Gear Discussion Forums > Rickenbacker Basses
Not a fan entirely ...
4stringer77:
It's a shame so many people equate louder and more watts with better. Maybe it's because I'm getting older I find music more enjoyable when it doesn't result in hearing loss after being at a performance.
amptech:
--- Quote from: 4stringer77 on September 13, 2017, 11:39:03 AM ---It's a shame so many people equate louder and more watts with better. Maybe it's because I'm getting older I find music more enjoyable when it doesn't result in hearing loss after being at a performance.
--- End quote ---
When looking at Gibson's amazing amp output between 1935 and 1968, I always think 'If they only made one guitar and one bass amp that could rock/scream' they'd survive as an amp maker. Although making their top of the line amps too HI-FI might have been a huge mistake, I guess the last amp marketing efforts made musicians of the day uninterested; trying to convince rockers that 'the freaked out sound of yesterday' was going out of style really was the final nail in the coffin. Even Jazz musicians used freaked out sounds by that time.
Sorry, off topic 8)
slinkp:
They had some really really nice amps if you liked bluesy overdrive rather than full-on screaming though. A guitarist friend played for years through a mid-60s 112 combo, not sure of the model, but that thing sounded great.
uwe:
--- Quote from: 4stringer77 on September 13, 2017, 11:39:03 AM ---It's a shame so many people equate louder and more watts with better. Maybe it's because I'm getting older I find music more enjoyable when it doesn't result in hearing loss after being at a performance.
--- End quote ---
Lots of watts are important for not using them. A mighty bass rig at low volume will give you a much more pleasant and natural sound than some pumped up little thing at the end of its range. In fact you don't even need to play a large rig as loud as a small one and still be comfortably heard.
4stringer77:
I can appreciate that having more headroom is an added benefit. There are other factors to consider, such as the room size and how much PA support there is. While recording is a different circumstance than the stage, it seems like a B-15 is a more popular choice than an SVT for those purposes. Frank Zappa, while not a bassist, also pulled off some great performances with just a little old Pignose. Big rigs are nice but after playing often at high volume, more subtle approaches start to gain in appeal, no pun intended.
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