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Topic: Fans of bass amps |
Chris Rice
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 7 Jan 2014 10:07 am |
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More often than not, I find myself playing through bass amps. My main gig rig is a '66 Ampeg B-15 with a Jensen EM-1550 speaker. For rehearsals, I'm generally playing through a GK 800RB and Bag End 12/15 stack with EV speakers, an early '80s Fender Bassman 135 with 2x15, or GK 1001RB-II with a Bag End S15 stack.
I love the low end thump, quick response, and dynamic range. Am I really that alone in this?
I'm a non-pedal player, but my dad's PSG is incredible through the 800RB/Bag End stack.
That said, I hate playing through modern bass cabs with tweeters. |
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Brett Lanier
From:
Madison, TN
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Posted 7 Jan 2014 10:21 am
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| I used a B15 on a session once and loved it. I think Lloyd Green used one too on his earliest recordings before going to a twin reverb or deluxe. |
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Tim Marcus
From:
San Francisco, CA
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Posted 7 Jan 2014 11:37 am
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on the other end, Fender Twins are commonly used as bass amps
_________________
Milkmansound.com |
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Chris Rice
From:
Illinois, USA
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Posted 7 Jan 2014 12:02 pm
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| Brett Lanier wrote: |
| I used a B15 on a session once and loved it. I think Lloyd Green used one too on his earliest recordings before going to a twin reverb or deluxe. |
For some reason, I prefer small guitar amps when I'm in the studio. I've gone in three times on steel guitar, always with a pair of amps. The first was a '56 5F2A Princeton and '64 6G2 Princeton, the second was the B-15 with the 5F2A, and the third was a '66 Princeton Reverb with a '48 Premier.
I'm pretty new to steel guitar (2 years?), and have gigged with the '66 B-15, '65 Super Reverb, '63 6G6-B Bassman, EA Doubler, and a JC-120. The B-15 is always the favorite, ironic since I only took it out to the first gig because my Princeton Reverb wasn't powerful enough, and I had bad tubes in the large Fenders and not enough time to track them down.
| Tim Marcus wrote: |
| on the other end, Fender Twins are commonly used as bass amps |
Ha, I've played dozens of gigs on bass through guitar amps. Vibrosonic Reverb, Twin Reverb, JC-120H, Acoustic G60-112, and probably a few others. |
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Cartwright Thompson
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Posted 7 Jan 2014 5:35 pm
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| I love Ampeg BA-112's. I have two that I often run in stereo. Good for up to "quiet drummer" level gigs. The pair cost a lot less than my favorite reverb unit. |
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Peter Harris
From:
South Australia, Australia
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 2:20 am
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I've ALWAYS liked what I can get out of my '59 RI Tweed Bassman 4/10 ...
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If my wife is reading this, I don't have much stuff....really! |
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Chris Boyd
From:
Leonia,N.J./Charlestown,R.I.
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 5:52 am
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I occasionally use a '67 Ampeg B12XT and it sounds terrific for steel,although it is a beast weight wise.I'll bet adding a pair of Telonics 12's would be amazing ...
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https://www.reverbnation.com/bigredandtheresonators |
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Lee Baucum
From:
McAllen, Texas (Extreme South) The Final Frontier
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Jon Light
From:
Saugerties, NY
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Posted 8 Jan 2014 11:48 am
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| Brett Lanier wrote: |
| I used a B15 on a session once and loved it..... |
Same story. I was assured the studio had an array of Fender amps to choose from, don't bother bringing anything. Turned out the Fenders were in poor shape, hissy, badly biased or missing. Emergency plan B was a B15 & a Holy Grail pedal. Gorgeous sound. |
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Giandomenico Fioretto
From:
Italy
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Posted 29 Dec 2014 1:00 pm Univox B25
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Univox/Premiere B25 Made in USA for Bass but soud Great with guitar-laap steel and Harmonica- 12 Jensen speaker one 12AX7 and one 7591 hifi valve - about 15 watt -
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Hi, I come from Cagliari ,Italy, I m an Harmonica blues player ,but I play too dobro and resofonic guitars , , ! |
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Mark Fowler
From:
Minnesota, USA
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Posted 29 Dec 2014 11:19 pm
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In 1974 when I lived in California I played through a Carvin bass head as my main guitar amp through 212 bottom with effect pedals and find I love the low bass response and the effect pedals deliver the rest of the tone.
I still tell the young guns around town to try a bass amp and see if they like it great way to get clean head room and volume.
Now days I used 5b6 Tweed bassman type head or High wattage Ampeg B15N type head. (These are new builds not old Fender/Ampeg amps). I would love to own some originals.
Mark |
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DALE WHITENER
From:
TRINITY,NC USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 5:09 am
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I'm a big fan of the Shaw bass head 150 watts plenty of flexibility and sounds great with steel . Kevin Shaw is a great guy to work with too.
Dale |
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Jack Stoner
From:
Kansas City, MO
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 6:54 am
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Bass amps usually do well for steel.
I'm using a GK MB200 "bass amp head" now for steel.
My wife is using a GK MB200 amp and a 12" SICA neodymium magnet bass speaker for rhythm guitar.
Years ago, I had a (new, then) 59 Blonde Fender Bassman amp that I used with lead guitar. |
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Erv Niehaus
From:
Litchfield, MN, USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 7:07 am
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| Before I traded it off for a twin reverb, I used a Fender bass amp and the stand alone reverb unit, great sound. |
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Sonny Jenkins
From:
Texas Masonic Retirement Center,,,Arlington Tx
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 10:44 am
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| I think Tom Brumley preferred his bass amp |
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John Limbach
From:
Billings, Montana, USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 12:25 pm
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| Vintage Traynor YBA-1. 40 watts, two channels. Loud and clean. Pair of EL34's in the final. |
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Richard Keller
From:
Deer Creek, Illinois, USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 5:06 pm
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I use a Fender Bassman Ten that has been put into a head cabinet. I run that into a 15" JBL K130 speaker. It sounds great to me.
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Herb Steiner
From:
Briarcliff TX 78669, pop. 2,064
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 6:40 pm
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I put BW 1502-4's in my Vegas amps when I was into the fat, Chalker-jazz sound as heard on "Big Hits on Big Steel." Loved them.
I think a steel guitar amp played through a closed-back bass cabinet would be an awesome sound.
_________________
My rig: Infinity and Telonics.
Son, we live in a world with walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with steel guitars. Who's gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? |
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Dave Mudgett
From:
Central Pennsylvania and Gallatin, Tennessee
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 7:03 pm
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In general, I think bass amps are good for pedal steel. Lotsa clean headroom, wide frequency range. Some of the modern bass amps are a hair sterile for me, but put something like a Sarno Revelation in front and all is well with the world. For steel, I'd rather have too-clean AND lots-of-volume than too-dirty AND/OR not-enough-volume.
But my absolute favorite amp, for anything guitar or steel, is my 1957 2-input dual-5U4-rectifier 4x10" Fender Bassman, as long as the drummer isn't coming from Heavy-Metal-Hell and drowning out anything but a pair of NV 1000's set on stun. My Lord, what an amp. The vintage amp nazis that extol the praises of old tweed Bassmans are not wrong on this particular amp. [Warning - not for the faint-of-pocketbook, but worth every cent! IMHO.] |
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Mark Fowler
From:
Minnesota, USA
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Posted 30 Dec 2014 8:44 pm
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| DALE WHITENER wrote: |
I'm a big fan of the Shaw bass head 150 watts plenty of flexibility and sounds great with steel . Kevin Shaw is a great guy to work with too.
Dale |
That Shaw bass amp is a dandy and I talked to him about using that as a steel guitar amp and he had already started down that road which is good.
Mark |
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Bill Moore
From:
Manchester, Michigan
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Posted 1 Jan 2015 7:34 pm
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I've used the MB200 for a couple of years and liked it quite a bit. But since I didn't get much this Christmas, I decided to order one of these:
http://www.carvinguitars.com/products/BX500
300 watts at 8 ohms, 500 watts at 4 ohms. 5.8 lbs. Lots of EQ possibilities. Great price, looking forward to getting it!  |
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Glenn Demichele
From:
(20mi N of) Chicago Illinois, USA
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Posted 2 Jan 2015 12:06 am
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Bill, I think you will love it. I'm a bass player too, and the contour and eq works great with my 18's. For psg, I drive a 15 telonics neo in an open back. For effects I just got a gt-001. I'm finally happy with my setup. I built a mini rack out of light 1/4" plywood for the amp and effects, and I have it sitting facing up next to my seat on my right, with only the speaker behind me, so no more falling backwards off my seat to adjust amp tone/volume.
One thing though, carvin put in a mild mid-boost for more bite with bass. I was having a little trouble dialing it out for psg. I removed the (surface mount) capacitor responsible for the boost from the circuit board, and it sounds much better for psg, and the amp measures flat now. I can still get plenty of mids using the eq. I say which cap I removed in an earlier post of mine. Glenn
P.S. It was C118, and here's my earlier post:
http://bb.steelguitarforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=258482&highlight=
_________________
Franklin D10 8&5, Excel D10 8&5. Both amazing guitars! Homemade buffer/overdrive with adjustable 700Hz "Fender" scoop., Moyo pedal, GT-001 effects, 2x TDA7294 80W class AB amps, or 2x BAM200 for stereo. TT12 and BW1501 each in its own closed back wedge. Also NV400 etc. etc...
Last edited by Glenn Demichele on 3 Jan 2015 9:54 am; edited 1 time in total |
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Donny Hinson
From:
Glen Burnie, Md. U.S.A.
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Posted 2 Jan 2015 2:17 pm
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| Bass amps do sound nice, and they also help to reduce the "whiny" character of E9th pedal steel. But since they're usually heavy and bulky, I prefer to just change out the normal guitar speakers in my steel amps for bass speakers. Most of my amps now have bass speakers installed in them. |
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Bill Moore
From:
Manchester, Michigan
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Posted 3 Jan 2015 6:28 am
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| Well, I was notified that the BX500 is on backorder. So, I'll be waiting a while to get it. Maybe it won't be too long. Glenn, thanks for posting your experience with it, I think I will like it too. |
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Glenn Demichele
From:
(20mi N of) Chicago Illinois, USA
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Posted 3 Jan 2015 8:12 am
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Sorry you have to wait. Let us know what you think when you get it.
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Franklin D10 8&5, Excel D10 8&5. Both amazing guitars! Homemade buffer/overdrive with adjustable 700Hz "Fender" scoop., Moyo pedal, GT-001 effects, 2x TDA7294 80W class AB amps, or 2x BAM200 for stereo. TT12 and BW1501 each in its own closed back wedge. Also NV400 etc. etc... |
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