psychic vampire. wrote:My only complaint about the Acoustic stuff is that they were surprisingly less loud than i'd been lead to believe from many reports
The usual answer, which I can't backup as I've never experienced it, is that the Acoustic cabs were built to project, specifically the 18" cabs. So while they're supposedly quite up close, the further you walk away the louder it gets.
YMMV, because this is all conjecture. My "stack" is unfortunatly only a little new Acoustic 260ii mini. I dunno about the other new Acoustic stuff, but this thing is supposed to be a faithful repro, sound wise, to the 370 and it sounds amazing. Most of the other new Acoustic crap is dirt cheap, and if I were on a budget I'd be happy to consider it.
I have an old Acoustic rig with a 450 top / 406 2x15 projecting cab. I have tried the top on a non-projecting cab and it was really disapointing both in volume and tone. Hook it up to the 406 cab and with volume at noon it will play so loud it actually pushes air out of your lungs. Kinda like breathing while almost submerged in water. But as bloatedsack mentioned, they are made to spread the rumble across large areas. I have used mine a few times in small to medium sized venues and I think it has been mic'ed only once.
_r_ wrote:Does anyone have an opinion on the lower-end Gallien-Krueger stuff? I'm looking for a decent cheap grab-and-go bass combo (I just have no need for a big rig, for rehearsing I just plug into whatever the rehearsal room has and for gigs, well, my band's playing pretty small venues and soundmen seem to like to DI bass for the front-of-house mix anyway), the studio my band records and rehearses in has an MB150 which I think is a great little amp but way out of my budget, and just after I started playing bass I saw Chris Pravdica from Swans using a GK head when I went to see them so immediately associated that brand with maximum tonez. Looking at probably the MB112 or maybe the MB115 - I've listened to enough dub reggae to convince myself that a 15" speaker may be necessary...
I'm a bit of a GK fan,I have an 700RB and MB115. If you like the sound, the MB115 could work for you, depending on how loud you need your stage volume. If you are in a situation where you can't DI, it may not be loud enough.
The band I play bass in are pretty quiet, we're an alt-country band! Our drummer plays with brushes or rods most of the time so I don't have that usual source of noise to compete with... I have absolutely no idea how bass amp wattage relates to audible volume, whereas with guitar amps I can normally make a fairly good guess...
_r_ wrote:The band I play bass in are pretty quiet, we're an alt-country band! Our drummer plays with brushes or rods most of the time so I don't have that usual source of noise to compete with... I have absolutely no idea how bass amp wattage relates to audible volume, whereas with guitar amps I can normally make a fairly good guess...
The real easy rule of thumb is to triple it. 100 watt guitar head? Give the bassist an SVT, etc.
If the rule is to triple, how do people end up with bass rigs in the thousands of watts? Just overkill and headroom and stuff?
I've yet to run into a situation that my little amp b2re can't handle, which is 250 watts I think. I've never taken it to full doom land, but we do use it in the band I play guitar in which is pretty loud and has three guitar players to compete with.
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_r_ wrote:The band I play bass in are pretty quiet, we're an alt-country band! Our drummer plays with brushes or rods most of the time so I don't have that usual source of noise to compete with... I have absolutely no idea how bass amp wattage relates to audible volume, whereas with guitar amps I can normally make a fairly good guess...
The real easy rule of thumb is to triple it. 100 watt guitar head? Give the bassist an SVT, etc.
On those grounds I wouldn't need much power then - our guitarist uses a Blues Jr...
PeteeBee wrote:If the rule is to triple, how do people end up with bass rigs in the thousands of watts? Just overkill and headroom and stuff?
I've yet to run into a situation that my little amp b2re can't handle, which is 250 watts I think. I've never taken it to full doom land, but we do use it in the band I play guitar in which is pretty loud and has three guitar players to compete with.
Clean headroom is a lot of it but I should specify that I was talking about tubes, I guess. And also that it's somewhat bullshit -- I haven't used more than my OR120 and a 1x15 in a long ass time. Not that I've actually played bass with a band in a few years anyway.
I've started playing bass a lot more this year and been thinking about upgrading my amp as well. I have an older version Ampeg BA-110 40-watt and it sounds alright at low volumes, but I'd like to get a little louder without the buzzing that comes when I dial the volume past 4 or 5.
I don't necessarily want something for gigging, since I don't play with anyone right now. I live in a small house and doubt that I want a 410 or 810 or whatever (as much as I really really do want that). What are some quality bass amps that are somewhere above "dinky practice amp" but still well below "stadium pa"? What the fuck should I be looking for?
This is a very impressive collection of Roto Toms. That's 21 Roto Toms in all. That is only $33.00 a Roto Tom.
Like, I wouldn't mind having however much volume I could possibly need at my disposal, but I don't want something that would be "too loud on zero" as mentioned somewhere above.
This is a very impressive collection of Roto Toms. That's 21 Roto Toms in all. That is only $33.00 a Roto Tom.
For apartment-friendly & potentially giggable depending on your setup, here's some options that'd be an improvement on the BA110:
Ampeg Micro-CL / Micro-VR
Ampeg B100r/B200r -- out of production but pretty common; great sounding
Ashdown 115/112/210 combos (can't remember name/model #s)
GK MB-115
Fender Rumble (I don't personally love these, but they're definitely a good value)
I live in a little townhouse, so I have neighbours on each side including direct to my practice area. You'll find even a small amp is going to be much louder than you realize, but I've done some things.
You can use headphones. I've plugged from insturment/pedals right into a mixer and then into headphones and it works but it doesn't sound right. It's very dry, very "digital" (even when it's not) sounding. It's the most convienent option I've got, but I care for it the least.
You can also plug into an amp with a headphone jack. I'm doing this now. It definatly sounds better than straight mixer, but without a speaker, it still sounds very fake and "digital." I wish I could explain what that means, but you probably already know.
You can plug into a computer. I've done this with Garageband on my Mac. I don't have GB for my mobile device because I don't have the interface to do it with. This sounds the best (next to real, loud, speakers), but for me is highly inconvient with having to boot the computer, start software, etc.
In hindsight, I should've bought an iRig and Garageband for IOS for $40 instead of a used mixer for the same price.
Amp wise, I used to have a Epiphone Valve Jr 5w tube head for guitar plugged into a bass cab. Needed an EQ in front since the EVJ has no tone control at all, but it sounded great. I also have a solid state Acoustic 260ii "mini stack" which packs 100w into a cute little package. That's also my current headphone practice option, as well.
For an apartment, the 100w Acoustic is overkill. The EVJ and a little cab is a way better choice if you don't mind it's lack of bells and whistles.
Thanks for the advice. I prefer having an amp to using headphones for sure. I used to try the headphone route when my kids were alseep and it was ok but...
I'm not concerned as much about my neighbors as I am about the volume inside my house and getting rid of the hiss that my current amp provides at higher volumes.
