Wish Will we ever get more bass amps/effects?

gberto

Inspired
The FM3 is a great size package to really appeal to bassists, and the Cygnus updates add a really nice tone quality to bass amps!
Between the two Fractal could be a really great option that I think a lot of bassists would be excited about.

Unfortunately, the current offerings for bass are so sparse with a couple token bass amps thrown in seemingly just to be able to say "it can also do bass" for guitarists who sometimes play bass.

Would be great to see bass actually taken seriously and have more content added for bassists.


(And before someone posts the inevitable response... yes, I know you can use the guitar amp models for bass. That's not the point. You can also use the bass amp models for guitar, does that mean we don't need guitar amp models?)
 
First post here: I agree. I just transitioned from a huge pedalboard to the A3. I am mainly a bassist and primarily spend online forum time over at TalkBass.
 
Hi Gberto
Have you looked at @austinbuddy 's bass pack? He somehow gets HEAPs of different bass amp/sounds and its exceptional value. I have it for my Axe FX 3, and I have too many to choose from now.

Thansk
Pauly

The FM3 is a great size package to really appeal to bassists, and the Cygnus updates add a really nice tone quality to bass amps!
Between the two Fractal could be a really great option that I think a lot of bassists would be excited about.

Unfortunately, the current offerings for bass are so sparse with a couple token bass amps thrown in seemingly just to be able to say "it can also do bass" for guitarists who sometimes play bass.

Would be great to see bass actually taken seriously and have more content added for bassists.


(And before someone posts the inevitable response... yes, I know you can use the guitar amp models for bass. That's not the point. You can also use the bass amp models for guitar, does that mean we don't need guitar amp models?)
 
Always ready for more bass amps.

Part of the hidden options is being able to swap the tone stack (essentially the pre-amp?) To get vastly different sounds. I believe @dr bonkers has spent a long time exploring these options.
 
Not that I'm against the wish, but that's a bit of a low count, to be fair:

59 Bassguy
65 Bassguy
Citrus Bass 200
FAS Bass
Porta Bass
SV Bass 1
SV Bass 2
USA Bass 1
USA Bass 2

Hi Gberto
Have you looked at @austinbuddy 's bass pack? He somehow gets HEAPs of different bass amp/sounds and its exceptional value. I have it for my Axe FX 3, and I have too many to choose from now.

Thansk
Pauly

I know there is some bass content in it, but think about it this way:

If guitar amp modeler B contained 50 bass amp models and included a Gibson EH-150, a 59 Bassman, and a Deluxe Reverb would it be an unreasonable request as a guitarist to wish it had a Marshal and maybe a Mesa to make it more well rounded for guitarists?

Would most guitarists consider that list of guitar amps to be sufficient to cover everything they want to cover as a guitarist?

If you were told you don't need more guitar amps, you can just find ways of tweaking that Gibson EH-150 to basically get all the tones you need as a guitarist, would that quell your interest in having more guitar amp options?


Also, would you as a guitarist consider buying guitar amp modeler B if guitar amp modeler A cost half the price and included 3x the number of guitar amp models?
 
I know there is some bass content in it, but think about it this way:

If guitar amp modeler B contained 50 bass amp models and included a Gibson EH-150, a 59 Bassman, and a Deluxe Reverb would it be an unreasonable request as a guitarist to wish it had a Marshal and maybe a Mesa to make it more well rounded for guitarists?

Would most guitarists consider that list of guitar amps to be sufficient to cover everything they want to cover as a guitarist?

If you were told you don't need more guitar amps, you can just find ways of tweaking that Gibson EH-150 to basically get all the tones you need as a guitarist, would that quell your interest in having more guitar amp options?


Also, would you as a guitarist consider buying guitar amp modeler B if guitar amp modeler A cost half the price and included 3x the number of guitar amp models?
Ok, one thing that helps to not see that disparity is to look at things as just amps rather than guitar amps versus bass amps.

The cab really determines whether an amp works well for bass.

Across 21 bass cab packs, I believe I used more than 100 different amps typically used for guitar instead for bass and they work well. They sound like some very popular bass amps, they just don't have the name.

Sometimes I swap tone stacks, sometimes I don't.

Adding more bass amps would be great, but you really have over 200 of them already.
 
Also, would you as a guitarist consider buying guitar amp modeler B if guitar amp modeler A cost half the price and included 3x the number of guitar amp models?
I’d buy the one that sounds better.

And, hypothetical argument aside, I bought the better sounding, more expensive one, not because it has more amps, but because it allows me to tweak the five or six amps I wanted in ways that no other modeler does, at a much deeper level. It’s also better supported.

Modeling isn’t like profiling. Fractal needs the schematic and amp in front of them to test and compare the model against the real thing. And, they need to know that the effort is justified. I have a killer guitar combo amp that’s not modeled, but because I know enough about how it works I was able to put together enough pieces in the AMP and CAB block to make a pretty good sounding preset of it. That’s the power of Fractal’s design and is always an option.

Instead of making a generic complaint that doesn’t even specify what you think is missing, gather specific models of bass amps not currently modeled that you think should be, prioritize them, explain why they are important, then marshal other bass players who are interested in them, try to locate good examples of those units and their schematics, and offer them to Cliff to model and see what he does.

P.S. You posted your request for the FM3 in the Axe-FX III sub-forum. To avoid confusion I’d recommend changing “FM3” to “FX3”.
 
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I know there is some bass content in it, but think about it this way:

If guitar amp modeler B contained 50 bass amp models and included a Gibson EH-150, a 59 Bassman, and a Deluxe Reverb would it be an unreasonable request as a guitarist to wish it had a Marshal and maybe a Mesa to make it more well rounded for guitarists?

Would most guitarists consider that list of guitar amps to be sufficient to cover everything they want to cover as a guitarist?

If you were told you don't need more guitar amps, you can just find ways of tweaking that Gibson EH-150 to basically get all the tones you need as a guitarist, would that quell your interest in having more guitar amp options?


Also, would you as a guitarist consider buying guitar amp modeler B if guitar amp modeler A cost half the price and included 3x the number of guitar amp models?
Please re-read what I wrote:
Not that I'm against the wish, but that's a bit of a low count,
You said there were "a couple" bass amp models. That means "2". There are significantly more than 2.

I also said I don't oppose your wish. More models would be great.

Personally, I could live without any Marshall or Marshall-like amps in the box, and many of the others wouldn't be missed either.

In fact, I decided to start dialing presets in from scratch when I got my Axe Fx III rather than carry over my Axe Fx II stuff. I've been pretty much stuck on the 59 Bassman as my main amp ever since :)

I spent a number of hours working with the bass/Stick player in my band dialing in his tones. We had great success with the Amps that are modeled but just as importantly without any amps in some cases (or sometimes no Cab). Using compressors, EQs, Drives, etc.

I think another factor here is this: the Fractal modelers are tube amp modelers. There only 1 solid state amp modeled. How many bass amps are tube amps? I feel like there are far fewer than for guitar
 
I think another factor here is this: the Fractal modelers are tube amp modelers. There only 1 solid state amp modeled. How many bass amps are tube amps? I feel like there are far fewer than for guitar
Ok, there's 3 things to consider here.

How many solid state bass amps have radically different topologies? There's maybe 6 to 10 different topologies, if I remember. My mind is hazy on it and there's not many sources that discuss it.

Can you get those sounds with the current amp models? For the most part, yes you can.

If I want to do hybrid tube/solid state amp, can I do that in the Fractal?

If you want a solid state power amp with tube preamp, take the Jazz 120 model and swap out tone stacks and change preamp tubes as you need to by ear.

If you want tube power amp with solid state preamp, then take any of the tube amps and swap in the Jazz 120 tone stack.

You may say that you want the convenience of just dialing up a currently desired and missing bass amp. I can understand that, but you are missing out on a world of bass tones that you may enjoy more with a little exploration.

I would rather have Cliff add amps that he is passionate about because they tend to sound good. The Line 6 approach to bass amps left me cold as I always felt like there were training wheels on them and the UI didn't allow the degree of customization that Cliff gives us.
 
Not that I'm against the wish, but that's a bit of a low count, to be fair:

59 Bassguy
65 Bassguy
Citrus Bass 200
FAS Bass
Porta Bass
SV Bass 1
SV Bass 2
USA Bass 1
USA Bass 2
Don’t forgot Carol Kaye use a Super Reverb. The HiWatts can also sound great. And the Tube Pre too. Or a USA Clean with no Cab!
For classic rock, Marshalls like JTM45s were used by lots of guys from Chris Squire to Noel Redding.

It was not that difficult to get 200 different bass tones, just time consuming to build them all - but any bass sound you can imagine, trust me, the Axe-FX III can make it.
 
Personally, I could live without any Marshall or Marshall-like amps in the box, and many of the others wouldn't be missed either.
office-space-dr-swanson.gif
 
Don’t forgot Carol Kaye use a Super Reverb. The HiWatts can also sound great. And the Tube Pre too. Or a USA Clean with no Cab!
For classic rock, Marshalls like JTM45s were used by lots of guys from Chris Squire to Noel Redding.

It was not that difficult to get 200 different bass tones, just time consuming to build them all - but any bass sound you can imagine, trust me, the Axe-FX III can make it.

She whuuuaaaaat?
 
I don't have the needs of the OP regarding bass models, and I don't play any bass, but I am curious of this topic for a bass player friend. Are any of the bass-specific models in the III based on the Ampeg/SVT we used to love/hate way back when? (Loved the tones; Hated the weight!)
 
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