I talk about that in my now years-old post to a thread on how tube amps work. Basically sag is a way that Power Tubes, whose main role is to provide more loudness (power, duh), but because they are inefficient tubes, end up contributing to the tone. If you like tube amps, this a one factor why, among many.
Fender Blues Jr’s are great amps and yes, their power stage sags when driven. I think it uses EL84’s for power tubes.
Hehehe, with the Super Bassman (yeah, something is satisfying about typing out it’s whole name), I turned it up to 4, and wondered how much I was bugging the neighbors. I live in a house, with 50’s era suburban lawns. When I first got home, I played it on 3. My wife said she knew I was home and it wasn’t a car with a crazy stereo driving by because the house’s slab was vibrating.
I used to play in a surf rock band with the same drummer I do now, using a 200W Acoustic "15 combo. He used to occasionally say “Hey, you know you could turn up some.”. The answer was invariably “No, actually I can’t. Gain and Master have been pegged since sound check.” All I could really do is start removing bass from the EQ if I wanted to be louder. That was the band that motivated me to buy the GK MBFusion 500, and I recently traded that amp for the Ampeg 410HLF cabinet.
Don’t get me wrong, 200W through a 15" speaker is plenty loud, but it’s not live rock band loud. You can play a lot of jazz, folk and even quite a few rock clubs without being plugged into the PA. But when you start playing loud rock, and some of those clubs have barely enough PA for vocals and kick drum, you need to start dragging either more speakers or watts with you. I decided to do both, to be safe. However, if these bastards think I need a 8x10 fridge or a full stack to keep up with them, they can start loading my gear. 
With an attitude like that, you’ll never be playing through anything bigger than a Princeton*. C’mon, only my 6W head is that light. 
All kidding aside; the venerated SVT, depending on the generation and the density of the tree used to make the case, can be anywhere from 80-95lbs. I lifted a lighter one on/off a SVT810 fridge at the shop to test the SB out, and I was very happy about my choice after the experience. I’m short, so the top of an 8x10 cab is above my shoulders. 65lbs was a comparative breeze. It’s not uncommon for big tube bass amps to cross the 100lb mark. That’s what’s kept me away from the beasts. Hauling 100lbs (up a staircase sometimes) is not my idea of an attractive method of amplification.
*Yeahhhh, a Princeton can be plenty damn loud. We played with the Dead Mockingbirds at a Record Store Day event, and the guitarist had a Fender amp that I had never even heard of before I saw it in the wild. It was…a Fender Super Six. Crazy wonderful tone, it was so much sweeter sounding than a Twin. I asked him how he got it, and he said that he had a blackface Princeton that he eventually couldn’t turn up enough for some gigs, and a collector traded him straight up for the Super Six. Ok, if you get nothing else from this story, listen to some Dead Mockingbirds and know that a 15W 1x10 combo can be loud enough to compete with a drummer in some situations.
Missed the ETA, but: aceplace57 any instruction will put you ages ahead in hours. Especially since bass is the slow, thinking man’s instrument. You’ve usually got to have a clear plan before you attack the song. If you can’t line up in-person instruction, then those sources look like good starting places. But, the experience of asking a teacher to teach me parts that I was dying to learn, and his explanation of why those parts worked was a learning experience that has lasted me decades. However, that kind of experience is dependent on both the teacher and the student, which is even harder to line up than schedules.
You are more committed to gigging than I could be!
I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the bass. I’m just getting started. It’s challenging to plan a bass line and outline the chords.
I still have a lot to learn before I play with a drummer. Scott’s bass has tracks that we use for now.
I wish that I’d started years ago.
I see why bands recruit guys to help them load in.
That Fender Super Six Amp is listed at 100 lbs. Other classic Fender Tube Amps are at least 70lbs.
My back can’t take that abuse now.
Getting some young guys to do the lifting is a must.
The Fender Super Twin I had was 90 lbs - and that is just two 12" speakers.
The guy I sold it to converted it to a head unit to be used with pedals. A ton of headroom at 180W with very little built-in breakup. Two pre-amp tubes and SIX 6L6 power tubes.
Technical terminology question. Working on Freddy King’s “Hide Away”. At one point he’s doing a repeated rapid hammer from open to second fret on D. You can hear it at about 24 seconds in. Is there an actual playing term for that?
Yep, when you rapidly alternate between two adjacent tones, that’s known as a trill. A trill can be either a semitone or a whole tone. So in this case that’d be either the first or second fret, alternating with the open string.
If the notes are any further apart than a whole tone, then the effect fits one of the definitions of tremolo.
Edit: Oh, and great song. Freddy’s the King.
Probably so, there have been days recently where we play back-to-back shows, and I realize that this has developed into a second job. There were a couple of weeks recently that I was out and about with some sort of band stuff every night after work. It was exciting, but having a quiet night at home looked awful attractive.
But much like the guy who was advised to find a better job because his current job was to give the circus elephants enemas, my response is, “What, and give up show business?” Plus, I know that nothing lasts, so this excitement about my band probably will pass too. I’ll miss it when it’s gone, and I’ll just waste the quiet nights at home, anyway.
Playing with a drum track has to help, even just playing along with a recording of a song is good. I know that all of my playing on bass and guitar benefited from my early experiences from playing with others, not just drummers. Just try playing along with anything, and try to play with other people. When you can play along with a I-VI-V blues progression, offer to play bass at a blues jam somewhere.
If it was faster, it’d be a trill. Since it’s slow, I think it’s really a rolling hammer-on.
This. It’s kinda both, hammer-on/pull-off/trill. Subtly done mos def.
I’d never thought to apply the term trill to a guitar thing, but I get it. I’ve never heard the phrase rolling hammer-on, but it’s immediately descriptive. I just know I love Hide Away ;). One of the best “pivotal guitar tracks” even though that started with Clapton’s cover of Freddie’s tune.
scabpicker - yes enjoy it while you have it, no doubt. I have no interest in being in a band or gigging right now given where my job and kids are at, but love jamming with my drummer friend when I get a chance.
I’ve been learning several Beatles times. 
I’ve always wondered who developed their unique chords?
I’m working on Hey Jude. It has the sequence that starts with a full 4 finger G. The 3rd and 4th fingers stay planted on the 3rd fret. 2 beats of G, 2 beats of Dsus/F#, 2 beats Em7 , 2 beats Dsus.
D/F#
https://goo.gl/images/czrg6O
Em7
https://goo.gl/images/q86gI7
It’s an awesome technique and sound. I’m not sure which Beatle came up with it.
There’s also the D to Cadd9, G with the 3rd finger planted on the B string. A lot of bands copied that move later.
I doubt the Beatles invented these techniques. They certainly made them known among guitarists. I’d guess the Beatles liked these changes because there’s less chance of an error when a finger is planted in place. It anchors your hand. That can be important when you’re playing in front of 25,000 screaming and hysterical fans.
I could play these chords with standard open voicings. But half the fun of playing the Beatles is using their chords.
The chord to end all chords is the opening chord for A Hard Day’s Night, which actually was John and George each playing a different chord. Genius.
I’m helping a friend pick out a budget guitar. This will be his 2nd guitar. A step up from his $150 one.
Looking at Alvarez AD60 with Sitka Spruce Top and the AD66 with mahogany top. Otherwise the same dreadnoughts. Same $350 (plain) to $450 (LR Baggs Stagepro EQ) price point.
Seems like most guitar tops are Sitka Spruce. How does mahogany change the sound?
Is it mostly about the finish? The AD66 is a sunburst.
I’ve always place Spruce tops. Interested to see what’s the difference.
I’ve been looking at various guitars on Ebay.
The variety of woods is remarkable.
Lots of Spruce tops. Some with Rosewood sides & back. Others with mahogany sides & back.
Then there’s mahogany tops.
How anyone knows which is better is a mystery to me.
Spruce tops with Rosewood body used to be pretty standard. Apparently, Not any more.
I’m pretty sure all my vintage Acoustic Guitars all have Rosewood bodies and Spruce tops. My old Martin D18 is a sunburst finish. Not sure about the wood.
Unless the person plays both and knows they prefer the mahogany, they should stick with spruce, for versatility and resale.
Mahogany-topped (or “'Hog topped” to some messageboard types - I hate that phrase) guitars are more of a niche item. It is typically associated with a lower-economy line, such as Martin’s x-17 and newer x-15 Series guitars, their lowest level lines for years.
Mahogany as a topwood is considered typically a bit less responsive vs. spruce. It’s not the same kind of “sophisticated balsa wood” that spruce is, a softwood with a nice rigidity when the grain is lined up right. It’s good for a bluesbox type of guitar. Having said that, the old '30’s and '40’s x-17 series are loved guitars. A 1935 Martin 0-17 or 00-17 are some of the best values on the old guitar market.
And because mahogany-topped guitars are less common, they are questioned by newbies - which makes sense. That means resale is a bit more up in the air.
Hope this helps.
ETA: a sunburst finish is a preference thing. Gibson began them back in the day to mimic their original archtop finishes, which in turn were mean to mimic the wear of an aged violin. Gibson also used that finish to cover cosmetic blems in otherwise-suitable topwoods. At this point, it is a chocolate or vanilla thing - pick your preference. Some brands are particularly well known for their sunburst finishes, like Gibson, vs. natural tops like Martin. But that was back in the day - now everyone offers every variation.
I’ll pass that information on Wordman.
Thanks.
I had a feeling that Spruce tops would be a more conservative choice.
Alvarez is a reasonably good guitar in the $350 to $500 price range. A good 2nd Guitar for a intermediate level player.
It pays to research the specs and be aware of the wood used in a modern guitar.
A D-18 should be mahogany. I think the D-28 is Rosewood. Rosewood is a warmer richer sound, like Joni Mitchell. On the other end Maple has a very bright, brittle, sound that doesn’t sustain as much, and is favored in Nashville.
I love the mahogany guitars because of the bite in the sound. It’s best for rock. I’ve never owned a rosewood or Maple guitar but they’re on my list as soon as I can make it happen.
The price point of those Martins are many times higher than he is considering.
Yes, Martin 18’s are mahogany and 28’s are rosewood, and as I mentioned upthread, 17’s and 15’s are mahogany topped.
The language used to describe tone is subjective, and is itself one step removed from the subjective experience of the tone itself.
While the design and construction of the guitar is the biggest influence - especially the top and bracing which function as the speaker vs the back and sides which are the cabinet - there are general rules of thumb:
Rosewood tends to have more harmonic overtones, like you have reverb on your guitar. It also tends to have scooped mids, so the lows are more featured and the highs sound more glassy. Rosewood dreadnaughts are the rhythm guitar in bluegrass because of their lusher sounds.
Mahogany tends to have fewer overtones, so it emphasizes the fundatmental note being fretted. It emphasizes mids, and can be overdriven if you strum it harder so the mids compress a bit -kinda like stepping on a dirt pedal. Mahogany dreads tend to be the lead instrument in bluegrass because of their focus and cut.
I have owned a bunch of 18’s and 21’s (the simplicity of an 18 but made of Rosewood; undervalued gems ;)). I tend to like mahogany for Bigs - with a dread or a jumbo, the physical volume of the guitar provides richness and resonance; a RW body gets clashy. With Smalls, I love RW - it adds richness and depth so the guitar punches above its weight.
Whatever keeps you playing!
Hope this helps.