Hello all I am new to the website and am new to bass all the way around. I switched from guitar to bass to play with my brother on drums and a friend on guitar. I currently have a peavey milestone III Hartke vx115 300w and a peavy century 200 bass series amp head. When I get the volume loud enough to not get drowned by the drums the sound is so muddy sounding. I am wondering if I should upgrade my amp or cabinet.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
Welcome to TalkBass! Want to remove ads? Register an account and login to see fewer ads, and become a Supporting Member to remove almost all ads.
Help with Bass Amp and Cab
- Thread starter NolanBS
- Start date
-
- Tags
- amp cabinet new bass player peavy
Maybe try cranking your mids and backing off the bass knob?
Welcome.
And ^ adjust your eq.
The more your volume goes up the lower you turn the Bass knob.
And ^ adjust your eq.
The more your volume goes up the lower you turn the Bass knob.
Put the cab up on a chair and get guitars to do same, or tilted back, so everyone gets a good earful of their own racket. Everyone should be fine turning down a bit after that.
Thank you I will try that! Is there an amp head you would recommend for around 300?
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,725
- 20,912
- 6,041
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
+1 up the mids, little less bottom, see if that helps. Welcome to bassin'. And TB. Will be awkward firing your drummer if he's your brother. Firing a drummer is a rite of passage.
Get yourself a high pass filter. Dialing out the mud will leave more power for the mids, which will cut through the mix.
Welcome to the low end!
Welcome to the low end!
Amps (and for some...basses) come and go. Your best investment IMO is your cab(s).
No matter what you do in your signal chain, the cab is your final stage.
A great amp and great bass won't matter much if the speakers at the end of the line aren't cutting the mustard.
That said; amp headroom can allow a good speaker to shine.
Try eq as suggested, it's good advice. If you decide to move on from current gear I recommend spending the majority of the budget (or all, honestly) on a higher end cab.
No matter what you do in your signal chain, the cab is your final stage.
A great amp and great bass won't matter much if the speakers at the end of the line aren't cutting the mustard.
That said; amp headroom can allow a good speaker to shine.
Try eq as suggested, it's good advice. If you decide to move on from current gear I recommend spending the majority of the budget (or all, honestly) on a higher end cab.
The amp and the cab could do fine, maybe they just can't fit together for that good tone or try a serious eq changes.
+1 cut bass, bump mids; get the cab up off the floor.
Is that the Milestone with 2 Jazz style pickups? (I have one, it’s a pretty sweet bass!) try putting the pickups full-on, then back the neck pickup off a little, that will give you a little more bite.
Then if you still feel underwhelmed, get a second hartke 15 cabinet (assuming it’s an 8ohm cab)
Is that the Milestone with 2 Jazz style pickups? (I have one, it’s a pretty sweet bass!) try putting the pickups full-on, then back the neck pickup off a little, that will give you a little more bite.
Then if you still feel underwhelmed, get a second hartke 15 cabinet (assuming it’s an 8ohm cab)
Want to echo what some others have said: LPF and nice cabs. Example: a chunk of what we think of as the "SVT sound" is from the 8x10 cab. Drivers have different sonic profiles. Cabs and drivers can make the rig.
Look for a cab/driver thats efficient (99db is my benchmark), so it puts out as much power as it can. You can check driver manufacturer websites and online reviews for how they sound and the frequency response. Aguilar SL cabs are mid scooped, Bergantino and Genzler array cabs are pretty neutral, that sort of thing.
This is a rabbit hole for sure. But heads are easier to resell if you don't like them. Cabs are a different story.
Look for a cab/driver thats efficient (99db is my benchmark), so it puts out as much power as it can. You can check driver manufacturer websites and online reviews for how they sound and the frequency response. Aguilar SL cabs are mid scooped, Bergantino and Genzler array cabs are pretty neutral, that sort of thing.
This is a rabbit hole for sure. But heads are easier to resell if you don't like them. Cabs are a different story.
have you tried standing further away from the cabinet so you can hear it? Many people stand RIGHT next to it, and by the end of the night their ass is ringing, but they didn't hear it with their ears
Thanks man that’s hilarious ill hate to have to break him the bad news
I’m not sure if it’s the jazz style or not and I’m actually about to buy a fender MIM P bass from a friend a played tonight and the tone was a lot better than my peavy my set up is working decent for now. I do want to get another head and maybe a second cabinet soon. Bass is an entirely different animal than guitar.