Practice amp for Series II

[el8ed]

Hello,
I was fortunate enough to pick up a short scale Series II (SC) in Cocobolo a few days ago. I absolutely love this bass. Fits my smallish hands like a glove.
Now I am getting serious to (re)learn how to play again.


I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a practice amp that can reproduce the whole tonal range of this wonderful instruments. I just want to hear all that the bass has to give … or at this point the lack of my ability to get it out. 


Loud is not a requirement at this point. Sound quality is.


Thanks for your thoughts.
Cheers,
Oliver

[jazzyvee]

I have a series II alembic and use a Phil Jones Briefcase for home practice and smaller rehearsals and gigs. The sound quality is great and gets on with my Low B string. I also have a series I shorty and that sounds great with it also. They have become quite expensive in recent years but I recommend them.

[edwardofhuncote]

I hear really nice things said about the Phil Jones stuff. No firsthand experience with it here. *See, Jazzy beat me to it!

It's pretty hard to foul up a Series bass. It could be as simple as a really good set of headphones or iems. If you just gotta' hear it coming from a box, whew... golly, where to start?

Me personally, I really like the Acoustic Image stuff. It's small, versatile, can run 2 ohms and power a pair of cabs if I needed to, but is fine and dandy with a Bag End S10-D for practice or low volume acoustic jams.

Congratulations on your new-to-you Series II. If that's the one I think it is, I'm glad to hear someone will finally play it and appreciate it.

[hammer]

It pretty much depends on how much cash you want to drop and if size is a big deal. I'm very partial to Phil Jone Bass amps and speakers. The speakers are small (5 or 7 inches) but the larger PJB cabs include a lot of them (my current playing out rig includes 24) so you're pushing a good deal of air.  If one is looking for a light practice rig as well as something that you could use to play with an acoustic group I'd seriously consider one of the PJB combo amps/speaker cabs. I use a PJB Briefcase that I picked up used for $400 and its not only good to use at home but has plenty of power to use with 2-3 acoustic players.  The PJB sound is VERY clean and really brings out a Series bass.  They have a lot of small combo options.  The PJB bass session 77 for example is a 100 watt 2 x 7 Combo amp that Guitar Center sells new for a little over $400.


Congratulations on your Series Bass.  I've got a Short Scale Series I and love it too.

[gtrguy]

I love my SWR workingmans 10 combo amp, and they are not expensive. You can also add an extra cab to boost the power. Small to medium size gigs are OK too with this setup too.

[edwardofhuncote]

I'm thinking a Club Member here had one for sale really reasonable recently... hang on a minute.

*Yeah, (if you're interested); here, check with Kent and see if he sold his. http://club.alembic.com/index.php?topic=25419.0

[el8ed]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I'll see if I can try a PJB Suitcase at a dealer near me.


Thank you Gregory for the link to the for sale post—that would be the ticket.
Btw, I think my bass is the one you are thinking it is. And she is a sweetheart—I named her Miss Coco.

[ducatidoc]

Thanks guys for all the suggestions. I'll see if I can try a PJB Suitcase at a dealer near me.


Thank you Gregory for the link to the for sale post—that would be the ticket.
Btw, I think my bass is the one you are thinking it is. And she is a sweetheart—I named her Miss Coco.

Good choice. Glad to see that one found it’s way to a good home after 19 years.

[JimmyJ]

Nice bass!  Well heck, plug it into that fine McIntosh integrated amplifier you've got there and dig the tone through your stereo speakers!  Just don't get too carried away with the volume. 

Jimmy J

[jazzyvee]

I agonised over that bass and relented in the end for a number of reasons.


A)  I couldn't decide which of my other alembics I could bear to sell off to help fund it
B)  I would have high import duties into the UK. Although travelling to the states to pick it up would have been a cheaper option, I didn't really fancy the air travel at the moment. ( not sure it's even permitted currently)


But I'm glad it is safely out of my grasp and I don't have to think about it.
It is an extremely nice bass. I hope you find a good amp to use and have a great time grasping intricacies of it's tone. :-)

[ducatidoc]

I agonised over that bass and relented in the end for a number of reasons.


A)  I couldn't decide which of my other alembics I could bear to sell off to help fund it

...

I was in the same boat, the back story of that sweet custom alone was enough to touch this old hippy's heart. I could have done without the three recessed strap locks on the bridge end personally, but there's plenty of players that could have made better use of them, I'm sure. As for a proper practice amp, I do have an older PJB briefcase 2x5 from 2007, but I'm hooked on my '67 Sunn Sonic I with a 1x 12" Sunn cabinet that I upgraded with full range Eminence dual concentric speaker. Let the harmonics sparkle on.

[LMiwa]

After playing through a BIG system from PJB, I switched to their BG-300 "Super Flightcase" combo. I use it for both rehearsal and performance. It's not earth-shaking like the previous system, but the accuracy is the same. Highly recommended.

[el8ed]

I appreciate y'alls constraint in regards to buying my bass.   She’ll have a good home for a long time.


Thanks for the suggestion, Jimmy. That’ll be a surefire way to get into bad graces with the powers to be. That McIntosh is sacred ground. 


I wonder if there is something wrong with me … I took Ms. Coco to the local GC to see what she sounds through some proper bass amplification and I really liked the tone I got through an Acoustic 4x10 cabinet with an Acoustic head. (Didn’t like the Markbass stuff at all). Even the new cheapish Ampeg combo sounded pretty good to me. Maybe my tastes are not as sophisticated as I thought.


Right now I am practicing through a ’74 Fender Vibro Champ and I don’t hate what I hear either. Can’t go too loud though without blowing the speaker. 


I hope to try some of the PJB stuff later this week.

[JimmyJ]

It's not a question of "sophistication".  Whatever sounds good to YOU is the amp to get.  When you ask the question in here you'll get as many answers as there are players.  That helps to learn what's currently available and what folks are playing through, but as with all gear conversations it's up to the individual.  You might want to stick with your 6-Watt Vibro Champ, I bet that's nice.  Or get a few more of those and run them all together ... like 4 amps per pickup.  Yeah, that's the ticket!

Jimmy J

[xlrogue6]

Yes, my PJ Briefcase is still for sale!