Modified Jack Casady Signature recording

[Basvarken]

Some of you may remember the modification I did to the Epiphone Jack Casady Signature of mine.
Those who don't: I replaced the Elektar pickup with a Gibson Lo-Z pickup from a Les Paul Bass/Triumph.

Recently we (Superfloor) finished our new album. And there's one tune that features the JCS.
I used the middle setting of the tone selector. The treble rolled of just a bit.
Plus I used my Ampeg V4B (1972 I think) and an Eden XLT210D cab.

Three signals went into the soundboard:
- a DI signal (Avalon U5)
- a microphone signal (can't remember type nor brand)
- the external amp out on the back of the amp. Which is officially meant for a slave amp. But it sounded surprisingly good.

Our good friend Rob Lamothe joined in on the second part of the song. I always think Floor and Rob is a very special combination.

Hope you dig it






(We hope to release the album this month)

[Dave W]

I dig it. Both the bass and the song itself.

[Lightyear]

I really like it.  I like the song and I think the bass stands out nicely in front of the mix, where God intended it to be , my compliments.

[rockinrayduke]

Very cool. Bass sounds niiiice.

[godofthunder]

 Dig it.......................... alot ! Nice 70's soul feel. The bass sounds great ! You have some nice riffs in there. Very cool stuff.

[Chris P.]

Nice! Great sound, Robbie!

[doombass]

That's great Rob. Not just the bass but everything sounds great. Did you use a passive DI box for the slave output Rob? I'm curious of using it on my Orange.

[Basvarken]

Thank you guys. 

Did you use a passive DI box for the slave output Rob? I'm curious of using it on my Orange.

No, just a balanced stereo jack plug into the amp and on the other end an XLR straight into the desk.
The result was so good I immediately made a balanced Jack plug for myself to use live on stage.
I remember telling Chris P Dekker this last summer. Because he too needed a pre-amp out for gigs. He doubted if that would work on the Orange AD200B Mk3 he has.
Maybe Chris can chime in and tell us if it worked? Chris, are you there?

[doombass]

Interesting Rob. I had an email conversation with an audio electronics guy about using the slave output. He recommended using a passive DI box with a durable transformer and/or pad. The reason was the slave output can put out a higher voltage than regular signals but of course this depends on which volume you set on the amp. I guess it is no risk going directly to the mixing desk while using moderate volumes or keeping a good eye on the gain and using the pad if available on the desk.

[Basvarken]

I had the volume of the Ampeg V4B a little over 3. Which is fairly loud. Beyond that point you only get more and more drive.
But of course it is only a 100 watt amp.

The Orange AD200 is a whole lot louder.
I haven't tried the slave output of my AD200 as a DI yet.

[Rvl]

I like how the bass sits in the mix

Robert

[Barklessdog]

Finally got a chance to listen to it-

Love the Stevie Ray sound guitar. Great singing, as usual.

Nice bass playing.

I look forward to the CD. Let us know when it comes out.

[drbassman]

I was blown away!  Nice sound from your bass and I loved the singing too.  Let us know when it's ready!

[uwe]

Can't listen to anyhing here - darn!

[Chris P.]

Here I am!

I asked a lot of questions about the slave on forums. At the Pit, two Orange forums, some amp boards... and all kinds of answers, from no problem to don't do it.

As a last resort I mailed Orange and I got a mail back from amp-designer Adrian himself. here's my conversation:

Read from bottom up.

"Adrian Emsley"
The slave socket is padded down from the output stage so you get something similar to the way the amp actually sounds.

>> -----Original Message-----> From: "Chris P"
adrian emsley
RE: technical question

Dear Adrian,

Thanks for this quick answer! I'll try out option 3.
I hope I can bother you again with a question.
The question: Can you tell me more about the Slave Out. There isn't a technical manual ('Comming Soon' with two 'm's the site says.). Is it post preamp tubes? Which controls affect this signal? You wrote: "...so you still have bass in the PA if the amp fails."> You designed it; of course it won't fail!:) Thanks again for this great> amp!:)

Chris Dekker
From: Adrian Emsley 
Sent: 12 June 2007 13:21
Subject: RE: Technical question.
Your prefered option (3) will work fine and sound great!The only reason for using a DI box in front of the amp is so you still have bass in the PA if the amp fails

Chris wrote:
My preferrable option: 3) Bass --> Amp --> cabinet> Slave Out ---> DI ---> Soundboard.
Can I use the Slave Out for a DI? No problems for valves and impedance? Should I use the cabinet simulator or not? I hope you guys can help me out!
(Chris: My two other options were deleted by Adrian, to point this one out)

I saw the Dutch band Moke again this weekend. They use a double Orange bakcline nowadays. The bass player had two complete rigs with head, 115 and 410:)