Best Solid state bass head?

[Kmonk]

GK makes great amps. I've used 400RB, 800RB and 1001RB-II. I toured with a 1001RB-II through a GK 410 RBH and a 115 RBH for several years and had great luck with them. Their customer service is excellent. I decided to go back to the vintage Ampeg sound and went back to Ampeg last year.

 

[MikeyMcMike]

Ampeg SVT 450H - gives off that classic Ampeg sound and it still is an extremely versatile sound. Got one few months ago and never looked back!

 

[SJan3]

Hi,

I am thinking about buying me a new bass head, and eventhough I like tubes, i don't want to discard the posibility to buy a SS head. Based in your experience what would be the best sounding SS amp head in the market now?

I am looking for something warm and clear at the same time.

Just for reference I play a Fender american jazz bass deluxe, and I am planning to use the amp with a Kustom 2x15 vintage bass cab.

Any thoughts could be a great help.

Thanks

Warm and clear sounds like a Little mark lll.

 

[Mystic Michael]

Based in your experience what would be the best sounding SS amp head in the market now?

Phrasing the question as "best sounding" is going to open you up to as many different responses as there are responders themselves - as you can see already. Because everyone's personal experience is limited (except for Tom Bowlus ), and we can only form very subjective opinions based on what we've actually heard.

On the basis of "highest quality" - which is quite a different metric entirely - I've heard very good things about the Thunderfunk, which is reputed to offer a very high-quality design, along with very high-end components...with a price to match!

Another extremely high-quality choice is Euphonic Audio. Highly recommended.

IMO, either of these makes is likely to provide you with one of the very best 100% solid-state bass amps on the market today. Whether any of them is "best-sounding" however, is entirely a matter of your subjective impressions...

You dig?

MM

 

[Bassist30]

As far as all Solid State without a tube pre, I would say the Thunderfunk. I like the older edens like the 800 and 500's.
Which had a tube in the pre. As far as a Hybrid its the Aguilar DB750. Or the DB751.

 

[Mystic Michael]

You live in Norway ,it's obvious ,EBS or Fafner

Actually, a Fafner is an EBS. EBS is the make; Fafner is the model.

Keeping to that same theme, if the OP chooses to go all-European, his choices will be limited - but high-quality:

* EBS (Sweden)
* TC Electronic (Denmark)
* Tecamp (Germany)
* Glockenklang (Germany)

MM

 

[RobbieNuke]

I own several solid state bass amps, but most are vintage type. I play mostly classic/modern rock and prefer tube heads, but occasionally take a solid state rig out.

• Kustom: I have a 200B and a K250. Both are great for rehearsals, but the K250 has more tone controls. Both are a bit lacking for live gigs.
• Hartke: Had an HA series amp. Totally sucked tone wise. Could not use it for bass, keyboards, or even PA monitor. Had to get rid of this one!
• Sunn: Have a Concert Bass and a Coliseum Bass amps. Both are the best sounding SS bass amps I've ever owned.

I have played through an old AMP brand head (similar layout to some amps by Thunderfunk/Gibson/Eden/SWR)... very nice for most gigs. Old G-K combo was pretty cool sounding too.

I feel that current SS amps with tubes and compressors loose something as far a tone goes... despite having these desirable features built-in. I would guess that the tubes are running at low voltage so your not getting true tube characteristics and the compressors are not designed very well. They function, but maybe more as a limiter since they only have one knob usually.

 

[d00dr]

If you can find a David Eden WT405, snatch it up immediately! That head, in my opinion, is the best solid state head available. Although they have been discontinued, you can find them for very reasonable prices here on TB, and quite frequently I might add...

 

[Randyt]

From my experience ...Ive had very good luck with my Mesa M6 Carbine and the trial demo with the Tec Amp Puma 500/900...was great!!

 

[eff-clef]

If you can find a David Eden WT405, snatch it up immediately! That head, in my opinion, is the best solid state head available. Although they have been discontinued, you can find them for very reasonable prices here on TB, and quite frequently I might add...

It's not called "David Eden". It's Eden (David series) Wt405. That's why the David is on the logo. David Nordshow was the owner.

 

[eff-clef]

Carvin's BX and B series Bass amps are the best bang/tone for the buck. Hands down.

 

[JimmyM]

I feel that current SS amps with tubes and compressors loose something as far a tone goes... despite having these desirable features built-in. I would guess that the tubes are running at low voltage so your not getting true tube characteristics and the compressors are not designed very well. They function, but maybe more as a limiter since they only have one knob usually.

While that's true about tubes in some hybrid amps, it's certainly not true for all of them.