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800rb or Sansamp + poweramp

S

SeismicAssault

Oct 10, 2007
458
1
New Hampshire, USA
#1
I'm trying to put together a new rig, and I'm torn between getting an 800rb or a Sansamp (RBI or RPM) plus a poweramp. Some of my favorite tones have come from 800rb's (Duff's tone on Appetite, Flea), but I'm wondering whether the Sansamp will be able to do all the 800rb does plus more. I play in a hard rock band, and I'd love to get the tones of Duff, Flea, Steve Harris, Geddy ... I've got about $1000 to spend on amp and cabinet, so I think that these choices are well within my range.

Right now I'm not playing extremely large places ... medium size (200 people). I'm currently playing a passive 4-string jazz, and I'm planning on building a fearful 12/6 or 1212/6.

So a couple questions: What would you go with ... 800rb or sansamp and poweramp?

Also, is the fearful going to be unnecessary for me since I'm only playing 4-string anyway?

Is there a better cabinet choice?
 
#4
800rb new is.... $800 (easy to remember, huh). Might not be the best for your budget unless you can find one on da c-list. Great amp through a cheap cab--might not make sense. Myself, I just picked up a used SansAmp RBI for $90. Great sounds for recording. Haven't taken it to the space/gig yet. Like my GT2 I had for years-- its noisy (IMHO). I'm probably going to run it through a Crown power amp for gigs.
 
#6
If you are considering the fEarful route, which you very much SHOULD in my opinion, definitely get the pre/poweramp setup.

You'll need the poweramp for the fEarful if you end up getting a 15/6 which requires some decent wattage at 8 ohms.

You asked if a fEarful is necessary... I am going to say "yes". A 15/6 is capable of huge lows, is fairly portable at around 50LBS or less and can handle alot of wattage like 1000w+ and thus get very loud. You'll be covered for your gigs now and louder gigs in the future... unless you play extremely loud metal or something... even then it might do it.

Pair that cab up with an amp that will give you 500w+ at 8 ohms and you wont need to worry about a cab purchase for a long time.
 
#7
If you are gigging a lot get the 800RB.
If you jam in one place a lot get the Sansamp/power amp.
Power amps are more flexible and usually carry more power.
However they also involve more cables, more setup, more points of failure.
If I am gigging a lot I like to keep it simple just bass>cable>amp>cable>cab.
I also find that its nice to have an amp that just gets a sound as opposed to trying to find an amp sound from a pedal.
 
#8
::::BASSIST:::: said:
If you are considering the fEarful route, which you very much SHOULD in my opinion, definitely get the pre/poweramp setup.

You'll need the poweramp for the fEarful if you end up getting a 15/6 which requires some decent wattage at 8 ohms.

You asked if a fEarful is necessary... I am going to say "yes". A 15/6 is capable of huge lows, is fairly portable at around 50LBS or less and can handle alot of wattage like 1000w+ and thus get very loud. You'll be covered for your gigs now and louder gigs in the future... unless you play extremely loud metal or something... even then it might do it.

Pair that cab up with an amp that will give you 500w+ at 8 ohms and you wont need to worry about a cab purchase for a long time.
Click to expand...

I was actually thinking of going with the fEarful 1212/6. I believe this would work with either an 800rb or the pre/power setup. In the case of the 800rb, I could use the 800rb internal crossover, and not need to put a crossover in the fEarful (4 ohms into the 2 12's, and 8 ohms into the 6). That cabinet seems well suited for the 800rb. If I went with a pre/power, then I'd need to put a crossover in the cab itself, which is not big deal. Then I'd have a single 4 ohm cab, which I could pump a good bit of power into.
 
#9
Calaverasgrande said:
If you are gigging a lot get the 800RB.
If you jam in one place a lot get the Sansamp/power amp.
Power amps are more flexible and usually carry more power.
However they also involve more cables, more setup, more points of failure.
If I am gigging a lot I like to keep it simple just bass>cable>amp>cable>cab.
I also find that its nice to have an amp that just gets a sound as opposed to trying to find an amp sound from a pedal.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree with you more on almost all of your points. I'm hoping to get all my sound in the amp, without pedals.

I think that the pre/power is just as easy to set up as the 800rb, though. If I rackmount the pre and power, I should be able to leave all the cables plugged in between the pre and power, and just plug my bass into the pre-amp, and the output from the power amp into the cabinet.
 
#10
hambonechicago said:
800rb new is.... $800 (easy to remember, huh). Might not be the best for your budget unless you can find one on da c-list. Great amp through a cheap cab--might not make sense. Myself, I just picked up a used SansAmp RBI for $90. Great sounds for recording. Haven't taken it to the space/gig yet. Like my GT2 I had for years-- its noisy (IMHO). I'm probably going to run it through a Crown power amp for gigs.
Click to expand...

I've been looking on eBay and c-list, and I think a used 800rb in nearly new condition can be had for $500. If I'm a little patient, I'm not too worried about that cost. That would leave me $500 or so to build / buy a cabinet.

My guess is that a good sansamp and power amp would probably be about (maybe a little less) than $500.
 
#11
Why not snag a GK 2001 RBP (preamp only) and match it up with the amp of your choice? Get the best of both worlds. They're not that expensive but I've not seen many on the second-hand market. At the moment, both rigs are sporting SansAmp RPM's and either QSC or Crest power amps because:

1) RPM's and RBI's are plentiful and relatively inexpensive.

2) They pretty much encompass what I think a tube pre should sound like.

3) I have a boatload of power amps laying around.

Riis
 
#12
SeismicAssault said:
I couldn't agree with you more on almost all of your points. I'm hoping to get all my sound in the amp, without pedals.

I think that the pre/power is just as easy to set up as the 800rb, though. If I rackmount the pre and power, I should be able to leave all the cables plugged in between the pre and power, and just plug my bass into the pre-amp, and the output from the power amp into the cabinet.
Click to expand...

A pre/power amp is just as easy to set up with two caveats.
you cant drive a standard power amp the way you can drive a bass amps power section. It will clip and sound bad.

In my experience racked up systems with preamps/compressors/crossovers etc tend to get loose connections at the worst possible time. Of course you can zip tie it all together and NEVER stash anything in the back of the rack (like extra cables, mics etc). But I have seen racks just mysteriously get disconnected. That always happens on the darkest stage with the least amount of time to set up!
Of course the most fun ability of the power amp/pre is to run a bunch of cabs.
To me it boils down to sound. If you want a more hifi representation of you bass the pre poweramp is the way to go. If you want more of an amp sound get a head. the head will never be as clean as a power amp, the pre/poweramp will never capture the vibe of a head.
And before folks jump all over me on this I ran a pre-power amp setup for years. Used to have a pearce IVP-1 with a QSC power amp. Also used to use an ADA pre and a Mesa pre with a yamaha power amp.
 
#14
rpsands said:
I've never heard a GK tone out of a Sansamp but maybe I guess :)
Click to expand...

I can't speak for the 800RB's tone but I used to own a GK 400RB and now own a Sansamp RPM. I can dial in a similar GK sound with the RPM with the following settings (o'clock)

Drive 9
Mid 9
Mid Shift 500hz
Blend 9 to 11
Bass 12 to 2
Treble 2 to 3

This produces a punchier mid-scooped sound similar to what I got out of the GK.
 
#15
save yourself a huge headache and loads of wasted time and just get an 800rb and appropriate cab.

It sounds like you have a very clear idea of what you want, the GK Duff Flea tone

So get the box that gives you that and be done with it

All this pre / power amp stuff is a pain in the ass to get to sound just like the classic GK sound you want.

so get a classic GK rig.
 
#16
My vote is for the 800RB. It sounds like that will match the tone you are after. And it's just one of those heads I never get tired of. Although I don't gig it as much these days. I've got about 20 years on mine, and just can't let it go.
I've also gigged a VT bass and poweramp, which was excellent, but you just never really know until you try. There are lots of great choices out there - usually more than one. Good luck!
 
#17
I have both and both are great. If you really want that GnR Duff tone, get the 800.

RPM is a killer preamp and is very versitle, so you can't go wrong there either if you pair it with a good power amp.

JR
 
#18
SeismicAssault said:
I was actually thinking of going with the fEarful 1212/6. I believe this would work with either an 800rb or the pre/power setup. In the case of the 800rb, I could use the 800rb internal crossover, and not need to put a crossover in the fEarful (4 ohms into the 2 12's, and 8 ohms into the 6). That cabinet seems well suited for the 800rb. If I went with a pre/power, then I'd need to put a crossover in the cab itself, which is not big deal. Then I'd have a single 4 ohm cab, which I could pump a good bit of power into.
Click to expand...
In that case get the 800RB. If after awhile you feel a need for more, you can always go the pre/power route later.
 
#19
I've used both GK heads and a Sansamp / power amp and I think they are pretty far from each other tonally.

The GK sounds, well, like a GK - punchy as hell, quick, "GK growl" when you push it, very clean when you don't.

The Sansamps sound pseudo-tubey, really fat, warm, wooley with some drive, and fuzzy overdrive when the drive is cranked.

Kinda two different aminals, IMO.
 

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