To go high end amp or not to go high end amp?

[MSUsousaphone]

Acoustic basses aren't that much louder than electric basses not plugged in. You'll never see me playing on one. I've rocked the standup on occasion....but I have to go to my old college and pick one up from the music department when I do...that's a hassle....and even then it most likely needs to be amped. A small rig like a 115 or 210s is ideal.

In a perfect world, I would just keep the Power Amp, rack it, buy a preamp, get the cabs, and then get a nice combo amp for those small gigs......but I don't got that kind of scratch. I'm sure 90% of the board says that...not thinking I'm alone of this....but I'm in limbo with my decision making, right now.

[coldbrightsunlight]

Oh I get it, acoustic basses aren't that great and uprights are expensive, I just think it's ridiculous that it's called an acoustic show if not everyone is playing acoustic instruments. It's just a quiet show or something. I'm probably just too pedantic about words.

And couldn't you have a large cab for normal gigs and a smaller one for quiet stuff/jamming, running the same pre/power and turn it down? Or are those poweramps seriously heavy or something?

[MSUsousaphone]

I'm with you. I always hated that, too....but there's really not many other options if the bass is going to sound good.

Man. They're insanely heavy. But I'm cool with that. I'm in shape and kinda like labor in some weird way.

Honestly, it's just a gut feeling I can't shake. That....and a wife that puts Scrooge to shame. If I go the Power Amp route, I still have to buy two cabs and a preamp....where if I go the other route, selling both of these power amps would fund a Glock head and cab and leave me only needing one more cab. I put them up in the b/s/t....I haven't made up my mind, yet, but I know both aren't going to sell within the next week or two so it gives me plenty of time to make up my mind.

My moping and emo indecision rants should only last two more weeks at the longest.

[nad]

My version of an "acoustic" bass is a P-bass with the tone knob rolled all the way off, no pedals, and a small amp.

That's how I do acoustic sets. Acoustic basses are good for firewood though. I wish I could play upright, but I suck at them.

[lapsteel]

Okay just to keep tabs.
Op has a Eden rig, wanted a Glock so he bought a mesa power amp and is still undecided.....if only I had hose kind of problems....
Just sell all your excess amps and get the Glock that you really want! Pocket the profits or buy more fuzz!

Regardless, any of your amp choices would satisfy most people.

Personally I always prefer pushing a slightly smaller amp than getting swallowed by a giant at lower volumes... The venue will mic you anyway right?

[WeHuntKings]

The venue will mic you anyway right?

oh dear.

run for your life

[lapsteel]

oh dear.

run for your life[/quote]

Relax, I didn' t say DI... I suspect not many ILFers go direct because of their fuzz loaded pedalboards and killer tube amps... but that is a whole other debate isn' t.....okay I' m gonna start running now.

[MSUsousaphone]

I'm kinda with Lapsteel. I'm cool with playing a smaller rig (like 440 Solid State Watts) than a huge giant monstrosity that I'll never be able to get past 2 on the volume. I mean, if I were playing huge venues, hellz yeah...but what I play is 300 tops. I've been insanely lucky finding great deals or I usually wouldn't be able to afford this stuff.....which is why I'm leaning to the Glock...I can get an old Glock set up (head, 212, 210) for $300 plus selling my Eden rig.....if I keep the Mesa, I'm looking at an Alembic F2B and that combo would be the price of my Eden rig and I'd still have to buy two cabs and a rack to mount them in.

So I'm leaning to the Glock because it saves me $1200 I don't have...and maybe even more because I'd need a combo amp for the "slightly acoustic" gigs......but HOLY SHIT....if I could pair this Mesa 400 up with that Alembic F2B....that would just be fucking sick.

[Bassus Sanguinis]

My version of an "acoustic" bass is a P-bass with the tone knob rolled all the way off, no pedals, and a small amp.

That's how I do acoustic sets. Acoustic basses are good for firewood though. I wish I could play upright, but I suck at them.

oh no no no no no no

Semi-acoustic basses are the best for badass mofo feedbacking - they start to squeal and scream like crazy, right away, and continue from here to eternity!

[nad]

My version of an "acoustic" bass is a P-bass with the tone knob rolled all the way off, no pedals, and a small amp.

That's how I do acoustic sets. Acoustic basses are good for firewood though. I wish I could play upright, but I suck at them.

oh no no no no no no

Semi-acoustic basses are the best for badass mofo feedbacking - they start to squeal and scream like crazy, right away, and continue from here to eternity!

Damn. Good call. I need to try that sometime.

[Blackened Soul]

My version of an "acoustic" bass is a P-bass with the tone knob rolled all the way off, no pedals, and a small amp.

That's how I do acoustic sets. Acoustic basses are good for firewood though. I wish I could play upright, but I suck at them.

oh no no no no no no

Semi-acoustic basses are the best for badass mofo feedbacking - they start to squeal and scream like crazy, right away, and continue from here to eternity!

Damn. Good call. I need to try that sometime.

You should. Even a real cheap one is great for that. If it has a onboard EQ then you can really dial in the feedback freq to drone on different notes

[MSUsousaphone]

So I've made my decision. I'm keeping one. The 500 has a shit load more features. Really, the 400 is just volume and a "presence" switch. The 500 has some features that add some OD and fatness. Pretty cool. But my pedal board covers that a bit.

So I'm keeping the one that doesn't sell, first.

[jmoote]

and getting the Alembic preamp? That's going to be a killer sounding rig. I can't be bothered to carry stuff like that, but I love playing and hearing it!

[MSUsousaphone]

I think I'm going with an old Ashly preamp. It's a little bit cheaper than the Alembic and I hear it'll give a tighter tone. Looking at some Gallien Krueger cabs to cut the cost down, too. I've heard to avoid tweeters....because of the fuzz and stuf. What do you guys think about to tweet or not to tweet?

[jmoote]

Some tweeters like it better than others, and mostly it comes down to personal taste (it can be really harsh with some fuzzes). I turn mine down/off if the situation demands it, but if you foresee this being the case most/all of the time it may be better to get something without so you're not losing the frequencies above the crossover point.