Mesa 400 VS Orange Bass Terror?

[mr_goodbomb]

Currently, it's a battle between these two. I have an Ampeg V-4BH, and while I love it, in some situations, when we're playing somewhere where I'm not miced, and I care about my tone, it lacks a bit in volume (mainly just because if I turn the gain up too high, past like 2, for the music we play, it's too gritty and lacks definition/sounds muddy). So, I'm considering these as a second bass amp. The Mesa would be fantastic I'm sure, but the Orange seems to have a lot of benefits, too. What do you guys think?

I play in two bands, an indie/pop rock band (think Weezer, in a way, with a little Dookie-era Green Day, hence the Mesa interest), and a straight up indie rock band (sort of Ryan Adams/Bright Eyes, but heavier, however, minus the added gain, a little extra speed, and heavier drums, lyrically and rhythm guitar wise, very rooted around chords and vocals).

[Breslin dp]

Have you considered a GK amp? GK would sound amazing playing both of the styles that you have mentioned.

[anderbass]

If you truly love the tone and feel of your V4BH, I think you'd end up preferring an all tube SVT when you need more clean-ish stage volume. I alternate between gigging an old Ampeg V4 or one of my SVT's for pretty much the same reasons you posted.

[mr_goodbomb]

Originally Posted by Breslin dp

Have you considered a GK amp? GK would sound amazing playing both of the styles that you have mentioned.

I have a Backline head and cab. The cab works fine, but the head doesn't work... at all. It just stopped working one day. Had someone look at it, they couldn't find the issue. A friend with the same amp had the same problem. I don't trust GK much anymore.

Originally Posted by anderbass

If you truly love the tone and feel of your V4BH, I think you'd end up preferring an all tube SVT when you need more clean-ish stage volume. I alternate between gigging an old Ampeg V4 or one of my SVT's for pretty much the same reasons you posted.

Are there any SVTs in that price range (the Mesa is $700, the Orange can be found for $800) as good as the competition in question?

[TrevorOfDoom]

Please note: Backline is not GK proper. GK proper is quite reliable, and quite sturdy.
I agree that a GK would sound killer for what you're doing. Past that, either of the amps in question would work well, it's simply a matter of taste.

[anderbass]

Originally Posted by mr_goodbomb

Are there any SVTs in that price range (the Mesa is $700, the Orange can be found for $800) as good as the competition in question?

Not usually but if you look hard enough you might get lucky. I found all my SVT bargains through posting my own "SVT wanted" ads on craigslist. So far I paid $1000 for my 72 blueline, $800 for my SVT-11 (older non-pro model) and $500 for a SVTCL I ended up re-selling for $1000.

Maybe you'd end up preferring a Mesa 400 or the Terror over any Ampeg. All I know for sure is I prefer my V4 or either of my SVT's over my Mesa D-180 or 400+.