Dig My New Amp.

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

Thanks guys!

This is going to be a different experience for me- I've used SS bass rigs for the past 20 or so years. Every once in a while I'll use a tube rig- and last year I spent a month or so and a couple gigs with a Bass 400+. Where with guitar rigs, the attraction to tubes is the warmth and the breakup. With what I look for in a bass rig is clean headroom. A little while ago I posted threads all over the intArweb asking about "sterile" 12ax7-ish tubes- that's for this amp. While 300w is a lot of power, I don't know if I'll be able to get the kind of clean low end that I'm used to, simply because of the nature of the tube amp.

The last one I was playing with sounded big and full, but it was more "warm" than "crisp" in the envelopment.

Does that make sense?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

Is the SWR still running like a one legged man in an ass-kicking contest?

I'm fixin' to start YET another thread about it.

 

[sosomething]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

Thanks guys!

This is going to be a different experience for me- I've used SS bass rigs for the past 20 or so years. Every once in a while I'll use a tube rig- and last year I spent a month or so and a couple gigs with a Bass 400+. Where with guitar rigs, the attraction to tubes is the warmth and the breakup. With what I look for in a bass rig is clean headroom. A little while ago I posted threads all over the intArweb asking about "sterile" 12ax7-ish tubes- that's for this amp. While 300w is a lot of power, I don't know if I'll be able to get the kind of clean low end that I'm used to, simply because of the nature of the tube amp.

The last one I was playing with sounded big and full, but it was more "warm" than "crisp" in the envelopment.

Does that make sense?

Your description makes sense, but I don't know how much sense it makes to try to get "crisp and sterile" from a tube head.

But don't ask me - I'm no bassist by any stretch.

 

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

I've known bass players that swore that was the best bass head out there.

If it were mine, I'd buy Svetlana 6L6's, because they're powerful, long lasting, and the internal parts are braced really well. They have less tendency to rattle than others like JJ. I like JJ EL-34's, but I've had some 6L6's that would rattle under vibration.

Pre tubes probably won't make a huge difference in sound in a bass amp with 12 6L6's, but getting reliable ones like GT or Tungsol would be a good idea.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

Your description makes sense, but I don't know how much sense it makes to try to get "crisp and sterile" from a tube head.

But don't ask me - I'm no bassist by any stretch.

I know exactly what you're saying- this is a post of mine from last October regarding that amp:

Maybe it's just that I'm used to Solid State bass amps, and that's my benchmark, or the ideal good tone. Unless a tube bass amp can do that- I don't see myself changing taste anytime soon. And if a tube bass amp did what I wanted to hear out of an amp, why bother with it? The amp would be pushing so much power, and the trannies would weigh so much- it would be kind of like running all the way around the block to get next door.

It makes sense to me to have SS amps emulate tube amps, but who would make a tube amp that emulates SS?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

If it were mine, I'd buy Svetlana 6L6's, because they're powerful, long lasting, and the internal parts are braced really well. They have less tendency to rattle than others like JJ. I like JJ EL-34's, but I've had some 6L6's that would rattle under vibration.

Pre tubes probably won't make a huge difference in sound in a bass amp with 12 6L6's, but getting reliable ones like GT or Tungsol would be a good idea.

I think the issue is that this is a fixed bias amp. And that kind of necessitates (although that's really the wrong word) using the Mesa branded matched tubes- rather than getting 12 matched tubes...

 

[BigAlTheBird]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

I don't know the first thing about Bass, but that looks kickass. So congrats!

 

[Rich_T]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

I'm looking for an arse kicking tube bass head myself. That looks like a beast.

 

[Wattage]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

Wow! Cool amp, have fun getting back up to speed.

 

[larry_emder]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

so how loud is that thing? how many times over could i deafen myself?

 

[sosomething]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

I know exactly what you're saying- this is a post of mine from last October regarding that amp:

So is this more of an experiment? Kind of a "so I've got this thing, I might as well give it a shot" thing, or are you actually going to use it for a softer, more broken-up tone?

I assume tube wattage applies to bass amps in the same way it applies to guitar amps, in that, while a 400 watt SS head might have trouble pushing more speakers at rock band volume, 400 tube watts is like one of those monster Crown 1500 poweramps in terms of sonic devastation... am I right?

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

so how loud is that thing? how many times over could i deafen myself?

I think you could take the head off a squirrel with it at 460 meters. Easy.

 

[Gr8Scott]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

I think you could take the head off a squirrel with it at 460 meters. Easy.

How bout a groundhog? : popworm: :chairshot

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Dig My New Amp.

So is this more of an experiment? Kind of a "so I've got this thing, I might as well give it a shot" thing, or are you actually going to use it for a softer, more broken-up tone?

I assume tube wattage applies to bass amps in the same way it applies to guitar amps, in that, while a 400 watt SS head might have trouble pushing more speakers at rock band volume, 400 tube watts is like one of those monster Crown 1500 poweramps in terms of sonic devastation... am I right?

You know how dudes post the "what's the best amp" question threads all the time?

This is one of those amps.

Yes, it is an experiment. And I'm thinking I'm going to have to have the amp operate a little differently than people normally operate the amp- to avoid the more rounded edges... But I think I'm also going to have to alter my perception of the sound I want to hear out of my basses.

I want to try using lower gain preamp tubes. I want to really mess with the EQ.

This may end up being a 'square peg/round hole' situation.

As far as the percieved volume... the Mesa has a way of filling the room. I don't know about the whole even/odd order harmonics that get talked about with tube vs. SS discussion. Although I don't crank amps, I do like them loud when I want them to be. When I'm in the basement at about stage volume or so, the SS amps rattle the rafters. Literally, I hear things rattling. When I was working out with the Mesa- I had the same volume going on, but there was no rattle. I thought it was curious.