Thinking of saving for a tube amp...but which one?

[adambomb]

When you start asking a question like what tube amp should I get. You'll get a million different opinions of what other people like when they have their tone in mind.
But as you see in my sig. A bassman is the way to go.
And a silver face one at that "gasp!!!!" The other threaders just sucked the air out of their rooms. Yes a silver face bassman is what you discribed and less expensive than the other names here. but like I said the right speaker/cab and it blows me away with tubey goodness.
But that's my opinion. And we all know about opinions.....
(they are like armpits everyone got em' and they all stink)

[Matt Dean]

Originally Posted by RickenBoogie

Mesa Bass Buster 200. Clean and tubeylishous.

+1

[P-oddz]

I would give the Fender Super Bassman 300's a try.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nc5hRJFAaq4

They look great, they sound great, and they have a really functional second overdrive channel with blend if you want it. Throw on the tube auto-biasing function and they are really a neat package with a decent price point.

[HeavyJazz77]

If you're an Agi guy keep your eyes on eBay for the DB359. I ran one for years - they tend to sell for $1,200-$1,500 these days. They're pretty heavy (50 lbs+), but the tone is incredible! Dead clean, but super fat with out the cardboard sounding mid range you can get with alot of the other builders.

[Rickett Customs]

Clean? Might I suggest the SVT-VR and a gif of this dancing dog

[BassAgent]

Originally Posted by adambomb

When you start asking a question like what tube amp should I get. You'll get a million different opinions of what other people like when they have their tone in mind.
But as you see in my sig. A bassman is the way to go.
And a silver face one at that "gasp!!!!" The other threaders just sucked the air out of their rooms. Yes a silver face bassman is what you discribed and less expensive than the other names here. but like I said the right speaker/cab and it blows me away with tubey goodness.
But that's my opinion. And we all know about opinions.....
(they are like armpits everyone got em' and they all stink)

I was actually kinda surprised that nobody mentioned the Bassman... I'll be trying one of those out in a week or two, with my own bass and my own cabs

I was also thinking of Orange. Might be trying one of those soon.

[P-oddz]

I play the Orange AD200B, and it's a great amp! It's not exactly the cleanest of tones however, and really does have a voice of its own. The Bassman will definitely have more clean headroom, so if that's what your after, the Orange may not be your cup of tea.

[ev rodriguez]

SVT CL. I picked one up on e-bay, USA made, mint for $1100 inc. road case about 4 months ago. There are deals out there on the real thing, you just have to look. I played the recent Traynor tube heads and really didn't like them. I recently acquired a new Fender Bassman Pro 100T, for about $1200.00. It has a special silent recording mode that might be particularly suitable for your recording project. 4 6l6 tubes, 100 watts.

[JimmyM]

Originally Posted by Rickett Customs

Clean? Might I suggest the SVT-VR and a gif of this dancing dog

Man, I'm glad someone pulled this thread back up. I was on my band's cruise when you posted this, and I so love dancing dogs!

[OldogNewTrick]

Originally Posted by Mr. Foxen

I've just had a look at the link, and those do look suspiciously Smarvo like, for 'made in Germany'. Want to see inside one now.

-1, that borders on slanderous


Max Weber hand builds the finest HiWatt clones from first rate components this side of the English channel.
He changed the design a while ago from retro HiWatt to its current form.

FYI, this is what rebadged Smarvo Eden et al look like.

Back on topic, bassagent, why don't you just call Max Weber up or read through this rather long thread at bassic.ch.
Wether it turns out to be your cup of tea, well, that's another story of course

[two fingers]

Well, here goes. If you don't like the SVT, get a V4. There, I said it. I have owned both (currently the V4). To me, the V4 is a different beast altogether. They are much cheaper to come by than the SVT. They sound amazing, yet different from the SVT. Strong and CLEAN tube sound. Just sayin.

[gumtownbassman]

Originally Posted by OldogNewTrick

-1, that borders on slanderous


Max Weber hand builds the finest HiWatt clones from first rate components this side of the English channel.
He changed the design a while ago from retro HiWatt to its current form.

FYI, this is what rebadged Smarvo Eden et al look like.

Back on topic, bassagent, why don't you just call Max Weber up or read through this rather long thread at bassic.ch.
Wether it turns out to be your cup of tea, well, that's another story of course

That's some mighty quality engineering by the looks of that !! :-)

I have just picked up a Marshall VBA400 myself and about to put it to the test at tommorrow night's gig.
It uses 8 x 6550 output tubes.

[Mr. Foxen]

Toroidal power + laydown/drop thorugh output tranny, and the bias points on the back on a blue panel. that's not how Hiwatts are made but is how the Smarvos are. Want to see a shot of the inside still.

[matti777]

Originally Posted by BassAgent

I have, but it has to be shipped from Toronto to Europe, which won't be cheap...

Very true. The last time I looked at the cost of shipping my DB359 to Europe it was $700+

[GBassNorth]

I'm an Ampeg SVT fan but understand that's not for everyone. If you want clean killer tone the Mesa 400+ is the way to go. It's affordable, you can find them used on TB or eBay all the time, it's very flexible with different tubes and best of all - it's built like a tank so will last forever.

The Edens as well as the Ashdowns I've tried all sounded good but dark. The Aguilar DB750 I used to have sounded dark and wooly on the bottom end. The Sadowsky SA200 is fantastic but good luck finding one (if you do find one let me know and I'll bid against you). Someone else mentioned the Traynor and it sounds good and is very affordable. The Sunn or Fender Bassman 300 is also supposed to be a good head but I haven't tried one. As for Marshall, save that for when you buy a Les Paul guitar

I didn't read the whole thread but your cab choice is as important as your head choice. Some of the heads listed play better with different cabs so don't short yourself on that end.

[fenderken]

Two fivers is right about the Ampeg V4. It's an amazing amp, and their out there on eBay. I'm a vintage SVT V9 guy, but I love my V4 for blues and small venue rock gigs. They are 2 different animals though when it comes to achieving your sound. I have always been able make adjustment to the V4 to get what I wanted in a short period of time. The 100 watts it puts out is the strongest 100 I've ever seen. I had fliptops.net make me A sealed 410 cab to go with my V4. It sound just like 1/2 of a 810 SVT. I've had them all,and have come full circle back to where I started 40 years ago, backing some of the best out there in rock and blues. Ken

[Matt Dean]

I think the best sounding Mesa all tube head is the Buster 200.