Sunday, June 29, 2008

Gear Part 2-Chicago Amp + Misc Amp stuff

Gear Part 2-Chicago Amp

Yeah, i'm saying Amp instead of Amps. My amp setup up here is far different. Namely, it is actually portable & lighter.

Before moving up here, I contacted the person I would be studying with in the fall-Scott Mason & asked for an amp recommendation. He told me that the bulk of the guys up here either used a GK Microbass or an SWR WorkingMan's 12. I bought the WM12 because it was much cheaper & I had a higher opinion of SWR at the time.

The quick info on the SWR is: 120 watts through an internal 12 [8ohms]. 50 pounds, rear port. It's got a nice sound & is extremely transparent-that's what SWR is known for. I've enjoyed having it-sadly, the units at school suffer from inputs that love to go bad/get loose wires. I cite them being used heavily as the prime cause. Mine, has held up quite nicely. I have it attached to a luggage cart & it has seen many miles here in Chicago. I still get peculiar looks when I bring it on the L. The SWR sounds good with electric & good with upright. It's a nice all around amp that i'm planning on holding onto for the rest of my playing days.

Eventually-when money permits [so a few years], I'd like to get an Epifani UL110 & an Acoustic Image Focus. That would be an extremely light & extremely powerful setup. For doubling & theater gigs-i'm thinking of adding a Radial Tone Bone Bass Bone. The Radial is a 2 channel stomp box preamp that also functions as an ABY box.

Misc Amp Gear

I also use Monster Instrument Cables-i like the warranty & i've only ever used it once. The idea of paying $50 for a cable once & then not having to buy it again is great.

I use a Morley ABY box-it's great for setting up 2 basses when I double. I dig how if I ever wanted to run 2 amps, i could use it for that too. Probably won't ever need that though.

Next post will be about my basses.

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