My amp

[edwin]

Thought I'd post a picture as it's probably not your typical rig. The preamp section is in the rack on the bottom, with an F2B, SF2 and a Lexicon MPX G2. The power amp is a very beat up McIntosh 2105 and the speakers are two JBL K120s and a McCauley 15 all in EV designed cabinets. The 12s are Joe's Speaker and Salami and the 15 was made by one of my students.
 
The rack on the top is my in ear rig, with a couple of Metric Halo interfaces and an RME Octamic, which gives me 24 inputs and 5 stereo in ear mixes. I'm thinking of integrating the effects into the in ear rig instead of using the Lexicon.
 
Sorry for the crappy exposure.
 

[tbrannon]

Holy smokes.... i don't know what I'd do with all those knobs.  
 
I'll bet it is warm, articulate and will make those pant legs FLAP!!!

[David Houck]

Have you considered a custom shock-mount rack for the Mac?

[edwin]

I have, Dave, but I don't think that I've admitted to myself that I'm taking it out of the house yet! It's been a home studio and rehearsal amp for a couple of decades and hasn't really served as a bass amp on a regular basis since 1980. I've been thinking about trying to find a more road worthy, purpose-designed amp but none of the ones I've tried have had a tone that gets close. Hopefully this month I'm going to have time to tear it down and recap the signal path, replace the busted speaker switch and deal with a couple of other issues. In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions for a good gigging power amp that has this kind of fidelity, I'm all ears! There is a Stewart 2.1 available for cheap, but I've never used one. The Mac really has some magic to the tone.
 
(Message edited by edwin on May 10, 2010)

[sonicus]

Edwin
               I really like the old Yamaha Convection cooled P2200/P2201  
 I have used them since the early 1990's . You can usually pick one up used around $ 200 / 250  and sometimes less. I picked my first one up around 1992 and has been a reliable high end performer  with no issues . It has a good damping factor for defined Bass.  
Expect to be able to get a solid 230 watts  RMS per channel from it @ 8 ohms.
 
(Message edited by sonicus on May 11, 2010)

[smokinbear]

Hey Edwin, Bear here.... I just moved back to Colorado last month from the republic of commiefornia and i have a crown macrotech-2402/ kern ip-777 rig you can try any time. my buddy will be using it this friday at the fox in boulder he play bass with octopus nebula. Also he's using my hard truckers 2x15 if you feel like coming down for a listen or get there early during load in and you can play the shit out of it. The kern has one of the best Di's around. .......Still got to come see your Starfire. Im workin on a starfire project too these days and should have her done by fall. peace and brown notes....Bear

[edwin]

Thanks for the offer! If you'll be there, I might just do that. I've played through the HT cabinet before, but it got me in trouble. The rest of the band thought it was way too loud!  
 
Let me know what time you'll be there and I'll drop by with my Starfire.\

[xlrogue6]

Edwin, have you been working out, or have you got a crew?--because, having just repaired a 2105, those are the only two reasons I can come up with that would make anyone seriously consider moving one of those beasts around.  OK, an SVT is a little heavier--but at least they come with handles!

[afrobeat_fool]

Dang, E. That is some rig. I'm sending you an e-mail.
 
Nick

[hieronymous]

The Shockra sticker is making me nostalgic for the Northeast...
 
My band opened for you once, long ago - you let me play through your amp which was very nice, it was and probably still is the nicest sounding rig I ever played through! It must have been around '93-'94, somewhere like Albany, NY, my band was Jiggle the Handle... Around the same time you told me about your Alembic preamp and how you found it for a great price used on the internet - I didn't even know what the internet was!

[edwin]

I remember that! I can't recall the name of the venue, but I do recall that there was a significant danger of bumping your head on the way in! I also remember Jiggle. We did Bumstock together! What happened to everyone in that band? It's nice that we ended up here.
 
I would imagine you've played through a bunch of rigs that sound as good since then. A memory like that has a way of taking on a life of its own. It is funny that my rigs have evolved and ended up more or less back where I started. Kent, I keep thinking I'm going to be able to shed a lot of weight and retain the tone I want, but it never quite gets there. My Euphonic Audio rig was close and certainly really convenient.

[smokinbear]

Hey Edwin i won't be at the fox till late (9 or 10 pm)due to a prior engagement with a girl ;~) but i can try to get your name on the list so you can hear my rig. Also if you want to e-mail me and we can get togather some other time and ill bring my rack for you to try thru your cabs. Have a good weekend. ......Bear

[hieronymous]

Hey Edwin - I'm pretty sure that amp setup was the best I've ever played through! I think part of it was that it seemed like there was a lot of headroom, so instead of playing at the limits of the amps abilities (usually the case with my setup), the sound was smooth and creamy with plenty of bottom. Of course, the memory may have taken on a life of its own as you say, but I think I can safely say that I have attained close to the sound I heard that night in studio recordings, but not live!
 
Jiggle the Handle was a pretty dysfunctional band - the leader/guitarist/vocalist/songwriter, Gary Backstrom is still playing - he just led a Todd Rundgren tribute show in Arlington, Mass. Many other members passed through that band, both while I was in it and after I left in '95. I've gotten back in touch with many of them, though thankfully I've moved on and grown up!
 
Sorry your bass isn't done yet - I hope you can make it out here to pick it up - it would be great to check it out and meet up - I've got a decent albeit small amp setup if you want to crank it up!

[edwin]

Well, things evolve. I got in a Crest CA9 power amp this weekend and before I could get to my gigs which could accommodate the speakers shown above, my car broke down. So, all that would fit in my wife's Honda Accord were a couple of Euphonic Audio CXL12s. It sounds amazing! Huge, deep, clear and very quick. It just doesn't seem to run out of headroom. It can get very loud, but it doesn't even seem that loud because it's so clear. I'm excited to try it out the with the JBLs next weekend now that my car is fixed (I dodged a bullet, a strut spring rusted out and broke and plunged into a tire, but I was just pulling out from the curb instead of being on I-25 where I had been right before pulling up to the parking spot), but I think the EAs might be here to stay.
 
Edwin
PS. Harry, I think this sounds even better than my rig of yore! It's possible that the secret to that old rig was the CM Labs power amp.