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Best name in bass amps

#44
Bass amps seem to come in so many different "flavors"... that is there are considerably different voicings from manufacturer to manufacturer and even model to model. Trying to determine "best" here is kind of pointless as the differences in "flavor" are part of what defines us as a bassist. Therefore I think any amp you like can be the best. More specifics like what genre/type of music will help you get more specific recommendations. There are lots of good amp manufacturers out there, and it is up to you to define your style, amp choice is part of how you do it.
 
#46
bassmeknik said:
Bass amps seem to come in so many different "flavors"... that is there are considerably different voicings from manufacturer to manufacturer and even model to model. Trying to determine "best" here is kind of pointless as the differences in "flavor" are part of what defines us as a bassist. Therefore I think any amp you like can be the best. More specifics like what genre/type of music will help you get more specific recommendations. There are lots of good amp manufacturers out there, and it is up to you to define your style, amp choice is part of how you do it.
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I agree. The gear makes a difference but then so do your hands etc.
 
#47
Russell L said:
I take it that you wouldn't see some brands in your shop unless you are an authorized repairman for that brand, like Markbass? For the most part, I mean. I find it interesting that you don't see many threads on TB about Markbass trouble. And there was a reply in a thread some time back about the number of repairs (I think it might've been in Europe--but nonetheless it's a yardstick). As I remember, Markbass scored very high on reliability. Of course, anything can fail, though.
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Yeah, we're not authorized MB, and no one that I know that has MB gear has had a problem with it. I may get crap for this, but I personally don't like the MB sound. We are authorized Peavey, and I've only seen a couple of Peavey bass amps come in -- a lot of guitar amps though. A lot of Ampeg SVT 4's too - for some reason that amp seems to have a lot of problems (actually, it's not usually the amp's fault, but the user's -- people don't read the manual! With that amp you have to have a special speakon cable to use it in mono bridge mode -- use a regular cable and your amp will fry eventually). Someone mentioned GK -- don't see that stuff too often either and a lot of people like it, too much brightness in the GK sound for me though. I had a Peavey TKO 65 for like 25 years, never had a problem with it and wish I hadn't sold it - great little 1x15 combo that for low watts really packed a punch.

Trying to think what we haven't seen in the shop at all -- never seen an Aguilar come in, had one Glockenklang come in but we couldn't get parts, never had a Genz Benz in, never Ashdown, have had Mesa in, but we usually recommend sending Mesa gear direct to Mesa as they are thorough and cheap and do a bunch of component upgrades when amps come in, plus they are fairly close to us, so shipping/taking it there is not a problem. There's also a regional thing I've noticed -- some amps are more popular in different parts of the country, so we may not see as much of the amps that aren't really popular around here. But we do have a GC, so whatever they sell, we see (we do their repairs for them) - seen at least one of just about everything GC sells (except Markbass). I only do the repair thing part time (I have a real job that actually pays the bills - repairs wouldn't cut it :( ) so I pretty much specialize in restoration/repair of vintage tube gear and build tube guitar amps as a hobby.

But again, this thread is about best brands and that is totally subjective and up to the listener's ear, but I can speak with at least a tiny bit of authority on reliability based on what I see come in to the shop. AND some of the BEST sounding stuff can be fairly fragile, so reliability and sound quality are not necessarily related. Wouldn't we all love to have a '64 Ampeg B15? (not the new re-issues) but would you take that amp to a gig? Me neither.
 
#48
bassmeknik said:
Bass amps seem to come in so many different "flavors"... that is there are considerably different voicings from manufacturer to manufacturer and even model to model. Trying to determine "best" here is kind of pointless as the differences in "flavor" are part of what defines us as a bassist. Therefore I think any amp you like can be the best. More specifics like what genre/type of music will help you get more specific recommendations. There are lots of good amp manufacturers out there, and it is up to you to define your style, amp choice is part of how you do it.
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Thanks bassmeknik, actually opinions are exaclty what I was looking for. Appreciate the reply.
 
#53
CL400Peavey said:
frabz-Cant-tell-if-Troll-aa32e8.jpg
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Which leads us to...what is the best name in trolls? And of course, which is the best troll for metal? Well, here ya go people.

troll1600x394.jpg


M. M. :)
 
#56
As one who has been playing for over 36 years, I can say this is the best time ever to buy a bass amp. Back in the 70s you could count on one hand the number of pro bass amps available ( Acoustic, Sunn). Now days there are more top line amps that I haven't played than I have played. If I had to buy a new amp tommoro, I'm sure I'd have no problem finding a good one.
 
#58
Yes that 371 sitting in my garage is a beast, but its sure easier moving the GK MBE410 and MB200. I have used the MB200 through the 301, very smooth, and it does cut 43 pounds off of moving the entire 371 stack.
 

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