The Last Bass Outpost

Just wondering, for those who use a chorus pedal, which one is your favorite, and why? I had a Boss pedal a few years back, but sold it, because it just didn't work for me.  Thanks for your opinions.

he once said he swore to become the best bassist he could as a tribute to his younger brother who had died before him. He sure lived up to that. My oldest son has started playing his guitar again, and I've been learning some songs from the first Metallica album. Great stuff.

I generally like Fender basses and amps, but sometimes they do goofy things, especially when it comes to amps. Maybe if this amp appeared 5 to 10 years before the SVT, it might have seemed like a good idea. But by 1969, you had the SVT, Acoustic 360, Marshall, and Sunn amps. Stages were getting bigger, music was getting louder, and bassists needed to be heard. It almost seems like Fender came up with a good concept, then stacked the deck against it so that it couldn't succeed like the aforementioned amps.

I think it's similar to the Studio bass. They built a nice 200W tube amp into a very large, thin, and top heavy combo. Now, if was never meant to leave home and /or your studio, it wouldn't be a big deal. But Fender's advertisements at the time said you could take this amp to stage or studio, so you could always get your sound no matter where you were playing. I haven't even seen a Studio bass amp in over 30 years, but I remember it being a big, HEAVY amp to move. I notice a lot of people who get them build them into a head format, to make it easier to move. Couldn't Fender have at least offered a head and speaker option when it was new? I think they could have really made a mark at that time with that amp if they did that.

My local shop no longer does Fender warranty work-getting paid by them for doing it got too difficult, so they gave up. Really makes me leery to buy a new Fender amp, and generally I like them. 

i have also been told about Fender; they are looking to go the direct route, like Carvin does. Fender now sells their products off their website-even necks and bodies. They never used to that I can remember.

It looks like the key here is to find good, older USA made amps, and stick with them. I like the idea of being able to get 500 watts out of a 6 pound amp, but I'll take a heavier one that I know I can count on to work over that anyday. I don't gig with loud bands anymore, so I don't need a refrigerator sized amp anymore. I don't abuse my gear either (how people manage to run over their stuff with their own cars, or have it fall out of a truck on the freeway is beyond me.)

I would have no problem with an older peavey, or a Yorkville; some people knock them, but I always got a sound out of them that I liked. I've never played an older Ampeg tube head, but I used to own a Bassman 100 tube head back in 1989 that I liked. that is one I regret getting rid of.

it's really too bad about Traynor-I have a Yorkville XM50C from 2006 and it has been a fine amp. I have the bigger brother once, the XM200C. Nice amp, just a bit heavy and bulky for what it was.

So I guess the way to look at it is-get something that sounds good, and if and when it gives up the ghost, move on. Or, find something older used. I'll have to think about that one.

I have always liked Peavey gear, even if their older amps were like boat anchors! I saw in another thread here where PB Guy said Peavey seems to have gone downhill in the last 5 years. I have always liked Fender amps too, but I've heard the same about them-although my 7 year old Bassman 250/210 combo seems to be holding up. Genz amps are well regarded pretty much everywhere, but I guess they have ceased to exist?