Aguilar Tone Hammer 350 (w/ampeg svt210av)- first impressions

wolffire99 · #1 03-19-2013, 01:27 PM

My backorder wait is finally over. Picked up the final piece for my new lightweight setup and brought it home to try out.

Fwiw, my only other experience is with an acoustic B200 115 combo and a TC BG500 210 combo. (Both over twice the weight of my new setup).

Here are my initial thoughts (bass is 98 MIA P bass completely stock)

1. Quieter than I expected from other reviews I read. By far the quietest of the 3 amps. I can see a second svt210av in my very near future. Master and gain were at 1 o'clock in order to get the amount of volume I'd need playing in our small church. Adequate yes, but barely. I was expecting a little more volume. I should also note I was able to push the master and gain to 3 o'clock with no clipping or breakup. Neither of the other two amps will go that high cleanly.

2. Very very subtle eq/drive controls. The Acoustic also shares this trait while the TC's control adjustments are much more dramatic. I prefer the subtle adjustments. I'd say you'd probably need a 30-40% change in any given control for an untrained ear to notice. Maybe 20% with the gain.

3. I would describe the tone of this setup as warm, soft, tons of mids, very vintage-y. In fact my wife said right away "it sounds old". The TC is cold, hard, and modern while the Acoustic is clean and deep only.

4. I can't say enough good things about the drive control. I used to think the TC tube tone was the end all be all but it already sounds more like a subtle overdrive to me now. The TH drive is warm and tube sounding but not in your face because there's no breakup in the tone like you get with the TC. Just personal preference. I think they could have just as easily labeled it "warmth" instead of drive because of that.

Weight was my main factor in getting this set up. So in that regard it's a keeper.

lsimy · #2 03-19-2013, 02:25 PM

I have the TH350 and it really is a great amp. I'm assuming that SVT210AV is an 8 ohm cabinet. If so, when you add another 8 ohm cabinet, it will run the amp full out at 4 ohms and should really start pumping. I have mine running through 2 little Eden EX112's and it's pretty crazy how loud that little setup is. Aguilar did a great job with the TH line !!

KJung · #3 03-19-2013, 02:50 PM

First, remember that knob position means absolutely nothing when comparing across amps. Means zero.

Secondly, I find the TH350 tone controls among the most powerful out there. Slight changes make massive differences to my ear.

My guess... you have a cab that isn't very articulate, or is extremely voiced (i.e., not letting those tonal changes to be heard).

wolffire99 · #4 03-19-2013, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

First, remember that knob position means absolutely nothing when comparing across amps. Means zero.

Secondly, I find the TH350 tone controls among the most powerful out there. Slight changes make massive differences to my ear.

My guess... you have a cab that isn't very articulate, or is extremely voiced (i.e., not letting those tonal changes to be heard).

That is probably true. I don't have much to compare it to honestly. On my TC a difference of 9 to 12 on the gain or tube tone makes a huge difference to my ears. On the TH I had to go 9 to 3 to hear even close to the same amount if change.

KJung · #5 03-19-2013, 03:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolffire99

That is probably true. I don't have much to compare it to honestly. On my TC a difference of 9 to 12 on the gain or tube tone makes a huge difference to my ears. On the TH I had to go 9 to 3 to hear even close to the same amount if change.

The gain control pot is nicely designed, and is definitely less 'jumpy' than the TC. The tone controls are pretty powerful in that I've never been able to move them beyond the 11 o'clock 1 o'clock range myself.

Just keep working with it. Nice little rig you have there. LOTS of interaction among the midrange control, the gain, and the drive control. Pretty much any tone you would want in that head except for 'clean, modern, sizzly'

wolffire99 · #6 03-19-2013, 04:58 PM

Btw, I'd love to hear if anyone has any ideas on how to add taller rubber feet to the amp. I need another 1/2" to sit over the cab handle.

rodl2005 · #7 03-19-2013, 06:02 PM

Listen to KJUNG... he knows this amp inside out- sorta..

HEAPS of EQ possibilities with these TH's. Really, twist those knobs into a decent cab/s & there's HEAPS of change on tap

Downunderwonder · #8 03-19-2013, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolffire99

Btw, I'd love to hear if anyone has any ideas on how to add taller rubber feet to the amp. I need another 1/2" to sit over the cab handle.

Replace regular feet with size 12's

jumblemind · #9 03-19-2013, 08:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

My guess... you have a cab that isn't very articulate, or is extremely voiced (i.e., not letting those tonal changes to be heard).

The second one. The 210av is a very specifically voiced cab. I played a TH500 through one and loved the crazy vintage sound. It does the tight, old school sealed 10s thing VERY well, but that's it. Definitely won't get a lot of tonal variations with any amp IME (I've tried four amps through my AVs).

wolffire99 · #10 03-19-2013, 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jumblemind

The second one. The 210av is a very specifically voiced cab. I played a TH500 through one and loved the crazy vintage sound. It does the tight, old school sealed 10s thing VERY well, but that's it. Definitely won't get a lot of tonal variations with any amp IME (I've tried four amps through my AVs).

Well it's good to know it's not just me. I do really like the sound out of it.

astack · #11 03-19-2013, 09:27 PM

Very cool little setup! I'd bet you could stick a mic on it and keep up at FOH gigs fine.

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolffire99

Btw, I'd love to hear if anyone has any ideas on how to add taller rubber feet to the amp. I need another 1/2" to sit over the cab handle.

At least on the TH500, get some big feet (Mojotone, Parts Express, etc) and slightly longer bolts (being careful they aren't too long that they could catch anything inside). You can take the top off, swap feet, replace top and you're good to go. Though, I thought this looked odd. On the 350, I'm sure it'd catch attention.

wolffire99 · #12 03-26-2013, 06:18 PM

Well it's been a week and I've had a chance to settle in with the new setup.

Considering I can crank the amp pretty much all the way up with gain at noon and still get a clean sound it's not really as quiet as I originally thought. You'd be fine using this setup for smaller venues with reasonable drummers. I think this is due to the 175 watt output with just the one cab.

I'm still falling more and more in love with the drive on this amp. I think it and a P bass are a perfect match. It's hard to explain how edgy the tone can be without any breakup, but it's just perfect. The closest example I can think of would be Nikolai Fraiture's sound in The Strokes. Look up the song Reptilia, it sounds just like that.

wolffire99 · #13 03-28-2013, 11:59 AM

This is really embarassing to say...but forget everything I said about it being quiet. I had the -10db input pad on the whole time.

Wow...not so quiet any more

husky123 · #14 03-28-2013, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolffire99

This is really embarassing to say...but forget everything I said about it being quiet. I had the -10db input pad on the whole time.

Wow...not so quiet any more

Haha, I've done that before.

nutdog · #15 03-28-2013, 12:57 PM

NWB · #16 03-29-2013, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wolffire99

This is really embarassing to say...but forget everything I said about it being quiet. I had the -10db input pad on the whole time.

Wow...not so quiet any more

LOL!

I've done that on my 500!

Geez this thing's quiet, oh wait, the pad's in!

I switch between a powerful 18-volt active bass and a passive jazz and have forgotten to disengage the pad a couple of times.