Ive been a guitar and bass player for coming up on 3 years ive mostly owned guitars and played bass here and there but i recently bought my first bass. I love playing bass more so than guitar.im beginning to want to start gigging and im looking for the right gear as i practice. I currently own a ibanez soundgear bass with pj pickups that i defretted, though i may consider refretting if it fits the tone (i mostly did it to play microtones, im not crazy about fretlesses, orchestra may require me to buy an upright soon anyway) i want a hollow body anyways i love acoustic electric stuff. My favorite tone is Peter Albin backing Janis at monterray pop, Ball and Chain is the best example on that set. Bas(s)ically what gear would i need to reinterperate that sound. Basses, amps, pickups,pedals, strings. i prefer combos something quiet enough to play at home but loud enough to get over a drummer and tubes are damn near needed for this sound i think. Came out quite wordy so if you read this thanks.
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Peter Albin used a Gibson EB-3 during that period, strung with flats I'd presume. Almost any tube amp will get you in the ballpark sound-wise. Finding a good tube amp combo might pose a challenge, though...
Peter Albin used a Gibson EB-3 during that period, strung with flats I'd presume. Almost any tube amp will get you in the ballpark sound-wise. Finding a good tube amp combo might pose a challenge, though...
Thanks, would any bass with a mudbucker do? Those semi hollow eb2/
Edit: forgot eb0's are eb3's without the bridge pickup disregard that part lol
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That’s Monterey by the way; size up your band situation…are you in one, or are you even working with a guitarist yet? If so, what kind of amp does that person have? What venues, and what kind of PA support, will you be encountering? That would determine what level of amplification you would require. You mentioned the Bassman 10; while I’m sure it is fine with its classic Fender sound, back in the day it didn’t get much love. However, recently Laura Lee of Khruangbin has been sporting one, getting a great thick warm tone with an SX Jazzbass(which I would consider usefull in a blues context)but all she has to contend with is the guitarist’s Deluxe Reverb and a very understated groove oriented drummer. But they play halls and festivals, and the PA they go through does all the heavy lifting. There’s plenty of live videos and a Premier Guitar rig rundown on Youtube.
I started out on an EB-0, didn’t think it was that exceptional, had the hollowbody, two pickup EB-2 for a while, same thing, but if it appeals to you, so be it. At the festival, Albin was going through a non-reverb Fender Showman, 85 watts approximately, with a 2x15” cab, so take that under consideration. A B-15 may not be enough for live, but then I’m not an Ampeg fanboy, and I don’t know about the gain thing. For vintage/small/low wattage, this is what I use…
Most likely.
If you want to play guitar on the same amp, Ten is probably a better choice. Having said that, neither of these is sufficient if you have a loud guitar player...
...and @Michedelic brings up some very valid points.Good luck.
Way back when I used a Silvertone Model 1444 or a borrowed Ampeg Big Stud and Traynor Bassmaster Mark II YBA-1A ~90W tube head into a Yamaha 2x15 cabinet for the blues. It gave me a very nice blues tone.
I eventually went to an Ampeg SVT w/ Fridge and and a P bass then several other basses and amps over the decades. I now use either a Hofner Ignition Club Bassor a DIY solidbody with a Hofner neck both with nylon tapes in a Phil Jones Double Four amp with a jazz guitarist/singer. We play jazz, blues, soul, R&B, latin, pop, rock, country and whatever else we want.
I eventually went to an Ampeg SVT w/ Fridge and and a P bass then several other basses and amps over the decades. I now use either a Hofner Ignition Club Bassor a DIY solidbody with a Hofner neck both with nylon tapes in a Phil Jones Double Four amp with a jazz guitarist/singer. We play jazz, blues, soul, R&B, latin, pop, rock, country and whatever else we want.
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Nice amp, sunns always remind me of doom. I just recently made a move and had to quit a band i was starting and sometimes i jam with the guy from that band on call. (The quality is horrible but i havent found any local musicians interested in playing the same music as me) Im actually bringing my bass to my high schools jazz band tomorrow and there i might meet people to jam with. Though I would like to have my own band in the near future. i guess i plan on having a decently loud setting, not metal or anything but more like loud fusion with some distortion. I suppose i would need more wattage for headroom alone. What about the fender studio bass 200 watt, all tube, active eq, 1x15 combo. heavy in every sense but go for around the same price as the bassman and tend to be clean on most settings. For pa its whatever i can get my hands on most likely house gear or a budget system i dont suppose anything louder than a couple hundred solid state watts. You seem to have not had a good experience with the gibsons what would recommend in its place? Thank you for your time
In my opinion, no need to go to vintage gear to get a vintage sound. There's lots of modern bass gear that would work very well for what you are looking for sound-wise. I would look hard at a Fender Precision Bass with flats - that's been my life-long electric bass of choice, and I use it for everything from blues to rock to jazz. I'm partial to Pyramid Flats but LaBella Low Tension Flats are also good. I never founf the EBs to be very good - other than for that one sound. But a P bass can do that, and more.
As far as amps go, I would be looking at something like a Mesa Subway D800 or perhaps a Tonehammer 500 - both will do a great job of vintage. Pair it with a decent neutral sounding cabinet and you're set. If your budget can handle it, the Mesa Subway cabs are great - maybe start with 1 and add a second down the road as needed. I personally use RevSound, they are very high quality, lightweight, and less expensive. Right now I have a 115, with a 112 to pair with it coming.
I can't speak to the idea of using one amp for both guitar and bass, my experience is that they are very different animals and you'd be better off with two rigs.
As far as amps go, I would be looking at something like a Mesa Subway D800 or perhaps a Tonehammer 500 - both will do a great job of vintage. Pair it with a decent neutral sounding cabinet and you're set. If your budget can handle it, the Mesa Subway cabs are great - maybe start with 1 and add a second down the road as needed. I personally use RevSound, they are very high quality, lightweight, and less expensive. Right now I have a 115, with a 112 to pair with it coming.
I can't speak to the idea of using one amp for both guitar and bass, my experience is that they are very different animals and you'd be better off with two rigs.
Sunn got co-opted by the doom movement, but had a rich history already from the late 60’s/early 70’s. Part of the present day retro appeal is that a lot of the heavy sounding groups back then, what you would call hard rock, power rock, or acid rock(the precursors of heavy metal), gravitated to those amps, primarily bass players in pre-SVT days. Yet country bands would use them as well.
The 70’s Fender Studio Bass, as a combo, was not well thought out. First of all, why would you need 200 watts in a studio? The combo configuration was ridiculous as well, too heavy even in those days, and had a problem with falling over often. The cab was really too shallow to generate a lot of low end, and while the amp portion is killer, the smart money has always been on putting that in a separate case and matching it with a speaker cab of your liking.
As for Gibson mudbuckers, it’s a matter of taste. They’re just not articulate for me, but a few players have added them to Fender and other instruments in the neck position. DiMarzio and Curtis Novak have produced their own improved aftermarket versions. Another thing for me about those kinds of Gibsons is that I have no use for short scales. But that’s just my thing. I hate flats as well.
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Thanks for the response i love the p bass sound, but i have never tried one with anything but rounds. I have a p in the neck of my ibanez and it tends to give a good base sound to be shaped at the amp .(i see why motown ran these direct, hardly needs an amp of you like it on its own) I would love one of those acoustic electric p basses but theyre way out of my price range, for the amp ive just never played a solid state amp that can give me a good clean or slightly pushed bass sound. Maybe with pedals but i dont like having too many. Do you know any good hollow or semi hollow bodies that give a rich base sound? Thanks!
Thanks for the reply, i agree that the studio bass probably isnt the best choice you can tell just by looking at it its awkward and probably horible to take anywhere. (Though i may be projecting) Id love a head and and 2 cabs one for small stuff and both for home, recording, and loud gigs. If i could have it my way id have a marshall or model t copy. But i just dont know if a marshall or any big tube stack would be accepted in a jazz setting. Add that with my love of combos and i think the bassman is my best bet. What about the 70w ultralinear bassman that would bring me to around albins wattage and total speaker dimensions, and what bass would you recommend?
@SpacedBard i'm not affiliated with these listings. i saw them for sale today in the classifieds and @bherman just recommended them as good choices.
For Sale - Mesa Boogie WD-800
For Sale - Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 with Carry Bag
What bass? Whatever is comfortable for you; the body ergonomics and the feel of the neck. You can always play around with the pickups and electronics and swap stuff out, but be aware that you may have to mod the body to fit certain things in. As far as a modern semi-hollow, Ibanez has the Artcore series, and then there’s the Hagstrom Viking, Lakland Skyline, and D’Angelico.
Amps? As Samuel L. Jackson would ask, “What’s In Your Wallet?”. No, you wouldn’t need a stack for jazz or jazz fusion, and you can/should go modular with the speakers…two single 12’s, two single 15”, two 2x10’s, whatever you want to put up with and sounds best to you. A single cab for small gigs or home, then add to it if needed, but get identical units. If you think that hovering near 100 watts will work for you, if you’re not going to be in a boisterous volume war, a higher wattage vintage Bassman or Showman might work if you want to retain that tube Fender sound. Or else other brands in that class, Ampeg, Sunn, Hiwatt, yes, even Marshall if it does it for you. I had a Superbass with KT88s, 100 watts, and it was glorious, surprisingly clean, nothing like the Jack Bruce goosefart sound. But that stuff, even now, ain’t cheap. However, if you want to hang with tubes, there are more modern alternatives in terms of portability and budget.
EB-0 is short scale, EB-3 is standard, normally. Epiphone makes both. Gibson made SG basses for a while, but I don’t think they are making them anymore.
If you played your P bass with P pup only, you would probably get a good tone for blues.
If you played your P bass with P pup only, you would probably get a good tone for blues.
