Vintage amps, anyone?

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

One thing that I always find interesting about guitarists is the way that the words "vintange tone" play such a large part in advertising copy for amps. Guitar amps seem to have peaked some decades ago and (except for modellers) nothing much seems to have happened. And even modellers live and die by their ability to recreate "vintage tone".

 

On the other hand, bass amps tend to be unashamedly "progressive" in their design. And I've never known bass players to be all that crazy on an amp simply because it was built in 1959 or whatever. "Vintage" doen't seem to play a big part in amp purchasing decisions.

 

For one thing, the way that many bass amps are solid state frees bass players (and even bassists!) from adhering to older designs. And anyway, a lot of those older amps are kind of huge and unwieldy. "Reissues", too, are a lot rarer in the bass amp market than they are in the guitar market.

 

Or is just me? Do you guys love your vintage amps just as much as guitarists? Or doesn't it matter?

[Rocky McDougall]

Good question Kramer, one that needs to be answered. Guitarists seem to like Vintage Amps and modern instruments, Bassists and bass players seem to love Vintage Instruments and modern amps. It just proves that Bassists and Guitarist have nothing in common.

Rocky

[jeremy c]

There's only one vintage bass amp that any cares about and that is the Ampeg B-15. It's considered to be a great studio amp.

 

I never have used an amp in the studio and I sold my B-15 36 years ago because it wasn't loud enough to use in a band.

 

There seems to be a new craze going on for the Acoustic 360 bass amp, another impractical amp.

 

I've got a vintage bass (which I bought new), but would never even consider buying one. The quality of basses being made right now is exceptional.

 

Today's amps are getting better and better as well.

 

But I want vintage batteries for my effects.

[Nicklab]

The B-15 is definitely the most widely recognized classic amp out there. I'd also say that some of the vintage SVT's are sought after, but to a lesser degree. They're terribly inefficient compared to modern amps that have solid state power sections, but some people like the tube power amps.

[Big Daddy from Motown]

The reason why bass players don't go in for classic tube amps is simple, weight. An SVT is nearly 80 lbs. to lug around. There are plenty of collectors of Sunn and Fender tube bass rigs but they are light on power by todays standards. I spent years trying to get the sound of a Fender Dual Showman but really loud. Now I take the smallest rig I can get away with to any gig.

[Paul K]

My take is that guitarists are also better able to take advantage of overdriving old tube amps. They don't need as much wattage as bass players do to be sufficiently too loud.

 

Also, bass players have a tendency towards requiring a clean tone that these old amps (the ones of modest size, not SVT) just cannot deliver at gig sound levels. (that's tendency. I know lots of ya'll like the overdrive, but most also like to be able to switch it off on occasion)

 

 

 

And like Big Daddy, I also bring only what I need...and will fit in the car.

 

Peace

Paul K

[jeremy c]

I spent years trying to get the sound of a Fender Dual Showman but really loud.

 

All you need is an Alembic preamp and a power amp to do that.

[Big Daddy from Motown]

That's what I had along with lots of 15 inch JBL's, and a station wagon or van to haul it all around.

[jeremy c]

That's what I had along with lots of 15 inch JBL's, and a station wagon or van to haul it all around.

 

I bet it sounded great!

[Bob Gollihur]

Vintage amps are only cool if you have somebody to carry them, and second person to mic them.

[Davo-London]

Tube sound, if wanted, can be gained with a tube DI or preamp, after that you just need a clean amp and for that solid state is a logical choice. Vintage for a large part means noisy and heavy gear and that simply isn't what bassist seem to want.

 

Look at the Mark Bass range and you will see a bewildering range of digital, solid-state, analogue and tube pre and power amp combinations. Plus look at the diversity of forum members set-ups. There is no general consensus as the range of bass tones goes from hi-fi to pure grit. Vive la difference.

 

Vintage basses on the other hand can be dead cool. Simple passive basses are still very popular and so there is no real technology difference. Hence, there is no real sonic or utility disadvantage to vintage basses.

 

Davo

 

 

[Phil W]

I think you got all the answers Vince.

 

Talk about diversity . . . didn't Steve Lawson sound great through the hi-fi monitors at that living room gig.

[jcadmus]

Seems like it comes down to a couple fundamentals -- to produce a good bass sound loud, you need a lot of power and cabs that could produce a lot of air motion.

 

In the past that meant big, HEAVY cabs and speakers, and HEAVY, somewhat unreliable tube amps.

 

Seems like the evolution over the last 30 years has been to trty to continue producing that good sound loud, but reduce weight and increase reliability.

 

That means solid state or hybrid amps that sound good and can produce a lot of power, and new cabs and speakers that are lighter.

[alexclaber]

I like amps that sound like my bass plugged straight into the board in a good studio - old amps can't do that but some of the better new ones can AND you don't need a team of roadies to move them!

 

Alex

[RalphM]

http://www.bigralph.com/image/fenderbassman.gif

 

My sole piece of "vintage" stuff is this Fender Bassman 135 with 2x12 cabinet. While the tone is beautiful, the older amps do not include the features of the new stuff. It's also VERY heavy to lug around.

 

Amps & speakers for bass may share some commonality with those for guitars but the differences are significant. To that end, I think that the technological evolution of bass amps and bass cabinets have given us modern equipment that is fundamentaly BETTER than the vintage stuff.

 

I don't really want to play through an old 50w tube head and a single 15" speaker anymore. We've come a long way from that. So have the instruments.Moden basses with 5 and 6 strings and state-of-the-art pickups and pre-amps have really pushed the sonic boundaries of what the instrument can do.

 

The diversity of built-in features of modern equipment is something most of us take for granted anymore. Case in point: one of the moden bassists' best friends is compression. That was pretty much unheard of in the old days. Nowadays, many bass rigs have this built-in. Another is speaker cabinet design. Modern 2x10, 4x10, etc stuff is so much more compact and efficient (and better sounding IMHO) than the old 15x1 15x2 gear. The tone I can get nowadays from my little 2x10 combo amp is astounding compared to how much equipment I'd need to do the same thing using "old school" stuff.

 

I still have my old Fender P-bass that I started out with and I have my vintage Bassman amp - but when I head out the door to a gig I'm taking along all my latest and greatest stuff from Ampeg, Eden, Spector, etc.

 

 

 

 

[WCriley]

 

I like amps that sound like my bass plugged straight into the board in a good studio

 

Has anyone ever heard a guitar player say that? That's because a guitar sounds like crap without the peaks, dips, distortion and high frequency cut-off of old amps and speakers.

 

I first attempted bass back in the late 1970s. I played my brand new MM Stingray through an old "Blackface" Bassman head for a few months, then tried a newer solid-state Peavey. I immediately noticed that the solid-state head responded quicker. No rectifier tube "lag". And stayed clean as I turned it up.

 

I learned back then that what's good for guitar is not good for bass, and vice versa. The same still holds true today.

[jeremy c]

I unfortunately sold a couple of good guitars because I thought they sounded terrible.

I was playing them through my bass amp. (I was doubling on bass and guitar back in the day.)

 

Now I have a small guitar amp and a couple of cheap guitars and they sound great through the guitar amp.

[WCriley]

I unfortunately sold a couple of good guitars because I thought they sounded terrible.

I was playing them through my bass amp. (I was doubling on bass and guitar back in the day.)

 

Now I have a small guitar amp and a couple of cheap guitars and they sound great through the guitar amp.

 

I unfortunatly sold the Stingray after about a year because I was having more fun playing guitar. Now, 30 years later, I rarely touch a guitar because I'm having more fun playing bass.

 

Funny how we get smarter as we age. Sure wish I had that old MM back...and that the guy I "sold" it to had paid me for it!