obbm Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 I went to see a friends band on Saturday night. The bass player had a USA Fender Jazz and my original Ashdown rig from 2003/2005. An ABM500EVO2 and 2 x Mini 4x8 cabs. What a wicked growly punchy tone, both inside and outside the pub. Why have I been wasting my money on GAS all these years? Doh!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Some wise sage (Mick Goodrick, I think) once said 'the difficulty with finding your true path lies in the realisation that you are already on it'. I have said here before that I think many of us (myself included) can be distracted by the promise of a new piece of kit when the true improvements come from applied study, practice and discipline. I guess there is a kid in all of us who still thinks that that new piece of kit will be the making of us. Its a fools errand we have all been on. I guess we all need to find a balance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote name='Bilbo' post='814777' date='Apr 22 2010, 11:00 AM']Some wise sage (Mick Goodrick, I think) once said 'the difficulty with finding your true path lies in the realisation that you are already on it'. I have said here before that I think many of us (myself included) can be distracted by the promise of a new piece of kit when the true improvements come from applied study, practice and discipline. I guess there is a kid in all of us who still thinks that that new piece of kit will be the making of us. Its a fools errand we have all been on. I guess we all need to find a balance.[/quote] Super. This is true for everyone, in all walks of life. Do you really think the new iPhone, big telly, new car, silly clothes, flash gaff, expensive watch, etc. etc. are really going to make you happy? I spent many years trying to consume my way to nirvana, but it just doesn't work. Right, where's that new issue of BGM? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieBassman Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 (edited) [quote name='obbm' post='814766' date='Apr 22 2010, 06:55 PM']I went to see a friends band on Saturday night. The bass player had a USA Fender Jazz and my original Ashdown rig from 2003/2005. An ABM500EVO2 and 2 x Mini 4x8 cabs. What a wicked growly punchy tone, both inside and outside the pub. Why have I been wasting my money on GAS all these years? Doh!!![/quote] The reason some of us spend a lot of money on trying to improve our tone is that for a lot of us on here we only hear our bass standing next to our rig. What the punters hear and what we actually sound like to the audience can only be heard out in the crowd. A lot of the time when I get my bass sound to be maybe a killer JE sound or JJB ie really growly when I go out in the crowd it just gets lost in the mix. A lot of venues Iplay in just lose the top and the bottom. Employ your own PA guy , pay him lots and enjoy your perfect sounds as you get more bankrupt every gig. Edited April 22, 2010 by AussieBassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 +1 to all of the above posts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote name='obbm' post='814766' date='Apr 22 2010, 10:55 AM']I went to see a friends band on Saturday night. The bass player had a USA Fender Jazz and my original Ashdown rig from 2003/2005. An ABM500EVO2 and 2 x Mini 4x8 cabs. What a wicked growly punchy tone, both inside and outside the pub. Why have I been wasting my money on GAS all these years? Doh!!![/quote] Dave, my friend - as those present at the 'Mini Bass Bash' here in sunny Norwich will attest - I am in exactly the same boat. The best sounding rig I have ever owned (and yes I bang on about it all the time) was an SVT 2 Pro and two Hartke 4.5XL cabinets. I, like many bass players hurt my back and decided to sell the lot in search for this super lightweight and great sounding gear. Boy, have I spent a great deal of money!! I mean, thousands, not just hundreds of pounds. It actually makes me feel a little sick when I look at the list of kit that has been through my front room. So how does this curved line meet it's beginning? - I took a punt and bought a Hartke Hydrive recently - Hartke's new 'lighter' solution to the 45Kg of my favourite XL cab. I had the opportunity to A/B it with BassCat's 4.5XL and I was happy to report that although sounding different, it defintely had the Hartke trademark in there. I think I may well be smitten and another 410 will no doubt join the roost soon. It is with that realisation - that I think a big Dood style sale will be on the cards soon as I find myself 'coming home' to what I really wanted all along. If only Hydrive was available when I had to sell the 4.5's!! Given the tonal nature of the LH1000 - it's likely I'll give one a go - OR to top off the SVT2 replacement, maybe the SVT 7 Pro or 8 Pro. We shall see, but I am certainly looking forward to a bright (and shiny coned) future with a tone that is all familiar to me. Right.. who wants to see the old gear list???!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Pointless worrying about it... Tone is completely subjective and dependant upon the other instruments in the group and genre of music. Also just because one bass player can make a certain combination of instrument and amp sound good doesn't mean anyone else can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote name='BigRedX' post='814912' date='Apr 22 2010, 12:50 PM']Pointless worrying about it... Tone is completely subjective and dependant upon the other instruments in the group and genre of music. Also just because one bass player can make a certain combination of instrument and amp sound good doesn't mean anyone else can.[/quote] Couldn't agree more. I'm happy with what I have now - for the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy_Marsh Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote]who wants to see the old gear list???!!!![/quote] Go on then, lets have a gander Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casapete Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote name='Bilbo' post='814777' date='Apr 22 2010, 11:00 AM']Some wise sage (Mick Goodrick, I think) once said 'the difficulty with finding your true path lies in the realisation that you are already on it'. I have said here before that I think many of us (myself included) can be distracted by the promise of a new piece of kit when the true improvements come from applied study, practice and discipline. I guess there is a kid in all of us who still thinks that that new piece of kit will be the making of us. Its a fools errand we have all been on. I guess we all need to find a balance.[/quote] Someone I know referred to this as 'reaching the age of enlightenment'. Has taken me a long time and a lot of gear but I'm (nearly) there! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obbm Posted April 22, 2010 Author Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote name='casapete' post='815117' date='Apr 22 2010, 04:05 PM']Someone I know referred to this as 'reaching the age of enlightenment'.[/quote] It's also a case of it's good enough. How many of the punters can actually tell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dood Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 [quote name='Randy_Marsh' post='814929' date='Apr 22 2010, 01:09 PM']Go on then, lets have a gander[/quote] Ok, this is *only* since selling the SVT2 and Hartkes - not the previous 10 years lol! Just off the top of my head... Ampeg SVT2 Pro 2x Hartke 4.5XL Ampeg SVP Black Face Ampeg SVP Hammerite face Ampeg SVP BSP Warwick Quadruplet Trace Elliot V-Type pre Yamaha P5000 Yamaha errr.. another power amp! Powersoft D2004 1u 1KW+1KW poweramp MarkBass F1 TC Electronic GForce TC Electronic C300 TC Electronic Triple-C TC Electronic GMajor 2 Alesis DEQ230 (have bought back!!! lol) Conklin Bill Dickens signature 7 string Tobias Pro 6 Natch Tobias Pro 6 Red Trans Status Energy Fretless 6 EBS Multicomp MXR M80 have bought another Sansamp BDDI Sansamp ParaDriver EBS Multicomp True Bypass Alesis 3630 Comp Behringer Autocom BBE Sonic Maximiser TC Electronic Nova Dynamics BOSS ODB-3 Peavey 2600 poweramp Hartke Hydrive 410 Line 6 X3 Live Line 6 UX2 Shuker 'Doodle' Shuker 'Baby Doodle' Epifani UL-610 6x10 2x Tech SoundSystems ND410S cabs ISP Technologies 1KW active Bass cabinet ISP Technologies BETA bass preamp There's a few items I haven't added as they aren't directly related to my main 'gear'. I'm hoping to end up with a couple of Hartke cabs, my Shukers, Amp and little effects, back where I started and was happiest! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris2112 Posted April 22, 2010 Share Posted April 22, 2010 Me, I just enjoy having a new toy to play with every now and again! And if it sounds good, brilliant! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike257 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I've gone right back. When I was 14, I got my first bass, a Squier Affinity P Special, and (aside from a brief dabble in Ibanez) it was my first choice until I made the big jump to a Stingray six years later. I kept the Squier, for nostalgia's sake, and gradually tarted it up with Badass, Wizards, etc, but never tried using it with the band as my 'proper' basses had that sewn up. Fast forward to about 5 weeks ago - one of the strings on my Sandberg pops its windings mid-rehearsal and the only bass to hand is my Squier. Despite the dirty looks from my bandmates, I plugged it in, tweaked the amp EQ a bit, and there is this monsterous bass tone jumping out at me. Every week, at least one of them says 'I still can't believe how good that bass sounds', and it's getting it's first live run out since 2004 next week. I'm loving the passive P-bass simplicity, and in no hurry to play anything else! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 [quote name='BigRedX' post='814912' date='Apr 22 2010, 12:50 PM']Pointless worrying about it... Tone is completely subjective and dependant upon the other instruments in the group and genre of music. Also just because one bass player can make a certain combination of instrument and amp sound good doesn't mean anyone else can.[/quote] and you didn't include the influence of acoustics either - both on stage and in the audience. Its a gamble at the best of times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stag Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I was present watching Dood using those Hartke's at "Bass'N'Biscuits" on Monday - it really is his tone, the tone I heard the first time I saw him aaaaaages ago with 2x Hartke 4.5's and an SVT2 on top (although on Monday it was a V-Type... still valvey lol). Im still GASsing for certain things, may be buying what in essence is my dream amp over the weekend... watch this space - hopefully that will be the end of my "tone search"! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sibob Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I've been pretty happy for the last couple of years really, I've had peripheral basses come in and out, but my core MIA Jazz and '73 Jazz and now MIA 5er Jazz have made me very happy. My Ashdown mini 48 & 15 are awesome, my ABM500II is brilliant, I've started to really like the Orange Terror, but only because it has a similar sound my Ashdown....at half the size and weight ha! I've also recently discovered Precisions , so loving my Japanese Squier, and perhaps....maybe....another Precision soon Si Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
discreet Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 [quote name='Stag' post='815903' date='Apr 23 2010, 10:40 AM']hopefully that will be the end of my "tone search"![/quote] I think we both know that it won't be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fat Rich Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 [quote name='BigRedX' post='814912' date='Apr 22 2010, 12:50 PM']Pointless worrying about it... Tone is completely subjective and dependant upon the other instruments in the group and genre of music. Also just because one bass player can make a certain combination of instrument and amp sound good doesn't mean anyone else can.[/quote] In the '80s I really wanted that Marcus Miller sound (even though my slap playing was rubbish!). All the fender basses I could afford were a bit dodgy and there was no way I could afford an SWR rig. I recently saw an interview with him talking about his old '70s Jazz bass and how he knows exactly where all the dead spots and rattly frets are on that particular bass, and knows how to work with the problems rather than against them to get the best tone. I reckon if I played his bass and rig I'd sound exactly like me, a bit rubbish. Nowadays, I sound like a combination of my playing style and the gear I happen to have ended up with. So long as it doesn't sound terrible sometimes it's worth sticking with it and seeing if you can find your own voice with the gear you've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwi Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 I've heard that there is nothing remarkable about Marcus's jazz bass at all. Its very bog standard sounding even with the preamp mod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted April 23, 2010 Share Posted April 23, 2010 [quote name='BigRedX' post='814912' date='Apr 22 2010, 12:50 PM']Pointless worrying about it... Tone is completely subjective and dependant upon the other instruments in the group and genre of music. Also just because one bass player can make a certain combination of instrument and amp sound good doesn't mean anyone else can.[/quote] The biggest + I've ever added to anything! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.