New (or used) Amp Time!!!

[the blast]

Yay, about time.....
Little history of what I like...

* Only play P Basses. May get a Jazz bass in the future.

* Ampeg Classic tube head through Ampeg 8x10 cab:
Belonged to a band mate & I loved it.

* SWR Bass 350 that ran through an Ampeg 4x10 cab:
I liked it but not quite as much as the Ampeg set up. Got great compliments in the studio with it. I thought it was a little "focused" for my taste. Sold it ultimately to finance a really great P Bass that I fell in love with.

* Acoustic B200 solid state combo with 1x15in speaker:
Surprisingly liked the sound of this amp although wished it was a little more "tubey" sounding. It just blew up last night which has brought me here for your advice & opinions.

I don't want one of those super small/light weight amps. I would like a tube pre at the very least & think I want a 15 but maybe the right 4x10 will suffice. I like vintage tone but want to stay fairly small (no 8x10 or 100lb head) & reliable. I'm a rock/feel good player & would like a little creaminess if you know what I mean. No super punchy or focused mids or any of that stuff. Think Jon Paul Jones meets Jamerson. Love B15s but don't think that's too realistic for my scenario. Just good, all around rock/soul/motown sort of vibe.

I know this is all soooo subjective but I have just never really paid much attention to the techy side of amps. I just played & adjusted accordingly until it felt & sounded right.

My budget prefers to be around $1000 but could be more if it makes sense. Combo... head plus cab... doesn't matter.

Amps I'm considering:
* Ashdown EVO II series, used obviously since they now make the EVO III which I think is mde somewhere other than England
* Aguilar DB750 head used & some cab
* Old Traynor YBA-1 possibly?? Not sure about all their models.
* Old Music Man head & a cab.
* Old Fender Bassman & a cab

As for the speakers, not sure if I want 4x10s or 1x15. Let's see what you all have to say. I know this all seems a little all-over-the-place but I guess I'm looking for that player that gets what I'm going for. Soooo, in a nut shell.... not physically huge, creamy, pretty reliable for touring & such, good quality.

Thanks for reading my book here gentlemen & ladies & let's see what you all have to say.

Best, -john

[kander]

Originally Posted by the blast

I don't want one of those super small/light weight amps.

I think you should relax this requirement and take a look at the Genz-Benz Shuttle and Streamliner. I love my SVT and these little amps satisfy my tubey needs while being a breeze to haul around.

[rodl2005]

Pretty different sounding set ups listed!!

Altho I've only heard & heard OF, the Aggie BD750/1 & 2x12" is pretty cool 'modern' set up that'll give a vintage tone.
The GB stuff doesn't sound at ALL 'vintage' to me but YMMV

Ashdown good & again does a nice warm tubey sound.
Traynor YBA200 (or the YBA-1-I dunno much about) - the YBA200 is a beauty- bit like a 150-200w SVT -CL at 1/2 the weight too.

[waleross]

I use a Genz Benz GBE1200 into a Fender Pro 215 cab. Not a lite scaled rig but not as big as an 810 into an Svt-CL(which I also have). The two I mention are not for everybody (expensive) but they do work out real well.

[the blast]

Guys, thanks for the recommendations. All good stuff.

As for the little GK amp, it's gotta look good as well & those little guys just don't cut it.

Thanks for the other Traynor mention, I like the idea of that. I like the Ashdown idea as well. We'll see.

Any more amp connoisseurs want to chime in, now's the time.

Thanks guys. -john

[Alex1984]

Traynor YBA-3 (130W), Ampeg V4B (100W). Ridiculously loud for their rated power, tube grind for days. The reason for recommending the YBA-3 over the YBA-1A (90W) is the fact that it's 4 ohms stable. Pair it up with a good 215 or 410 and you're set!

[JimmyM]

Since you love the tube sound, I think you're doing yourself a disservice by not considering micros. No iron transformer SS or hybrid amp has ever given me a sound that made me call it "tubey" sounding, while many of these micro heads absolutely do remind me of tubes, even many that don't have tubes. That isn't to say there aren't great sounding iron transformer SS amps out there...just none that have really put me in the mind of tube sound.

I'm also down with the looks thing, and I don't blame you for not wanting a micro based on looks, as most of them look like they were installed in Radio Shack project boxes. But a small handful do look good. Ampeg and Genz Benz have especially good looking micros IMHO. I have not yet played the more recent offerings by Genz Benz like the newer Shuttles and the Streamliner, but I have played Ampeg's SVT 7 Pro, and it's extremely impressive and is IMHO the closest to the SVT/B-15 ideal that I've judged every other amp by for the last 30+ years. It's also very large for a micro. It's the same physical size as most regular SS amps, just lighter.

[4-string]

re Ashdown, they moved production to China during EVO II, so you can get those both made in England and the later ones made in PRC.

Someone here has an EVO III that is made in England, so who knows...perhaps they moved the ABM line back to the UK.

Whatever the case, they are great sounding heads.

[rust_preacher]

Aguilar TH500 micro head sounds very tubey and only weighs 3.8 lb.

[dmrogers]

How about a DB750/751 and an Aggie 4x12? I've played the 750 and it is killer. I would imagine that head through a 412 (or 2 2x12's) would be bass heaven.


If I couldn't have my Thunderfunks, I would have a couple of Aguilar DB heads for sure.

[the blast]

Thanks for the info 4-string. I knew they moved production but I didn't realize it was in the middle of the EVO II series. I thought it was with the EVO III series. Anyways, I have a line on a 410 EVO II combo that was made in England. Anyone know how to tell the diff between the British models & the Chinese/wherever they're made now? I'm considering going for it. If I don't like it I can always sell it & it's pretty inexpensive.

Jimmy, thanks for the heads-up on that SVT 7 Pro. I checked it out & I do like the sound of it. Although, the video I saw it demoed in was def not my style of playing but I could see that it could be a good choice.

I'm still thinking about the Traynor scenario as well as I have a little studio & I hear they're great for some guitar things as well.

We'll see. Keep it coming guys, I really appreciate it.


*** FYI, I still had the receipt for my little Acoustic that blew up. I purchased it almost 3 years ago. I called GC & they informed me that it's covered for 3 years & that if I bring it in they'd give me a new one! Well, this morning I took it in & sure enough they gave me a brand new amp!! Anyways, I'm still going to get a nicer amp, just thought this was funny.

[JimmyM]

Yeah, saving those receipts in a safe place can pay off, bro!

[RBetoGT]

this thread is of importance to me ,,,,,,,

[RickenBoogie]

Buying an amp is alot like buying a pair of shoes. YOU know what you like, so go try some on, and see what fits.

[the blast]

You are definitely correct. I just wanted to get some opinions as well from fellow bass players & see what you guys are into & for what reasons. May cause me to think of something or in some way in which otherwise I may not have.

[spaz21387]

Hartke lh 500 is a good hybrid and fairly light. Demo one if you can. 300$ shipped on amazon too.

[the blast]

Thanks Spaz, I've never been a total fan of Hartke stuff but if I run across some in the stores I'll def give them a go. I've actually not seen any in a long time.

I've just been doing some more research guys & ran across the newer Traynor stuff. The YBA300 sounds like an excellent amp but a little out of my price range. May be a little too much volume as well. The YBA 200-2 actually sounds like it may be a great choice/alternative. I figure if my 300 watt Acoustic combo has been sufficient for quite a while then this little head & a good cab could be a winning combo. Would be easy enough to transport back & forth from my studio to a rehearsal spot if I just get two cabs eventually & leave one at each place. Hmmmmmm, the tube juice is flowing........... We'll see.

[the blast]

Cool, so my new replacement Acoustic B200 stopped working after about 20 mins of use so it's time.....

Been researching the Traynor YBA200-2 & really like the idea of it. Almost seems too good to be true. Anyways, my big question is do you guys think that it will be as loud as the 300 watt, solid state combo that is the Acoustic B200?... even in the 8ohm running mode. I don't have a store anywhere around me that carries them so I can't go try before I buy.

Jimmy, I know you've got LOADS of tube amp experience. Looking forward to your response as well.

-john

[mpdd]

my mesa d180 is 200 tube watts and with my orange 115 it is considerably louder than the 200 watt 210 acoustic that we use at the studio, in fact i've never really pushed it very hard at all