The tube amp thing has to do with response I can only pass on the information that I have heard from other bass players about solid state vs tube amps.

With a amp like a SVT you have something like 400 watts on tap giant transformers (the amp head weighs well over a hundred pounds) the transient response (the time you get to full volume as the string is struck) of the tubes is supposedly faster the harmonic structre of the distortion harmonics from the tube to some give a more pleasing tone.

Solid state amps tend to have more power for less weight (smaller transformers) and less money. And sometimes offer more features than most of the old tube amps. They seem to have a crisper sound than the tube amps and with bass having enough power to move the 15 inch speakers is important.

As well with bass amps or guitar amps I like to have lots of headroom so the amp at the volume I want is not anywhere near the max of its operating volume.

A friend of mine uses SWR heads rack mounted for smaller shows and 2 SVT's for large shows he plays solo noise bass so 2 svts give you lots of presence.

The weight of 2 svt heads and two 10 x 10 inch speaker cabinets is something to think about if you have any back problems in your family though.

I bought a Yamaha NE-1 passive parametric eq's off musicians friend for $40. I have to say that it could really help you get closer to the Jah Wobble thing eq wise on any bass and for a really cheap price. It is designed by Nathan East who is a big session bassist.

I may get another I find they are great on guitars too. They help focus the tone through distortion boxes and since it is totally passive it adds no hiss. I have a couple of outboard parametric stomp boxes but this one is cool cause it is simple and silent with no preamping.

The box does one thing which is give you a parametric smile curve (cut only) you have a flat (off) deep or shallow curve switch and a frequency knob which moves the center frequency arround. You just move the frequency knob arround till it sounds right and then fine tune the bass amp tone controls. I was able to pretty quickly tune in something approximating Wobble's sound.

Big John, was your friend Lisa in the Inhalants?

Lisa was in The Honeymoon Killers

I may need to try that out. I got a deep tone through settings and round wounds, but I desire prescence over volume. Anyone can turn an amp up and overwhelm the music. Wobble's tone sounded direct to board, but apparently that was not the case. I love his tone, not his playing talent--he comes up with a good phrase, but repeats it into infinity with little variation.

A weird part of this box is that it does not increase your volume in any way in fact you can cut your volume with a volume control on it. The bass tone cuts better and has more presence so I actually have turned down my volume. With the filter setting on 4 (which scoops out some mids) you lose most if not all finger noise and the bottom is fat and clear! 0 hiss.

I have a really nice Fender Precision with Bartolini Pick ups and a Bad Ass bridge. I bought the bass from a session man so I was surprised that the tone could be improved much but this silly box is amazing and so cheep.

Check out the reviews on Harmony Central it gets a 9.7 sound rating! I have had it for a few weeks (bought it since this thread was really active) and thought I would bring it up.

Wobble's playing seems a bit dated now but in some ways his cycling with the crazy guitar and vocals being so up front really made PIL sound solid. They stretched out the songs live so it was impressive that he could keep the groves so solid and minimal. I think if he played too much the sound would be too dense -- maybe.

Don't get me wrong--the stuff that he played with PiL was great, and gave me a more tangible target than saying "how do I get that Robbie Shakespeare sound?". The sum was greater than the parts. It's the later stuff that he did as a solo artist that gave me the impression that each song was a single riff repeated and nothing more.

I'm glad that this thread brought up the subject of Yamaha NE-1. I have spent a lot of money on useless pedals over the years (compression/envelope filtering) that did nothing to get me closer to what I was looking for.

That's why BB exchanges are great. I have made greater strides towards my goal by describing what I was going for here than hours talking to music store clerks.

sarlscharisma wrote:Just to put the record straight Jah Wobble used a 70s Fender Precision on Metal Box, not a Fender Jazz.

He's right.

Wobble definitely used a black Precision (similar in appearance to Roger Waters' black Precision) on First Issue - you can see it in the video for "Public Image", and Wobble told a story about getting his first good bass, a Precision, in an interview I read - and he probably used it on Metal Box too, though I think the Metal Box tone was achieved more with the Ampeg AEB-1 Bass than anything else. If you want an Ampeg, you'll never get one for a reasonable price - but Eastwood Guitars makes an apparently spot-on replica nowadays called the EEB-1 for a good price, usually around $700 or so.

I also think Wobble's amps were Ampeg as well.

SecondEdition wrote:If you want an Ampeg, you'll never get one for a reasonable price - but Eastwood Guitars makes an apparently spot-on replica nowadays called the EEB-1 for a good price, usually around $700 or so.

did you hear the sound samples of that eastwood copy? holy crap! it´s AWFUL!