Vintage Bass Tone without Vintage Price and Weight

[trpullen]

I need something that I can take my passive P/J bass out and do some serious damage with a drummer. I want it to sound like an ampeg SVT and 810 stack but I don't want all the weight.

What do I do?

[bongomania]

Easy! Tech21 VT Bass pedal, micro head by Genz Benz or Markbass, and an ultralight cab by Schroeder, Genz, or Low Down Sound.

[TedintheShed]

I need something that I can take my passive P/J bass out and do some serious damage with a drummer. I want it to sound like an ampeg SVT and 810 stack but I don't want all the weight.

What do I do?

What is your price range?

[trpullen]

actually, price range is not terribly important. I just don't want something sounding "HIFI".

[TedintheShed]

Perhaps the new Acoustic head with a 15 will suit you. Preamp it with a Sansamp Bass Driver.

[trpullen]

I have the Sansamp BassDI and have actually gigged with it alone (on a PA with killer monitors and side fills). Good tone....easy load in. ;)

[TedintheShed]

I have the Sansamp BassDI and have actually gigged with it alone (on a PA with killer monitors and side fills). Good tone....easy load in. ;)

That is the beauty of that pedal- the most versatile pedal you can buy. It is the Swiss Army Knife of bassdom.

[AL30]

I need something that I can take my passive P/J bass out and do some serious damage with a drummer. I want it to sound like an ampeg SVT and 810 stack but I don't want all the weight.

What do I do?

Hire a roadie.

You can get close but the real thing wins every time. Part of the beauty of that amp/cab combo is the HUGE push you get when you hit a note. You feel it.

AL

[trpullen]

I know....geez....;)

I may end up getting the real thing and calling it a day.

[trpullen]

Or the Eden Tube Head and 610 Cab? Would that be too HiFi?

[TedintheShed]

Or the Eden Tube Head and 610 Cab? Would that be too HiFi?

Yeah, those have preamps designed by James Demeter IIRC.

[walterw]

sansamp, lightweight pro audio power amp (some new ones are insanely light and still massively powerful, like 1000w+, weighing 16lbs!) and a high-wattage 6x10 cab with no horn?

[musicofanatic5]

Screw that pedal crap, we're talking bass here! Blackface Showman head and compact single 15" (or two). Managable weight, give you the real sound, enough power to cause some minor trouble, but not too much.

[bongomania]

He said "serious damage", not "minor trouble". He needs power, not the approval of ancient snobs. ;)

[wingwalker]

In real world settings there are a few things that will kind of get close to an SVT but nothing even comes close to nailing the real thing...sad but true.

[rsm]

SVT stack vs. lightweight alternative with vintage sound.

There will be a compromise. For tone and feel, it can be done. I use a Tech 21 Programmable Bass Driver DI into a Bose L1 Model II system with 2 B1 Bass Modules. I have other Tech 21 Character series pedals for guitar, I don't have the SVT for bass. I can get the tones and feel I want (I use SS preamps or hybrids when I had bass amps). It doesn't move air, it does fill a good area with sound, like the stage, but its not going to knock you over. The Bose breaks down into several components and can be set-up in a few minutes which is the cost for lighter weight. It sure beats my old 4x10 Mesa Boogie + 1x18 CerwinVega folded horn + rack for ease of transport. Even better than my ADA bass rig which was small for the time (purchased in '93, sold in '09).

Bass preamps (I still have a Trace Elliot MP11) also sound great with the Bose system.

Before I got the Bose, I was thinking active PA cabs, like the JBL EON 515 ( x 2) + EON 518 + a small line mixer. These are pretty lightweight, and small.

[AL30]

I know....geez....;)

I may end up getting the real thing and calling it a day.


Yeah, sorry - I know that comment was a buzz kill. I don't have a real one either. I've got a SVTIII rackmount from the 80's into a 4x10" cab. It's not bad but it's not the real deal.

:beer

AL

[Jamar]

I'm using an old mustang bass. It seems to have what appears to be a single strat pickup. In my experience a low output pickup probably can help to what I would call a "vintage" tone...

here's a clip of it in action (http://www.seedsandroots.org/wp-content/uploads/Detroit-City.mp3). This is un-mixed but it can a reference...

[trpullen]

I guess I need to be realistic here. If I want to play something light and pretty, I will take my SansAmp and a powered cab out and be done with it. I am looking to be loud and rude (with a mouth full of food).

I have been playing lead guitar too long and am feeling the call to get back with my bass roots. I want to join up with some of my friends and play Replacements tunes and some REM stuff and maybe some Clash. I may even want to throw in some WILCO along the way.

What you have all kinda shown me along this path is, I need to suck it up and get an SVT and Cab. It will likely be a 410 just because I really don't need the 810....but who knows. Maybe I will compromise and get the 610 just to be sure. ;)

[AL30]

I have been playing lead guitar too long and am feeling the call to get back with my bass roots. I want to join up with some of my friends and play Replacements tunes and some REM stuff and maybe some Clash. I may even want to throw in some WILCO along the way.

What you have all kinda shown me along this path is, I need to suck it up and get an SVT and Cab. It will likely be a 410 just because I really don't need the 810....but who knows. Maybe I will compromise and get the 610 just to be sure. ;)

I really like the way your set list is going so far. Excellent choices. You won't get any gigs playing good music but let me know when you practice and I'll show up.

Ampeg makes 2 4x10 cabs. The bigger cab is the better sounding of the two (to my ears) and is probably a good in between for you. I think it's the HLF cab - it has the built in dolly and comes with a coupon for a discount on your first hernia operation.

AL

[trpullen]

I really like the way your set list is going so far. Excellent choices. You won't get any gigs playing good music but let me know when you practice and I'll show up.

AL

Oh, I will get the gigs...just won't get paid for any of them. ;) I have enough friends that will let us play. :band