Guest MoJo Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Following advice given on a couple of threads I recently started, I have come to the conclusion that the only way I'm ever going to be happy with my live sound is to invest in some decent gear. Although my Trace 122H could hardly be classified as cheap tat, in the grand scheme of things, it's at the lower end of the scale of what one would consider giggable. I'm just going to have to save my pennies if I want to achieve a live sound I'm happy with. The Barefaced 'Vintage' cab sounds like it might be just the job and with a decent valve amp on top, I should be grinding like a good'un. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who is absolutely blown away with the £100 bargain they picked up on eBay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john_the_bass Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I've played plenty of cheap gear that I thought was perfectly adequate. The only possible exception I can think of is the Behringer stack I used at a gig once, that was frankly bloody awful. There's an idea that a good musician can get a good sound out of any old tut - I'm not saying that I'm that great, but that's always stuck in my mind and I've always been able to get an acceptable sound out of any gear I've used - from the sort of budget stuff you see in some rehearsal rooms to high end rigs and instruments. It comes down to personal taste at the end of the day - I don't like a particularly hi fi sound with an electric guitar or bass, so haven't especially liked some of the amps that produce hi-fi sounds, but I love it with an acoustic guitar and like what the AER amps do. Sadly I can't afford one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OutToPlayJazz Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 That phrase is absolutely true. Period. Nuff said! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrenochrome Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 (edited) [quote name='bassman2790' post='467698' date='Apr 20 2009, 06:04 PM']Although my Trace 122H could hardly be classified as cheap tat, in the grand scheme of things, it's at the lower end of the scale of what one would consider giggable.[/quote] There are actually a lot of people gigging regularly with much worse gear than that. Whatever works for you is, by definition, right for you. There are worse things to spend your money on! Edited April 20, 2009 by Adrenochrome Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stan_da_man Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 A modern day Ibanez or Squier is just as good as any professional instrument in the hands of a good bass player. It may be a case of bad sound = bad bass player... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGit Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 My bargain recommendation is always the same: Peavey Combo 300 Seies one or two, 1x15 Black Widow speaker, free Swartzenegger body building course thrown in. You get a fine sound for rock and club work, more ooomph than you'll need to scare the guitarists and they are really cheap - now that is. They were mid range when new about 25 years ago. Oh and any that are still around really look rock and roll It's just like Hi fi stuff. The difference between rock bottom and midrange is huge. The difference between midrange and top of the range (in terms of sound) is marginal and subjective, and very, very costly. You can see below what I gig with and I'm happy with all of it in different circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Not quite £100, but I picked up a half functional Hartke 3500 head for 140 notes. Once I got the valve preamp working (burned out resistor in the power rectification stage for the valve) I've been delighted with it. It does happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmansky Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 although my squier is not in the £100 bracket i personally think ive got just as good sound now as i had before with a more exspensive bass. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ped Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I got a 400w 1u digital poweramp for £90, and an SWR 4x8 and 1x15 setup for £200. Couldn't be happier - sometimes I think 'fashionable' amplifiers and especially speakers are largely marketing and gumpf which makes no difference in anything other than price, as Alex, among others, have shown. I really don't think price is a factor which gear can be judged by in terms of sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 (edited) [quote name='OldGit' post='467738' date='Apr 20 2009, 06:48 PM']My bargain recommendation is always the same: Peavey Combo 300 Seies one or two, 1x15 Black Widow speaker, free Swartzenegger body building course thrown in. You get a fine sound for rock and club work, more ooomph than you'll need to scare the guitarists and they are really cheap - now that is. They were mid range when new about 25 years ago. Oh and any that are still around really look rock and roll [/quote] Horses for courses really. I've always hated the older Peavey bass gear; the Black Widow is arguably my least favourite speaker that I've ever used (had one for about 2 years and hated every second of it, but I generally like a very papery-sounding speaker). I love Trace though, and would be happy to use it now if my back could cope. A while back I tried most of the stuff in the Gallery with my old Rick and my Sei Melt, and my favourite was a new Trace rig (no great surprise to me to be honest; just a shame I couldn't carry it anymore). I recently bought an Epifani UL502, and although I haven't used it in anger yet so far I prefer my Ashdown ABM500 (£300 off ebay)for most stuff. I bought it because I expected it to sound far better with my Seis, and to be honest, it doesn't, at least yet. Marginally better maybe, but no more. If it doesn't lift its game live I'll be selling it on. FWIW I've used various tube heads over the years and I'd take my Ashdown over any of them with the possible exception of my old Marshall Superbass. Of course with all of the above YMMV. FWIW I also played an Ibanez SR506 (£500 approx) in the Gallery and liked it more than most of the exotica (far more than the F Bass!) in there so I think it's just about finding something you like that works for you; there are no hard and fast rules. Edited April 20, 2009 by 4000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 [quote name='bassman2790' post='467698' date='Apr 20 2009, 06:04 PM']I'd be interested to hear from anyone who is absolutely blown away with the £100 bargain they picked up on eBay.[/quote] This was £125, but it was a bit more to got and get and needed work: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
escholl Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 (edited) my amp and both cabs were bought off of here for only 80 quid total...granted, it needed a little work, but it was still bloody cheap for what it is. and i honestly can't see myself parting with it. i think sometimes, for [i]some[/i] people, it is too easy to simply blame the equipment. Edited April 20, 2009 by escholl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassmansky Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 i sometimes play through an old 1x15 cab at rehearsal,think its a home made job from years ago and its the best sounding 15" cab i have ever heard.when the owner decides to sell its mine for £50! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cytania Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Live sound thoughts - expensive gear can't alter bad venue acoustics, bad electrical supply and grounding (humumumzzt). You've also got to be able to turn you back on it after setting up without worrying too much about it disappearing (instruments more so than amplification). There certainly are some bad amps out there (shagged out Peavey Century hang your head in shame) but most give a decent sound. Much of what we play will be bonding in with the drums anyway. So long as it's loud enough... I sort of got into bass to get away from 'voicing-itis', an affliction of electric guitar players (ooh maybe with more reverb?, no delay then?, chorus perhaps?, tweak the gain and... it sounds like mud). Part the trouble with playing live is the audience should be getting the best sound and up on stage it's second best. Not sure you can always trust soundboard or video recordings. Perhaps nearest you can get to objectivity is if another band is playing similar stuff on the same equipment... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamster Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 There are some real bargains to be had from the for sale forums here - stuff ebay! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
niceguyhomer Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I've learned the hard way that you don't need a Rolls Royce to deliver the milk. I've gone backwards with my rig and I'm now using the cheapest gear I've ever had and I'm happy as the proverbial pig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hatori Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 [quote name='Hamster' post='467826' date='Apr 20 2009, 08:38 PM']There are some real bargains to be had from the for sale forums here - stuff ebay![/quote] Amen to that one. I have had some cracking gear from guys on here and like to think Ive made some new friends too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Yamaha RBX170 £20, it's the only bass I use to noodle on at home now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve-soar Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 Twenty quid??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynepunkdude Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 [quote name='steve-soar' post='467842' date='Apr 20 2009, 08:57 PM']Twenty quid???[/quote] Yep (or £30, pretty sure £20 though) off of our very own Josh3184, needed some work when it got here (of course) but now it plays like a dream. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MoJo Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 [quote name='Stan_da_man' post='467731' date='Apr 20 2009, 06:38 PM']A modern day Ibanez or Squier is just as good as any professional instrument in the hands of a good bass player. It may be a case of bad sound = bad bass player...[/quote] I don't mean the bass so much as the amplification. Bad playing doesn't come into it when even playing an open string doesn't produce a big broad grin. No matter how I alter the EQ on the amp, I can't get any of my basses to sound remotely like this [attachment=24158:The_Running_Free.mp3] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steviedee Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I bought two double basses and a cello in the Barras market in Glasgow for £75 all in, the basses are both sorted and are great, cost a bit more to fix em up but a proper bargain. I recently bought an Ashdown LG 1000 for £269 which was ridiculously cheap and it sounds pretty cool to me I've owned and used loads of amps and cabs I wouldn't say it particularly lacked quality, the wee guy in his pants on the front looks a bit sh*t mind you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grumble Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 (edited) Got a Carlsboro bass combo coming my way in a couple of months (dunno the model, couple of years old I think) and cant complain about the price.... FREE Should keep an old cheapskate happy for a little while and if there is something I dont like about the sound I will just remember how much it cost me Edited April 20, 2009 by grumble Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cheddatom Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I think I could get a good bass sound out of almost any amp, as long as I had some pedals with me. Since my Laney head blew up about 8 years ago, i've used a Peavey TNT combo with a BW 15" and I love it. Adding a guitar amp using the bi-amp feature really sets it off. I bought it for £150 or something, and I bought a 1 x 12" guitar amp for £50. I did upgrade the guitar amp later, but only because the opportunity came up. It was an amazing sounding rig for £200. Incidentally, I had to give the upgraded guitar amp back, and the old 1 x 12" is broken, so I bought a 2 x 10" Behringer extension cab from someone off here. Obviously it's not bi-amped so it's having a very different effect, but the amount of extra low end produced by the behringer cab is amazing! I was very shocked. I'm convinced that I'll only ever buy bargains from now on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twigman Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I bought my Squier JV 62 Precision for £149 in 1983 - it's now worth significantly more than that but it was still cheap enough at the time for me to be mildly embarrassed that it was [i]only[/i] a Squier - it plays beautifully. I got a homemade 1x15 cab (this was nowhere near as bad as you'd think - really heavy and growly) and a Carlsboro head for £25 - can't complain - I sold them for much more than that!! I am currently amp free - looking for an Ampeg head and a 4x10 for sub £100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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