Guild Maverick Bass Amp with OD/Distortion/Fuzz Pedals

[dcookNH]

Hey all,

I've noticed when I front end my recently acquired Guild Mav Bass amp with a pedal, like a Fender Downtown or a Bass Blogger, and use drive or distortion, the amp makes a ton of noise and its pretty unusable. Any recommendations on settings? I want to be able to use this amp with some overdrive.

thanks!!!

 

[GAD]

What kind of noise? White noise, buzz, hiss, radio stations, something else?

 

[Default]

I assume that you aren't playing a bass through it? < puzzled >

 

[dcookNH]

I assume that you aren't playing a bass through it? < puzzled >

why wouldn't I be playing a bass through it? It's a bass amp.

 

[dcookNH]

What kind of noise? White noise, buzz, hiss, radio stations, something else?

some hissing and whooshing. I just took everything out of the pedal chain except for the Downtown and bypassed all the effects, then added them back in one by one. As it turns out, I had the compression cranked too high - once I turned it down a bit, I could use the overdrive portion of the Downtown along with the EQ and Compression.

Not sure about the Bass Blogger, gonna try that later on.

 

[Default]

why wouldn't I be playing a bass through it? It's a bass amp.

Because of the signal chain you were running into it.

 

[dcookNH]

Because of the signal chain you were running into it.

the Fender Downtown and Bass Blogger are Bass pedals so I'm still not sure what you mean

 

[AcornHouse]

You've got a 50+ year old amp with a 50+ year old speaker in a 50+ year old combo cab. I'm not surprised it gets farty and rattle-y. Bass pedals didn't exist when it's circuit was designed.
I'm sure it might sound fine if you plugged into a modern aluminium coned 4x10 cab instead of the stock speaker.
Like a lot of vintage bass amps from the 50s and 60s, they are really better suited as guitar amps. Fender Bassman, Supro Thunderbolt, etc. aren't really used as bass amps today, but guitarists love them.
Our own GGJaguar has a good write up on the Maverick.

GGJaguar's Guitarium and Ampeteria 1970 Guild Maverick Bass Amp

Enjoy it for what it is, but be careful with it's old bones is my advice.

 

[dcookNH]

You've got a 50+ year old amp with a 50+ year old speaker in a 50+ year old combo cab. I'm not surprised it gets farty and rattle-y. Bass pedals didn't exist which it's circuit was designed.
I'm sure it might sound fine if you plugged into a modern aluminium coned 4x10 cab instead of the stock speaker.
Like a lot of vintage bass amps from the 50s and 60s, they are really better suited as guitar amps. Fender Bassman, Supro Thunderbolt, etc. aren't really used as bass amps today, but guitarists love them.
Our own GGJaguar has a good write up on the Maverick.

GGJaguar's Guitarium and Ampeteria 1970 Guild Maverick Bass Amp

Enjoy it for what it is, but be careful with it's old bones is my advice.

ahhhh ok - what you are saying makes a lot of sense. I wonder if there is a guitar player out there that might want to give this a go. Buying a cab might be a possibility too but I was hoping to keep this rig somewhat compact. Is it feasible to replace the internal speaker?

 

[AcornHouse]

ahhhh ok - what you are saying makes a lot of sense. I wonder if there is a guitar player out there that might want to give this a go. Buying a cab might be a possibility too but I was hoping to keep this rig somewhat compact. Is it feasible to replace the internal speaker?

Depends how you want to use it. If you're wanting a gig-ready setup to play in a group, running by the pedals you want to use, it's never going to work. 25w with not very bass-y power tubes is good for low volume practice, or a much softer type of music (jazz, acoustic guitars, etc.)
In general, bass amps need double the wattage of guitar amps due to the low frequencies involved. Most bass players use solid state amps.
@fronobulax @twocorgis and other bass specialists can help you there.

 

[dcookNH]

Depends how you want to use it. If you're wanting a gig-ready setup to play in a group, ng by the pedals you want to use, it's never going to work. 25w with not very bass-y power tubes is good for love volume practice, or a much softer type of music (jazz, acoustic guitars, etc.)
In general, bass amps need double the wattage of guitar amps due to the low frequencies involved. Most bass players use solid state amps.
@fronobulax @twocorgis and other bass specialists can help you there.

thanks! I have a SS Ampeg 1x12 that I can also use for practice. Not gigging quite yet, just playing with friends. Maybe my guitar player will be interested in my Guild!

 

[dcookNH]

thanks! I have a SS Ampeg 1x12 that I can also use for practice. Not gigging quite yet, just playing with friends. Maybe my guitar player will be interested in my Guild!

and thank you for all the great info

 

[The Guilds of Grot]

I have a vintage Guild Maverick Bass amp.

I play out with this:

Gallion-Krueger MB 155

 

[dcookNH]

I have a vintage Guild Maverick Bass amp.

I play out with this:

Gallion-Krueger MB 155

that looks perfect for what I am looking for..thx for the tip!

 

[GGJaguar]

This must be your amp...

 

[dcookNH]

This must be your amp...

yup. got it mostly sorted out. as long as i keep the volume low for practice, I can use my Fender DT and my Bass Metaphors and it sounds decent. once i start cranking the volume, no bueno lol. i can however go high volume with my Ampeg B-112 and all is good.

 

[dcookNH]

any recommendations on a 15" replacement speaker voiced for bass that would fit in this chassis? I'm considering fully restoring it with new tolex, hardware, and grill cloth.