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Aguilar - Official 'Tone Hammer 500' 3.8lbs 500w Megathread!

#5,322
Laklandlover said:
Hello

This is my first review. When I opened the box everything was perfect, instruction are idiot proof, amp cord perfect.
The construction was solid I wish they would give a speakon cable with it but I'm cheap. There was nothing out of place.

When I got to church I hooked it up I set all the dials at 12 o'clock except the drive knob. I had it at zero. Plugged my bass in and WOW!!!! This the loudest 500 watts I have ever played OMG. We went thru 3 different types of Gospel music. This amp is able to handle all of them; from Quartet to Funky slap stuff. One song required an traditional kinda bass sound so I tried and drive knob and I really fell in love with it. It gave my active bass an almost passive but definitely warmer sound. The mids are usable at every frequency and level. The lows are Thick and Meaty with growl all thru it. The guitarist said it was thick like "Prime Rib!"I was enjoying it so much I never touched my onboard EQ on my bass. I am officially Aguilar head now.
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Do you remember what cabs ( size and brand) you were using? I'm actually having an issue at church sounding too thin lol
 
#5,323
Oh man I made a huge mistake over the weekend. I was in a Sam Ash and saw a Tone Hammer 500 hooked up to a 112 cab, and thought "Oh, I've seen lots of love for Aguilar stuff, I'll try it out." So I plugged a Jazz Bass in there, EQ'd it to my liking, added some drive...and now I absolutely need a Tone Hammer amp. Oh man did it sound amazing. I might not even need a SansAmp with the Aguilar's drive control. So I've already formulated a savings plan to afford a used Tone Hammer 350 along with selling my GK MB200. I would get a TH 500 if not for the price and the fact that I probably won't need a 500 watt head.

Kudos, Aguilar. You've successfully given me real amp GAS for the first time ever.
 
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#5,327
skydivingninja said:
I have a Hartke HyDrive 112 instead of a GK one. They have those in stock at Sam Ash so I'm going to go and play through that before I absolutely commit, which won't be for a while anyhow. :)
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If the Tone Hammer 350/500 doesn't sound as awesome as you experienced with the cab you tried the amp through at SA, guaranteed it is not the amp that is the problem.
 
#5,332
Hi guys Im loving my Tonehammer 500. I play a Musicman Caprice(passive) and a Musicman Sterling HS. Love them both. Love my TH500, still trying to dial in my sound. Im in a heavy rock band with a little industrial edge to boot. Any idea? I keep the drive and gain around 12 o clock. I keep the mids at around 10 or 11 o clock, bass and treble around 1-2 o clock. with my sterling I keep everything set flat. Just curious if there are other tones combos out there Im not seeing. Dont see too many heavy rockers out there with a TH 500. thanks!
 
#5,333
I am playing through a TH350 with one 4 ohm cab (Thunderchild 115 or a Crazy 88) & my only regret, even though the 350 will handle everything I do, is not spending the extra $$ for the 500. I am not in a heavy rock band - play a lot of stuff from the late 60's, 70's and blues, quite a variety, actually.

I am normally look for a clean sound so will have the gain at noon or perhaps a little lower with the Drive flat. If I am looking for some crunch, the gain will be at noon or a little higher - same with Drive. I normally have the mid level & frequency set around 9:00 and 3:00. Treble - flat. My Godin A4 has a really hot PU so the gain and drive will be reduced quite a bit.
 
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#5,334
Basically Bob said:
I am playing through a TH350 with one 4 ohm cab (Thunderchild 115 or a Crazy 88) & my only regret, even though the 350 will handle everything I do, is not spending the extra $$ for the 500. I am not in a heavy rock band - play a lot of stuff from the late 60's, 70's and blues, quite a variety, actually.

I am normally look for a clean sound so will have the gain at noon or perhaps a little lower with the Drive flat. If I am looking for some crunch, the gain will be at noon or a little higher - same with Drive. I normally have the mid level & frequency set around 9:00 and 3:00. Treble - flat. My Godin A4 has a really hot PU so the gain and drive will be reduced quite a bit.
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ok silly question, flat you mean all the way to the left like Zero?
 
#5,335
Basically Bob said:
I am playing through a TH350 with one 4 ohm cab (Thunderchild 115 or a Crazy 88) & my only regret, even though the 350 will handle everything I do, is not spending the extra $$ for the 500.
Click to expand...
When I got my Tone Hammer 500 there was no 350 version at the time. But if there was I would still have bought the 500. Not much more $$$ and the effects loop has come in handy for things other than for effects.
 
#5,340
Jeff Scott said:
When I got my Tone Hammer 500 there was no 350 version at the time. But if there was I would still have bought the 500. Not much more $$$ and the effects loop has come in handy for things other than for effects.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was going through a "simple is better phase" and bought it, strictly as a back up to my Shuttle 6.2. Also, just to hear what it sounded like (compared to my Streamliner 600) and thinking that it would be a great match for my crazy 88 - 400 watts @ 4 ohms (and it is!) Since then, it has become my primary gigging amp. It's loud enough for everything I do but it would be nice to have the extra features.
 
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