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Post subject: a newcomer!
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 4:14 pm
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First post in a Fender forum, first post in a bass forum, first bass guitar, and man am I jazzed! (sorry) :oops:

My primary instrument is electric guitar for the past 20 odd years and I learned theory originally on piano. I'm not averse to trying out different musical instruments. But in terms of bass I/ve never owned one and it was never my main focus.

Suddenly I decided last week - why not get into bass - mix things up a bit...and I ended up buying a Jazz bass this past weekend - a used 1990 USA model. It was marked down at a local store...just because of some very cosmetic issues. Actually the salesman didn't realize it was a USA model (the only other Fender ones they had in the store at the time were mexi jazz basses) and they had strangely priced this one the same as the mexi ones.

It's off white in colour, with a white pickguard and a rosewood fretboard.
CLASSIC!

Bottom line? I can't put the thing down now! My guitars might get lonely!


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 5:11 pm
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fjbass wrote:
Hi oyster; Welcome to our nightmare. Have fun with your new J Bass. What amp are you using with it?


Sadly my ampage just doesn't suit a bass of this calibre...a Soldano HR50+ guitar head thru a mesa rectifier 2x12 w/v30s (a setup I'm not using for guitar much any more as I've gone to a dual amp setup with two low wattage tube heads). It's a great guitar rig but limited as a bass rig obviously. Though it sounds pretty good to me for now...

I would encourage any hints about bass amps & cabs /speakers you guys like as I can imagine that will be my next purchase...

Thanks


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2010 8:58 pm
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oyster wrote:
fjbass wrote:
Hi oyster; Welcome to our nightmare. Have fun with your new J Bass. What amp are you using with it?


Sadly my ampage just doesn't suit a bass of this calibre...a Soldano HR50+ guitar head thru a mesa rectifier 2x12 w/v30s (a setup I'm not using for guitar much any more as I've gone to a dual amp setup with two low wattage tube heads). It's a great guitar rig but limited as a bass rig obviously. Though it sounds pretty good to me for now...

I would encourage any hints about bass amps & cabs /speakers you guys like as I can imagine that will be my next purchase...

Thanks


Your application will dictate your amplification. What you want to spend will usually influence the quality, particularity with the hi-fi rigs. Hi-fi amplifiers typically are trying to bring the studio sound to the stage. Think of it as a great recording of your always easy to print Fender bass 'live'. Also keep in mind your size of transport, strength to weight in relation to the rigs power vs pounds or kilos, etc...
There is finally some really nice gear that is light and performs with professional results within a reasonable price point.

The more (hopefully) quality power you have on hand, the greater amount of headroom you will have before the bass breaks up in an undesirable fashion. AKA the unclear flatulence sound will result.

Once again, your application will dictate your amplification.

Application...Loud volume or very dynamic band = more power...Amplification.

Application
...Medium = etc..........

If it just to practice without and ensemble, other than the solo sound, you will not be demanding much from the rig in regards to filling out the ensemble with the most notable frequency of your cool new (used) Fender Jazz, the bottom. This is when this topic gets redundant...
...your application will dictate your amplification :!: :wink:


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Post subject:
Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:50 am
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thanks guys


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:37 am
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depends on where you wanna use the amp... for practice, live gigs or home... well as anubis recommended before you won't need more than 30w for a practice amp...

for live stage probably above 100.. for small gigs, around 60-100 would do?

personally i haven't decided what to get.. but i'm eyeing on markbasses.. and i would want a line 6 amp just for practice at home..


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Post subject:
Posted: Fri Feb 05, 2010 5:11 am
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Location: Watford, UK
You need an amp for practice and I would suggest getting a low-cost one, because you are using it to learn and rehearse, nothing more. Having valves, flash EQ and all the rest is not going to help you learn any better. Behringer do competent low cost units.

One thing you may want on the practice amp is an XLR-out, should you need the amp for a gig (see below).

For live performances don't be fooled into thinking you need a massive rig. Every gig i have done (admittedly low-key events!) I have used the existing backline amp (typically no more than 100W -200W or so output) provided by the venue.

The sound engineer will mic the amp up (and / or take an XLR out) into the PA to get the volume up in front of house.

Most venues will have monitors on stage so you can hear yourself if the provided backline amp is too quiet (and, given that you will be standing right by it, even a relatively low output amp should be loud enough for you to hear / feel it).

The only thing I take to gigs is my Tech 21 Sansamp DI unit, so I can colour the sound with a bit of warmth / overdrive before it hits the PA. I plug the Sansamp straight into the effects return input of the in-house amp, bypassing the in-house amp's EQ and effectively treating it as a power amp, with tone settings adjusted from the bass / Sansamp.

This means i get a pretty consistent tone from gig to gig regardless of the make or type of the backline amp, which for me is the big plus of having a Sansamp type DI unit.

It also means i don't break my back lugging gear!

If the venue doesn't provide an amp of any sort, take along your practice one.

Big stage amps and speakers look sexy but they are expensive, difficult to transport (in the main) and not really necessary. But Ampeg, Marshall, Hartke et al will do their best to persuade you otherwise, which is why gear-fests like NAMM exist, where new amps / cabs are rolled out each year that, ostensibly, are little different from what's gone before except they are NEW and thus SEXY!


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Post subject:
Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 2:25 pm
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Thanks everyone! I am really digging this bass and I'm making the transition from guitar to bass very enjoyably. Its like I already know how to play a lot of things so it is a sped up learning curve. Very cool.

OK so, carrying the rig around (weight) isn't an issue but it has to be simple. Head, Cab, Bass. The current rig (soldano, mesa 2x12) fits the bill perfectly but it is a guitar rig!!!

Am I a complete idiot for using my bass with a guitar amp and cab (V30s...can they handle bass guitar)?

I know that for something twice as loud as the 50W soldano you would need 500W. So 50W doesn't seem quite so limiting vs something like 100-200W. As you know I'm using a 50W Soldano (guitar tube head) through a mesa 2x12 cab (v30s). I think it sounds really good, I'm getting a very thick punchy tone with nice harmonics...but haven't really developed as much of an ear for bass tone as I have for guitar tone so it could sound like $@! for all I really know...! :oops:

Can I assume that as long as I am getting a satisfying amount of headroom and good tone out of the Soldano, advice would be to stick with this head (it is a very sweet sounding amp IMHO)?

And maybe if I want to spend some dough upgrading something...different speakers for the 2x12?


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