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Backup amp advice

fettbass

fettbass

Nov 2, 2006
656
91
Toronto, Ontario
#1
Hey guys. I currently play mainly through a Fender Bassman 300 pro head. Not the most recent super bassman, the model prior. It's a great head, and seems to have a ton of clean headroom, and most importantly, a ton of heft to the lows. My band is planning a tour and I've gotten to the point where I need to consider a smaller backup head in case the fender goes down. It's gone down twice in the year and a half I've owned it, once from a shorted power tube ( I had a tech retube and balance/bias at that point) and once when a fuse rattled loose. Nothing major, but not exactly something I'd want to deal with while on the road. I currently use a genz benz shuttle 6.0 as a backup, but it really lacks that authority and heft the fender has. Are there any micro heads that can compete with a big 300 watt tube head through an 8 ohm 4x 10?
I once ran a fender tb1200 through the same cab and it sounded great, but at around 40 pounds, I can't exactly toss that in a gig bag And forget about it.
 
#2
Carvin BX1500 or B2000. hardly anything can 'Replace' a big wattage tube head but another one
 
#3
phillybass101 said:
Carvin BX1500 or B2000. hardly anything can 'Replace' a big wattage tube head but another one
Click to expand...

+1, I was going to suggest either one of these heads, also. Great bang for the buck, but, definitely not something you can shove into a gig bag. However, if you are on tour, you want protection anyways, and these two heads can be rackmounted into a lightweight backup rig, no prblem. I use the BX 1500 and could'nt be more happy with it - a very versatile head.
 
#4
fettbass said:
Hey guys. I currently play mainly through a Fender Bassman 300 pro head. Not the most recent super bassman, the model prior. It's a great head, and seems to have a ton of clean headroom, and most importantly, a ton of heft to the lows. My band is planning a tour and I've gotten to the point where I need to consider a smaller backup head in case the fender goes down. It's gone down twice in the year and a half I've owned it, once from a shorted power tube ( I had a tech retube and balance/bias at that point) and once when a fuse rattled loose. Nothing major, but not exactly something I'd want to deal with while on the road. I currently use a genz benz shuttle 6.0 as a backup, but it really lacks that authority and heft the fender has. Are there any micro heads that can compete with a big 300 watt tube head through an 8 ohm 4x 10?
I once ran a fender tb1200 through the same cab and it sounded great, but at around 40 pounds, I can't exactly toss that in a gig bag And forget about it.
Click to expand...

The shuttle 6.0 is a unique case, since it was voiced to optimally work with the little Shuttle cabs (i.e., the hi passing was set quite high, giving it a bit of a thin tone through a full range cab (yes, you could somewhat fix that with the lo boost, but not really).

I would consider an Aguilar TH500. Big, fat low end and punchy mids, uber reliability, and impressive 8ohm performance (although it ain't gonna keep up with a 300 watt tube amp). The little TH350 is even smaller, same exact tone, and would definitely 'get you through a gig' as a backup. Really first rate stuff, and that nice fat, 'non hi fi' Aguilar tone.

The Aguilar bag is actually great and offers great protection. Just throw it in the car or truck and there you go!
 

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