I hate amps

[maddog]

You want to set the gain to prevent clipping at maximum bass input. Then use the volume to adjust for the mix. Although with tubes, you may want to salt to taste.

 

[pattiejay]

You won't be dissapointed.EBMM sound great with GK amps. IMO they really let the natural sound of your bass come through with very little coloring. I did an a/b comparison in the studio of the post/pre EQ of the D.I. on my 1001RBII and there was virtually no difference.

haven't tried GK's, but i have to say Eden amps are also very cool for those who hate knob-tweaking - flat, they sound AWESOME, especially with stingrays...

 

[MingusBASS]

Which one did you get?

I got the ABM 500 EVO II. It's a great sounding head.

Andrew

 

[Psycho Ward]

but i will take you guys' advice and try the whole process again. i appreciate the help ... anyonw have an SVT CLassic here? and suggestions? also ... how do you guys balance gain vs. volume? i think the devil may be in that balance.

thanks a bunch guys

Hey Phatty, I don't have a Classic SVT (yet ), but I've got the B-15-R and it sounds similar to what you've described before, all tube but only 100 watts. It has a Gain, Bass, Mid, Frequency (5 way selector), Treble and Master knobs. I my experiments there seems to be a sweet spot with the Gain setting, I get a good thing happing around 10:00 to 12:00 o'clock. The Freq knob I usually use the 1st and 2nd setting, mids boosted a little, 2:00 o'clock. Treble to taste and have the bass boost button in, the tweeters off on both 15'' cabs and it sounds pretty damn good, but it's only a hundred watts, but a good sounding 100 watts!

 

[phatduckk]

ok so ive funally got my amp sounding how i like ... and it sits well in the band mix to boot

first off thanks to all of you for the advice. much appreciated guys!!!

ok ... so i forget the exact settings I have on the head now but its close to flat but not quite. the main, main thing was the volume vs gain and the devilish horn on the cab. i usually have the horn all the way off but i ended up, on a random whim, turning it up a tad and it helped a lot (its set to maybe 7:00 ish 0 so just a hair above "off"). the secret sauce are the stainless steal super slinksys (SSSS as i like to call em) ... these strings are genius.

in the midst of all this tweaking i bought a speakon cable and a planet wave inst cable. i tweaked sooo much stuff that I have no idea if either of these made a difference.

ok so the best thing is that im running the knobs on my Sterling flat. ive always been an "all dials at 10" guy w/ the on board preamp. so instead of that i upped the gain and now can actually use my preamp on the bass to its full effect ... and holy hot damn does a small turn of the dial make a big difference on these bad boys.

ya so ... when going thru this process i did a setup on my basses too (thanks for the EBMM FAQ page - Jon was that your info?). oh ya, and realized my gear rules. w/ the Sterling and teh SVT (a minimalistic amp) i could do anything. im stoked about this. last thing i needed/wanted was amp GAS. LOL

anyways. im stoked and i thought id share teh end result and thank all of you for your input.

thanks boys,
Arin

 

[roballanson]

I'm loving how plug and play the Ashdown/EBMM combo is. The Ashdown sounds great, the EBMM sounds great, tweak to the room where/when needed-DONE!

Andrew

I totally agree andrew. We practiced last night and one of the knobs (the bass control) on my SR5 had been knocked in the bag. Everything seemed a little too boomy - very un Ashdown. So flatten every thing off, select the switch position nearest the neck and bingo I was me again.....

The Ashdown/stingray combo is a cracker IMHO.

 

[strummer]

I used to hate amps, but then I got an Aguilar AG500 and two GS112.
Now I just set all controls flat, the Bongo flat and enjoy the most awsome sound ever.
Funny thing is, if I use the preamp on either the Bongo or the Aggie, the "sound signature" doesn't change, it's more like "more that, less this".

Some people say you should get a preamp with tons of adjustments. I say get good stuff and it won't disappoint you.

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

<--- Upgraded 'Peg B-100R plus a '65 B-15N Fliptop...all I'll ever need/want...

 

[MingusBASS]

<--- Upgraded 'Peg B-100R plus a '65 B-15N Fliptop...all I'll ever need/want...

Those B 100R Combos are a great little combos. I have one and since I can't really justify/afford a B 15 right now it will do the trick for practicing/very small gigs.

Andrew

 

[Bill]

ok so the best thing is that im running the knobs on my Sterling flat. ive always been an "all dials at 10" guy w/ the on board preamp. so instead of that i upped the gain and now can actually use my preamp on the bass to its full effect ... and holy hot damn does a small turn of the dial make a big difference on these bad boys.

It's like getting completely new equipment, huh? I used to do the same thing...turn all of the EQ knobs on the bass to 10. Then I started setting my amp (a mediocre little Fender BXR-200 combo) and my 'Ray flat. I'd then adjust the EQ from the bass's controls. Been having excellent sound ever since!

 

[Funky Chicken]

I leave my amp eq pretty much flat. My standard knob settings on the Sterling are with the bass and treble just above the center notch and the mids just below the center notch.
Less is more with eq, especially when you combine an active bass with a modern amp.

 

[mike not fat]

You can go mad about your sound when it comes to handdle with knobs on the amp and on the bass.
I use a HH Bongo and a Markbass amp with EQ and filters (and a cab with tweakable horn). So too avoid getting mad, i use to set everything flat on the Bongo first, tweaking the amps knob to get the sound i want (usually a little less bass too avoid being boomy, more low and high mids to get punch and the highs and horn also a bit boosted to fit well in the mix). Then, while playing, i just use the Bongos eq and pick-ups to adjust the sound on what I need. And that works really well.
In the Markbass users manual, they give an advice I try to keep in mind : considere the eq as fine tuning, to help you deal with the sound of the room or stage you are playing on.

MNF

 

[steverino]

I have an older svt, so can't help too much there. I don't typically haul it out to gigs anyway.

I do totally agree with the sr5 (single pu) having enough eq to make minor adjustments tonally.

I used to hate amps....and fiddle with knobs, particularly when I used graphic eq heads(trace elliot, hartke)....good sounds, but always fiddling !

And I was always afraid of the parametric eq's , and in stores,could never get them to sound right. I think mostly because they just take some time.

It took a couple of weeks of using an eden head (wt800) , which oddly enough, is usually set very close to flat, to be able to dial in/out sounds/tones I liked/disliked.

But after getting the hang of it, I would never be able to use a graphic eq again !

 

[Dr Stankface]

I love all the knobs on my GK 1001RB-II. That's because I like to travel around tone land. Best head i've ever played through and I highly doubt i'll be buying anything but GK from now on.

Andrew

 

[smallequestrian]

<--- Upgraded 'Peg B-100R plus a '65 B-15N Fliptop...all I'll ever need/want...

Dude, how did you upgrade the B100R? I love mine, just curious as to what you did.

 

[Dr. Nick]

...ok so the best thing is that im running the knobs on my Sterling flat. ive always been an "all dials at 10" guy w/ the on board preamp. so instead of that i upped the gain and now can actually use my preamp on the bass to its full effect ... and holy hot damn does a small turn of the dial make a big difference on these bad boys...

+1

I run everything pretty flat on my amp, (and do not even use the graphic eq), and yeah, boy-howdy, the EQ on that Sterling is the Shi'ite

I never have to tweak the head, and I can go from roots reggae-low to Geddy Lee twang with those 3 knobs!

Thank you, EB.

 

[Steve Dude Barr]

 

[Reet]

as usual

There's too many knobs ... i get confused.

Just when I thought i was all happy with my tone I up and changed my mind last week some time. So last night i went to the studio with Joey in hand (my BD Sterling). I went in, biased the stv classic, setup the bass and then sat down for a knob tweaking session.

Eh, this is the most frustrating thing ever. the amp has knobs, the bass has knobs and then theres the horn which is 98% useless - but those last 2% make a huge difference in the tone.

anyways ... im just venting. we've all been thru this and its a pain in the ass. I got somewhere tho: nice, kills little kids boom on the lows and some ok sounding highs. gotta tweak that a bit. anyways; i got somewhere; monday ill see how it sounds in the band mix (the real test) and do some more tweaking there im sure.

oh ya ... so i finally decided it was time to run the knobs on my Sterling flat ... or at least use that as a starting point. honestly, i tried and tried and i kept gravitating towards cranking em all the way up again. i might go thru this whole process again later today just to try and get the knobs on the bass set flat.

anyways ... who else hates amp?

dude, you hate everything, but that's what i love about you. besides, if you haven't figured out how to play with knobs...i'd say we have a bigger problem on our hands.

 

[shamus63]

dude, you hate everything, but that's what i love about you. besides, if you haven't figured out how to play with knobs...i'd say we have a bigger problem on our hands.

Oh yeah! You'll fit in just fine around here!

 

[hankSRay]

I love all the knobs on my GK 1001RB-II. That's because I like to travel around tone land. Best head i've ever played through and I highly doubt i'll be buying anything but GK from now on.

Andrew

That head is amazing bro, I'm loving mine.