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Amps you hate

#142
Trace All the way man! Nothing does what I want it to do better than a Trace. I have two options, V-Type and SMX depending on the gig, with a little help from my Yamaha NE1 (V4 only) ive got it all covered! Never really had any problems with any of the SM, SMC or SMX series and the V-Type is tube failure so I cant really blame Trace for that either. Out of all the SMX heads ive had, the 400 is probably best for how I use it (One Peavey 410TXV) Although the potential for the 600 is awesome as long as you have the cabs. After 7 years of using Trace, Ive got no good reason to change, even from the early years of my Boxer 30!
 
#145
Not a fan of:

SWR, heads and cabs
Amepg, cabs
Crate, heads and cabs
SansAmp PSA-1 (ugh!)
Rogue (yes, I've played their amps)

...that's about it for dislikes. I mean, I like, say, Epifani more than Peavey, but the Peavey's don't sound terrible.
 
#147
I hate anything that sounds dirty, fuzzy, growly and unclean. For the kind of music I play any kind of distortion at all just masks you behind the guitarist. Playing in a trio I need to stand out as much as I can, and that means having a completely different tone than the guitar. This means I hate amps that make sounds most bassists like.

This includes the vast majority of amps from most major and minor manufacturers, especially those with tubes. My personal nemesis seems to be Trace Elliot and Ampeg, both seem to do their best to thwart me everytime I play through one. I'm not real fond of SWR either.

I like tight, thick bottom end with just enough clarity to break through but no distortion. To date I've had the best luck going direct with an amp modeller, or using a small Peavey combo (TNT115) and micing. However I really do like the GK sound and will soon be packing a 1001RB-II and some Avatars.

I'm not trying to say Trace and Ampeg suck, but they suck for me. When I join a classic rock, blues or country band I'll revaluate my opinion of them (War Pigs on an SVT4 is something I won't argue with :))
 
#150
:cool:
Hartke Cabs- never liked them
Love Ampeg heads- but not there cabs.
All Carvin stuff stinks!!
Never liked sound of Peavey.
Trace Elliot cabs, and all there solid state heads.
Like Trace Elliot tube heads.
SWR Combo's real bad.
 
#151
I can't exactly say that I hate anything, but I have never been impressed with Peavey, Crate or Fender. I have had lots of amps over the last ten years and the only amps I genuinely like are Carvin. I am a big fan of their Redline series because of their versatility, but I understand that it is possible to get unpleasant tones out of them. For me, thet are exactly what I look for in an amp and sound great with my ESP.


I couldn't just stand there and watch everyone beat them down.

CARVIN RULES!!!!!
 
#157
I hate:
Trace elliot
Hartke (ill)
I like:
Eden
SWR
Carvin
I had way too many amps don't laugh but my favorite amp I ever had was my old Carvin Pro bass 500. It had what I needed, was very very loud for 500 watts and I dropped it well over a dozen times and it still works. My little SWR studio 220 is the best sounding but not nearly loud enough. The worst amp I ever had was a Hartke I had for a week then sold for $80 and a six pack of Blue Moon.
oh yeah, I had an amp that actually said "Marlboro" on it that was pretty bad. They sould stick to smokes.
 
#160
Tash said:
If Ampeg paid me as much as they do their endorsees I'd call em the second coming of Christ too :hmm:
Click to expand...

BTW, Ampeg endorsers are not paid like that.............maybe you are thinking of Nike or some other high-margin clothing biz.......

Some may get some gear, that's just about it dude. No bagman, no money laundering, sorry no news story.......

Just to set the record straight.
 

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