• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Bass amp only manufacturers

Thanks for the responses so far.

It's just that since I'm currently looking to change my rig and have owned so much different amps and cabinets and being that i'M still not satisfied, i'm looking at every possibility available.

So I was thinking to try and go for companies that have expertise in a very narrow field of production so that they are specialists in what they do just like Bergantino for cabs and Thunderfunk for amps.

I will then try and test some configs among those and see what results i can achieve.


Not really sure your premise makes sense. I would try to match the tone you are looking for with an amp and/or cab that has the inherent voicing you are looking for, versus worrying about whether a different division of the company might also make cabs or amps.
 
I'm not dismissing any manufacturer at all. And I agree that some companies make for their amps and cab to be the perfect match. Of course it's always a matter of personal taste.

I tried different pairings of amps and cabs by the same manufacturer, mismatched etc... I achieved good results but a lot of times either the amp had reliability issues or was not 100% getting the sound i'm after.

I might be going back to a complete kit by the same manufacturer cause i've yet to test any single one of them but in the meantime, out of curiosity, i want to test some combinations of amps and cabs that come from a manufacturer that kind of specializes itself in each of them.

It's simply just a passage of experimentation in a quest for tone.
 
That's a tough question but I understand your rationale. Thunderfunk is the only one that comes to mind. Definitely try a TF...they're really good amps.

On a side note, I wouldn't overlook any companies that concentrate on both bass amps and bass cabs only. ie. Aguilar, Eden, Epifani, EBS, etc. Amps & Cabs - the two go hand in hand like Burger and fries. Besides, that's these company's expertise...Bass amplification and cabinets.

Good luck.

+1
 
It's just that since I'm currently looking to change my rig and have owned so much different amps and cabinets and being that i'M still not satisfied, i'm looking at every possibility available.

Seems a very foolish criteria, when you say you want every possibility available.

And since your speakers are what translates your amp to your ears, your speaker selection is very important to your amp selection.

And there are many examples of great cabs making crap amps sound better, and great cabs that sound great with any kind of amp pumped into it.

I'd be more concerned with trying everythng available, regardless of narrowing it down to "just amps only." If I had stuck with that mindset, I never woulda bothered looking at cabs after I got my Eden 550. And that'd be a shame, cuz there's plenty of great amp makers who make great cabinets as well. Seems you're closing yourself off from some great options, because of your pickyness.
 
While there may be something to be said about a company making one product... they 'specialize' in that one thing... However, it can also be perceived as a lack of success- in that the company isn't flourishing and diversifying...

Personally, I think you need to not limit yourself with some sort of self-imposed blinders.

You mention lots of reliability problems- you haven't filled anything out in your profile- and even in checking your posts- no idea of your experience, no idea what gear you have owned- no idea whether the reliability problems were actually due to faults with the gear or could be objectively attributed to "operator error."

Chances are if you get a "good" head (or pre/power setup) and match it with some "good" cabs, and use the equipment within it's specifications (ventilation requirements, impedance load, volume, EQ) you'll be fine.

If you're having a lot of reliability problems with a lot of decent amps- the problem may not be in the reliability of the amp, but in the manner in which you're using it.
 
I think marshall have just stopped production in nearly everything else...and maybe fender...

Marshall makes a variety of powerful and famous bass amps, guitar amps, etc.... so does Fender. :eyebrow:

Gallien Krueger? Yeah, they also make cabinets, but everything about the company is bass specific.

Nowadays, yes. But since its inception (when Bob Gallien built a guitar amp for Carlos Santana), all the way until the early 1990s (IIRC), they made guitar amps. In fact, Alex Lifeson (Rush) and Iron Maiden were GK guitar amp endorsers for several years. GK was famous for being one of the more successful manufacturers of solid-state guitar amps during the 1980s. You can probably figure why they discontinued them, though - sales dropped over time.

Interestingly enough, they've had a prototype guitar amp in the works for a long time, a revival of their old ML combo series... but they keep shelving the project.

In response to the OP: I echo the general sentiments about your post. I'm really curious as to what you've used and what sort of sound you have in your head...
 
I'm not talking about bass amps versus guitar amps etc...

I'm talking about amps only oriented manufacturers and cab only oriented manufacturers.

As you can see, there are very few amp builders who meet your criteria. You have eliminated some of the very best amplifiers built by imposing this capricious and ill-advised limitation. When you find the amp you like produced by whichever amp-only builder you choose, bring it on over, and we'll A/B it with my Eden, Aguilar and Glockenklang heads, none of which has ever spent a minute in the repair shop.
 
Yamaha:
GB1_Main.jpg

yamaha-mt.jpg

url

Yamaha-Pacifica-412V-2.jpg

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Link Removed
yamaha-g-100.jpg

Link Removed
yamaha_bb414_big.jpg

boat_accessories_home.jpg


...they've got a hand in almost everything. :eek:
 
Ok i'm gonna say it once again since i seem to have a difficulty getting my point across.

I AM NOT DISMISSING ANY AMP BRAND!!!!!.

And i'm not saying that such and such company is better/worse than the other.

I might very well set myself on an Eden amp if i find that it's the best of all things I tried.

But for now, for the sole purpose of testing different combinations, i'm curious about amps and cabs that come from specialized manufacturers.

That's all there is to it.