I once owned a SA 200 original that I wish I never sold! I think I paid $3,000usd used. I think it was rated at 210 watts. Man, that thing could sing!
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Anyone talking about this Tube head?
- Thread starter BassGreaser
- Start date
Being that it is one of @tombowlus 's favorites, I would love to hear one.
It was Tom's review that led me to invest in a Reeves Custom 225. I trust his taste in amps. 
This amp must be targeted at the same people who buy $1,000 power cords.
I own one and it's just incredible. Very powerful for a 200W amp, very light and the warmest tone I have ever heard.
How’s the low end on this head? I’m thinking about pulling the trigger and mostly play reggae/rocksteady and vintage blues (Hofner German made 500/1 and flats)
Incredibly fat, massive without being muddy or anything too much .
Just consider that amp as a unique peice of equipment.
It will reeducate your hearing and playing.
It's tone is perfect. Smooth, warm....
It also can be used from 2 to 8 ohms. Which is pretty rare for a tube amp. And is among the lightest tube amps you can find of the market. It's 200 watts feel like 600.
Stop thinking, go for it. But food luck finding one, and of you fond one, be prepared to pay the price.....
There are two for sale on reverb. One in China the other one in Indianapolis.
The point for Roger Sadowsky was to set a new standard in bass amplification.
He did. Unfortunately it never went further than 175 made. Sad.
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“Why would I spend so much more money on an outdated, inferior technology? (tubes)“
They sound so damn good.
They sound so damn good.
I really love the look of that! I switched to gigging exclusively with all-tube rigs going on 13 years ago and have 25, 50 and 100 watt options now, so adding a 200 watt-er would be sweet. I'm crazy enough I might have finagled a way to do it at the ridiculous list price, but don't even want to know what price is being asked on the aftermarket. Don't want it that bad.
How does the 50watt tube head keep up live?
A good friend of mine suggested the Satellite Bass Cuda (65watt from a pair of 6550’s)… thinking I might pair that with my barefaced Three10/One10 cabs.
With the second 115HE cab it is a little beast, and even with one cab I play small-ish places with really rowdy crowds and it cuts with no support. When I have taken it to larger stages with the two cabs I've had monitor support so it hasn't been an issue, and of course FOH gets it loud as it needs to be out front. And it has a post-power tubes DI like the Vesta that I always use, as does the 100T. Also disclaimer, I like the sound of the power tubes being pushed just under breakup, and into breakup with a little nudge (playing barrelhouse blues), so it is by no means clean. But as tube amps will do, it sounds round in ensemble, but alone it's more raggedy than you think. It moves air, especially with the two cabs, but if you deal with nutso-loud guitar(s) and/or drums, you'd definitely want monitor help I'd think. I've had it 7 years now and have never felt under powered when I've used it.
I'm using a 50W tube amp + Barefaced Super Compact, and I also have more than enough volume for rehearsals and small gigs - I would also need PA support if I had to play with 2 loud guitarists. The Satelitte Bass Cuda should be fine with the BF Three 10, but I don't think it would work with Three 10 + One 10 because the Bass Cuda's minimum impedance is 4 ohm.
Thanks for the advice. That gives me hope! Oh I forgot to mention my One10w & Three10 are made to run together and have a minimum ohm load of 4ohm.
$4k for an SA200 is a steal. The fact there are two of those out there is amazing to me.
I’m guessing the high end bass amp market isn’t as GAS-crazy as the high end bass guitar market, where people routinely drop $8k or more for that Fodera, NYC Sadowsky, vintage Fender, Ken Smith, old Wal bass…
Circling back to Jad Freer: I am sure that Volta amp sounds the bee’s knees, but they’re going for a very small niche market. I am glad there are builders like Jad Freer who are still making new products where tone and musicality come first and foremost.
I’m guessing the high end bass amp market isn’t as GAS-crazy as the high end bass guitar market, where people routinely drop $8k or more for that Fodera, NYC Sadowsky, vintage Fender, Ken Smith, old Wal bass…
Circling back to Jad Freer: I am sure that Volta amp sounds the bee’s knees, but they’re going for a very small niche market. I am glad there are builders like Jad Freer who are still making new products where tone and musicality come first and foremost.
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You lucky bastardWanna talk about stealing? I paid mine 1500
Wow...
If I were to design my own signature amp from the ground up, it might be this.
I've had reliable bliss with my 50W Valvetrain Brandywine. But I wouldn't say no to certain extra amenities - like source-selectable XLR, standby DI mode & enough wattage to really fill a large loud room.
I hope the production run of these Voltas sells out & inspires a few more to jump in with similar offerings.
I have no illusions that tube will make a full comeback, or even get 1/100th of the class D market share. But AFAIC this Volta is precisely what the bass amp market has been needing.
If I were to design my own signature amp from the ground up, it might be this.
I've had reliable bliss with my 50W Valvetrain Brandywine. But I wouldn't say no to certain extra amenities - like source-selectable XLR, standby DI mode & enough wattage to really fill a large loud room.
I hope the production run of these Voltas sells out & inspires a few more to jump in with similar offerings.
I have no illusions that tube will make a full comeback, or even get 1/100th of the class D market share. But AFAIC this Volta is precisely what the bass amp market has been needing.
(Plus, the stack is maybe the sexiest rig out there, imo.)
I'm not familiar with the Cuda, but of course there'll be practically no discernible difference between 50 and 65 watts. It'd be a shoot out of which you like the color of, which the PF-50T is based on the SVT design and has that personality. (The little PF-20T is based on the B-15N) But one factor for gigging would be that if you're not doing the flip-top thing with an Ampeg cab, the PF-50T can be a cumbersome thing to deal with. If you gig quite a bit you'd have to get a box or case for it that'll make it as big as a 100T-sized head as far as carting it around, and onstage it doesn't have a flat top for tuner or whiskey or whatever, so it's inconvenient in that way. I've seen where guys have built a base with rubber feet that the 50T mounts to then a box with handles that slides over it and clamps to the base for carting. The thing sounds so good it'd be worth the trouble imo, and I can set my whiskey on the floor. I mean my tuner.
That is a sexy setup! This is my current rig.
1967/68 Silvertone 1466 (100watt point to point SS) and the BF cabs.
The Silvertone is having a small power switch issue and trying to find a tech locally willing to work on it.
It sounds loud, proud and very bright/aggressive. I seriously love this amp so much and it’s my favorite SS head of all time. BUT it’s old and rare.
So I’m looking at getting back into a tube head again. My only issue is finding a head that’s 19” wide or less.
Not really a fan of the PF50. I would go for an Orange AD200 but they are 21”
Currently waiting for Satellite Amps to get back to me on the dementions of their Bass Cuda model or if they could make a 100watt version in the dementions I need.
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I recently invested in a 100 watt (from two KT-120's) Arkham Ultra Linear amp. It's only seventeen inches wide and weighs 33.5 pounds. It's design is similar to a B-15 - exposed transformers and a cage for tube protection (not mounted in a head case). Killer amp. That Silvertone looks cool.
Oh that sounds interesting! Definitely going to have a lookI recently invested in a 100 watt (from two KT-120's) Arkham Ultra Linear amp. It's only seventeen inches wide and weighs 33.5 pounds. It's design is similar to a B-15 - exposed transformers and a cage for tube protection (not mounted in a head case). Killer amp. That Silvertone looks cool.
