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What are some open back bass combos? I assume they're not really made anymore but what are some older ones, or ones that have been appropriated for guitar use?

Does anyone here use an open back combo for a bass amp? Loving the tones coming out of my Carr Mercury, a blackface fendery thing, with bass. Works great if you want it bassy but not too bassy.

I should say, I have no real idea about bass amps. Are there a whole lot of small, boutiquey bass amps that are sort of 50s or 60s styled? I know there are a lot a lot of super modern, nu as bass amps, but I'm more interested in older style ones. Is buying a low wattage tube bass amp for bedroom practice, so you can get right on the verge of breakup a thing? Or do most bass players like their bass totally spanky clean?

Ah so many solid state bass amps. Scary shit.

Where is Daza anyway?

Jansen 50s with those gigantic old Duo boxs running 2x12" Plessey speakers. There's your sound right there.

Sounds awesome! hehe.

So according to the internet bass amps are very different to guitar amps. In that most people aren't into vintage style low wattage tube bass amps. There seems to be way more in terms of hifi, modern bass amps. Or GIANT old tube bass amps. There are so many boutique tube guitar combo options made for apartment and recording use but not for bass. So much solid state stuff.

Jenesis wrote:Where is Daza anyway?

cheers Henderson

Love bass amps with valve pre-amps and solid state main amplification. Hate bass amps with entirely valve signal path. Sound muddy and crap. Currently playing a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0. Can get up to 600 watts (currently only 300 with a single 12") and weighs almost nothing. No point breaking your back these days when technology's caught up.

So is 'authentic 60s bass tone' something that people just don't want or something? No way are you going to get very accurately old style bass tones out of something with a solid state power amp!

thehenderson wrote: No way are you going to get very accurately old style bass tones out of something with a solid state power amp!

your home hi-fi system doesn't seem to have any problems doing that does it?

thehenderson wrote: So according to the internet bass amps are very different to guitar amps. In that most people aren't into vintage style low wattage tube bass amps.

Low wattage amps are kind of pointless because the (very rough) rule of thumb is that, if you're going to play with others, you will need about 3x the wattage of the guitarist (guitars cut through the mix better)

The concept of "vintage" doesn't cut much ice with bass players. Not to the buzzword extent that it is a for guitar amps.

I've had both of course and lots of 'em and have had a preference for SS bass amps since the mid '70s. The very last thing I want to hear from my rig is distortion. Nowadays the very last thing I want from my gear is a more fucked back!!

Most bass players have sought after bigger and better right from the start, especially in a live performance situation. Bass playing tends to be cleaner and depend more on player control and dynamics, so it's really just about amplifying as cleanly as possible.

If you really want the authentic 60s sound, go for either the Tech21 VT Bass, or a Catalinbread SFT at 18V. The famous motown sound came from old Ampeg B-15s, which were tiny (25W) and impractical for anything other than studio work. The VT Bass is a fantastic emulation that gets you basically the whole way there, without the drawback of a lack of power.

I also suggest a closed back 1x15. Even those new Fender amps do a suitable clean, and you could easily chuck an SFT or VT Bass in the front end of one of those for sweet vintage tone.

rocklander wrote:

thehenderson wrote: No way are you going to get very accurately old style bass tones out of something with a solid state power amp!

your home hi-fi system doesn't seem to have any problems doing that does it?

This is my favourite post, and wish to stuff it up cork-sniffers' noses.

I genuinly don't understand that comment. Please spell it out to me like you would to a child.

Sounds like you're saying that when you listen to a recording on a solid state stereo you can't hear the different between a valve amp and a solid state amp. If that's what you mean then I think you'll find very few people on NZG are hearing what you're hearing.