Big Amps will come back one day!!!

[Geri O]

Gee, who didn't see this topic turning into a pi$$ing contest over weight and back considerations.

I'm all for the "you do you" concept of life and have no problem with folks using Big Iron if it's their preference and they have the means. I grin pretty big when I show up at a backline gig and an SVT is sitting there.

It's when a few of the Big Iron guys starting deriding the "Class D Bad Back Weinies" (I seriously saw that some time ago, not around here at least) that puts them on my (very) bad side.

 

[murphy]

There only reason I don't go class D is; They're to hi-fi for my liking. They simply don't do lo-fi well enough. So I'll keep using my old amps until class D improves or me and my rigs are thrown on the scrapheap of history

You should try my Mesa Subway D-800 or Plus....I think you might be happy

 

[bigdaddybass12]

Niche markets will always have some demand, though often this demand gets filled from the oversupply of large, heavy used gear, usually for less that 25 cents on the dollar.

Yeah, local guy has a nice peavey 4x10 cab, 135lbs, can't give it away, I bet it sounds great, but I ain't getting younger, & my advice to young bass players thinking they can move 140lb cab all day? 2 words, herniated disk,, buy light cabs now!

 

[/\/\3phist0]

Every class D amp I have tried sounded exactly the same as any other amp I like. The power section didn't change anything.
IMO this is a common rumor about class D amp that has nothing to do with reality.

It’s the preamp paired with the class d that produces the hi/lo fi tone. Also the speaker paired with any amp has a major influence on what is heard. Wide, full spectrum modern cab paired with an SVT sounds COMPLETELY different than when paired with a fridge.
My Mesa WD sounds positively amazing filthy squishy and fat when paired with an old 215 with JBLs.
It’s sounds when pushing the LabSeries 2x15 loaded with Kappalite 3015s is sublime. (No tweets in either of my cabs)
SVT is amazeballs when fed into more modern drivers, in an old tl606 derived, center shared slot ported cab like the LabSeries L4 I have.

PJB C8. 50 lbs 14.2 x 12.4 x 24 800 watts RMS 25hz to 15khz with built in dolly? Is a beast with the WD, and the SVT sounds killer through it too, just seems silly to use a head that is bigger and heavier than the cab.

in my world; I can use and appreciate the full range of technology available today.

the old, temperamental, noisy, energy inefficient heads hold a special “can’t put my finger on it” sumthin sumthin that just is not there with the modern rigs, but the new tech brings its own thing that is just as appealing in its own way.

I'm getting a VW iDBuzz as soon as one is available, but my 425 horse Hemi SRT8 magnum is going to stay. The rumble and roar of ICE has a reality, that all the niceties of EVs can’t replace.

were it not for the safety issue (I like my legs) I would still putt around in my 56 23 window VW ragtop Combi.

 

[JimmyM]

If they do come back, I'm afraid that unless it's supplied backline, my days of lugging a big Amp and cab are over. I literally can't do it anymore. Wish I could.

 

[pyrat56host]

I like to use THIS w/ my Quilter Interbass45...then tell them whilst they cry out in pain

...it's only 45 watts!!

 

[lug]

My cousin said the same thing when he started making buggy whips. I thought he was crazy. Then the internet porn hit....he's a millionare now.

 

[seamonkey]

Portable is here to stay.
Portability, Volume Restrictions, Technology Advancements including FOH, Cost.

 

[foolforthecity]

Hump a refrigerator 4 nights straight, week after week, then come back and report your findings to the group

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

They won't come back by themselves, you have to carry them

 

[seamonkey]

If quality is poor, then you can have all the portability you want by carying nothing, so if the Amp is superior quality I think a bit for moving restrictions won't hurt

Portability doesn't negate quality.

 

[MotorCityMinion]

"Have my 70's fridge listed locally for $350. for about 6 months now. People call with lower offers."

Wow! I can't find one under $900 locally

I'm 15 minutes south of Detroit. PM me and I'll split the difference at $450.00. Everybody's happy.

Seriously. Although satisfied with the tone, this thing is too cumbersome for solo use at home. If I were younger and in a band that plays loud, it would stay at the rehearsal space.

 

[J-phatt]

The time is NOW!!! bring em back... up to a point. I'd say maybe 30-37lbs . They sound better IMO and from all the digital amps I've owned.

All the hip bassists are selling heavy gear (anything over 20 lbs. or too big to fit in the boot of a Mini Cooper). So prices of non-iconic used bass amplification will continue to be depressed in the glutted market.

 

[J-phatt]

Eventually the outrageous
Inflation of vacuum tube prices will form a cap on the inflation of classic tube amps. $4000 SVT heads fed with $1000 of 6550s is strictly a blues lawyer market, and most of them play vintage Gibbons and Fiendr guitars not basses.

 

[ThudThudThud]

They have a place. Touring bands with road crews.
Self loading players, and weekend warriors will probably prefer something compact.

 

[Aussie Player]

Gee, who didn't see this topic turning into a pi$$ing contest over weight and back considerations.

I'm all for the "you do you" concept of life and have no problem with folks using Big Iron if it's their preference and they have the means. I grin pretty big when I show up at a backline gig and an SVT is sitting there.

It's when a few of the Big Iron guys starting deriding the "Class D Bad Back Weinies" (I seriously saw that some time ago, not around here at least) that puts them on my (very) bad side.

Reading between the lines here tends to indicate that many small amp fans tend to feel the need to justify their choice mostly using weight and portability and big iron users accept that trade off for tones they prefer. The prior camp avoids profusely, the comparison of tone between the two.

I've enjoyed roadies for most of my background and having some large rigs behind me so can appreciate the light argument when I am providing shanks pony. But, the argument stops dead in its tracks when the always missing "tone", is added to the preference.
At the end of this thread, I would expect the light loaders to be the larger in number yet also expect that number to near reverse if players were asked to play what they actually preferred.

 

[Gluvhand]

Reading between the lines here tends to indicate that many small amp fans tend to feel the need to justify their choice mostly using weight and portability and big iron users accept that trade off for tones they prefer. The prior camp avoids profusely, the comparison of tone between the two.

I've enjoyed roadies for most of my background and having some large rigs behind me so can appreciate the light argument when I am providing shanks pony. But, the argument stops dead in its tracks when the always missing "tone", is added to the preference.
At the end of this thread, I would expect the light loaders to be the larger in number yet also expect that number to near reverse if players were asked to play what they actually preferred.

I agree but I think we’re reaching the point where there is a generation or two that only knows class d amps and that is the sound they’re used to.

 

[J-phatt]

Bring them back. I still enjoy the heavy amp but like my cabs light. The big cabs don't fit in my cars anymore.

But Im happy to use my little D Class amps that kick just as hard, when the load-in is a challenge.

It's great to have all these options that all sound great.
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The American fleet of passenger cars continues to increase its average size and expense, with light trucks, SUVs and ‘mini SUVs’ making up the majority of the market. I don’t think gigging musicians are bucking the trend and consistently driving smaller than average cars, since they actually need what we used to call a station wagon a lot more than a suburban commuter. So if neodymium doesn’t become too rare we ought to see lighter amp cabs of whatever size acoustics demand being adopted broadly.

 

[HP Hovercraft]

I agree but I think we’re reaching the point where there is a generation or two that only knows class d amps and that is the sound they’re used to.

I don't know about that. All the local kids use classic/heavy gear and that's been for as long as I can remember. I get older, the kids stay the same age and use the same gear.

It seems to me that a lot of this boils down to genre.

 

[HelpImaRock]

Nostalgia is peer pressure from dead people.