nottswarwick Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 So, I'm sat outside my caravan in Cornwall musing over a few things. I am midway through a rig change which came about through a shift to drums seeing me sell some gear to free cash for drum stuff. However I am now bassing full time and want to put together my ideal rig. I am liking my new BF Compact so far, and a couple more gigs will likely see me sure. However, like alot of folk on here I have been through a few heads ( mainly markbass to be fair - lm 2 and 3, ta501 and f1) and I keep reading about the other new micro head options. And then we read about folk chopping and changing, or even singing the praises of a particular head only to see in their sig that they have moved on to something else. FS section sees a fairly regular set of amps cropping up ( shuttles, streamliner, tc heads etc) but not quite as many markbass, ashdown Abm and others. Maybe this should tell me something. I want a rig that I can forget about, that is loud, portable and versatile. So in all honestly who is truly happy with their rig having used it for a good while without feeling the need to change? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truckstop Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Hmmm, I would put to you that nobody will ever be truly happy with their rig for a substantial period of time. Fashions change, circumstances change, attitudes change. Truckstop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nottswarwick Posted August 4, 2011 Author Share Posted August 4, 2011 Mobile web made 2 threads can a mod pl merge them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lemmywinks Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Loads of people are happy with their rig and have had the same kit for years. The reason they seem rare is that they don't post new threads every other week updating everyone with news of their shiny new toys and telling us how much better it was than the last one they had! It's be pretty boring if there were loads of threads with the title "Still got the same amp, nothing new here" or "Looked at a Genz yesterday, didn't buy it". I am however eternally grateful that this site has a FS section with lots of cool new kit at knockdown prices, something that is largely due to the fickle desires of gear whores! If i ever feel like a different amp/cab this site is the first place i come to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 Bought my Eden Metro ten years ago and have not looked at another amp since. Done everything from duos to big bands, rock, funk, blues, jazz, shows, 4 string, 5 string, 6 string. Works for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muzz Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 [quote name='nottswarwick' post='1327064' date='Aug 4 2011, 02:49 PM']FS section sees a fairly regular set of amps cropping up ( shuttles, streamliner, tc heads etc) but not quite as many markbass, ashdown Abm and others. Maybe this should tell me something.[/quote] Interestingly (and this is just a from a quick search), but as a single example, since the beginning of June there have been the same number of LM heads in the For Sale section as TC heads. I think it may be a perception thing rather than a reality thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deanovw Posted August 4, 2011 Share Posted August 4, 2011 At the moment I am gigging with an ancient Trace Elliot 4x10 combo, (with casotrs, phew!) There is nothing wrong with it at all. I play in a fairly loud band and the master volume rarley hits 2. It will prob go on for years. There is no need to change it. I am perfectly happy with it yet I want to change it. No reason, just fancy a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassie Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 (edited) [quote name='deanovw' timestamp='1312469875' post='1327243'] At the moment I am gigging with an ancient Trace Elliot 4x10 combo, (with casotrs, phew!) There is nothing wrong with it at all. I play in a fairly loud band and the master volume rarley hits 2. It will prob go on for years. There is no need to change it. I am perfectly happy with it yet I want to change it. No reason, just fancy a change. [/quote] I've been through a small mess of used gear over the last few years... alright- since 1995 or thereabouts! Started with the sale of my blue-line SVT, and I don't think anything has been gained at all really in all that sighing, selling and buying, playing, thinking and sighing again... What a pointless cycle! I played a gig this last weekend with the old A.M.P. KD-400 I scored a couple weeks ago, and it sounds very nice. Got some old beater TL-606 cabs a couple months previous, loaded them with Eminence Kappalite 3015s, and whatever I do in the next 6 months, I will know that there's no need to change anything. My rig sounds really very good right now- and I have a couple other choices for heads on-hand also (Trace 250SMX, GK 800RB). From time to time though, the gear-a-whoring and trading has been a source of entertainment! More often than not though it has left me increasingly tired. It's been [u]the sound[/u] I've always been after, see, from the start; and somehow, I've always been able to get that, no matter what I've played through. Edited October 20, 2011 by Count Bassie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelso Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I would be very happy with my rig if it wasn't for this website! Keep telling myself to stay away from the for sale section as there are too many lovely looking things to buy! At the moment I use a Fender Bassman TV 15 combo. I truly love it and I am truly happy with it. I bought it over gumtree from fellow BChatter gjones who, incidentally, recommended this site to me (cheers Gareth!). It suits me perfectly in regards to the sound I need and portability so yes, I am truly happy. I agree with Truckstop though, folks circumstances can change; a new band, a new sound, back troubles! So I guess you can be truly happy but only on a temporary basis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
retroman Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I was lucky enough a couple of years ago to be in the position to buy a new amp, and spent quite a while in a shop that had a lot of bass amps, and with an open mind, tried all of them! Tried all the transistor/ hybrid stuff first, and most seemed to need a lot of time fiddling with gadgets on the amp to get a semi reasonable tone from them, but still sounded lacking. Was quite impressed with the MarkBass stuff, but couldn't get my head around all the bright yellow! Last one I tried was an Ampeg SVT CL, and loved it straight away. Still got it. The weight of it is a killer though, and I can appreciate why this puts some people off. A few months ago GAS got the better of me, and I bought a Marshall VBA400 advertised on this site. Loving the Marshall as well. Way more powerful than the Ampeg, and gives very loud drummers something to think about! Gets a lot dirtier than the Ampeg tone wise, which is great for all the heavy rock/ metal stuff I do. Despite the Marshall having an extra two power tubes, it is a fair bit lighter than the Ampeg. Both amps sound great through the Ampeg 610HLF cab. So, all in all, very happy with my lot. I do keep looking at the Orange Ad200, and the Matamp stuff though............ Each to their own though, people like different things, for different reasons Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 [quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1312466066' post='1327073']Hmmm, I would put to you that nobody will ever be truly happy with their rig for a substantial period of time. Fashions change, circumstances change, attitudes change. Truckstop[/quote] Very good point that Alex. I`m very happy with my rig at the moment, the Ampeg PF-500 gives me the Ampeg sound (well it would, wouldn`t it, dur) but in an amp I can lift, and the Barefaced Compact & Midget really are amazing, and push that lovely Ampeg sound very well. I tried adding in a pedal last week, to put some valvey-warmth/breakup in, and whilst it did it exceptionally well, I actually preferred the sound of just the Bass/Amp/Speakers, which indicates that I`m happy with what it puts out. I`ll continually lust after SVT stacks, but in real life, I can`t lift/carry them, and for the gigs I do, they aren`t practical anyway. So my rig has the sound I want, in a set-up that`s extremely practical - suits me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Truly happy with their gear? Hell yes although I have way too much, but when I rationalise it out, I can still justify it although based on what I might need in the future rather than what I need right now. It's taken so long to find the right gear at reasonable prices, that I couldn't face having to do it all over again. Next step would be making my own instruments... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wateroftyne Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I naively realised a while ago that the sound in my head only exists as recordings made in top-end US studios during the 1970s. I've stopped spending money trying to replicate it live, and I'm sticking where I am as it's the closest I can get. For now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd_david Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I have had the same amp for about 18 years with no intention of changing it. The cab has changed because of transport situations but has always been 10's So yes, amp wise I am truly happy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deep Thought Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I've had my GB Shuttle 6 for 2 or 3 years now, and feel no urge to change it. Does everything I need, is plenty loud enough for anywhere I'm likely to play, and fits in a laptop bag. With my 2 Ashdown neo 1 X 12's, I can carry my whole rig in one go if I need to. Only thing I want is a spare, for which i wouldn't mind a Markbass of some sort. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I've had my Hartke HA3500 head ever since I started playing "properly" (3.5 years now). I recently changed my cab to lose some weight when lugging stuff around, but I've never taken much interest in amps. I just want something that works. The Hartke HA works well for me and I like how it sounds. Am I happy? For now I am. Requirements evolve and tastes change though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Low End Bee Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I'm pretty happy. A mini class D 500w Tech 21 BDDI head would instantly get bought if it existed though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I find that how happy you are with your gear is dependent with how many gigs you do. The more gigs the less you think about other gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassie Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 [quote name='bertbass' timestamp='1319102297' post='1409820'] I find that how happy you are with your gear is dependent with how many gigs you do. The more gigs the less you think about other gear. [/quote] Right! I start to fiddle if I'm not busy enough... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Fiddle? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassie Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 Fidget?... my kid plays violin, must have been a Freudian slip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LiamPodmore Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I'm sure i've commented on this before, but nonetheless... The only thing i would change about the gear i have no (Amp wise) is the fact that i wish my head was a little lighter. I don't have any cabs as of yet (Till i get paid next week ) so i can't really comment on those. I have had a few dealings with other cabs over the past few months with my head, and i must say, that a Warwick ProFet 5.1 coupled with an Ampeg SVT-810e is one hell of a combination. In short, im not 100% happy, as i don't have any cabs, and i'm still gassing for a Mesa Boogie BB750 + 2x210/2x410/2x212 rig.... Liam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdwardHimself Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 "Is anyone truly happy?" Of course not. It's the human condition to be perpetually unsatisfied with your current situation, it's what is supposed to drive you on to bigger and better things. Of course these days now that our lives are so comfortable and there really isn't much else to strive for in our lives, we end up becoming very depressed because we can't understand why we don't have this ficticious feeling of "happy" that everyone else around us seems to have. It's why countries that have suddenly become economically prosperous like china also have some of the fastest growing suicide rates in the entire world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassie Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 [quote name='EdwardHimself' timestamp='1319107709' post='1409925'] "Is anyone truly happy?" Of course not. It's the human condition to be perpetually unsatisfied with your current situation, it's what is supposed to drive you on to bigger and better things. Of course these days now that our lives are so comfortable and there really isn't much else to strive for in our lives, we end up becoming very depressed because we can't understand why we don't have this ficticious feeling of "happy" that everyone else around us seems to have. It's why countries that have suddenly become economically prosperous like china also have some of the fastest growing suicide rates in the entire world. [/quote] Thread Killer... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alec Posted October 20, 2011 Share Posted October 20, 2011 I'm happy! Had my Status Empathy built for me around 20 years ago, and have never wanted for another bass. If I did buy another one, it'd be another the same to have as a backup, *just* in case. Was always happy with the sound of my Trace 4x10 combo over the same 20 years, but increasingly struggled with the weight. Rather less happy with my Trace BLX-80 practice combo. Replaced the amps last year with a pair of TC RH450s, one with a GenzBenz NEOX-212T for gigging, the other with a GenzBenz STL-10T for practice/tiny gigs. My back is now friends with me again, and I doubt I'll feel the need to change for another 20 years, by which time I might not even be around! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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