Batteries and Series 2

[mario_farufyno]

Yeah, stereo in this case seems to be just a fancy short word for individual PU outputs.

[dadabass2001]

True enough, Wolf and Mario. I ran my 73 Guild Starfire into separate effects and preamp channels in the 70's to great effect.
The only separation effects I ever heard on bass were from Phil's quad bass output prior to the Wall of Sound era (I'm guessing '73 or '74 at the Dane Co. Coliseum in Madison)and he only used it briefly during a solo then switched back to mono for the rest of the show.
Mike

[lbpesq]

I remember the quad bass as being contemporaneous with the Wall of Sound that I first saw at the unoffical unveiling in February, 1974, at Winterland,  and the official unveiling the next month at the Cow Palace.
 
Bill, tgo

[afrobeat_fool]

I have been playing with this concept lately. I will run one pickup with effects and one clean simultaneously. Here is the catch. My settings on the bass changes very drastically.
 
I am playing with the neck pickup very low and flat.
The bridge pickup very bright and thin.
 
When I move to effects, I jack the neck pickup full blast, and take some of the Q off the bridge pickup.On with the effects, in the bridge pickup,and super cool double sound.  
 
I have not been able to find a way to have cool double effects in a live setting, yet. But, I would like to try it with a little delay.
 
I just got 2 years of battery life with my SII, but I use a power supply most of the time.
 
Nick

[terryc]

Well that's all very well but sometimes less is more.
I still have a hard time thinking that all that effort in putting the signal through all sorts of equipment seems a pointless waste of time when it comes to the audience..half the time they are listening to the singer or the guitarist!
My 'simple' Ashdown rig of single 15 cab linked to the 2 x 10 combo has more than enough tone options along with the filters and Q switches.

[sonicus]

Terry , Yes  
 
Sometimes .____ Less is more , I agree . However sometimes (speaking for my self) It is also enjoyable to have a Sonic Adventure and go where no Bass has gone before ______.
 
Sonic Regards ,
         Wolf

[jazzyvee]

For me, less is most times and more is less times.  
My main rig these days is my Mesa boogie walkabout and 4x10 mesa cab.  
On the times when I have a theatre gig it's a nice luxury to be able to  bring the big rig, I take the opportunity but it's been used in mono and is these days probably overkill but I love the sound. ;-)
 
I agree with your point about equipment being a wasted on the audience Terry, as many can't even hear when the band is playing badly off key so won't hear the finer points of a good or great rig.  
 
I'll stick with horses for courses.... for now  
Jazzyvee
 
(Message edited by jazzyvee on June 04, 2013)

[edwin]

If you want to hear the different pickups run into different effects and amp channels taken to the extreme, listen to Bootsy. Up to 5 pickups, all with their own effects chains and amps. It works.

[smuprof]

I can't say I've tried effects, etc. to make the channels distinctly different, but I have had the opportunity to play in stereo - F2B, Mackie FR-1400, and 2 Eden D210XST (extended frequency low end with frightening efficiency).  Separating the cabinets creates a very pleasing sound field that, to my ears, highlights the sonic nuances of an Alembic.
 
Of course 99% of that is lost when the rest of the band starts to play, but I know what it can/is doing.
 
Which reminds me of an interesting conversation I had with a very knowledgeable Alembic dealer who shall remain nameless.  He didn't know I was a player, and I just asked him what was popular.  He  pointed out that different genres tend toward different high end instruments (of which he had almost all of them), but at the end of the day, Alembic remained at the pinnacle of sonic technology.  
 
He went on to point out that even with the best amplification/speaker equipment, you couldn't hear the complete sonic capabilities of an Alembic, i.e. the amplification technology still isn't as good as the Alembic pickup/electronics package, and that you really needed a great recording setup to actually hear what an Alembic is capable of.
 
I think owning an Alembic is about beginning with the best of the best and striving to build an amplification chain that maintains that tone, knowing that any chain will color and ultimately deteriorate the source.
 
I actually have experienced what the dealer was describing.  A couple of years ago I was working on a difficult passage, and I recorded it to figure out what I was doing wrong.  Exploiter/Spoiler into a Brick preamp into a nice digital recorder.  When I played it back through a nice set of headphones, even though it was just a rough practice take, I was startled by the superior sound and tone I heard.  I could literally hear things that were lost in amplification.
 
Apologies for the long post.  To sum up:
1. Do play your Alembic through a stereo rig if you get the chance
2. When the band starts playing it probably won't matter
3. Don't pass up the chance to record your Alembic to really hear what it's capable of

[smuprof]

PS - And obviously the Exploiter/Spoiler recording was mono
 
PSS - my apologies for straying off-topic in this thread

[Bradley Young]

John,
 
While I agree that good recording equipment will highlight the great sound of your Alembic, that there aren't amplifiers and cabinets capable of reproducing it does not seem as correct to me.
 
If you're basing this off of commercially available bass cabinets, then I agree wholeheartedly.
 
However there are now cabinets that are capable of broadband reproduction that are vastly more accurate than your average 4x10. They do cost more.
 
In this camp, I'd put the fEarful/fearless cabs, as well as good PA equipment. Before I built my fearful, I was looking at powered cabs from Meyer Sound and the like.
 
Things like crossover design matter, and you just can't get a decent one in a commercial cab.

[edwin]

Bradley, I agree with you, however, I have to admit that I'm pretty psyched about the Sunn 200S I just found on Craigslist. Something about those old JBL powered cabs that just have a great tone. It's definitely not hifi, but it's also definitely a good bass sound.

[bigredbass]

Well, I did guess I didn't expect him to be playing thru Peaveys . . . . .
 
http://www.meyersound.com/news/2006/anthony_jackson/
 
 . . . . what, no Texas Bar metal grills  ? ? ?
 
J o e y

[smuprof]

Bradley -  
 
Fair point.  I've thought about the custom type cabinets/PA style and done some research, but haven't gone down that road yet.
 
And to Edwin's point, there's a difference between great bass sound and being able to hear everything your Alembic is capable of.  
 
I was in a hurry last week just to make sure new batteries were good in my S2, so I plugged it into   a little Gibson GA-5 guitar amp - 5w, 2 tubes, 8 speaker.  Yes the batteries were good, but I was surprised at how nice the sound was with the bass.  
 
Something to explore more later.  
 
So let me conclude with what I believe to be an unassailable thesis:  great sound begins with Alembic.

[edwin]

John, if you are interested in a hifi, PA style cabinet, I urge you to check out the fEARful line of cabs. I've been using them for a few years now and they are a revelation. I've played most of the cabs out there: Eden, Acme, SWR, old school Thiele cabs, Euphonic Audio, Trace Elliot, and the fEARfuls are really just a different thing. There are basically two schools of thought: 1) the amp and speaker serve to color the sound and become part of the instrument and 2) the amp and speakers get out of the way and just purely reproduce the sound of the bass. The fEARfuls are the best at #2 without going to something like Meyer.
 
Of course, some of the guys behind fEARful are on to the next thing: Big E speakers, with some kind of magic vortex.  
 
https://www.facebook.com/BigEloudspeakers