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Aguilar AG500

E

Eden66

May 19, 2008
51
0
Montreal,Canada
#1
I have a Genz Benz GBE750 and a Aguilar GS410(4ohms) and i'm satisfied with my set up but lately i tried an Aguilar AG500 with my cab but didn t have much time to spend with it but just enough to cause serious GAS, i liked it ...to much :D

Do you think it would be an upgrade or downgrade to sell the Genz to finance a new Aguilar.

I don't want to make a poll but i'm just curious to see how you guys compare the Aguilar against the Genz,both combined with my GS410.......

Thanks
 
#2
more of a lateral move, i'd say. they're both excellent amps...just a matter of which one works better for your thing. some will go with genz, some will go with aggie.
 
#7
Eden66 said:
No, but it would alot easier if i could. I can't afford to by the Aggie without selling the Genz and i'm scared of doing the move without trying them side by side.
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as you should be. i know a lot of folks who have sold stuff only to come back to it when what they bought didn't meet their expectations after all. that's how i resist gas...once in a great while i give into it, but not at the expense of stuff i have that i know will work.

btw, this is not an indictment of aggie. aggie makes top flight stuff. but for a major purchase like an amp, i'd make darn sure i'd rather have the new stuff before offing the old.
 
#8
JimmyM said:
as you should be. i know a lot of folks who have sold stuff only to come back to it when what they bought didn't meet their expectations after all. that's how i resist gas...once in a great while i give into it, but not at the expense of stuff i have that i know will work.

btw, this is not an indictment of aggie. aggie makes top flight stuff. but for a major purchase like an amp, i'd make darn sure i'd rather have the new stuff before offing the old.
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Yeah, i know what you mean because i did it once so it should make me aware of causing the same situation again.I'm 36 years old,playin bass for 20 years or so, have 4 kids and when f@ckin gas uccurs i end up acting like a 10 year old kid :D .But i know i'm not the only one here !!! :D am i ?
 
#12
KsPiNeSh said:
The only real reason I would see to make the move is if you were seeking a rounder, slightly warmer sound, and even then it may not even make that much of a difference in a band setting.
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Wow, you found exactly what was the difference between the two !! When i tried the Aggie, i was stunned about how it sounded round, clear and warm and let's say tubey. But as you say it may not be noticable in a mix..band setting but it sounded damn good when playing by myself.
 
#13
Yeah, that's the major difference. The GB can get more hifi and crisp. I think the OD channel on the AG sounds better than the tube channel on the GBE750 when pushed, and the AG will do downright over the top distortion, which the GB won't. I've owned both. I kept coming back to the AG (owned no less than 3 in the course of a year while searching for the perfect tone), but eventually went all tube with an Ampeg SVT-VR. That said, if I had to use either of those amps I know I'd get a great sound from them.

Like everyone else has said, I think they're both firmly in the same league, but it depends what you want to use them for.

FWIW, I think there are a couple of AG's on Guitar Center's used gear pages. If you buy one from them with a credit card you can play it for 30 days before you decide if you want to keep it. If not, take it to your local GC for a refund and you'll only be out the cost of shipping.


-John
 
#14
Eden66 said:
Wow, you found exactly what was the difference between the two !! When i tried the Aggie, i was stunned about how it sounded round, clear and warm and let's say tubey. But as you say it may not be noticable in a mix..band setting but it sounded damn good when playing by myself.
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the things that others may not notice may be glaring to you. yes, you can gig on any amp, but you need to make yourself happy first and not worry about the lowest common denominator. if you notice it, it's noticeable. that's why i went back to 5 ton ampeg tube amps after a 10 year break. the difference is noticeable to me, therefore it's noticeable to everyone.
 
#15
JimmyM said:
the things that others may not notice may be glaring to you. yes, you can gig on any amp, but you need to make yourself happy first and not worry about the lowest common denominator. if you notice it, it's noticeable. that's why i went back to 5 ton ampeg tube amps after a 10 year break. the difference is noticeable to me, therefore it's noticeable to everyone.
Click to expand...

Very true. The Aggie, IME, will definitely sit differently in a mix than the Genz (likely a little lower and a little bigger). Also, even if it doesn't sit all that differently in a mix but you like the solo sound better while practicing, I would consider that enough of a reason to trade.
 
#16
I would definitely wait until you can try one on a gig. I did the same thing, and in the end would have been happier both musically and financially to stay with the GBE750. It sounds a little cleaner, and holds it's own in a live mix better IMO. My problem was that at the the time, I had 4 or 5 basses. Two sounded really good with the GBE750, but all 5 sounded pretty good with the AG500. I went with the AG500, traded it for a GBE1200, which I am now trying to sell because I don't need the horsepower. I will likely wind up keeping my GBE400 though. But who knows...:rollno:
 

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