most tube like class d amp?

paradigm_shift · #1 08-23-2011, 02:17 PM

I'm sure its been asked before , but which class d amps will have the most girth,take pedals the best? I will be using it with fuzz and looking for that 'tube amp driven to the point of exploding' type tone...or as close to in a portable format.

Duke21 · #2 08-23-2011, 02:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradigm_shift

I'm sure its been asked before , but which class d amps will have the most girth,take pedals the best? I will be using it with fuzz and looking for that 'tube amp driven to the point of exploding' type tone...or as close to in a portable format.

Class D with or without tube preamp?

tombowlus · #3 08-23-2011, 02:34 PM

TC RH450, for sure.

Munjibunga · #4 08-23-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

TC RH450, for sure.

Not to mention the RH750.

BassmanPaul · #5 08-23-2011, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

TC RH450, for sure.

What with only 15W output????

KJung · #6 08-23-2011, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paradigm_shift

I'm sure its been asked before , but which class d amps will have the most girth,take pedals the best? I will be using it with fuzz and looking for that 'tube amp driven to the point of exploding' type tone...or as close to in a portable format.

hmmmm... two very different things here. For the most tubey, the TC amps and the Genz Streamliner are the tops IMO (different kinds of tubey wonderful, with the Genz being at the top of the heap on that one). Of course, the Walkabout is killer also.

HOWEVER, I spent a lot of time with our 'king of the grind'. TBer Matrok, and as a platform for pedal distortion, neither the TC nor the Genz shined (shone?). The much more neutral tonal platform of the Markbass F1/F500 resulted in the wonderful VT pedal to really shine (by that I mean really replicate a pretty darn good 'SVT screaming and grinding', etc.).

So, best pedal platform for extreme distortion tones going INTO the amp.... find the cleanest, most neutral head you can get... my choice would be the F1 or F500. The Genz Shuttle 9 or GK MB500 would be OK also, but they aren't quite as neutral and transparent.

IMO and a bit of IME.

tombowlus · #7 08-23-2011, 02:44 PM

Ooooh, and of course the mighty Orange Terror Bass 500/1000!

KJung · #8 08-23-2011, 02:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

Ooooh, and of course the mighty Orange Terror Bass 500/1000!

Again smoking if you like that particular distortion voice of that amp. If you get that primarily from pedals, IMO, not so much. The cleaner the better.

tombowlus · #9 08-23-2011, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KJung

Again smoking if you like that particular distortion voice of that amp. If you get that primarily from pedals, IMO, not so much. The cleaner the better.

A bit yes, and a bit no. On the yes side, the Terror Bass does a great job of dialing in tube grind all on its own. But on the no front, it has plenty of clean headroom and a decent range of tube drive to dial in, and IME/IMHO, it can match up quite well with distortion/overdrive pedals.

KJung · #10 08-23-2011, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tombowlus

A bit yes, and a bit no. On the yes side, the Terror Bass does a great job of dialing in tube grind all on its own. But on the no front, it has plenty of clean headroom and a decent range of tube drive to dial in, and IME/IMHO, it can match up quite well with distortion/overdrive pedals.

I found the Terror Bass input gain quite hot. Again, not sure that would be the best platform to accurately transmit the tone of various pedals. Nice head though, but a bit underwhelming to me unless you crank the grit with it a bit, which of course can interact in nasty ways with another flavor of distortion coming out of a pedal, that also pumps the signal hitting that tube pre.

IMO there. Just something for the OP to thing about. I guess the head with the cleanest 'tubelike' performance at high volumes is the Streamliner, but again, it seemed to not do as good a job translating the pedal tones as a more neutral solid state amp with a very clean input signal chain.

ButtUglyJeff · #11 08-23-2011, 03:05 PM

What about the Genz Benz Streamliner 900/600, or the Ampeg SVT 7PRO?

P-oddz · #12 08-23-2011, 03:18 PM

Don't know if tube preamp counts in your "tube-like" category, but I love my TV15 Bassman. Very warm and round naturally, kick up the gain and it grinds, and it takes dirt/fuzz pedals swimmingly.

tekdiver500ft · #13 08-23-2011, 03:22 PM

Ampeg SVT 7PRO or Ampeg PF500 or Genz Benz Streamliner 900.

Alex1984 · #14 08-23-2011, 05:15 PM

I was thinking the 7 Pro or the Mesa WA.

lfbassguy · #15 08-23-2011, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tekdiver500ft

Ampeg SVT 7PRO or Ampeg PF500 or Genz Benz Streamliner 900.

+1. but i can do without the GB.

Musicman20 · #16 08-23-2011, 05:19 PM

Ken is spot on.

RH450/750

Streamliner 900

MB LM3/ F series with pedal

In fact, I will soon own all three and may do a video demo against my AD200b.

Yep, agree the Orange BT is great too.

rummy · #17 08-23-2011, 10:49 PM

+1 for SVT 7 Pro.

rodl2005 · #18 08-23-2011, 11:08 PM

+3 for the 7 Pro. Sounds a LOT like my old SVT II. Without the pwr tube OD tho. It Will do overdrive, but it's a furry type rather than a grind.
VT pedal works great into it-especially via the fx loop.
Remember the OP asked re D class & the WALKABOUT, while being imo, the best hybrid made, ain't CLASS D

Ben Clarke · #19 08-23-2011, 11:18 PM

Don't forget the MB Fusion. It gets pretty thick if you push it and eq things right, but can be clean. It's on the warm side of neutral though, even set up clean. I've dug it with the Linden EQ, FatBoost3, or straight in. Pushed a vintage flatback 810 just fine. Also worked well with Eden D112XLT, singly or in pairs.

vin*tone · #20 08-23-2011, 11:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BassmanPaul

What with only 15W output????

LOL. I thought it was 6.

The RH450 is a grindy OD tone. The Meas WA was more of a soft cushy tube tone to my ears but it's not Class D - it's MosFET