Just got mine in the mail yesterday. Trying it at practice tonight with a Markbass New York 115. in 90s rock style power trio. It didn't have nearly enough power running a GK 200Mb through it and I was getting nervous using my 1001rb (540 watt version) so I'm psyched to give this a shot. Will report back.
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Aguilar Tone Hammer 350
- Thread starter chazsundance
- Start date
Well my head search is over. Didn't even really need to do anything more than just setting it flat.
I had the -10db flipped and I was still clipping the head almost the entire time. I seem to remember reading in another thread where the owner of Aguilar said that the head could handle that. Can anyone comment on this?
I play a passive P-bass, but it has one of those seymour duncan quarter pounders so it has an incredibly hot signal.
I had the -10db flipped and I was still clipping the head almost the entire time. I seem to remember reading in another thread where the owner of Aguilar said that the head could handle that. Can anyone comment on this?
I play a passive P-bass, but it has one of those seymour duncan quarter pounders so it has an incredibly hot signal.
Yes it can handle the red all day long. It's just a "reminder", letting you know you're giving her the business.
+1 Zero issue. The clip light just means that there is some distortion/clipping in the preamp. The indicator is post master volume but 'pre power amp'. So, it isn't really an indication necessarily of clipping at the input stage.
If it just stays on all the time on every gig, you might want to consider the TH500 (since pushing the preamp that hard is by definition pushing the power amp also). But, if it sounds good, Aguilar has indicated that no harm will be done... just a bit more 'hair' to the tone.
GREAT little head. I love mine!
Yes it can handle the red all day long. It's just a "reminder", letting you know you're giving her the business.
Cheers thanks for the prompt reply and using an awesome phrase.
I've never sent mine into clipping - more for tonal issues than anything else. According to Aguilar you can clip the pre stage all you want and it will not damage the amp. It's just an indication that you've reached the limits of the input stage. I saw a live video of
George Porter playing through a TH500...he had that clip light on solid. Sounded mean!
That must be one seriously hot bass. I play the Bill Lawernece P46s which are not "low" output devices. Never had the clip light come on even with the with the gain set at noon or 3. Never engaged the -10db switch. Odd.
George Porter playing through a TH500...he had that clip light on solid. Sounded mean!
That must be one seriously hot bass. I play the Bill Lawernece P46s which are not "low" output devices. Never had the clip light come on even with the with the gain set at noon or 3. Never engaged the -10db switch. Odd.
Again, just to clarify, it is NOT an input stage clip indicator. So, the pad will not impact it, like on most 'preamp clip lights'. It is all about the total signal hitting the master volume pre-power amp. Unusual design, and hard to interpret what it's use really is. You can't eliminate it by lowering the input gain setting or engaging the pad, and it does not indicate power amp limiting either. I 'understand' what it is, just don't really understand why they bothered to put it on the amp.
By input stage, I meant everything up stream of the power amp. I haven't seen a wiring diagram for the amp, but I have to believe the input pad, gain and eq sections are all up stream of the clip light, and all adjustments have some affect on the signal level and frequency content going to the power chip. Seems logical that the "clip" light would be driven by the sum total of all of the "adjustable" parameters on the front plate. Maybe not? In the end it doesn't matter one bit. These amps are basically indestructable until the power chip fails, which will be related to the number of hours of use, not the input signal. The power ship is always running full-out.
Great amps. I've been playing mine for over a year and i am still finding new sounds. lots of fun!
From the manual:
When the Clip light turns red it indicates that the preamp is being driven into clipping. Clipping can be a desirable characteristic, depending on your taste. If you would like a cleaner sound you can experiment with the input pad, Gain, Drive, and Tone Controls. All of these things, including the output level of your bass, affect how often the light will go off. Clipping the Tone Hammer 350 will not cause any shutdowns or damage to your amplifier.
Great amps. I've been playing mine for over a year and i am still finding new sounds. lots of fun!
From the manual:
When the Clip light turns red it indicates that the preamp is being driven into clipping. Clipping can be a desirable characteristic, depending on your taste. If you would like a cleaner sound you can experiment with the input pad, Gain, Drive, and Tone Controls. All of these things, including the output level of your bass, affect how often the light will go off. Clipping the Tone Hammer 350 will not cause any shutdowns or damage to your amplifier.
+1 Strange design though, since once it comes on, there is little action one can take to eliminate it (i.e., turning down the gain will do nothing). So, we have a situation where it is 'when the light comes on, don't worry about it, and nothing you can do to eliminate it, other than turn down the entire volume of the amp, which is usually not an option.
Again, minor point, love the amp. I understand why they don't have a true first stage input clip light, since the gain control is meant to emulate a tube gain stage, and hence there is no 'optimal' input level... just your choice of how much warmth and grind you want. I'd just assume have that light indicate 'power amp limiting/clip' myself.
Again, more 'interesting' to me than a real issue or anything!
I just read all from page 1 to the last post. Impresive, not a bad word for this litle monster.
Anybody played Fender cabs with it, Rumble 112 and 208? I ask because these cabs are like 10-11kg each and are well regarded on some threads on TB
And, what you guys do to ensure head not to fall down from cab, when wibrations increase?
Cheers!
Anybody played Fender cabs with it, Rumble 112 and 208? I ask because these cabs are like 10-11kg each and are well regarded on some threads on TB
And, what you guys do to ensure head not to fall down from cab, when wibrations increase?
Cheers!
The paradox of owning a lightweight head is that cabinets are still comparatively heavy. I'm anxious to plop my 3lb head on top of my 120lb 8x10 Ampeg fridge and marvel at the ludicrousness of the situation. Obviously that's one extreme plopped onto the opposite extreme.
I did the same as you Parker. I blame Scotch and Ken for my buying this amp. They just made it sound so dang tempting.
Now that I've received it, i get exactly what they were trying to describe. Big ,fat, luscious bass. Perfect bass in my book.
Haven't had time to play much but 12 o'clock on the dials does sound about right. Have to tone down the bass in my house or it shakes like crazy.
Also, this amp has tons of power. I've had a GB Shuttle 6.0, EA Amp i800, Little Mark III, TC RH450 and this is at least as ballsy as any of them. And like the Little Mark, it's kinda a set it and forget it amp. Simple, clean.
I would love to have someone explain more about how, what the "drive" really does. And also how the "gain" knob differs from other amps. Ken, any thoughts?
Loving it so far (2 days!).
Now that I've received it, i get exactly what they were trying to describe. Big ,fat, luscious bass. Perfect bass in my book.
Haven't had time to play much but 12 o'clock on the dials does sound about right. Have to tone down the bass in my house or it shakes like crazy.
Also, this amp has tons of power. I've had a GB Shuttle 6.0, EA Amp i800, Little Mark III, TC RH450 and this is at least as ballsy as any of them. And like the Little Mark, it's kinda a set it and forget it amp. Simple, clean.
I would love to have someone explain more about how, what the "drive" really does. And also how the "gain" knob differs from other amps. Ken, any thoughts?
Loving it so far (2 days!).
scotch
It's not rocket science!
- Nov 12, 2006
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Happy to help you spend your money! ;-)
Been on tour now for almost 5 weeks with my TH350. Couldn't be happier with it!
I'm on my way to buy some head, most likely after summer. My main favorit was Hartke LH500, mostly in terms low price, sound and simplicity. But now, after reading here and there, TH350 is no. 1.
Problem is, closest to me is in Vienna, so I'll probably buy it ''on blind'', without trying it first. But, I'm convienced that it's gonna be ok, after all 26 pages of nothing but praises from bunch of experienced players ensure me that I'm doing right thing.
And, thinking of put it on pair of Fenders, 1x12 and 2x8 as I can find them closer to me and can try it with head.
Cheers to all
Problem is, closest to me is in Vienna, so I'll probably buy it ''on blind'', without trying it first. But, I'm convienced that it's gonna be ok, after all 26 pages of nothing but praises from bunch of experienced players ensure me that I'm doing right thing.
And, thinking of put it on pair of Fenders, 1x12 and 2x8 as I can find them closer to me and can try it with head.
Cheers to all
Hello! First, TBer Eublet did a lot of work doing plots of the drive control that helped me understand and describe what I'm hearing. With the drive 'off' (full counterclockwise), it does nothing (duh, but just so that is clear
). As you turn it up through about noon or 1 o'clock, it gradually eliminates deep bass and treble. So, it is what I call an 'old school' knob within that range. It kind of turns a modern, two way ported cab (deep bass, full extension into the mid to upper treble) into a cab that sounds like a one way sealed cab (tighter, punchier bass, and a top end that stops at the upper midrange).Cool so far. Then as you turn the drive up past aroiund 1 o'clock (although it varies with gain), it seems to actually add midrange and gain, which results in snarl and outright grind eventually... now kind of emulating a one way sealed cab with a tube amp pushed hard.
The magic comes with the gain control used in combination with it. The gain is unusual (IMO) for an all solid state amp, since similar to a real tube pre, it will add harmonic complexity as you turn it up, from a nice bit of 'hair' to the note, to a nice 'give and warmth' feeling, all the way through screaming snarl.
When you use the two together, there are a LOT of 'tubey' things that you can get from the amp. I'm not a 'distortion guy', but I do like to push the gain a bit with my P, and then dial in a bit of drive to 'warm and tighten' and 'old school up' the tone. When I'm playing my 70's style J, I leave the drive off and lower the gain a bit to keep it more 'open, quick, and relatively clean'.
Wonderfully creative front end to this amp (and the TH500, which behaves identically to the 350).
Thanks Ken. I now remember seeing that plot/chart showing the drive thing. Can't wait to get in deeper w/ this little guy.
It is a wonderful head. I've been gigging the TH500 and the TH350 is set up ready to go all the time in my rehearsal space, driving a Berg AE210. I'm going to take the TH350 out next weekend with my CN212, just to see what it can do. I never get close to reaching the limits of the TH500. Both are impressive performers for their wattage ratings (true, big, uncompressed low end when pushed). Dig 'em!
I believe the TH350 uses the same ICE power module as the GK MB500 and the Genz Shuttle 600, which probably explains the 'surprising performance' given its wattage spec. Those GK and Genz heads are solid performers also, but there is just something about the Aguilar that makes it (and the 500) feel like they are never, ever breaking a sweat. They run extremely cool, and the feel is a unique combination of stupid light weight, but yet a very substantial 'girth' to them, and a quality feel to the entire box.
I have truly become a fan boy of these. Solid, solid amps.
