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Amps you hate

#223
My Old Peavey TNT 130 has: fully parametric midrange control, a variable crossover that can either send highs or lows to another power amp/speaker. Preamp out and Pwr amp in.

My crate has lived in my parents basement ever since I moved out. But Ill never hate an amp that was there while I learned this instrument I love...
 
#225
The amps and cabinets that I TOTALLY hate are Trace Elliot, SWR, Ashdown, Peavey, Crate, and anything else that doesn't even come close to giving me the sound that I want. I should be able to plug my bass in and INSTANTLY get the sound I want or hear a STRONG potential to get it which I have NEVER experience with any of the mentioned amplification/speaker systems.

The amps I have owned in the past and own now: Eden WT 300 Traveler Head, Eden T410 cabinet, and the Ampeg BA 210sp combo. Due to a financial crisis, I had to sell my Eden set up but I want to say when I first tried it out at Guitar Center it sounded very nice but when I took it into a band situation I was not getting the power that I needed. Years later I discover that putting a 300 watt amp head through an 8ohm cabinet is only going to get you 150 watts. If I had known that I wouldn't have bought that set up. Well, I digress. I'm smarter now. :)

I love my Ampeg combo, BTW. One of the best investments I have ever made even though it blew out on me once. I had already had the combo for three years so I guess that's not bad. Ampeg's five-year warranty didn't hurt one bit and now it plays like new.

Other amps that I have tried and like include the Aguilar, Epifani, Ampeg and Mark Bass amplification/speaker systems.

I'm actually planning on purchasing a new higher powered bass rig next year. I'm leaning very heavily toward the Epifani Performance Series stuff from the reviews I've been reading on it, namely the PS 410 (4 ohms)--or two PS 210s at 8 ohms--and the PS 600. All I need to do is try it out and pay for it. :)

Peace,
Robin
 
#226
I don't think I hate any brand in particular. I've tried some good things, and some really bad things too. Never really saw it as "Now i hate that brand because I didn't like that amp/cab/head/whatever"

I would say then i didn't like a Trace Elliot amp I tried some time ago.
 
#227
I had a Sunn with a 215 folded horn cabinet that I despised. It colored my sound and had an unpleasant distortion, and I was extremely glad to see that go. A friend of mine had an SVT and I was extraordinarily unimpressed, considering the big deal some make about it. Didn't sound any different to me than the Peavey combo I had at the time. He must have agreed because he ended up getting a GK head which I actually liked the sound of, even though it wasn't terribly versatile in the range of sounds that it could produce. What it did sure sounded good.
 
#229
My first bass amp (Peavey TKO 65) sounded completely awful, rattled like a beeyotch, broke often, and was quite heavy. Glad to be rid of it.

I like SWR amps (I've owned two WorkingMans 12s) but I can't count the number of times I've gone to bar/club shows and seen big impressive-looking stacks of SWR heads and cabs, with lights blinking in time to the music...but I can hardly hear the bass, let alone feel it. Aural Enhancer overuse + inherently mid-scooped SWR 10" cabs=clipping amps and inaudible bass.
 
#230
Zirc said:
I dislike the Ampeg amp sound. No bite, no punch. It has such a non-aggressive sound.
Click to expand...

You gotta be kiddin'me! :rollno:

I hope this isn't just everyone trying an amp at Guitar Center and formulating an 'opinion' based on that one experience. :help:

I'm assuming that all of these posts are from people who have actually OWNED the gear they are bashing for longer than one gig before they decide they hate it. :hmm:
 
#234
I've disliked every GK head, cab, and combo I've ever tried. I remember going into a local music store when I had some free time a couple years back. They had a whole GK lineup- I purposefully tried everything extensively just to see if I could find one I liked or could even get sounds I like out of them. I couldn't. I've heard other players through GK stuff that I dug the sound of, but for the sounds I like for my own playing, it just wasn't there.
 
#235
In the jam room of a local music shop (they don't have the best bass gear, it doesn't seem to really be there thing), their big supply is mainly mesa stuff (m pulse, that sort of thing) and I can't stand mesa's except for the 400+. I hate the walkabout, I hate the MPulse600, I hate them all. The only one I haven't tried that I want to is the Big Block 750.
 
#238
Ok i'll get on this megathread,

Not for me:

Ampeg SVT 3 - I bought it and was like "You have to be kidding me?!?"
Eden Cabs - I dunno they sounded like they were gonna rip off the frame, maybe I didnt give them enough time....
Hartke - Rig was in a rehersal space I used....bleh.... "Is that a bass cab?????"

Fo Sho':

Tech 21 Landmark 600 Bass Head - scored this thing NIB on ebay a few years back for $450, It sounds amazing to me and is by far the most versitle bass head I have ever owned.
Eden WT800 - Had this prior to the Landmark, sold it and after some time I realized I missed it. However, I cant justify having 2 monster amps at once.
 
#239
Nothing broke faster on me than a GK 800, but while it worked it seemed really "eager" to make sound at volume.

Had an older Genz Benz head a while back and should have kept it, but their newer ones have more beef and I want one!

Zero troubles with my SWR SM-400 (go figure!) and although the Wkmn's 2x10 is a little whimpy, I have the same in the 4x10 and it makes me smile routinely--hey, I got it for $225!

Talked to a badass dude in a rock trio after he knocked a set straight outta the park. He was using a Hartke 7000 to push a GK 4x10/1x15 stack that was bulletproof for him. He only had to fix the on/off switch on the head once from all the times he used it.

Never had an SVT, but my Ampeg samplings have been average. Oh, I've got a Billy Sheehan preamp that I really dig, but the eq on the clean channel is sparse and the compressor is a bad joke.:bawl:
 

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