Amps you hate

[BlacksHole]

The amps I disliked the most are some of the older amps. The Kustom 100 was very bland, and I played through a couple of Trace stacks that had so much grit they were indistinct sounding. Iive also played through an Ampeg SVT that was too mushy sounding for my tastes. I currently own a Hartke 5000 and it's bland to my ears as well - I'm constantly tweaking the tone controls trying to find good clean wide spectrum power that isn't harsh. For lower volume gigs, I really like my polytone pro, but it is complicated with 2 bass controls, 2 mid controls, 2 treble controls, plus multiple switches for boost (bass and treble) as well as 4 volume controls. BUt once you figure it out, it has an amazing variety of tones - well at least much more so than my Hartke or old Sunn Coliseum.

 

[Tedintheshed]

I hate Peaveys.


But hey they are built solid, but so are paper weights.

Phe low end is muddy, the high end in inarticulate and the components are inferior.

But hey, they are built solid

The other is pretty much and Fender bass amp, with the possible exception of the BXR 400 rackmount head. Fenders sound thin, dull and lifeless to me.


Ted

 

[willgroove2]

as a guy who has spent much time on the road using rental rig's im not fond of the gk rb800/harke 410+15 combo i see often,over the years i have figuared out a way to get a sound out of it but it takes a bit of effort

 

[Jon R]

To me bass amps are alot like women... I never met/used one that I couldn't find something to like about. The biggest difference that I see is that women tend to get prettier as the night goes on and bass amps tend to sound worse.

 

[jja412]

Phil Jones....

Just didn't "do it" for me.


but I still want the all tube amp!

 

[5stringDNA]

I am probably one of very few peavey fans here it seems- the newer peavey stuff is a great value IMO.

I hate Fender amps wihta passion- I dislike the sound, and they are extremely overpriced. I did an A/B on a fender bassman and peavy (can't remember what model). The fender was about $150 more, not nearly as loud, and hada nasty flat tone IMO.

SWR has not impressed me tonally or in the volume department.

And as stated, the only thing tougher than a Peavey is a tank.

 

[heath_the_great]

im not impressed by the newer peavey stuff..except for the bams..but the older, 80's, pevaey gear is the shiznitz.....gimme 2x 1516 cabs any day and 2 mark 4 head to power em

 

[thelastofus]

i hate...

peavey gear (new stuff is getting better), just sounds bland and plain. not transparent in a good way, but makes your bass sound dead.

carvin- mudd. horrible cabinets

ampeg svt3s - worst (lack of)headroom.

swr-sterile and then, cold.

hartke.

 

[Woodchuck]

Although I don't hate them, I'd never buy or use another Eden amp. I've had too many problems with them. The cabs are cool, but I wouldn't be caught dead with their amps.

 

[{OE}]

Dont care for:

G&K ( espec. 400/800RB)
Most Trace Elliot
Carvin
Peavey
Genz Benz
Most Fender
Some Hartke

I must have owned a magical SM-400 because that thing hada warm and massive booty... ...but I was also using a G&L L2000

 

[basicallybass]

Phil Jones....

Just didn't "do it" for me.


but I still want the all tube amp!

Now that's really interesting. I have never run thru his preamp much less the $10,000 block of tubes...but I did own two of his cabinets and not for very long. Not my thing.

 

[RAM]

1. Crate
2. Peavey

My first rented amp was a 10 watt Crate. While it's not very fair to allow this to represent the entire line, I can't bring myself to play another Crate, ever again.

Peavey was the first amp I ever owned...TKO series or TNT series. I have never been happier than the day I sold it. I've been unfortunate enough to play through these in various situations (rented or borrowed) and still hate 'em as much as the day I sold my first one.

Later on I played through a few other Peaveys and hated them too. My first bass was a Peavey T-40 and donated it to charity.

I just really hate the Peavey brand. ::shudders::

 

[Gut_Implosion]

yamahahaha.

theres one at my school and heres what i've noticed:

-sounds like sh**.
-play a low B through it and people will wonder who farted.
-it routinely cuts out all the low end and chops the volume in half for no reason.
-when turning it off or on it sounds like its hocking a loogie, and a really loud obnoxious one at that.
-its uglier than hell.
-for an amp that low-quality, its waaay to heavy.

and the infamous Squirrel 15.... ...need i say more? I smashed it with a pick-axe.

 

[bassampegman]

I hate other peoples amps / cabs that shouldnt sound better than mine but they do.You know the thing you are at a gig watching the bass player and looking at his setup and gear before they start playing and you think what a crap load of gear, mine blows that away !!
Band starts playing and the bass sounds superb and you think bollicks why did i spend all that money getting the so called best gear !!
Alot is in the hands as we all know and it really does get annoying when the low cost gear blows away the top of the range gear but it can and it does in the right hands etc.

Dislikes: Ampeg for being so bloody expensive

Likes: Ashdown for being good amps and reasonable price

What to i have well both of course !!

 

[andruca]

I really have nothing bad to say about "lower end" stuff you describe. I had Peaveys (Mark III, combos, cabs) and all were very reliable and Hi-Fi, exactly as I needed them to be. I own a Hartke stack and the same with them although they don't seem as "macho" through the years as Peavey stuff. I think the valid reasons for considering amplification as bad are:

- Poor reliability
- Volume not according to power rating (very common -see H&H and Ashdown later-)
- Unacceptable extreme colouring of sound (almost never happens)

THE BAD ONES

I definitely don't like vintage sounding gear (Ampeg, Marshall, Mesa) and don't know what to think of SWRs because the two times I tested them I was given Warwick basses (I use Stingray 5 so "no room for girlie sounding basses") so I don't know if it was the amp or the bass (most probable) that didn't had the guts.

Also I used H&K combos that, rated at 120/150W didn't put up half the power my 75W Peavey combo puts. Same with an Ashdown 350W ****ty head with 4X10"+horn cab I used last week (not even 1/4 the power of my Hartke 350W head with the upper cab of my stack).

THE GOOD ONES
I tested the Warwick Terminator cab once and fell in love with it. I think it's discontinued now. Also liked Trace Elliot stuff (even the cheap Comando series) some of which I used with these Laney cabs that (contrary to my prejudice) sounded very nice, punchy and loud. I absolutely loved the Roland DB900 combo (I'm a Hi-Fi man, remember). MarkBass amps made a very good impresion on me. Also loved each and every EBS piece of gear I used and severely envy anyone who owns them. Definitely I'm comfortable with my Hartke stack and wouldn't upgrade to anything other than EBS (from all the brands I had the oportunity of trying).

ANDRUCA

 

[trouble]

I don't get why so many people bash Ampeg when so many great bands and players use their heads and cabs????? I like what they give and I also like Ashdown. Any un-favourable experiences with Ashdown gear out there? Gotta say I cringe whenever I see and hear Peavey or Trace Elliot. Ashdown have certainly improved on Trace technology (same dude started companies, didn't he?).

 

[heath_the_great]

well i bash ampeg because i dont like tube....plus the b2r is about half as powerful as my peavey mark 3....personally i in love with thunderfunk and peavey

 

[HotRoded]

I owned an Ampeg, and sold it not even 6 month after.

I always felt I was bizarre not liking Ampeg, considering their reputation and the number of times it was mentioned to me, and also the reaction of the people when you tell you don't like their product. But their tone is just not appealing to me. No punch, no growl. (and my BA115 had that fuzz noise that I still could hear when playing with the volume at 4).

It took me several month to decide what to buy, and I have tried many. I hated Hartke: too metalic, too thin, didn't like SWR, just not my taste.

I was also surprised not to see more Fender bashing in this thread, since each time their bass amps are mentioned, everybody tries to make you get something else. I finally bought a 400 PRO and only got compliments from all the guys I've played with since.

 

[Dan Molina]

I owned an Ampeg, and sold it not even 6 month after.

I always felt I was bizarre not liking Ampeg, considering their reputation and the number of times it was mentioned to me, and also the reaction of the people when you tell you don't like their product. But their tone is just not appealing to me. No punch, no growl. (and my BA115 had that fuzz noise that I still could hear when playing with the volume at 4).

It took me several month to decide what to buy, and I have tried many. I hated Hartke: too metalic, too thin, didn't like SWR, just not my taste.

I was also surprised not to see more Fender bashing in this thread, since each time their bass amps are mentioned, everybody tries to make you get something else. I finally bought a 400 PRO and only got compliments from all the guys I've played with since.

As long as you like it.

 

[Eldermike]

heads: I depend on ampeg and so far that's a good decision I made. I gig alot and take backup gear with me. I like the 3 pro. I have owned many amps and I liked them all for different reasons. The only ones I remember not liking were designed poorly and blew speakers when they clipped, (every time). That company now makes very good amps so I will not name them.

Cabs: I still like my 4x10 SWR best of all. I have had others that sounded better but were twice the weight.