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Aguilar TH500 Overkill for a Practice Amp?

M

mutebutton

Guest
Jun 11, 2012
21
0
#1
Trying to decide between the TH500 and TH350. My current needs (okay wants) are for a great sounding amp that I can practice at home with and also record with either DI or micing a cab or both. I'd also like to have something that I could potentially play smaller gigs with in the future. I'm pretty set on the Aguilar TH series I just can't decide between the two. Could the smaller TH350 power something like a Bergantino HD210 that has higher watts power handling or even the new NV115 (that amp looks amazing, but looks like a power hog.) Can you even play a TH500 at lower volumes? I've heard it gets super loud.

The only other amp I've had is a ****** little combo amp that I've owned for way too long and I want to get something I'll be happy with for a while.

Sorry if I'm rambling I just have so many questions! :hyper:
 
#6
cableguy said:
There is a volume knob.:D

Either will be fine.
Click to expand...

Haha. Fair enough. What about the TH500 having two fans instead of the 350 having one? I've heard that the fans can be loud. Would this be an issue at low volumes or are they fairly quiet? Probably going to be or acting at fairly low volumes for a while until I can now out of my current space. Thanks for all the responses so far. I appreciate all the feedback (not sure my wallet does though!)
 
#10
The TH500 is only 1.5 dB quieter than the TH350. If 350 watts isn't enough, 500 isn't a whole lot better.

TH500 has an effects loop.

My TH350 has a fan that is annoyingly loud for home practice situations. For any real gig it is not an issue.

The TH350 is very controllable at low volume levels. Easy to set a whisper quite level and bump it up just a bit. Some amps go from off to loud with almost no in between setting. Not the TH350.
 
#12
If you can justify the expense, it's fine. You rarely have to dime any amp, even in large spaces. There are 100-watt amps that get crushing loud that are more than enough for small gigs. The real question is: do you like the sound quality of the amp and its features? Personally, I prefer amps with a headphone circuit and auxiliary inputs, which have zero to do with output gain. As far as power, almost any pro-level amp delivers the goods. Just be sure you're getting something that satisfies real needs and not imagined ones.
 
#13
n1as said:
My TH350 has a fan that is annoyingly loud for home practice situations. For any real gig it is not an issue.
Click to expand...

This is unfortunate, TH500 has two fans which I'm assuming would make it louder. Does it just sound like a computer fan? I keep seeing conflicting reports some say it's loud others say it's not. I wish I lived in an area where I could try the amps out unfortunately the closest place is at least 4 hours from here.

n1as said:
The TH350 is very controllable at low volume levels. Easy to set a whisper quite level and bump it up just a bit. Some amps go from off to loud with almost no in between setting. Not the TH350.
Click to expand...

This is great to know. I know that some amps are super touchy glad to hear that this isn't one of them.
 
#14
Edward G. said:
Just be sure you're getting something that satisfies real needs and not imagined ones.
Click to expand...

Great advice. Not sure I need that FX Loop as I only have one pedal at the moment.

I'd wish I lived in an area where I had access to check out some of the higher end gear. There's not much in my area except the most standard of standard fare.

I have an Aguilar pickup and an Aguilar pedal and love the sound of both of them so a lot of my decision is based on my past experience with the brand. I know in a perfect world I should try before I buy, but unfortunately I'm not in that position.
 
#15
My TH500 is my rehearsal amp. It's plenty loud for a loud rock band rehearsing, and it can just squeak by on small to medium sized gigs with a proper 2x12 or 4x10. I wouldn't bother with the 350 unless you never plan on getting remotely loud with it. As for the fan, it's not a problem, but I've yet to play any amp where the fan was that big of an issue.
 
#16
And just so you know, pedals rarely work as intended in a loop. The loops are typically for rack mount effects. There is crossover between rack mount and pedal sometimes however. Not often, but just be advised that the FX loop may not mean anything. I bought a GK 700RB with a loop because I used a lot of pedals, only to find loops and pedals aren't usually friendly towards eachother. I love the amp, but didn't need a feature I thought I would. Figure out what you really need, then go from there.

Best of luck in your search!
 
#18
Volume should not be a problem for home practice. I have used as high as 1000-watt amps at home without having any complaints, as you can control the volume.

As far as the fan noise, there are different opinions; my TH350 is dead silent, for instance. As I have other more powerful amps, I bought the TH350 for smaller gigs which is smaller and more than enough even at 175 watts into an 8-ohm speaker.

If you do not have a chance to try at a store, you might consider ordering from an online store with a good return policy.

Best,

Alper


mutebutton said:
Great advice. Not sure I need that FX Loop as I only have one pedal at the moment.

I'd wish I lived in an area where I had access to check out some of the higher end gear. There's not much in my area except the most standard of standard fare.

I have an Aguilar pickup and an Aguilar pedal and love the sound of both of them so a lot of my decision is based on my past experience with the brand. I know in a perfect world I should try before I buy, but unfortunately I'm not in that position.
Click to expand...
 
#19
Alper Yilmaz said:
As I have other more powerful amps, I bought the TH350 for smaller gigs which is smaller and more than enough even at 175 watts into an 8-ohm speaker.
Click to expand...

This is something I was also wondering about. I mostly plan on running this head into one cab at 8ohms until I start gigging. It sounds like 350 is enough for this job. Does it even matter how high the cabinets max power handling is? Are some cabs more hungry than others. I was thinking about the TH500 mainly because it's higher wattage at 8ohms. I was thinking the TH350 might be enough at 4ohms since the speaker would be getting the full 350 watts, but I've heard that more than one cab does more for volume than wattage so I wanted to eventually get a second cab (two twelve inch cabs for instance) cabs are another whole thread but these are some of my concerns. Thanks for all the feedback so far everyone has been super helpful. :D
 
#20
Since your plan is to do some gigging, I'd suggest the 500, definitely. The price increment is modest, and the increase in power will at the minimum give you some headroom. IOW, the 500 buys you some room to grow in your requirements.

If I pay attention to it I can hear the fan in my practice room when I'm not playing. It's never been troublesome when I'm actually practicing! And that's at modest levels--like 80 dB.

And there's no more fan noise than other amps I've owned. Of course, it's a total non-issue when rehearsing or playing out.
 

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