Official buying advice thread

this ones directed to the basists. i recently acquired an EB/MM stingray, and found that i love bass even though i've been playing 6string forever now. if you could have any bass head/speaker combo out of these 4 namebrands what would you pick, price isnt really an object(keep it under like 4-5k). AMPEG, SWR, GALLIEN-KRUEGER, MESA-BOOGIE. keep in mind also that i have a line on a used ampeg svt head for $1599can, thats about 800 off retail up here in canada. please dont hold back and give the best setup you've heard cause i dont know that much about bass and need a spot on wishlist.
 
i use a GK 1001 RB with a 2x12 GK neo cab.

my bass player (eligos) uses a GK gold line with a 8x10 GK goldline cab.


so yeah, i'm gonna reccomend GK. but that SVT could be awesome. which svt is it? also, what style do you play. a fat tube amp like an svt may be a bit muddy if youre playing tech death

edit: oh, and congrats on the bad ass bass axe!
~gR~
 
Yeah GK definitely gets the job done. Great for just about any playing style.

I would also recommend Genz Benz GBE Series, with an XB2 series cabinet (didn't specify a model due to differing power and EQ preferences). Very broad frequency response. I've heard some fantastic tones come out of them.

Also, anything from Trace Elliot would do you very well. Legendary tone.

The Mesa M6Carbine is the shit.

So anyway, the latter 3 are hybrids, meaning they'll have tube preamps and solid state power amps.
 
Yeah Trace Elliots are great! My bassist has one and he loves it

Also MESAs are amazing so long as you are a good player, my local luthier has a MESA cab that he uses to spot flaws in gear with and you can hear fret buzz from a mile away! I swear by MESAs myself.

In the end the best thing to do is try them all out! go online and see which stores around you carry which brands and try out as many as you can. That way you get your own opinion on what suits YOU the best... and it's fun!
 
genocide roach said:
i use a GK 1001 RB with a 2x12 GK neo cab.

my bass player (eligos) uses a GK gold line with a 8x10 GK goldline cab.


so yeah, i'm gonna reccomend GK. but that SVT could be awesome. which svt is it? also, what style do you play. a fat tube amp like an svt may be a bit muddy if youre playing tech death

edit: oh, and congrats on the bad ass bass axe!
~gR~
Click to expand...

ya thanks, i should update my pics i guess since ive acquired and esp-m1, jackson-rr1, and this eb-stingray...but im so lazylol. anyway the head i have a line on is just the basic svt-cl but its mint and 800bux off, as far as sound im heading for a big beefy tonebut clear, i didnt plug it in but its an ampeg... as far as other amps i am only interested in AMPEG, SWR, GALLIEN-KRUEGER, MESA-BOOGIE and i really want like your dream setup out of those cause i have about 4-5k to spend and just want some input :D

edit: and tubes only plz, i will never purchase a non-tube amp.
 
KingVEE said:
ya thanks, i should update my pics i guess since ive acquired and esp-m1, jackson-rr1, and this eb-stingray...but im so lazylol. anyway the head i have a line on is just the basic svt-cl but its mint and 800bux off, as far as sound im heading for a big beefy tonebut clear, i didnt plug it in but its an ampeg... as far as other amps i am only interested in AMPEG, SWR, GALLIEN-KRUEGER, MESA-BOOGIE and i really want like your dream setup out of those cause i have about 4-5k to spend and just want some input :D

edit: and tubes only plz, i will never purchase a non-tube amp.
Click to expand...

What kind of music do you want to play? A SVT-CL is a great head for more distorted kinda tones which is good for some styles (doom metal, old school metal). But as GR said if you're playing death metal or something along the lines of that you will want a cleaner tone. I'm not an expert but the SVT-CL has a tube power section so you will get a warmer tone which is still good for a lot of styles of music.
 
Yeah with bass amplification it's not a matter of tube = good, solid state = bad unless you're going for a distorted tone, in which case tube and solid state amps produce different harmonic content.

Solid state gives you the advantage of a lot more power in most cases. Oh, and GK is known for the high quality solid state amps they produce, so if you've got your heart set on tubes then you should probably take GK off your preconceived "superior name brand" list.

I would recommend the GK Neo 412 as far as cabinets are concerned. Or the SWR Henry the 8x8.
 
dont get me wrong, i dont have a preconceived "superior name brand" list, but i do only buy superior products, and at my music store AMPEG, SWR, GALLIEN-KRUEGER, MESA-BOOGIE these are he only names they carry, hence my list ;) as far as what i play, i play everything from white zombie and metallica to cannibal corpse and opeth, i suppose if you had to classify the metal i play most it would be "old school metal/death metal". as far as distorted bass, the little i knew was big/fat/beefy/clean = good, so yeah thanks for the comments so far.
 
just because they carry it at the store does not mean its the best. actually, it usually means the exact opposite. most stores are just interested in pushing as much stuff out the door as possible, and that means they stock the cheap stuff. its not every day someone is willing to drop 3 grand on an amp

if you wanna talk top of the line gear, shoot an email to the guys at bass central. they carry the best stuff out there. www.basscentral.com
~gR~
 
So what should I get first once I've bought a car?

One of the options is a new, fancier, more powerful amp head. My current head is kinda cheap and I have to bolster it with a Sansamp to get a good tone. It will hold me over as long as I need it to but I'd like a more natural bass-to-amp tone. I've already got a nice SWR picked out. It fits all my specs and matches my cab's power handling perfectly.

The second option is that slap machine of a bass I posted earlier, the Dean Sledgehammer. I haven't bothered learning slap because my bass has never been that great for it. It would be nice to learn the technique and see if I couldn't apply it to songwriting in Kastigation. It has all the specs I'd want for a slapping bass.

The third option is a 6 string wish I chose because it's affordable, name-brand, and well-constructed: the Hohner B Bass VI. I've always loved extended range basses. They're more comfortable for me to play and easier to innovate on. All maple except for the fretboard, and I'd be replacing the nut and electronics.

All of these I plan to buy in the coming years, but I'm not sure how to prioritize. I'd want to get lessons for slap if I got the Dean.
 
Hey.

I'm thinking of getting a keyboard. Now, I have no keyboard/piano/synth experience whatsoever, so I have no idea what brands/models are good. I'd ideally like something affordable (in the £100-200 range – that's ~$150-300) but sufficiently sturdy and decent-quality that it would keep me going until I get serious enough/become good enough musically to appreciate the need for something more expensive. Basically, I want something I can practise with which is still good enough for me to enjoy playing.

B
 
Looking for keyboard too, for my brother. He doesn't know shit about keyboards but he still wants one and I'm trying to help him buy a good one. The budget is about a $1000. What do you suggest?
 
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