Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Bob, I gotta agree with you there. I have a SWR redhead, older one but ok sound. I just added an Ampeg B1 as a pre-amp and also use the amplified portion into another 2x10. Man what a difference and it's still not an SVT. Nothing beats that SVT sound.

You guys talking about the old SVT tube amp? It seems most of the other SVT's are SS. I believe you said no prefix's but those numbers and pro would be suffixes?

A few opinions I share with a few people...first, Jeff is 100% correct that a largish PA can work against a band's sound if the equipment is not used well. Lived that a month ago today...

I like Rob's minimalism. I am not a fan of complexity-when playing guitar I am definitely "old-school"...I want NOTHING on my sound but the tubes breaking up. I don't mind having a 3 channel amp, but I really don't want anything other than a couple of distortion tones, a clean tone, and what the guitar can do.

Playing bass I'm pretty much the same, except I really don't even care for distortion, except for what the amp does...I've always been a SS guy regarding my bass amps-I probably should try a tube amp...I'm going to buy a chorus off the guitarist, might start trying to mess with it. But I generally just try to control my tone via the guitar/bass.

Alot of the Ampeg amps have tube preamps and they have that Ampeg circuitry that is often copied but not duplicated. It's not hard finding an Ampeg something with tubes. They are very punchy amps that can bring alive almost any bass. Ed if you haven't tried and Ampeg, do it. Ampegs have a lot of power so they don't distort unless you crank em up to 10 and at that point your ears will be a bleedin,. If you're buying chorus get an old analog one.

Old Ampeg SVT's do not distort unless you want to level buildings especially with two cabs. They are very warm sounding, clear and punchy and are still the standard by which all new amps SS or tube are measured bar none. The last American SVT was made in 1979 I believe, some people say 1980. Next was Japan and are called SVT's also I think. The next ones were hand made in America by St. Louis Music and only 500 were made to see if there was still a demand and were called SVT-HD. Then SVT-II then SVT-III etc. The real SVT is an all tube 300 watt head, a real SVT cab was also made in the 70's and also called SVT and was an 8x10 and you were supposed to use two at all times. The MTI Ampegs uprated the cabs to handle the full 300 watts. Tube amps are different than SS amps, you want you speaker rating to be as high and better yet higher than the head's output rather than the other way around for SS heads. the closest to a real SVT today is an SVT-CL or classic, it's all tube and has one channel and has a few extra preamp settings. Ed, SVT's love flatwounds (and round wounds) haha! I would buy a 70's before I bought a new one.

Some may say the strong opinions here are a turn off. I love 'em! Guys will fight to the death over the "sound", or flat vs round.....

Who ever said bass players are all alike, especially those Rick guys?

The funny thing is nobody ever changes their opinions, haha! that loooonng flat vs round thread got me to thinking though, so I took out one of my 4001's that has Ric nickel rounds on it Saturday night because I knew it was going to be a rock gig, it sounded great through my SVT (with 1 15" speaker) it was a small club. the next day I did a blues gig and took one of my 4003's with Pyramids on it and it too sounded good through my SVT with 2 15"s. No mic's onstage at either gig except for vocals, no monitors the first night either. That is one concession I will make, I need monitors.

I've changed my opinion several times ... I used to be a hofner/gibson eb0/flatwound/McCartney guy ... then I became a 4001 round wound Squire guy ... then a became a classic rock guy ... then a became a blues band guy ... then I became a modern rock guy and then I became a 5 string guy ...

me in the old days ...



and me these days ...

I just wonder what the next transformation of Rath will be, or will this be his final form? Stay tuned....

A musician should learn to play many forms and styles of music to stay alive musically, it's not about the basses you play or the amps you use, they are just tools of the trade, I prefer Ric basses because they do so many things well. This week I did a rock gig with a round wound 4001 Ric bass, the next day I did a blues gig with a flatwound 4003 Ric bass and an upright, going back and forth several times during the afternoon. I play with many different musicians and I have to keep an open mind, stay on my toes and play many styles or this business will pass me by quickly as I hate playing top forty covers. New rock, pop, it's all the same krap to me, it's been recycled incessantly for years and most of it was done much better 30 years ago, it's gotten to the point for me where most of it sounds like noise and gives me a headache after a while, haha!. I do hear interesting stuff still occasionally though, and I still like to play original rock which for me is really what it's all about, being creative.
I have learned to listen to the band intently as I play. For example I lay my cabs on the floor now so I can hear the other guys better, we urge the guitarists to step in front of their amps so the sound won't go right by them. Fenders are nice for this, they have the little bars on the side so you can tip them back.
As far as bass goes, The low frequency aspect of bass is like fog, it is non-directional, and higher frequencies are like a narrow beam of light, they stay focused. That is why right in front of a bass amp you can hear a nice crisp sound but off to the side all you hear sometimes is bottom, this where judicious use of a PA and a soundman can come into play.
I also like to get out, set up the SVT's and rock out sometimes, it depends on the gig, the players, the music and the room.

... back to the initial topic: some "sound engineers" just did not learn to listen... they are so impressed about their highly sophisticated equipments and just leisure in the SPL. Some of them seem to think that they are the master of the band and would never take an advice of any audience... Sorry, that sometimes really is the problem of life concerts.

"Some of them seem to think that they are the master of the band and would never take an advice of any audience..." or band members. some are good though.