Marshall VBA 400 vs. Lemmy?

Border · #1 01-08-2011, 09:34 PM

I have been looking at upgrading my amp and recently placed a post regarding the VBA 400. I had the good fortune to try one out recently and liked its sound. I have found the Marshall 100 watt Lemmy signature series amp to be interesting as well. I have not had a chance to try one and am hoping to hear from anyone who has. What cabinet do you use? How is the sound at low or high volumes? reliable? Any information would be most appreciated. Border

BassmanPaul · #2 01-09-2011, 09:51 AM

the VBA400 will be considerably louder then the 100W Lemmy. If a 100W amp will work for you it's your choice. For myself, no 100W amp would be sufficient.

riotorgun · #3 01-09-2011, 09:59 AM

ive never played the lemmy head but its made too go with a 4x12 and 4x15 cab so with that setup i imagine its plenty loud.Bit of a one trick pony i suspect tho http://www.marshallamps.com/product.asp?productId=124

Qvist · #4 01-09-2011, 10:05 AM

Is the Lemmy head really a guitar head or is it made for bass?

Nigel Rahmshard · #5 01-09-2011, 10:12 AM

The lemmy head is a tube head, whereas the 450 is not. Also the 450 only puts out 450 watts at 2 ohms, at 4 ohms you get 300 watts. The lemmy puts out 100w at 4, 8 or 16 ohms, from what i have gathered.

Oops, nevermind. I just realized you said the VBA 400.

Tim1 · #6 01-09-2011, 11:36 AM

The VBA400 IS an all tube head, don't know where the 450 has come from , Nigel. I have been eyeing a 400 myself for a while, it looks like very good value and I would expect it to stay cleaner a lot louder than the Lemmy head. It has head many good comments from owners.

AwkwardLoudness · #7 01-09-2011, 12:25 PM

Both the VBA 400 and the custom Lemmy Superbass amps are all tube.

The VBA 400 will have the potential to be louder and cleaner given the extra wattage. I say 'potential' because you'll be limited to whatever capabilities of your choice of cab/speakers. The VBA 400 is heavier than the Lemmy amp since there are larger transformers in the VBA.

I would be a bit worried about reliability in most recently built Marshall amps especially the VBA 400. Check out the gut shots:

http://www.chambonino.com/work/marshall/marsh6.html

If something failed in that amp, it could be a serious pain in the @$$ to diagnose and fix. There are many, many components and connections in that amp that could potentially fail.

I don't want to discourage you though. If you find either amp used at good low price, then try it out by all means. I would not pay top dollar for either one and my preference leans toward the VBA 400 due to the additional power.

BassmanAd · #8 01-09-2011, 03:39 PM

The VBA 400 is a hell of an amp. I can't speak for the reliability of them, I don't own one but I've used a couple of rental heads before. Wow. Super loud and there's only about 3 knobs on it which works for me.

Fab Savage · #9 01-10-2011, 02:35 AM

Hey Border

In response to your PM, I ve never tried the Lemmy, however if it saves you a grand, then it may be a better way to go based on your genre and volume requirements.

Yes the VBA400 will give you more clean headroom, but that might not necessarily be a good thing if you want to push power tubes in OD. If I crank the master on mine, I rarely turn the earlier gain stage past 3 or 4. OTOH, cranking the early gain stage and dropping the master can give a fairly gritty preamp style OD, if you like that sound (I personally prefer power tube saturation so go figure). I bet the Lemmy would sound badass pushed hard. Talk to Mark Olsen here on TB about Marshalls and headrom. He is using an older style superbass/lead amp rated at something like 30W in a full band setting (I think) and as far as I know has no volume problems.

Not sure about reliability issues - my VBA 400 hasnt had probs yet - touching wood right now.

I think either will work for you with you if you want to stay Marshall, however don't rule out other brands (e.g. Mesa. Ampeg) in similar price brackets.

I would try what you can locally first to get an idea of manufacturer diffs and tones.

Good luck, buying a new amp is great fun! Plus if its not your flavour you can always sell it.

Border · #10 01-11-2011, 10:58 AM

Sincere thanks to all who responded, I greatly appreciate your thoughts. I hope to make it over to the coast (Seattle-Tacoma) in the next few weeks. There is a far greater selection over there than in Spokane, and I am hoping to try out a Lemmy then. I am intrigued with the idea of matching it with the VBC 4X12 cab rather than the 412 it is marketed with. I tried the VBA through the VBC412 and liked it. I never play anywhere that 100 vs 400 watts will be an issue, so I expect I will be happy with whichever amp I end up purchasing. Thanks again everyone. Border.

bigdaddyforge · #11 01-11-2011, 11:28 AM

lemmy played a 100w superbass, which is more than loud enough for most applications

the vba400 is going to have much more headroom and a cleaner/louder sound more akin to an svt than the grit of a superbass. the downside to the 400 is they're notorious for catching on fire

if you want a lot of power, id go for an svt, if you want that lemmy sound then get a superbass. his reissue is still a superbass, based off his old 'murder one' superbass, which is basically just a superlead (the low input on a superlead is the high input of a superbass)

johnk_10 · #12 01-11-2011, 11:52 AM

i've owned a few vintage JMP and JCM 100w marshalls, and while i loved their tone (especially their midrange grind), i found myself running out of headroom pretty quickly at gigs. to get a similar sound, i replaced them with a vintage marshall major (200W). it was a beast to schelp around, but it sounded great.

bigdaddyforge · #13 01-11-2011, 12:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnk_10

i've owned a few vintage JMP and JCM 100w marshalls, and while i loved their tone (especially their midrange grind), i found myself running out of headroom pretty quickly at gigs. to get a similar sound, i replaced them with a vintage marshall major (200W). it was a beast to schelp around, but it sounded great.

you're my hero john lol. i've used my buddy's 100w 800, 100w dsl, and 50w jmp and they sounded awesome, but i'd love to plug into a major =D

Clammy · #14 01-11-2011, 02:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by johnk_10

i've owned a few vintage JMP and JCM 100w marshalls, and while i loved their tone (especially their midrange grind), i found myself running out of headroom pretty quickly at gigs. to get a similar sound, i replaced them with a vintage marshall major (200W). it was a beast to schelp around, but it sounded great.

Alternatively, you can run TWO Super Basses, like I do!

Cheers!

bigdaddyforge · #15 01-11-2011, 02:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clammy

Alternatively, you can run TWO Super Basses, like I do!

Cheers!

my hat's off to you sir, well played!

my svt/2x810av rig seems smaller and smaller lol

EASonBass · #16 01-11-2011, 02:29 PM

Haven't tried a Lemmy but have owned a VBA400. It did fail at a gig from a poor quality solder joint. That aside, I now have a Marshall DSL (guitar head) and much prefer its clean channel's tone over the VBA400. It has a "deep" switch which adds bottom making it perfect (IMO) for bass. Loudest 100 watts I've heard too. Kills an Ampeg V4B for clean headroom volume (don't know why). Don't actually know how a DSL relates to a Lemmy though.

I guess if you've tried the VBA400 and like it call it a day. I wouldn't roll the dice on the Lemmy sight unseen. Just take the VBA to a tech and have them go over ALL the solder work. It'll be worth it.

sub forum · #17 01-12-2011, 08:47 AM

I have both amps , well i say both because my "Lemmy" head is an original 1978 Superbass Mk2 1992 serial no model . My VBA 400 needed a pre amp valve upgrade to get the sound i was happy with . I put 3 tesla ecc83's and a philips ecc 82 in to replace the stock tubes and it made a big difference . My Superbass mk2 has just had a refurb as a few of the pots were shot , i also stuck in some stock power tubes and sovtek pre amp tubes . The amp has a totally different sound to the VBA 400 , its really warm where as the VBA has a deep sub thud and monumental volume . I'd try and get an original superbass mk2 instead of the crazy priced Lemmy head.
I like both heads , i have used the superbass for 23 years and the VBA 400 for the last 10 years .If you get the VBA 400 get a roadie because it weighs over 30KG

oinkbanana · #18 01-28-2012, 10:58 AM

Clammy,
now that you have a VBA400, how would you compare the two?

kaputsport · #19 01-28-2012, 11:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AwkwardLoudness

I would be a bit worried about reliability in most recently built Marshall amps especially the VBA 400. Check out the gut shots:

Servicing a Marshall VBA 400 Amplifier Head

Have you looked at Marshall amps of the past? My DBS 7400s are loaded to the gills with boards and parts, much like this.

They are designed to swap a board at a time, not one part.

BassmanPaul · #20 01-28-2012, 12:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaputsport

Have you looked at Marshall amps of the past? My DBS 7400s are loaded to the gills with boards and parts, much like this.

They are designed to swap a board at a time, not one part.

The beauty of a tube amp is that they are so easy to service at the component level. Using such PCB construction virtually eliminates that ease.