn down? FWIW Bass Central have a couple of EA 2x10 cabs for sale at the moment for £300 each I think. Given their light weight - might be worth getting them shipped over? [url="http://www.basscentral.com/2003/used.shtml"]<a href="http://www.basscentral.com/2003/used.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.basscentral.com/2003/used.shtml[/url]</a>[/quote] Have to disagree with you here. No flames please, but I have been playing for over 35 years (on and off)...saw the intro to "slap" by the granddaddy himself, Larry Graham. And the "mids" have become so overrated as of the last 15-20 years. I can't, don't want to remember the concerts or bars I have been to that all you hear from the bassist is the "mids". I am a BASSIST. I play the LOW part of the music spectrum. I can FEEL it, HEAR it, sometimes, TOUCH it. Mids, to me, on many recordings as well as live performances sound hollow and woody. Guys, play the BASS! Feel the BASS. Live the BASS. Mids are for kids!! Edited January 1, 2008 by jammie17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 [quote name='jammie17' post='111702' date='Jan 1 2008, 01:50 AM']Have to disagree with you here. No flames please, but I have been playing for over 35 years (on and off)...saw the intro to "slap" by the granddaddy himself, Larry Graham.[/quote] Larry who? [quote name='jammie17' post='111702' date='Jan 1 2008, 01:50 AM']And the "mids" have become so overrated as of the last 15-20 years. I can't, don't want to remember the concerts or bars I have been to that all you hear from the bassist is the "mids".[/quote] Dear boy, we're talking about [b]on stage monitoring[/b] so you need to listen to the BASS AMP, not the PA Any decent sound man will tell you mids (250-800Hz) are critical to hearing the pitch and note dynamics. Although to give Larry credit, 35 years ago mids hadn't been invented for bass and they were still trying to figure out how to play a bass guitar like a bass guitar [quote name='jammie17' post='111702' date='Jan 1 2008, 01:50 AM']I am a BASSIST. I play the LOW part of the music spectrum. I can FEEL it, HEAR it, sometimes, TOUCH it. Mids, to me, on many recordings as well as live performances sound hollow and woody. Guys, play the BASS! Feel the BASS. Live the BASS. Mids are for kids!![/quote] So what did anyone say that made you think lows were being cut out? Sounds like you got yourself a bit excited for no reason. Did you read the thread properly? Typing "I like Larry Graham's slap sound" would have probably made your point also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STU-SBL Posted January 1, 2008 Author Share Posted January 1, 2008 (edited) I appreciate you comments and advice guys... I was out until 4.30am this morning..... pretty Sh*tty gig to be honest. Horrible room with a pretty unresponsive audience, but by by the last set I'd taken one on my Shure's out and started to play with my sound a little. I think that because the few songs I slap in are in the first set, by the time I get to the last few songs I've just about worked any kinks out....... perhaps move the set around.. hmmm Also the lack of any real sound check didn't help last night.... we blew a tire on the way to the gig in the middle of Scotland raining hard to. Oh well happy new year! Stu Edited January 1, 2008 by bleedproof Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jammie17 Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 (edited) [quote name='Crazykiwi' post='111720' date='Jan 1 2008, 07:37 AM']Larry who? Dear boy, we're talking about [b]on stage monitoring[/b] so you need to listen to the BASS AMP, not the PA Any decent sound man will tell you mids (250-800Hz) are critical to hearing the pitch and note dynamics. Although to give Larry credit, 35 [i][b]years ago mids hadn't been invented for bass[/b][/i] and they were still trying to figure out how to play a bass guitar like a bass guitar So what did anyone say that made you think lows were being cut out? Sounds like you got yourself a bit excited for no reason. Did you read the thread properly? Typing "I like Larry Graham's slap sound" would have probably made your point also.[/quote] Crazy, I know/knew what you were talking about....mids hadn't been invented? OK. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2_SreKsg2k&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2_SreKsg2k...feature=related[/url] Now, I would suggest you research him a bit, maybe go back to when he played with Sly and the Family Stone, in the 60's.... and then formed his own band, Graham Central Station in the 70's. He has been acknowledged to be the "granddaddy" of the the "slap" style, and as you can see, had "mids" way back in the late 60's early 70's. I saw him open for Earth, Wind and Fire, in the 70's and he was unbelievable. Musicians were wondering how he played with his thumb. And guess what....there were mids..... Here's a track from the 70's with "No Mids", cause they haven't been invented yet. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1IuD6F3R5I&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1IuD6F3R5I...feature=related[/url] And here's one for you, since they were "Still trying to figure out how to play the bass"..... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZez_k4vAzU&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZez_k4vAzU...feature=related[/url] Edited January 1, 2008 by jammie17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jay249 Posted January 1, 2008 Share Posted January 1, 2008 I agree that people's over use of EQ is shocking, and Lowdown hit the nail on the head with his post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted January 2, 2008 Share Posted January 2, 2008 An overdrive pedal, or a limiter-enhancer would both give you some compression, a potential level boost, and some more top end to help the attack of your slap cut through. I think this is the solution. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hanson Posted January 8, 2008 Share Posted January 8, 2008 Pardon my ignorance , but i heard alot of people mention scooping... Whats scooping?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jacko Posted January 9, 2008 Share Posted January 9, 2008 [quote name='Hanson' post='116483' date='Jan 8 2008, 07:50 PM']Pardon my ignorance , but i heard alot of people mention scooping... Whats scooping??[/quote] Boost the lows and highs and cut the mids - gives the 'classic' smiley face on a graphic eq. personnally I don't find that tone very useful. Lots of people do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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