Author Topic: Alembic Seeks Loving Relationship :-) (Read 695 times)

dutch358 · « **Reply #15 on:** April 28, 2003, 09:38:55 PM »

No disrespect to mesa- BUT you might want to check out Eden amps also. Sevaral speaker combinations and sizes. Pre and power amps,all tube and solid state, or combinations of both. 50 to 1200 watts. Combos too. Heavy but sturdy!

jazzyvee · « **Reply #16 on:** April 29, 2003, 03:18:59 AM »

Initially guys, as you know, I wanted a decent combo but choice here in the UK for high end stuff is very limited and I could not find a decent combo which gave me the sound I wanted.

One of the combinations I did try was an eden amp with 2x10 cab & horn and to my ears it didn't have the weight of bass nor crispness I wanted.

Then out of curiousity I tried the boogie which was a compact setup and sounded fantastic and I'm more than happy with the sound, and so are the musicians I play with and punters.

With respect, I don't need the kind of setup you are describing dutch. As good as I'm sure it is it's not practical or neccessary for me to have that kind of power for the gigs I do.
The sound it gives me and the compactness I get from it is the best I have heard.

on a lighter note.... even if I could find the kit to try out, here in the UK would require serious money to buy and the Mesa is not cheap by any stretch of the imagination. :-)

Thanks for the info tho.

dutch358 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 29, 2003, 05:48:03 AM »

No problem. I'm new here. I'll have to try a mesa combo. I'm near Indianapolis, so we can get about anything here. I love Tube sound with a folded horn ala Sunn 200s- but got tired of lifting it in and out of my car about 1975. Is there a club scene where one can play outside of the large cities in England and the EU? I love the pubs and the people but They seem a bit cozy for a band. Outdoors perhaps?

jazzyvee · « **Reply #18 on:** April 29, 2003, 08:49:08 AM »

I got tired of lifting gear around so I decided to streamline my kit for ease whilst keeping the sound quality I need.

As for the being a bit cosy for bands here. I would have to say sadly that you are correct. Not enough people go out to see the smaller/medium gigs here so we don't get many of the major jazz/fusion bands here or the ones that are not household names.

I went to see Vital Information in concert here a couple of months ago and there were about 80 people at the gig. And those players are awesome...!!

We do have strange laws here about live entertainment in places like pubs and clubs which kind of discourages some smaller places from having live music and hence the rise of the dj's celebrity DJ and Karaoke :-(

I have toured and travelled in the states other places in Europe and it seems many places outside the UK have a more open and welcoming attitude to live music.

bigredbass · « **Reply #19 on:** April 30, 2003, 12:02:32 AM »

I recently tried a Mesa M-Pulse VENTURE, a relatively new product. This is an M-Pulse 600 built into a 2-10 or 1-15 cabinet, with a high-frequency driver. This is 600 watts in a rig about the size of a flip-top Ampeg. Big EQ, compressor, direct box w/XLR, blendable loop, tube front end.

Like the rest of Randall Smith's products, there was a certain smoothness I've not heard anywhere else. A Bass 400+ is way too much for me, but I love the tone. This VENTURE 15 was really exceptional, and I can well imagine that same tone in JV's WALKABOUT/210 rig.

I was very impressed. I've really wanted something along the lines of a Super RedHead (too thin sounding for me) or a Metro (I hate those gold faceplates and the little Chiclet switches) or the BassMan 400 (too . . . Fenderish) or the Peavey modeling combo (terrific amp, but why would I want to sound like folded 18's again?). I think I found what I've been looking for. Now to audition it with the BigRedBass and see if it holds up. Will keep you posted.

J o e y

jazzyvee · « **Reply #20 on:** May 02, 2003, 02:02:42 AM »

Yeah the Venture combo you mention would probably have suited my needs, however I could not find a store here that had any mesa boogie combo's.

Due to the mesa stuff being Expensive here shops only stock small quantities because people don't walk in every day wanting mesa products. So I can only choose from a limited stock.

Most of the stores seem to hold mountains of Ashdowns, peavey, fender, marshall and warwick. Which I didn't appeal to my ears and or practical.

That peavey modelling combo would probably be fine for a cabaret gig or a cruise ship band where you need to have different bass sounds for everything from rocknroll, country, blues, pop 50's 60's and 70's etc.

Too me it sounded terrible. Why spend a fortune on an alembic and make it sound crap. :-)
Let me know what you end up with.

Whoosh gone