Author Topic: Anyone here prefer running mono over stereo with a Series bass? (Read 544 times)

mtjam · « **on:** June 15, 2015, 03:18:38 PM »

Although I've had a Series bass for a while, I tried running it in stereo at a gig for the first time this weekend. I ran my treble pickup into my Aguilar Tone Hammer 500, and my neck pickup into my Eden 1205. Each of the heads powered separate Aguilar SL 112 cabinets. To my ear, the sound I got was very trebly and lacking bottom end. Not satisfied with what I was hearing, I switched back to mono using the Aguilar gear only. Voila! I immediately heard the full, well-defined sound with plenty of punch that I love with my Series. Just wondering who else has tried stereo and decided that they prefer mono. Granted, I didn't spend a great deal of time tweaking my sound before starting the gig, so I'm sure operator error is to blame for my problem!

What do you guys think? Was it my use of two different amp heads that created the issue? Would I have achieved better results by using a stereo power amp? I'm sure that many of you are getting a superb sound by running your basses in stereo, but that's not what I experienced. Any advice?

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #1 on:** June 15, 2015, 04:08:14 PM »

I've been learning the nuances of the Series II electronics in a home practice situation prior to taking the bass to a rehearsal with others and I've found that it doesn't take much volume on the treble PU to cause it to become a bit overpowering.

As such, I've been setting the bass PU at about 2/3 - 3/4 of max and the treble PU at no more than half of that (and frequently less) and then governing the overall volume of the blend with the master. This way the vast majority of the tone is generated by the bass PU and I use the treble PU sparingly to introduce a little sparkle which allows the tone to cut without diminishing any of the low end.

IMO, the settings on your individual amps may also be contributing to the disparity you're experiencing - especially if the Aguilar is a bright amp. I've not yet begun to mess with the controls on either of my amps because I'm still learning how the individual controls on the bass impact the tone - so I find it best to contain the number of variables in play.

In my case, the treble PU is currently being amplified by an amp primarily intended to amplify a jazz guitar (and EQ'd to do so), so that may be having an impact on my perceived prominence of the treble PU.

My next experiment will be to simply switch the amps without changing any of the control settings and see what impact that has on the tone.

jazzyvee · « **Reply #2 on:** June 15, 2015, 04:23:55 PM »

I've tried it a small number of times and like you I have not spent a lot of time tweaking my sound to get something special. So I have decided that it is something I could only see myself doing as an exception to the norm depending on the genre of music and the venue I was gigging at. I, like a few others here run through a stereo power amp and alembic pre-amps.

I'm just guessing here but could it be possible that your two bass rigs are out of phase and causing the loss of bottom end?

jazzyvee · « **Reply #3 on:** June 15, 2015, 04:33:50 PM »

I've tried it a small number of times and like you I have not spent a lot of time tweaking my sound to get something special. So I have decided that it is something I could only see myself doing as an exception to the norm depending on the genre of music and the venue I was gigging at. I, like a few others here run through a stereo power amp and alembic pre-amps.

I'm just guessing here but could it be possible that your two bass rigs are out of phase and causing the loss of bottom end?

sonicus · « **Reply #4 on:** June 15, 2015, 04:47:54 PM »

Jazzyvee ,
Yes ! I agree . When I run stereo I also prefer to keep identical power stages in relation to the two pickups as you have detailed .
I'm just guessing here but could it be possible that your two bass rigs are out of phase and causing the loss of bottom end
Ditto !

Wolf

keith_h · « **Reply #5 on:** June 15, 2015, 05:29:26 PM »

I've dabbled with running my Series 1 and BB stereo. I used my 2X10 Carvin combo and extension cabinet for the bridge pickup and my two 2X10 Bag Ends for the neck pickup. The rigs were side by side. I didn't have any issues with not enough bass and thought it sounded fuller but that could be due to the additional speakers. Overall it wasn't worth it to me to run that way for live playing.

Where I have liked using stereo is recording. It gives me more flexibility in the mixing the sound.

Keith

JimmyJ · « **Reply #6 on:** June 15, 2015, 06:14:01 PM »

I used to run a completely stereo rig. An old Yamaha P2200 power amp driving 2-12 cabs for the bridge pickup and 2-15 cabs for the neck pickup. Super huge sound - which worked well for the guitar trio in small clubs situation I was doing at the time... Mostly just fun to stand in front of! But if the PA needed a send I would sum it all to mono.

I would also suggest to Rob that the two rigs you tried were not in phase with each other and that's why it sounded like the bottom dropped out. Isn't the 1205 a stereo amp? Try it that way, separate inputs all the way to separate speakers. At least you'd find out if our theory is correct. Be careful though because you may LIKE it.

Jimmy J

gtrguy · « **Reply #7 on:** June 15, 2015, 06:30:10 PM »

I have owned a Gibson ES355 stereo guitar for decades. At first when I ran it through 2 amps, it seemed natural to try to get a great guitar sound out of one amp and then try to do the same thing with the 2nd one. However, this did not really work that well.

I finally realized that to get one overall full sound, I had to go for two areas of the frequency spectrum that when combined would add up to a great overall sound. It was counter-intuitive since the amps did not sound all that great by themselves, but together they added up to more than the sum of the parts.

sonicus · « **Reply #8 on:** June 15, 2015, 06:53:28 PM »

Jimmyj , Yes Sir , The Yamaha P 2200 power amps are swell ! I still have 4 of them in various configurations from Studio Monitor amps to Bass guitar rigs .
I like them . They just keep pumping !
Jimmy I love your input , Thanks !
Wolf

(Message edited by sonicus on June 15, 2015)

David Houck · « **Reply #9 on:** June 15, 2015, 07:11:58 PM »

My approach is somewhat different. I run stereo out of the power supply and into the two channels of the F-2B, and then mono out of the F-2B. Thus, each pickup's tone is tweaked further in its own channel to contribute to the overall tone. I always have both pickups on, so I'm adjusting for the overall tone, and not individual pickup tone. Further down the signal chain the signal gets split again by stereo effects, and then into two channels of the power amp and two matching speaker cabs. So the final output is, in a sense, stereo.

edwin · « **Reply #10 on:** June 15, 2015, 08:11:33 PM »

Rob, I'm just guessing here, but I would be willing to bet that your speakers were out of phase due to the difference in the heads. Not every amp is polarity consistent. Op amp stages can throw the polarity off. I would suggest trying it again with the polarity flipped on one speaker or with two identical heads. Your description of the sounds seems like the classic description of a polarity problem. I've never had a stereo rig sound thin.

mtjam · « **Reply #11 on:** June 16, 2015, 02:15:38 AM »

Thanks to everyone for the advice! I figured that being out of phase might be the issue. Maybe I'll try Jimmy's idea to run stereo into my 1205. I'm pretty sure Edwin has discussed use of a 1205 with a Series bass, although I seem to recall someone mentioning that such a setup is not the same as using a stereo power amp.

Anyway, I'm having a lot of fun trying different amp and speaker configurations with my bass!

jazzyvee · « **Reply #12 on:** June 16, 2015, 03:12:41 AM »

Seems like you are getting some good advice to help your experimentation with stereo.

I'd love to get a chance to set up and try using a totally inappropriate big stereo rig one day with two high speaker count cabs on each pickup. Maybe if I get a few more big festival dates with Musical Youth I can be a diva with the backline spec. and give it a try. :-)

rjmsteel · « **Reply #13 on:** June 16, 2015, 09:35:03 AM »

I run mine in Stereo a little unconventionally also.

I (also) run stereo out of the power supply, then in/out each channel of the SF-2 (each channel per pickup). The signal is then sent into a small format Mackie mixer where I blend the channels together (as desired) with the pan pot. The main (and if used control room) outputs are then sent to separate amplifier heads/cabinets.

I just adjust how much each side receives using my pickup volume controls on my Series (Sans Filters) Bass.

Rich

5a_quilt_top · « **Reply #14 on:** June 16, 2015, 11:22:52 AM »

IMO David (gtrguy) is on the right track re: the blended signal being more than the sum of the parts.

And Dave is also on the right track with using both PU's in tandem to adjust the overall tone.

For my favorite blended stereo tones thus far, neither the bass PU tone or the treble PU tone is anything particularly noteworthy by itself - but when combined, the overall blended tone is very nice and full.

Also, I tried swapping the amps I've been using to amplify my bass and treble PU's - sending the bass to the guitar amp and the treble to the bass amp. It was definitely different - and not in a good way.

Had I heard that tone initially, I would have been reluctant to pursue stereo any further.

So, the amps & cabs that are used for each PU do make a difference as does how much of each is introduced into the overall mix via the controls on the bass.