looking for ultimate boutique amp for my style

[stewart]

i use a tubescreamer at a very low setting because i like the way it scuzzes up my basic guitar sound, and for more gain i have (surprise surprise) more gainy pedals.

if it works for you, use it, i really don't see what all the fuss is about.

[endsjustifymeans]

I use an arion sd-1 in my chain, we all have our guilty pleasures.

[Progrockabuse]

i'm with stewart.

i had a TS-9 for a while, good for adding a bit of grit into other pedals and dirty amps.

level about 2/3 o clock, drive at 10/11, tone to taste (normally 9/10)

[the isaac eaton]

I have no guilty pleasures all my pedals will rip your asshole wide open.

[James]

i'm with stewart.

i had a TS-9 for a while, good for adding a bit of grit into other pedals and dirty amps.

level about 2/3 o clock, drive at 10/11, tone...

... for days

(I've never understood what that's supposed to mean)

[Ankhanu]

... i will just stop trying to explain the tone i am after because all it gets me is lawlz from elitists. last point here, who is really being snobby?

No, no, no, no... that's exactly what you should NOT do. In fact, you should go the next step and find sound/video samples of the sort of tone you're after; reduce the guess work on our part. I mean, "tone that sends those chills down my spine" isn't very helpful; what sends a chill down my spine doesn't sound like what it appears you're looking for... be clear in conveying what you're after and we can better help you.

That said, there's been a lot of good advice in the thread already; perhaps the best coming from the "check out your cheaper options" camp. Your Bassman is an incredible amp, and the best part is: you already own it. Get a good cabinet to run it through; 15s really aren't idea for most sounds, imo (and I'm primarily a bassist). The common belief is that bigger speakers give you more bottom end, but it's not true. You can get much better tone from smaller speakers; 10s and 12s will cover most any sound quite nicely, from fundamental bass frequencies to screaming highs. 15s I find tend to be muddy and mid-rangey. Test out your Bassman through a few different cabinets and you may just fall in love with it.

As for the tubescreamer, I'm not as against it as many here, but yeah, it may be your limiting factor. It's a pretty solid blues and classic rock low gain type pedal with single coils, but really falls apart outside of that. Of course, sometimes mismatching use to a pedal's design can result in some interesting sounds too. Test out some other pedals.

Something tells me you can completely outfit your amp/pedal situation for less than the 2k you want to spend on a boutique head.

[Mages]

I use an arion sd-1 in my chain, we all have our guilty pleasures.

the sd-1 sounds great with single coils. I think the ts works better with humbuckers. IMO. which arion is the sd-1 clone?

[Progrockabuse]

i'm with stewart.

i had a TS-9 for a while, good for adding a bit of grit into other pedals and dirty amps.

level about 2/3 o clock, drive at 10/11, tone...

... for days

(I've never understood what that's supposed to mean)

HAHAHA

[endsjustifymeans]

... i will just stop trying to explain the tone i am after because all it gets me is lawlz from elitists. last point here, who is really being snobby?

No, no, no, no... that's exactly what you should NOT do. In fact, you should go the next step and find sound/video samples of the sort of tone you're after; reduce the guess work on our part. I mean, "tone that sends those chills down my spine" isn't very helpful; what sends a chill down my spine doesn't sound like what it appears you're looking for... be clear in conveying what you're after and we can better help you.

That said, there's been a lot of good advice in the thread already; perhaps the best coming from the "check out your cheaper options" camp. Your Bassman is an incredible amp, and the best part is: you already own it. Get a good cabinet to run it through; 15s really aren't idea for most sounds, imo (and I'm primarily a bassist). The common belief is that bigger speakers give you more bottom end, but it's not true. You can get much better tone from smaller speakers; 10s and 12s will cover most any sound quite nicely, from fundamental bass frequencies to screaming highs. 15s I find tend to be muddy and mid-rangey. Test out your Bassman through a few different cabinets and you may just fall in love with it.

As for the tubescreamer, I'm not as against it as many here, but yeah, it may be your limiting factor. It's a pretty solid blues and classic rock low gain type pedal with single coils, but really falls apart outside of that. Of course, sometimes mismatching use to a pedal's design can result in some interesting sounds too. Test out some other pedals.

Something tells me you can completely outfit your amp/pedal situation for less than the 2k you want to spend on a boutique head.

I'll back 90% of what you said, except I LOVE the sound of 15" speakers for guitar work.

That flabby loose bassey guitat sound from 15"s is integral to certain bands sounds, see Melvins. The assumption is that is undesirable, truth is it can be used to great effect with a really tight rhythm section behind it.

[endsjustifymeans]

I use an arion sd-1 in my chain, we all have our guilty pleasures.

the sd-1 sounds great with single coils. I think the ts works better with humbuckers. IMO. which arion is the sd-1 clone?

I dunno what it clones but it's the sleaziest vilest distortion ever. I love it. It's like a DS-1, but awesome.

[Ankhanu]

I'll back 90% of what you said, except I LOVE the sound of 15" speakers for guitar work.

That flabby loose bassey guitat sound from 15"s is integral to certain bands sounds, see Melvins. The assumption is that is undesirable, truth is it can be used to great effect with a really tight rhythm section behind it.

Yeah, I have virtually no guitar experience with 15s, I'm mostly just extrapolating from my bass experience (though my guitars sound decent through my 15" bass combo) with various combos and cabs (115, 215, 210x115). For the brightish, aggressive bass tone I'm after (ie Geddy Lee's Jazz and Ric sounds, and a couple indie examples that you probably wouldn't know unless you were into the Canadian scene in the late 90s) they just don't quite cut it; too muddy and mid-rangey; but I can see that being nice in something where the fundamental frequency is more important... All comes down to application

[Mages]

I use an arion sd-1 in my chain, we all have our guilty pleasures.

the sd-1 sounds great with single coils. I think the ts works better with humbuckers. IMO. which arion is the sd-1 clone?

I dunno what it clones but it's the sleaziest vilest distortion ever. I love it. It's like a DS-1, but awesome.

oh, you mean it's called an arion sd-1. lol I thought you meant it was an arion clone of a boss sd-1 (which is essentially their response to the tubescreamer).

[endsjustifymeans]

the sd-1 sounds great with single coils. I think the ts works better with humbuckers. IMO. which arion is the sd-1 clone?

I dunno what it clones but it's the sleaziest vilest distortion ever. I love it. It's like a DS-1, but awesome.

oh, you mean it's called an arion sd-1. lol I thought you meant it was an arion clone of a boss sd-1 (which is essentially their response to the tubescreamer).

Nah the SD-1 = Stereo Distortion. It's like a cracked out raunchy DS-1 with stereo out.

[Pens]

didn't see a lot of the posts, not interested in increasing my penis size, haha. thanks for the tips one the bassman, i have a turbo rat laying around. will that do the trick? sorry if i'm coming off like an asshole, i just feel kind of cornered here. i like the tube screamer, but you may be right, i will remove it from the chain and see that happens.

The Turbo Rat won't really do what it should, it's not the same as the '86 Rat, but it might help. The Rat sounds best when the gain is really backed off, less than 12 o clock. Filter should be all the way down. Volume all the way up. You are using it to drive the amp.

You don't need a new amp for the sound you want. Running to a new 4x12 cab will help. Bassmans are loud and clear.

Basically, the sound you want, the TS will get you no where near it. It's because it creates a mid-range boost which will give you bluesy mud. That's why it's hated. It's worshipped as the greatest thing ever and it isn't.

Omar used Muffs (mid range scoops) and a clean boost (ZVex SHO). Denison uses nothing but a Hiwatt. Albini used a Harmonic Percolator and a Bassman.

Basically, you are asking for help desiring a tone, and (not to be a dick) don't seem to really know the details on how those tones are made, and thus I'm trying to explain that what you want is not the pedal you have, but your amp is right. The Tube screamer is going to ruin the sound you are shooting for. The guys you listed do not have a mid-range heavy tone at all. The opposite. The biting tone is from highs and lows being boosted into a clean amp.

If I were you, I'd just get a clean boost pedal and some trashy fuzz/distortion such as a Muff, LM308 Rat, or Harmonic Percolator. At least this would be cheaper to start with before buying a Hiwatt. If you really really want a new amp, search ebay for a Traynor (it's really just a damn hell ass Bassman but whatever).

Midwest minimal noise rock is right there.

[serfx]

didn't see a lot of the posts, not interested in increasing my penis size, haha. thanks for the tips one the bassman, i have a turbo rat laying around. will that do the trick? sorry if i'm coming off like an asshole, i just feel kind of cornered here. i like the tube screamer, but you may be right, i will remove it from the chain and see that happens.

The Turbo Rat won't really do what it should, it's not the same as the '86 Rat, but it might help. The Rat sounds best when the gain is really backed off, less than 12 o clock. Filter should be all the way down. Volume all the way up. You are using it to drive the amp.

You don't need a new amp for the sound you want. Running to a new 4x12 cab will help. Bassmans are loud and clear.

Basically, the sound you want, the TS will get you no where near it. It's because it creates a mid-range boost which will give you bluesy mud. That's why it's hated. It's worshipped as the greatest thing ever and it isn't.

Omar used Muffs (mid range scoops) and a clean boost (ZVex SHO). Denison uses nothing but a Hiwatt. Albini used a Harmonic Percolator and a Bassman.

Basically, you are asking for help desiring a tone, and (not to be a dick) don't seem to really know the details on how those tones are made, and thus I'm trying to explain that what you want is not the pedal you have, but your amp is right. The Tube screamer is going to ruin the sound you are shooting for. The guys you listed do not have a mid-range heavy tone at all. The opposite. The biting tone is from highs and lows being boosted into a clean amp.

If I were you, I'd just get a clean boost pedal and some trashy fuzz/distortion such as a Muff, LM308 Rat, or Harmonic Percolator. At least this would be cheaper to start with before buying a Hiwatt. If you really really want a new amp, search ebay for a Traynor (it's really just a damn hell ass Bassman but whatever).

Midwest minimal noise rock is right there.

this.

right here.

pens knows his shit.

[endsjustifymeans]

Yar, what they said.

Use the $2K to buy yourself an EGC guitar. Denison, Albini, Buzzo... they all rock those now.

[dub]

Truth.
If I had two grand to blow it would be on an Electrical (or a Matamp/Electrical but I guess I've solved my own bootique amp dilemma)

15''s are great in addition to other speakers, but I wouldn't just use them by themselves.
A lot of Albini's harsh/high end comes from the solid state amp running parallel to the bassman and full-range PA speakers in the cabs. As mentioned the Percolator is for teh instant feedback and infinite sustain bits. His guitar is also scooped as hell, the TS is leading you in the opposite direction.

[borrowedworld]

it's not like i don't know anything about the sound, i really didn't know anything about albini's rig but i know all about denison's. the scooped tone advice helped a lot, i have always shyed away from that sort of tone for fear of that horrid nu-metal sound. i will be taking all of this into consideration and hopefully i will find the right stuff to make those sounds i hear in my head come to life.

[Pens]

it's not like i don't know anything about the sound, i really didn't know anything about albini's rig but i know all about denison's. the scooped tone advice helped a lot, i have always shyed away from that sort of tone for fear of that horrid nu-metal sound. i will be taking all of this into consideration and hopefully i will find the right stuff to make those sounds i hear in my head come to life.

Its not like completely nu-metal scooped, just a slight scoop.

I'm going to be posting some samples of my setup in a sec. I'm nervous as doing demos I always get nervous knowing its being recorded and my playing gets fucked up but whatever.

[ekwatts]

I'd join in with the Hiwatt crowd if you didn't already have a bassman. A fucking bassman, for fucks sake.

I would say that I can't quite imagine how you could get a crap sound out of a bassman, but I do know of one way which is to stick a tubescreamer in front of it. If it wasn't for the fact that pedals are designed to be stomped on, I would stomp that shit into oblivion. Take that, stratosphere!

Pens is dropping science in this thread.