@PamPurrs Yes, to everything said above but keep in mind, this is a huge rabbit hole with no clear answers. All twists and turns end up leading to the same place…
What sounds good to ‘you’ is the only real determining factor of what ‘good’ or ‘right’ is.
…and the only way to really find that out is to go and play with as much equipment as possible. I hate saying that because I know how frustrating that answer can be.
One thing I’ve learned is that you can’t trust much of what you see in videos. It is entirely possible this bass player doesn’t even use Ampeg amps and cabinets, and that his sound was crafted in the studio using all manner of amp and cabinet modeling. Looking at how sparkly and new those amps and cabs look, I would guess they were all rented for making the video. Having said that, and given the sound, I wouldn’t be surprised if he did use Ampeg. Just not the ones in the video.
For me, the biggest thing I hear in that video is that Rickenbacker sound, which is pretty distinctive. If you really want to mimic this sound, I don’t know how you would do it without actually having a Rickenbacker.
@joergkutter Is that something that can be modeled on the Fender Rumble Studio 40?
As to how much the amp and cabinet can change your sound… Yes, a lot.
I went for a long trip to Guitar Center yesterday and played a Made in Mexico Fender Jazz Bass through all of the following…
Ashdown combo amp
Peavey 200 (?) combo amp
Ampeg 450 combo amp
Fender Rumble 500 combo amp
Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 (?) amp head with Mark Bass 410 cabinet
Mark Bass 450 (?) amp head with Mark Bass 410 cabinet
Mark Bass 750 (?) amp head with Mark Bass 210 cabinet
Every single one sounded noticeably different. Even the Mark Bass 450 and 750 using the different size cabinets made them sound like they were from two different manufacturers. (I really wasn’t expecting that.)
Also, watching videos from the different manufacturers may help you understand what all the knobs and buttons do, in my experience, they never sound the same. They’re recording in optimal conditions with an unknown amount of post processing and I’m playing in a guitar store.