colan Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Hello I'm looking for suggestions for a bass amp for chord playing. I want to be able to hear all my strings and notes clearly- not in a rumbly ' lump ' My Fender Rumble 500 is useless for this. I've tried every possible setting with five different basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burns-bass Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Lots of questions… What bass, strings and pedal set up are you using? Its easy to blame the amp but worth considering other variables (including technique). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colan Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 10 minutes ago, Burns-bass said: Lots of questions… What bass, strings and pedal set up are you using? Its easy to blame the amp but worth considering other variables (including technique). Well, I play a range of basses- but let's say a Human Base Roxy 5 with round-wounds and no pedals at all. I'll post a technique clip for you shortly- on a cheap Chinese Fodera copy through my desk-top monitors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colan Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 (edited) Best bring the volume down some. Edited March 27 by colan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colan Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 That's quite ' stringy ' as you can hear- and with good solid low 'B' response . That's through a pair of Fostex 8" monitors. The Fender can't reproduce that so I need a gigging bass amp for that stringy sound with chord work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 You need large and powerful full range monitors to reproduce that at volume. How much do you want to spend? You aren't going to get away with a couple of hundred quid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colan Posted March 27 Author Share Posted March 27 32 minutes ago, Dan Dare said: You need large and powerful full range monitors to reproduce that at volume. How much do you want to spend? You aren't going to get away with a couple of hundred quid. For the sound I want I'll pay what it takes. What did you have in mind ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boodang Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 An active PA speaker might be the answer. I use a LD Systems Icoa 15a. Full range, 15" with coaxial horn and 300 watts. £380 new. Copes with my double bass, 5 string high C and my Ekit all at gig volumes and it's clear sounding. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingPrawn Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Defo invest if FRFR speaker. Lots of questions. Do you need an amp to fill a room or just into PA? Budget? What other instruments will you be playing with as the range in this clip can easily get lost if you have many complimentary frequencies from other players like Keys, or guitar? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ambient Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 I often play chordal pieces. It's more to do with your voicing and technique than gear. Make sure you have no unwanted strings sounding, muting is important. I use a wrap-around string mute, though a hair band will work. Players I was inspired by with chords were Todd Johnson and Steve Lawson. A lot of my voicings were learned from Steve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) Could be worth looking at what other bassists use that you admire and who play same or similar style. When i play chords i like a very clean amp sound so maybe something like an EBS, Genz Benz Shuttle, possibly a Markbass would work well. As others have mentioned earlier a lot depends on your technique and what pick ups you use. I only use the bridge pick up for chordal playing. I find using my thumb as you do tends to produce a dull or more bass focused tone especially playing up at the neck as you are in the vid clip. Would maybe drop bass level a touch and boost some mids to sharpen the tone. What settings you have on the bass itself will affect it too. All the best with your search and journey and i'm curious to see where you go with it. I enjoyed your playing and the song so keep us posted. Dave Edited March 27 by dmccombe7 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 (edited) 4 hours ago, colan said: For the sound I want I'll pay what it takes. What did you have in mind ? It depends on what you like. It also depends very much on how much volume you need to produce. You need to audition gear and explore plenty of options. Don't buy on recommendation and don't listen to us. We all suffer from confirmation bias and will tend to suggest what we own or like. You wouldn't like what I use, because I aim for a more fat, old-school sound, so pointless my mentioning it. As far as dedicated bass gear is concerned, the Barefaced Big Baby or Super Twin are both full range cabs. Other makes are available, but they do have a deserved reputation for being accurate and able to handle power. Pair one (or more) of them with a powerful, transparent head such as a Bergantino Forte and you should be getting warm. Or you could look at a bass preamp plus power-amp rather than a bass head. You need plenty of power and headroom in amplification for a full range sound and to avoid the "rumbly lump". The other possible route is one or more powered PA cabs (often referred to as FRFR) plus a suitable preamp. I'd strongly suggest ignoring bargain plastic box PA cabs. They are not FRFR (full range, flat response) at anything other than very low volumes, despite claims to the contrary. You'll have to do your own research as far as prices go, but I'd say you would need to spend a minimum of £2k. If you need high volumes, quite a bit more. Edited March 27 by Dan Dare 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmccombe7 Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 Good shout on the Berg gear. Had forgotten about them. Probably one of THE best clean amps on the market. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Blank Posted March 27 Share Posted March 27 I play a lot of chords on bass in my little band. I use a QSC K12.2 FRFR set up. Bass > Effectrode PC-2A > Grace Design Alix > QSC K12.2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spencer.b Posted March 28 Share Posted March 28 I can see that the fender rumble is all wrong for you, how about a gallien Krueger rb700 head , great for sparkly high end , into a vanderkley cab maybe , very expensive but super accurate and open sounding Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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