I need a tube amp

[bobostein]

Ok I dont "need" one but I have always wanted a all tube bass amp to make a Kick @$$ rig but what to get? I was looking at the Fender Bassman 300 but I was wondering if there is somthing else that would rivel it and be in the same price range of $1500. I play stoner/doom sabbath type stuff. Please help

[ItsMichaelYeah]

I think you got a good Pick there. Are looking to get it used or new?

I use a Ampeg svt CL But For Stoner/Doom I think the 300 is a better choice.

[bobostein]

Im thinking new

[fu22ba55]

If you're into stoner/doom the Verellen Meat Smoke is not too far out of your price range, and is very "in vouge" with the stoner/doom crowd.

If you hang on to your cash, and wait to pounce, 70's SVTs still pop up in that price range. The SVT is a little more timeless, the Verellen's will probably always be identified with doom/stoner, for better or for worse.

The Sunn 300Ts are also big with the doom crowd, and can be had used for within your price range.

[NKBassman]

I'm working on picking up a 300 as well. Should know in a couple weeks.
If the sale falls through, I'll use the money as a downpayment on a new one, or on an Ampeg SVT CL

[StuartV]

Is there really any gig where an SVT tube head is NOT a good choice?

[ItsMichaelYeah]

Originally Posted by StuartV

Is there really any gig where an SVT tube head is NOT a good choice?

Still haven't found one.

[Lazarus.Bird]

Originally Posted by fu22ba55

If you're into stoner/doom the Verellen Meat Smoke is not too far out of your price range, and is very "in vouge" with the stoner/doom crowd.

If you hang on to your cash, and wait to pounce, 70's SVTs still pop up in that price range. The SVT is a little more timeless, the Verellen's will probably always be identified with doom/stoner, for better or for worse.

The Sunn 300Ts are also big with the doom crowd, and can be had used for within your price range.

I e-mailed Ben asking about pricing on a Meat Smoke and he responded saying to look at the product page for pricing. They are listed around $2500. Am I missing something here?

[Din Of Win]

I know WAY too many doom bassists...

Every. Single. One of them HATES the Sunn 300T... I know some of the hate is from the fact that they are 'false-sunns', but quite a few just strongly dislike their tone.


For $1500 you can easily get a real McCoy Sunn 2000s.


FWIW: MOST doom/stonermetal dudes i know play Sunn (2000s, 200s, Sorado, and various SS ones), after that it'd be Ampeg (SVT VRs and any 70s SVT... not too many CLs to be honest), While Sunn and Ampeg make up about 85% of what the the dudes play... the only other heads i really see are Orange, HiWatt and Traynor... all older versions... MAYBE a newjack Orange ad-200b occationally...


PERSONALLY... try some stuff and get what speaks to ya!! $1500 gives you a lot of options!

I just bought my first tube amp today as a matter a'fact

[beebassdude]

i have the SVT-VR and its an unbelievable amp. many of the ampeg gurus will tell you that the VR and the old 70s one sound almost identical, and older amps require a little more maintenance than newer ones (in my experience).

id get the VR, im not a fan of the CL at all, or id also get a Sunn 300T.

[flygirafda3]

If you can find a peavey classic 400 I think that might work out really nicely for you. When they pop up they can normally be had from anywhere between 400 and 700. 400 all tube watts seems like it would kill for doom.

[bobostein]

Where is the bassman 300 made, the usa I hope

[Alex1984]

Bassman 300 IS the 300T isn't it?

Gonna name the normal suspects here: Sunn, Orange, and Mesa 400+. If you didn't specify all tube, I'd say the Big Block 750 or Titan.

[fu22ba55]

Originally Posted by StuartV

Is there really any gig where an SVT tube head is NOT a good choice?

Gig in a hot-air balloon? Or in an inflatable raft?

Originally Posted by Lazarus.Bird

I e-mailed Ben asking about pricing on a Meat Smoke and he responded saying to look at the product page for pricing. They are listed around $2500. Am I missing something here?

Whoa... business must be booming. They were $1650 this time last year. Supply and demand I guess.

The Sunn 2000S and Sorado, etc.. etc... are MIGHTY might sounding amps. but they top out at a little under 200 Watts. (depends which one...) If you're playing stoner/doom, and the guitar players are using full stacks w 120 watt heads, you'll look like you're in a silent movie using a 2000S.

I'd look into 200 watts bare minimum, which puts you in the Orange AD200B, Peavey VB-2, Traynor's 200 YBA-2... or step up to 300 watts and get the SVT-VR.

I still say the smart thing to do is get a 76-79 (Magnavox-era) SVT. There was one on my local CL for $1200 last week, one sold here on TB six months ago for $1000 even. Heck, a '73 just sold two weeks ago here for $1400.

If you can wait for a 70's SVT, you'll never need another amp in your life. (But you'll still buy more amps since it's fun.)

[countrybassist]

Originally Posted by fu22ba55

If you hang on to your cash, and wait to pounce, 70's SVTs still pop up in that price range. The SVT is a little more timeless, the Verellen's will probably always be identified with doom/stoner, for better or for worse.

.

Yep! I just picked up an excellent 1973 Ampeg SVT with a road case on here for $1,400!!

[AwkwardLoudness]

If I had the funds for a new all tube amp for doom, I'd probably get a Laney Nexus 400. The power section has eight KT88 tubes. I probably will end up getting one of these...eventually. You can't go wrong with an old SVT though.

[walterw]

Originally Posted by fu22ba55

The Sunn 2000S and Sorado, etc.. etc... are MIGHTY might sounding amps. but they top out at a little under 200 Watts. (depends which one...) If you're playing stoner/doom, and the guitar players are using full stacks w 120 watt heads, you'll look like you're in a silent movie using a 2000S.

you could "cheat" and wrangle a 50-100w guitar amp, using it for the tube grind and blending it with a high-power SS bass rig. lotta crap to carry, but so is lugging an SVT.

Originally Posted by fu22ba55

I still say the smart thing to do is get a 76-79 (Magnavox-era) SVT. There was one on my local CL for $1200 last week, one sold here on TB six months ago for $1000 even. Heck, a '73 just sold two weeks ago here for $1400.

If you can wait for a 70's SVT, you'll never need another amp in your life. (But you'll still buy more amps since it's fun.)

wow, that's pretty reasonable after all these years. makes me wonder if the value of the old heavy tube iron is starting to peak and drop off, now that we're in the age of 1000 watt bass amps the size of a paperback novel.

(playing through a real SVT will still spoil you for anything else, though.)

[fu22ba55]

Originally Posted by walterw

wow, that's pretty reasonable after all these years. makes me wonder if the value of the old heavy tube iron is starting to peak and drop off, now that we're in the age of 1000 watt bass amps the size of a paperback novel.

I'd like to think that TB'ers try to price stuff more realistically on the classifieds here (as opposed to eBay,CL) since this community is all about feeback, karma, etc...

But is depends upon the year of the SVT too. The same guy who had the '77 listed at $1200 on CL had a '73 listed for $2500.

Why don't you and I keep spreading the rumor that the bottom of the market has fallen out on SVTs, and that everyone should play a TC Electronics radar-detector pocket-amp-thingie. Then we can all snap up '69 SVTs for $300 a pop!

[Deluge Of Sound]

Originally Posted by fu22ba55

Gig in a hot-air balloon? Or in an inflatable raft?



Whoa... business must be booming. They were $1650 this time last year. Supply and demand I guess.

The Sunn 2000S and Sorado, etc.. etc... are MIGHTY might sounding amps. but they top out at a little under 200 Watts. (depends which one...) If you're playing stoner/doom, and the guitar players are using full stacks w 120 watt heads, you'll look like you're in a silent movie using a 2000S.

I'd look into 200 watts bare minimum, which puts you in the Orange AD200B, Peavey VB-2, Traynor's 200 YBA-2... or step up to 300 watts and get the SVT-VR.

This is leaning toward false, but it depends on the cabinet situation... Doubling your wattage will only give you a 3db increase in volume. Now, you'll get more clean headroom with a higher wattage head, but who the hell cares about clean tones in our genre anyway?

If I was you, I'd get a cheap, loud solid state head and as many speaker cabs I can afford.

Full disclosure, I use an OR120.

[bassermaniac]

Originally Posted by bobostein

Where is the bassman 300 made, the usa I hope

MEXICO