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 Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Bass? 
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Post Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Bass?
Hi there, a little bit of an introduction and a hello... A few years ago I just bought a used stick bass, an SB8... back then I think my username was Fox... a former life in many ways as I am a transitioning male to female musician... the stick was gone soon after in a house fire... a dreadful experience and I lost everything and it took a few years to rebuild my house and repair the damage to me, not all of me remained after the fire and I needed to get my life in order and kick out a lot of old attitudes and reset myself.

Thing is your friends really rally for you after a life event like that... and my transition... and a friend in the USA gave me her Fender Reverb Deluxe Silver Face, dating from 1978, it was something of a fixture in the punk scene in several bands in NY around that time, and later in the 80s it moved with its owner to LA where it was used in many gigs, really beaten up but in a nice way.

I restored it. Converted to 240V with an in-line toroidal step down just like fender used to do in the UK before they came out with a 240v traffo. I recapped the electrolytics to exact spec, no mods, no whacky rabbit holes, just restoration, leaving the big blue polypropylenes alone, replaced a couple of out of spec heater resistors, got it, retubed and rebiased and truth be known it sounds absolutely bloody fantastic. Really, the best guitar amp I have ever heard in my life by a long mile and I feel I want to keep it. Its loud enough for any gig really.

I want to learn the stick, life got in the way first and transitioning took time but I find I have time on my hands recovering from surgery and want something I can noodle on, scale on and discover a new instrument as a new me... this seems profound and a strangely right time...

So a long convoluted intro and now a simple question: How is this combo with The Stick? is the SB8 too much for this amp? Do you think I would need a more traditional bass amp or perhaps I would be best to get an Alto?

Claire

Edit: Some forums have a policy against dual accounts, apologies if this is one of them. I only just found out my old account was still active!


Sat Mar 03, 2018 2:57 pm
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Post Re: Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Ba
What sound do you want to make? An SB8 is really a two-handed bass. An Alto Stick is a short Stick with alto range. I'm no gear expert, so please let them chime in.

This is what I found about using a Fender Reverb for bass.
https://forums.fender.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=101163

I would suggest choosing the instrument that covers the range you want and then getting the equipment to match. Ultimately it is your choice. IMO if you mainly want a special bass, the NS/Stick is extremely versatile. If you want a trebly beast, SG12 or Alto might be your choice. My choice was the 12-string Grand to cover highs and lows.

Good luck on your Stick and personal journeys!

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Sat Mar 03, 2018 5:14 pm
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Post Re: Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Ba
There is an old saying that I like; "the better you get the softer you play" 8-).
But that being said if you want to play at "band" level with a Stick I think you will be missing
some if not a lot of the tonal characteristics if you use that amp for the bass side.

Even the SB8 is intended to be a stereo instrument so use the Fender for
the melody side and get a Roland keyboard amp (KC-550) for the Bass :twisted:.

(That is a lot of equipment to carry though) :evil:.

With the Deluxe you do get two inputs but I don't think you can EQ them separately(?).
With the Stick you really want to fine tune both sides individually and if
your question is between the SB8 and and an Alto :?, well, hmm, such
different animals :|... Probably getting a 10 string Stick is the best middle of the road idea just to see if you really bond with the Stick concept. Contrary to that idea, like sagehalo said the NS could be the ticket especially if you already have guitar and bass skills. But if it's really true when you say; "I want to learn the stick" then getting a 12 string will cover everything.

Let us know what happens. BTW, we all go through this, welcome to the quandary :geek:.

jRj
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.~

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Sun Mar 04, 2018 12:48 pm
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Post Re: Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Ba
Hello and welcome back. =)

The Alto and the SB8 are different instruments, much like a guitar and a bass. If you are playing at low volume, you should not have issues with playing either instrument through your Fender Deluxe Reverb.

Once you have to turn up beyond 1 on your amp, a whole new level of math is required as bass amps / speakers, by design, are constructed to move air. If you have a lower frequency to move, you need more power. This is why your guitarist with a 30w amp seems any bit as loud as your bassist with a 200w amp.

My recommendation is to determine what you want to sound like. If you are looking to play bass lines on your instrument as part of a group, get a bass amp - do not deviate. A pair of powered speakers "might" work, but I would recommend a 100w bass amp to start.

If you start over with an Alto, the lowest string is a C, only 2 full steps down from a guitar. You could perhaps get away with your Princeton.

I'd be curious to know what some of our other gigging Alto players recommend.

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Tue Mar 06, 2018 11:54 am
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Post Re: Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Ba
Lots of good advice here in previous posts. My general rule is if it sounds good, it is good whether or not it "follows the rules" or makes sense on paper. After all, if you are a Stick player, you probably don't care a huge deal about following convention or worrying about what everyone else plays. In short, if it works, you know it when you hear it......there are no right or wrong answers in art; just different choices.

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Sat Mar 10, 2018 8:06 pm
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Post Re: Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Ba
You can"t top that response...!

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Sat Mar 10, 2018 10:10 pm
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Post Re: Intro & is a Fender Reverb Deluxe C.1978 ok for Stick Ba
Welcome,

I have a re-issue version of this amp and I like to use it for practicing both sides of The Stick, but at normal performance volumes, bass frequencies can seriously damage an open back amp like this, so keep the volume down and you should be okay.

For the melody side of the instrument, it's my favorite amp by far.

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Sun Mar 11, 2018 12:27 am
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