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Aguilar AG700 vs Trickfish Bullhead .5K

bradtv

bradtv

Jun 11, 2019
97
82
#1
Hi there,

Just got back from Gearfest and loved the AG700 sound with SL cabs. I’ve read a lot of good stuff about the Trickfish amps and cabs as well, plus Ryan over there is a stand up guy. Problem being is that I’ve never heard the Trickfish products and I need to make a decision in the next few days. I’d love to hear any thoughts from folks that have heard both.

Thanks!
 
#2
Ryan is a standup guy, I PM him and he responded within mins. extremely helpful, knowledgeable. as for Trickfish, top of the line. Sound guys will love you, clean, flat, uncolored, thick, lust, punchy tone. Cabs are the best I ever heard and used, and I been playing for 40 years, so I had my share of gear. Customer service is awesome. ex. I played a show in 95 degrees weather and the head was slightly warm. no fan! just amazing and intelligent design.
 
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#9
bradtv said:
Hi there,

Just got back from Gearfest and loved the AG700 sound with SL cabs. I’ve read a lot of good stuff about the Trickfish amps and cabs as well, plus Ryan over there is a stand up guy. Problem being is that I’ve never heard the Trickfish products and I need to make a decision in the next few days. I’d love to hear any thoughts from folks that have heard both.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hello, so I'm looking at the same 2 amps... can you help explain the differences? Thanks!
 
#10
CP63 said:
Hello, so I'm looking at the same 2 amps... can you help explain the differences? Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'll give it a shot. Owned and gigged both. Still have an AG700.

Both are excellent amps with plenty of power on tap.

AG700 Pros:
  • Easy to see controls and adjust on the fly
  • Controls work like you expect
  • Plenty of power
Cons:
  • Fan can be loud for some (doesn't bother me, at all)
  • Not nearly as tweakable as the TF
Bullhead .5k Pros:
  • Supremely adjustable (there is a video of Michal Pope adjusting tone based on the fretboard area you want to boost or cut, It's Insane!)
  • Dead quiet. No fan
  • Plenty of power
Cons:
  • Can be complicated to tweak tone on the fly
  • Takes some time to learn the preamp
  • Only one speaker out

I really like both amps. For me personally, I find the AG700 easier to use on a gig. If I need to adjust something while playing, it's easy enough to do. That said, the Trickfish is an equally great sounding amp. Just more knobs and switches than I wanted to deal with. I really don't think one is better than the other. They are both outstanding. Though one may be better for you.
 
Last edited:
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#11
aproud1 said:
I'll give it a shot. Owned and gigged both. Still have an AG700.

Both are excellent amps with plenty of power on tap.

AG700 Pros:
  • Easy to see controls and adjust on the fly
  • Controls work like you expect
  • Plenty of power
Cons:
  • Fan can be loud for some (doesn't bother me, at all)
  • Not nearly as tweakable as the TF
Bullhead .5k Pros:
  • Supremely adjustable (there is a video of Michal Pope adjusting tone based on the fretboard area you want to boost or cut, It's Insane!)
  • Dead quiet. No fan
  • Plenty of power
Cons:
  • Can be complicated to tweak tone on the fly
  • Takes some time to learn the preamp
  • Only one speaker out

I really like both amps. For me personally, I find the AG700 easier to use on a gig. If I need to adjust something while playing, it's easy enough to do. That said, the Trickfish is an equally great sounding amp. Just more knobs and switches than I wanted to deal with. I really don't think one is better than the other. They are both outstanding. Though one may be better for you.
Click to expand...
Thank you, really appreciate the feedback!
 
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#12
CP63 said:
Thank you, really appreciate the feedback!
Click to expand...
I bought a Quilter Bassblock 800 in 2019 for its small head-to-power ratio, and for its extremely simple EQ. It’s performed remarkably at small-to-medium venues, yet in-studio recordings during which the cab was miked it, oddly to me didn’t project or replicate settings that I was satisfied with for gigs where the cab was also miked. I mostly ignored it since I bought the Quilter with a view of it purely for gigs.

Then I discovered a minty used Trickfish Bullhead 1K at a local GC. After testing it against the Bassblock it was the hands-down winner. Since our drummer is the studio owner, he’s determined to record each of our twice-weekly rehearsals. After the rehearsal (with the Bullhead) he invited me to stick around for a listen: the difference between amp heads was obvious and phenomenal, so much so that he commented on how much more commanding was the projection of volume and classic bass tone compared with the Quilter. In either case he has top-quality recording hardware and software directly miking cabs, and a room mic.

It was the Bullhead that made all of the difference, and it was big. I NEVER thought I’d be sending to “the bench,” but it was obvious which head would be starting from now on. I initially thought that the Quilter’s simplicity, as well as power handling, would be preferable, but the far greater range of easily tweakable cuts and boosts across 4 freqs, along with overall volume cut/boost (and adjustable DI balance knob) made buying it a great decision.

Enough jawing about it, I’ve included a couple of photos...along with my gigging bass. 37EB7EB9-24BF-466F-AB90-FE2B1D91CD62.jpeg2666BDDE-7BEB-4E8F-AD49-04604EEAFF74.jpegCA4A1DE2-B013-4E69-A44B-548569ABF0A5.jpeg
 
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#13
aproud1 said:
I'll give it a shot. Owned and gigged both. Still have an AG700.

Both are excellent amps with plenty of power on tap.

AG700 Pros:
  • Easy to see controls and adjust on the fly
  • Controls work like you expect
  • Plenty of power
Cons:
  • Fan can be loud for some (doesn't bother me, at all)
  • Not nearly as tweakable as the TF
Bullhead .5k Pros:
  • Supremely adjustable (there is a video of Michal Pope adjusting tone based on the fretboard area you want to boost or cut, It's Insane!)
  • Dead quiet. No fan
  • Plenty of power
Cons:
  • Can be complicated to tweak tone on the fly
  • Takes some time to learn the preamp
  • Only one speaker out

I really like both amps. For me personally, I find the AG700 easier to use on a gig. If I need to adjust something while playing, it's easy enough to do. That said, the Trickfish is an equally great sounding amp. Just more knobs and switches than I wanted to deal with. I really don't think one is better than the other. They are both outstanding. Though one may be better for you.
Click to expand...

This is exactly my experience with these two amps. Ultimately I'm using the Aguilar AG 700.
 
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