Looking For A Recording Bass Amp/Eric Judy

[bamse]

I just haven't been able to get consistently good bass sounds with what I have. Right now I have a Hartke 200 watt combo with an Ibanez SR800 bass on which I ripped out the active electronics and put in Seymour Duncans. I forget the exact
name of the pickups right now, but they're quite heavy in the mids.

My favorite bass tones are Eric Judy of Modest Mouse; P-bass/4003 -> 90s SVT-8x10 (live) , and ones of the French band AIr; Mustang Bass?->?

I was thinking about getting an SVT-CL with an 8x10 cab, perhaps this would be overkill though.

The first thing I will do is upgrade my bass to a Fender American Series P-bass.

Do you think I should go with the huge SVT rig? Why? WHy not?

Anyone know about any recording techniques used on bass on Modest Mouse albums? Mics, placement, pres, compressors etc.

Thanks,

Erland

[bigtoe]

assuming your playing is all in order...i'd stay away from the AMPEG SVT/CL.

a few years ago - i bought one. sounds nothing like an SVT though it's ok. went thru 3 of them in 2 months. really poor construction. i do think an 8X10 is a no brainer...i mean you can get by without it...but wow does it make it easy...nothing does what it does...which sucks cuz it's HUGE. but the head - eh - if you have an 8X10 you can make a G+K rock.

"The first thing I will do is upgrade my bass to a Fender American Series P-bass."

good call... though look to some mexi and japanese made ones...not bad. i've had a few real p-bass's and honestly- some of the earlier not made in usa ones are rad. i had an original squire in 83 that smoked...

but again...your playing is 99% of it...my best bass sound came from a guy playing thru my solid state traynor guitar practice amp. work on the fingers...not what comes after... if you haven't.

Mike

[Lee Knight]

I got an Ashdown MAG 2-10. This amp is perfect for what you're decribing. 2 10's for recording rocks. A mini SVT cab kinda. 300 watts! $450! Smokin' little ass kicker.

[bamse]

assuming your playing is all in order...i'd stay away from the AMPEG SVT/CL.

Interesting. I've heard nothing but good things about the CL.
Does anyone know when it came out? I'm looking at an SVT from the early 90s and a 70s 8x10 that some has. How much is the max you would pay for this? Remember I'm in the NYC area.

i do think an 8X10 is a no brainer...i mean you can get by without it...but wow does it make it easy...nothing does what it does...

What makes it a "no brainer" for you? The choice of speakers? I guess what I'm trying to say is why does one really need this many speakers in the studio? I tend to always close mic bass cabs.

"The first thing I will do is upgrade my bass to a Fender American Series P-bass."

good call... though look to some mexi and japanese made ones...not bad. i've had a few real p-bass's and honestly- some of the earlier not made in usa ones are rad. i had an original squire in 83 that smoked...

How early is "earlier"? I can get a new American Series for $899. Anyone had any experience with the S-1 switch on the P-Bass?

work on the fingers...not what comes after... if you haven't.

Hey, what's wrong with picks? Eric Judy uses one.

Erland

[Scodiddly]

If you haven't tried fooling around with little guitar amps for bass, you should. A nice close mic on a smallish amp can sound pretty big.

[chetatkinsdiet]

In the past year or two, I've had all the good bass rigs. Vintage Sunn, Ampeg SVT CL, Ampeg Fliptops, etc....
For the studio...hands down, the Fliptop's are the way to go. They'll give you that nice, vintage Ampeg sound and everything else. They work for hard rock, country, soul, r&b, etc....Nothing sounds bad through them. Also, I've never heard a bass that doesn't love my fliptop. Active, passive, P, J, Rick, Sabres, Stingrays......these amps just rock. And the volume is perfect for a studio setting.
Mine's a 66 model. These things are starting to really go up in price, so get yours quick.

As for the SVT vs the reissue SVT CL. I've had both and the CL that I recently was forced to sell to my bass player will smoke just about all the vintage amps I've heard....him too, and he's been around the block and played them since they were new....early 70s. He was even an endorsee and used multiple heads and cabs on stage at once....so, in otherwords...he's probably been through more of SVT's than most of us combined.
He says that this one is the best he's heard. It's just a run of the mill newish one that just got re-tubed with EH tubes.

A real SVT is great, but really just way too much for a studio.

Later,
m

[spankenstein]

One of the best bass sounds I recorded was an Ampeg SVT-4 through an 8x10 and I close miked one of the speakers with a cheap ass Nady DM80 SOunded awesome.

I have an Ampeg B-1 combo and a few cabinets (SVT-212, SVT-1510HE) and can get great sounds through those to but I mostly use DI.

I also have a Hartke 3500 which I really hate except the DI sound is REALLY good. Otherwise it's lifeless.

Back on track, the 810 is awesome but could definitely be overkill if you're not gigging with it. The smaller combos sound great and are controllable if bleed is a problem. I also like th fliptop but it's out of my price range for now.

[chetatkinsdiet]

...speaking of DI....even comparing to all the cool, vintage tube amps I've got....the POD bass pro units do a pretty mean SVT. I've used them for the DI and actually preferred it over the amp feed many times. It's just so easy to use...
Once again, as with most of this stuff, if you get a great player, it makes the recording process so much easier. They can make anything sound decent.

later,
m

[scott anthony]

I've got an old Fender Super Bass Combo that records really well. You can't go wrong with an old Ampeg Fliptop B-15, as mentioned before.

I've been checking out Ashdowns off and on. Heard one really cool one (blue face, tubes) but the cheaper solid state ones are pretty lifeless.

P-bass is a great way to go, worth picking through the Mexican ones for a cherry.

One of my favorite bass sounds was thorugh a Yamaha keyboard amp with a tired speaker pushed to the brink of disaster. You never know...

I've also heard the old Acoustic head with the graphic sound pretty good.

[bigtoe]

"What makes it a "no brainer" for you? The choice of speakers? I guess what I'm trying to say is why does one really need this many speakers in the studio? I tend to always close mic bass cabs."

no brainer cuz whenever i use one - it's easy - it sounds good. not sure on the why's but cabinet design is important...just cuz the mic is up there doesn't mean it's not reacting to the cabinet.

"How early is "earlier"? I can get a new American Series for $899. Anyone had any experience with the S-1 switch on the P-Bass?"

i dunno! is the S-1 the little button in the knob? it did something when i played one...this was a brand new american made...sounded great...but not like the mid 70's one i just sold for 800.

"As for the SVT vs the reissue SVT CL. I've had both and the CL that I recently was forced to sell to my bass player will smoke just about all the vintage amps I've heard....him too, and he's been around the block and played them since they were new....early 70s. He was even an endorsee and used multiple heads and cabs on stage at once....so, in otherwords...he's probably been through more of SVT's than most of us combined."

they aren't the same amp...so it's preference. how someone could prefer a CL to an original is beyond me...the cl is ok...but no way is it the same as an original.

"A real SVT is great, but really just way too much for a studio."

i think every studio should have one. it's kind of a standard.

Mike

[AGCurry]

As a bassist and recording engineer, my opinion is that big amps are, well, useless in the studio. You're gonna close-mike it, right? Well, all you need for close miking is ONE driver. On Carol Kaye's web site, there's a picture of her in a recording session with a mic on a Fender guitar amp (Super Reverb, I think). And she's one of the greatest session bassists in history. James Jamerson (Motown) went direct in to the board. Really: Precision bass and talent is 90% of what you need. SVTs are great, but not for the studio.

[Catoogie]

B-15

[KennyLusk]

If you haven't tried fooling around with little guitar amps for bass, you should. A nice close mic on a smallish amp can sound pretty big.

I agree with Sco' on this. I get wonderfully tight, round, and warm bass tones from a Vox Cambridge with 2 X 10's (guitar amp) and a simple little Yamaha RBX 270 Fretless. I mic it with a CAD KBM412 about 2 feet from the speakers and "voila", insta-tone.

[lutopia]

As a bassist and recording engineer, my opinion is that big amps are, well, useless in the studio. You're gonna close-mike it, right? Well, all you need for close miking is ONE driver. On Carol Kaye's web site, there's a picture of her in a recording session with a mic on a Fender guitar amp (Super Reverb, I think). And she's one of the greatest session bassists in history. James Jamerson (Motown) went direct in to the board. Really: Precision bass and talent is 90% of what you need. SVTs are great, but not for the studio.

My sentiments exactly. For years I used an SWR SM-400 with one 4x10 cabinet along side an Avalon DI. This, along with various distorion pedals, usually gave me everything I was after. I play a Japanese Fender Jazz bass (reissue).

I'd also like to mention that one of the coolest bass tones I've ever recorded was a P-bass through a crappy Peavey bass amp (1 15" speaker).

[Everybody's X]

my favorite bass sound I ever got was a 50 watt boogie guitar head through a 4x10 cab, I had a tech 21 compactor on the front end
Mic'd the cab with a 4033 and my home made speaker mic (just screwing around with it). Sounded freakin huge. Then the bassist came over and threw a fit about me using a "guitar amp" for a bass. He insisted we use his svt/8x10 rig. told him if he wanted carry the big f$%ker down the stairs then to knock himself out.
freakin bass players