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Any tube amp combo out there?

#4
Tube combo you say?

Since you have a big budget, I'll throw out these two:

Ampeg B15R
http://www.ampeg.com/products/diamondbluebass/b15/index.html
B15R_LG.jpg


Pignose B100V
Invalid Link Removed

Not sure about the Ampeg, but the Pignose is no longer in production. Of course with enough cabbage you should be able to score one used :ninja:
 
#10
Adelleda said:
Mainly portability and the fact that i don't have to connect too much things around. Also, maybe it is just in my head but combos have always sounded better to me.

All of the options look delicious, oh yes.. decisions decisions.
Click to expand...

I understand the portability bit, but I do think that "combos sound better than head\cab" is definitely in your head... If you open yourself up to that, there are a lot of AMAZING tube bass amps out there. If you want to play guitar through a tube amp, there are lots of combos to choose from (I like Fender tube amps personally). But I'd never play bass through any guitar amp, personally...

I may be a bit confused as to what you're looking to do, here?:confused:
 
#11
Alexander said:
I understand the portability bit, but I do think that "combos sound better than head\cab" is definitely in your head... If you open yourself up to that, there are a lot of AMAZING tube bass amps out there. If you want to play guitar through a tube amp, there are lots of combos to choose from (I like Fender tube amps personally). But I'd never play bass through any guitar amp, personally...
Click to expand...
i would but only in the studio or maybe for a little edgy grind thing combined with a bass amp. certainly not to carry a band with bass.

but i agree...there is a lot more in the tube world to choose from if you go head/cab. as far as combos sounding better than amp/cabs, a lot of combos have the same heads you can buy separately, and the cab really doesn't care whether it's in a combo or by itself. you build a cab with the same speaker(s) and same dimensions, it's going to sound the same whether it's a combo or a separate.
 
#12
Unfortunately all those tube combos pictured above have been discontinued.
They do show up used tho....

I have a B-15R, and I'll be the first to tell you portability is not easier than a separate head+cab. It's heavier to lift. But I do love the thing.
 
#15
Don't forget the old Trace Elliot Twin Valve Combo. Here's my first Twin Valve Combo (which I still have; I bought a second one, which also came with a rack for the "head") next to my first Pignose B-100v (which I sold, but recently replaced with another B-100v).

IMG_1951.jpg
 
#16
You can also order an [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] as a 1x12 combo. I've never tried one of these (in head or combo form), and they are pretty darned expensive, but at least they keep the possibility of an all-tube bass combo out there! :D

I'd love to see a low-cost option like the Pignose back on the market. Despite the powerful movement towards smaller/lighter gear, I am seeing a resurgence in all-tube bass heads, so a combo option may not be so far-fetched.

Tom.
 
#18
Alexander said:
I understand the portability bit, but I do think that "combos sound better than head\cab" is definitely in your head... If you open yourself up to that, there are a lot of AMAZING tube bass amps out there. If you want to play guitar through a tube amp, there are lots of combos to choose from (I like Fender tube amps personally). But I'd never play bass through any guitar amp, personally...

I may be a bit confused as to what you're looking to do, here?:confused:
Click to expand...

I just record in the studio and rarely play very small clubs.
Also take into consideration i have back problems so..
 
#19
this is probably just a superstition. But me and several other bass players I know put our tube heads on the ground or on a stool. anywhere but on the amp. We all agree that massive lows and tubes shouldnt be too close to each other.
Seems to me that the low freqs could vibrate the plates and grids enough to affect the distance between the two and impart some artifact to the sound.
Yeah I know its a vacuum in them there tubes. But sound is also transmitted through the solid parts of your amp. (sound travels faster through denser mediums).
I swear I get a tighter sound this way. That and I don't rattle the head off the cab anymore. But if you arent playing at concert volume I suppose a combo would be fine.

Mesa made two versions of the buster combo, straight and wedge. There are of course the Ampeg fliptops as well. Older Traynors are wicked good. check out the YBA-2, 2b, YBA-4 and YBA-5.
Though the YBA-2's used odd tubes like 6BAqs and 6V6's and werent very high watts.
YBA5 MKII is the (infamous) YBA 1a in a combo. 90 watts from two el34s and you would swear its 200watts.
I would stay away from silverface Fender combos. The ones I have owned and used all had major issues. Though when they work they sound sweet. I think the bad rep of the silverface fenders is where the post-CBS buyout stink came from. Most post CBS basses are fine, its the amps that were dogs.
and yes I hade several silverfaces, so I speak from experience. It took me a while to learn that there was a reason they were easy to come by.
 
#20
tombowlus said:
I'd love to see a low-cost option like the Pignose back on the market. Despite the powerful movement towards smaller/lighter gear, I am seeing a resurgence in all-tube bass heads, so a combo option may not be so far-fetched.

Tom.
Click to expand...

+1

I'd like to see the same, for example, a Peavey VB2 combo with a 15" neo driver to keep the weight down. I'd be very interested in something like that.
 

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