Let's see your rig!

[OldManC]

Pissed off the new drummer though. 

[fealach]

Hello, Thought my first post might as well be a pic of some of my stuff.  I use this setup most often, currently at least.



The cabinet under the head and the classy home made rack (made from a tree spike display Home Depot was throwing away) is just an amp stand.  The Sunn 415M and 2 Bag Ends are the ones in use.  Please excuse the lousy quality, my camera is horrible indoors.



No, I don't have to move it often.  I'm the only one in the "band" who realizes we're never getting out of the basement, but I keep it to myself.  I play for fun, and use this huge cumbersome rig because I own it and I like the way it sounds.  Like many bassists probably, I'm also the only one who knows you don't need to play at full volume all the time.  Why all the effects? They were in the rack the tuner and wireless were in when I moved it all to its current resting place. 

Some cool stuff in this thread.  My preference in terms of amps is towards whatever sounds good.  Anything I own is because it sounded good and I got a great deal on it.

[Hornisse]

Nice!  I'd love to hear how the 400PS sounds through that Sunn 415M!  Denis on this board is another Sunn lover.  And welcome aboard!

[fealach]

Thanks!  Sadly, the speakers in the Sunn are not original.  One blew shortly after I got it, so I boxed them all and replaced them with the only things I could afford, new Fender OEM 16 Ohm speakers billed as being made by Eminence.  They sound surprisingly good, not a lot of low bass from this cab with them but I'm told that given the low volume area of the cab there wouldn't be a lot anyhow.  Strong mids and high end, at least for a non-tweeter guy.   It does sound vicious by itself with my 200 watt Sound City, in that snarly rip-your-face-off sort of way.

There are 2 cabinet setups I've wanted to hear this head with but probably never will.   One is 3 squareback SVT cabs, the other requires a Telecaster and  3 stacks full of Greenbacks.  And a few miles between it and myself.

[Highlander]

Greetings...

Would be nice to see the SC200...

[fealach]

Now that I'm Googling it for info, it seems it may be only officially 150 watts, since it's similar to the 150;  the tech that did the work on it measured its output, and claimed he had it around 210 if memory serves, with more to go but said he was concerned the guitar cabinet he was using would blow if he turned it up any more.  I have about zero technical knowledge myself, so I took his word for it.  In any case, it's weird and plenty loud, two qualities I like in an amp. 

http://www.soundcitysite.com/sc_webpages/photo_page_15.htm#x188_1.1

Don't have any wiring shots.  It came with GEC KT88s, their date code indicated 1974 according to what I found online.  Power tubes didn't seem to make much of a difference to me, I tried it with new JJs and old Peaveys (stock tubes in a Classic 400 I sold, not sure who actually made them) so I sold them.   They paid for the amp, matching cabinet,  new power tubes, and some misc tech work to get the amp back into fighting shape... with a good bit of cash left over.  Eventually sold the cab, it looked good with the head but wasn't such a hot performer.  Preamp tubes did make a difference, it sounds best with the ones it came with.  The one that still has discernible markings is a Mullard.


Over the years I've owned all sorts of amps, as has anybody that's been messing around with music I imagine.  Still own a Mesa D180, a couple little cabinets, and 2 Genz Benz amps that I like but make for boring pictures.  I should sell most of it, but I haven't yet been so desperate for money that I'm willing to part with this cool stuff for the tiny amount of cash it would bring in, never mind dealing with the hassle of trying to sell anything.  It doesn't take up too much space stacked in the closet.

[fealach]

Just noticed the link doesn't seem to mention the odd part of the amp.  It has a (solid state?) switchable Boost.  It's the additional board visible on the left side in the "guts" pic in the link, that's perpendicular to the board the control knobs go to.  With it on, the amp's a monster.  With it off, it sounds quiet and meek.

[Highlander]

I had a 120w but blew it up (transformer failure) but had a nice pair of Sound City columns - went from SC to DR - logical route without knowing it at the time...


I should dig out better shots, but they are hiding behind me, with my 1970 DR103S

[fealach]

Cool! (Well, not the transformers blowing up, but the rigs.)  I have to add, that's a mightily awesome looking bass, though the (RD is it?) in the older pic is no slouch either.  I've only played a 120 once with a guitar in Guitar Center, they had it priced more like a Hiwatt and it had problems, but seemed to have potential.  They were convinced plugging a bass into it would blow up the head, because it was a guitar amp, and everyone knows you can't play bass through a guitar amp.  Never seen a "real" Hiwatt for sale locally, which I suspect is just as well, because I'd likely be tempted to sell my car.

[godofthunder]

Welcome, You have a very cool rig ! Nice to see someone else using a SC ! My SC 200 Plus tucked in to one version of my rig.

[fealach]

That is both beautiful and terrifying.

[gweimer]

That is both beautiful and terrifying.

Nicely put!  I just picked up an Eden Traveler 400w head (even has the initials from P.O.D.'s bassist on the front), and I'm running it through an old Peavey 1x15 cab with a JBL in it.  I got it as a backup head, but in bigger rooms, I'm pairing it with the Ashdown EVO-II combo.  So far, I'm still struggling with the Eden, but I think that pairing it may be helping me out a lot.  I'll try to post new pics.

[Highlander]

Fealach... the Thunderbird has a rebuild thread at the moment but I'm stalled - should be finished in the near future - what country or state are you in...?

oh yeah... and that's Scott's (GOT) smaller rig...

[fealach]

 

Nicely put!  I just picked up an Eden Traveler 400w head (even has the initials from P.O.D.'s bassist on the front), and I'm running it through an old Peavey 1x15 cab with a JBL in it.  I got it as a backup head, but in bigger rooms, I'm pairing it with the Ashdown EVO-II combo.  So far, I'm still struggling with the Eden, but I think that pairing it may be helping me out a lot.  I'll try to post new pics.

Cool.  My second amp (first was the ubiquitous Peavey combo) was a WT400.  I liked it quite a bit once I realized that no amount of fiddling with its boatload of knobs made it sound any better than it did "flat."    An amp should sound good without needing a ton of knob tweaking, I think, and to my ears the Eden does.  I'm not familiar with all the Ashdown models, but I did like the RPM-1 preamp I owned.  Another amp with a mind boggling array of EQ options, but easy to get a good sound out of.

Fealach... the Thunderbird has a rebuild thread at the moment but I'm stalled - should be finished in the near future - what country or state are you in...?

oh yeah... and that's Scott's (GOT) smaller rig...

Just updated my profile slightly, I'm in Connecticut in the US.  I'll have to check the Gibson section for the thread.  My basses aren't from the "big names" so I haven't looked in the bass threads yet.  I do have a Gibson, but it's a victim of torture at the hands of its last owner and it makes me sad.  I told a luthier about it and he wants to see it, but I'm not sure there's any (affordable) hope for it.

[Highlander]

I'll have to check the Gibson section for the thread.

Not a Gibson... she's in other brands... http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=2774.0

Post up your Gibson in projects with a request for advice... lots of luthierian types on board willing to offer advice for free...

Fealach...? Irish Gaelic...? that's why the curiosity re your location... I'm near London but the roots are Scottish Islands...

Re amps and settings... I tend to loose the tone controls on my basses and the Hiwatt I run with everything at max, with the exception of the preamp and the output volumes... mines an oddball version too, as a footswitch controls whether she's 50w or 100w... I'm in the process of resurrecting the gear and recently bought a couple of new speakers for my 4x12 and have had to take the edge of the tone slightly whilst testing at home, but not had the opportunity to run full-bore yet...

Just one word of warning... I have a rep for instrument abuse...