Acoustic 370 I have is from 1970 , GK800RB is from 1987. I guess you could call them dependable- they have never had ANY down time ! 
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Best brand amps for reliability / dependability?
- Thread starter M.R. Ogle
- Start date
I've got a Genz-Benz 3.5 Neopak, a Shuttle 6.0, and a Shuttle 9.0. No problems with any of them and they were all bought used in the TalkBass classifieds. I really trust a company with a 3 year transferrable warranty.
Look for the longest, transferable, less hassle, original warranty.
Don't buy the third party warranties - they are a rip off.
You should buy local, but if you can't. The small heads are easy to ship and can be exchanged in a day if you ever have to.
2 years - bare minimum, but the amp should be cheap.
5 - years, and fully transferable, outstanding, but just the warranty means the amp costs more.
Don't buy the third party warranties - they are a rip off.
You should buy local, but if you can't. The small heads are easy to ship and can be exchanged in a day if you ever have to.
2 years - bare minimum, but the amp should be cheap.
5 - years, and fully transferable, outstanding, but just the warranty means the amp costs more.
They go up in the classifieds but don't stay there very long. It is not unusual to see the Genz heads sold in a few hours of their listing. That in itself should give you an idea of the desirability of the units.
My M9 ruined 2 gigs for me and spent more time in CA then it did with me. Mesa CS was ok, but for the price of their stuff I expected more. I'll never give them my money again. I went with GK after that and have been totally satisfied.
Genz-Benz ...Not a fan at all, but but you almost never see " GenzBenz amp broke can one of you amp gurus fix it" Threads I have 2 students who swear by them
...and are allways useing em.
as for Mesa...Never will they get my money for an amp...cab yes amp no.
To me hartke 3500s are like the Toyota of the bass amp world.. few die but when they do the cuz fest never stops.
I've never had good luck with Ampegs, but I know more people who swear by them then hate em.
...and are allways useing em.
as for Mesa...Never will they get my money for an amp...cab yes amp no.
To me hartke 3500s are like the Toyota of the bass amp world.. few die but when they do the cuz fest never stops.
I've never had good luck with Ampegs, but I know more people who swear by them then hate em.
Another vote for Genz-Benz. Not only do they make a high quality, dependable product, but they monitor the forums here and have fixed problems for TB members literally in a matter of a few hours.
I'm rockin' a Genz-Benz Shuttle and love it.
I'm rockin' a Genz-Benz Shuttle and love it.
Hopkins
Commercial User
If that were true, then Ampeg wouldn't have several different amps with the SVT designationTrue that all of them aren't all-tube amps, but they still make the all-tube amps. Some people have a problem with them putting SVT on their hybrids, but if I owned Ampeg, EVERY amp would be an SVT something or other, and I'd milk that SVT trademark for all it's worth
You of all people should know where the "SVT" came from Jimmy. They already darn near put that on everything produced. It is like seeing "GT" on an Escort because it has big tires and an anti-roll bar?
Okay maybe it'd just me that feels offended by this.
After almost 30 years with a Boogie D180, I replaced a worn power cord once and changed power tubes every few years. That was with almost daily usage, so Mesa gets my vote.
I'm not offended by it, but it sure doesn't help delineate the differences in their product line.
HI
Over the last 8 years ive played about 1500 shows. Ive used a number of different amps during this time. EA, Epifani, TFunk, Aguilar, Sadowsky, Mesa. The EA crapped out one night on me but they had it fixed in a couple days. All the others worked w no issues. I probably played the most w the Epifani head. My Fave was the Sadowsky tube head for tone but not for lugging it around!!(42lbs w/o the case). I presently gig an Aguilar dual channel head which sound great and is relatively light. I also have a Mesa walkabout that I gig at a church thing that stays there and never moves. I had a Mesa M9 that I sold to get this Aguilar.
The moral of the story is they all were quite reliable and had good tone and features. I dont think any of these heads would be a poor choice along w a number I havent owned or mentioned. I agree that how you take care of your gear is essential. Get a case or nice soft bag. Dont leave it in your car in the winter or summer. Take care setting it up for gigs and packing it away when youre done playing.
Hope this helps
Rob
Over the last 8 years ive played about 1500 shows. Ive used a number of different amps during this time. EA, Epifani, TFunk, Aguilar, Sadowsky, Mesa. The EA crapped out one night on me but they had it fixed in a couple days. All the others worked w no issues. I probably played the most w the Epifani head. My Fave was the Sadowsky tube head for tone but not for lugging it around!!(42lbs w/o the case). I presently gig an Aguilar dual channel head which sound great and is relatively light. I also have a Mesa walkabout that I gig at a church thing that stays there and never moves. I had a Mesa M9 that I sold to get this Aguilar.
The moral of the story is they all were quite reliable and had good tone and features. I dont think any of these heads would be a poor choice along w a number I havent owned or mentioned. I agree that how you take care of your gear is essential. Get a case or nice soft bag. Dont leave it in your car in the winter or summer. Take care setting it up for gigs and packing it away when youre done playing.
Hope this helps
Rob
Mesa Boogie. I've had an MPulse 360 for almost 10 years now without any problems. Also the old Fender Bassman heads are really good. I run a 50 watt Fender Bassman (silverface) into a SLM Ampeg 810E and it sounds pretty friggin' good. It's definitely loud enough and has great tone.
Tons of good equipment to choose from today. Of course Genz-Benz, Aguilar, GK, Ampeg, Hartke, Carvin and many others mentioned.
I will have to mention the Thunderfunk as well. Great solid built heads with good customer service.
I will have to mention the Thunderfunk as well. Great solid built heads with good customer service.
That is exactly right. But I will say this...LOUD isn't putting SVT on everything. If I owned LOUD, the Micro VR would have been called the SVT Jr. And the new Portaflex stuff would be called...well, I guess I'd call it Portaflex, tooDifferences mean nothing, only sales numbers matter.
Unfortunately I love the tone of the M9 and ordered a new one. I am using a GK Fusion 550 currently, but for me, the M9 is worth taking another chance. If the new one craps out, that will be my last Mesa purchase.
I actually got the MB Fusion to replace my M9. The M9 was the holy grail of tone for me. The Fusion gets me really close to the tone I was going for. If Mesa ever did a class d version of the M series I think it would pretty much sound like the MB Fusion
