British Bass Amps

[Passinwind]

I must confess to an oversight. I think one must add Barefaced to the nearly empty list of great English bass amps. OK, Alex only builds cabinets, but they are probably the best thing to come out of England in the bass amplification product category in like forever!

He's doing a powered cab now too, FWIW.

 

[Kirk Bryant]

This has been a great read even though I've never owned a British amp of any kind. Growing up I memorized all Ron Woods bass parts off of Rod Stewart's first album as well as the Jeff Beck stuff. I loved his melodic approach to bass and was very disappointed when he switched to guitar. I was going for that sound but playing a clone of a Sunn 200S called a Polaris amp which was a Dynakit Mk II or III, not sure which. I hadn't seen one of these amps for 40 yrs till I saw one on CL a few yrs ago. I bought it very cheap not running and some friends got it running and it sounds just as great as my real Sunn 200S even though the Pre still needs some tweaks. Anyway sorry for another derail. Lol

 

[chadds]

In the distant '60s we noted that American musicians played their guitars and British musicians played their amps. See if you don't hear that particularly then.

 

[lowend1]

Thanks for the comment! I've read that Hiwatts don't break up as fast as an Ampeg. Any truth to that?

The thing that classic Hiwatts do really well is produce a clear tone without much coloration. A high fidelity amp, if you will. A 100-watt Ampeg head will have a little more grit than a 100w Hiwatt, because it is designed that way. Ampegs are a little more flexible, Hiwatts are unforgiving. Think of it this way Ampeg=growl, Hiwatt=bark. Both amps take pedals well. If you want to hear the pure sound of the instrument itself, go Hiwatt. If you like more interaction between bass and amp, you'll lean towards the Ampeg.

 

[amusicalperson]

The thing that classic Hiwatts do really well is produce a clear tone without much coloration. A high fidelity amp, if you will. A 100-watt Ampeg head will have a little more grit than a 100w Hiwatt, because it is designed that way. Ampegs are a little more flexible, Hiwatts are unforgiving. Think of it this way Ampeg=growl, Hiwatt=bark. Both amps take pedals well. If you want to hear the pure sound of the instrument itself, go Hiwatt. If you like more interaction between bass and amp, you'll lean towards the Ampeg.

Thanks for this!

 

[bobyoung53]

Off Topic but I thought Woods playing and tone were unbelievable on Beck-Ola, some of the best rock bass playing I've heard. I believe he used an earlier Tele bass with the single coil pickup (essentially a first version P bass) and Roto sound strings. I saw that bass for sale at some music shop in England several years ago.

 

[bobyoung53]

There were dozens of local clubs. Anywhere with a room big enough to fit 200 people in to it could be used. Book the band, put up posters and watch the audience flock in. It was a magical time for live bands. Clubs in West London included the Ricky Tick in Hounslow, Burton's in Uxbridge, The Blue Moon in Hayes, Starlight Ballroom in Sudbury Town, then there was the Manor House, Marquee and Flamingo. It's a very long list. The Who still played the Marguee but you could also see the likes of Bowie at the bigger clubs. The there was a very young Mick Taylor with The Gods. Later there was Clapton with John Mayall and Cream and Peter Green with Fleetwood Mac.

I wasn't aware that Ron played with the Creation. Kim Gardner (Birds bass player did and then went on to form Ashton, Gardner and Dyke) and that's probably the link. Throughout the last 40 years Ron has always been one for "hanging out". He turned up everywhere and even shared a flat with Jimi Hendrix at one point. That's "networking" on a heroic scale. Ron joined Jeff Beck's band on guitar but they couldn't find a bass player so he switched. The rest, as they say, is history.

The Birds were playing a mix of Motown covers and blues and R&B numbers. They had a great live show, but like most of the great live bands of the time they didn't transfer so well to record. The "rock" producers hadn't evolved yet and most bands ended up with middle aged engineers with short hair cuts, in brown coats with a row of pencils in their top pockets and clip boards. A little while later Clapton had the argument about not turning down for the John Mayall Beano Album , but when the Birds were recording you did what you were told or they kicked you out!

Way off topic!!

[/reminiscing]

Again off Topic but Little Steven's Underground Garage on Sirius XM plays the Birds occasionally, the stuff I've heard was great.

 

[bobyoung53]

In the distant '60s we noted that American musicians played their guitars and British musicians played their amps. See if you don't hear that particularly then.

I've always said that about myself, I play the amp. I've used SVT's for so many years that that's what I do.

 

[amusicalperson]

I didn't want this to initially be a typical "What amp should I get" thread, more of "What are your experiences using these amps" thread but I think I'm more conflicted now than ever.

 

[amusicalperson]

The OBC115 and the AD200 is more like a B15 tone than the Orange 410.

Another great 15, made in the UK, cheap as chips, is the Trace 1153. I like them very much with the AD200. No boom and very sensitive. Tunable ports as well.

Are you saying this from experience or just because a 15" would be closer to a 15" than a 4x10? (Sorry if that sounded smart *ss-ish. I couldn't think of a better way to word it.)

 

[TMARK]

Are you saying this from experience or just because a 15" would be closer to a 15" than a 4x10? (Sorry if that sounded smart *ss-ish. I couldn't think of a better way to word it.)

Experience. The Trace is a tight, mid heavy cab. Not that an AD200 is like a B15, but the character of that head set close to flat, plus that cab is Closer to a B15 than that head and the 410.

 

[Jim C]

Off Topic but I thought Woods playing and tone were unbelievable on Beck-Ola, some of the best rock bass playing I've heard. I believe he used an earlier Tele bass with the single coil pickup (essentially a first version P bass) and Roto sound strings. I saw that bass for sale at some music shop in England several years ago.

I've got to ask; what was the price?

 

[MrBEAR]

Audio Kitchen

 

[amusicalperson]

One of my favorite amps is designed by Mister HiWatt, Jim Reeves. The Reeves Custom 225, made in Ohio, USA. Mine has a NOS Mullard in the V1 position, so that part is British, anyway. The coolest Marshall rig I ever saw and heard was utilized to great effect by the late, great John Glascock when I saw Jethro Tull in 1977 or '78 (long, long ago in Hampton, VA). I think he was using two amp heads, but the unusual part was that he was using Marshal folded horn cabinets. Never saw them before or after. It was a great show!

After reading a lot about Reeves I've been looking heavily into a Reeves Custom 225. They seem to be at the top of the ladder.

 

[amusicalperson]

Reeves makes totally awesome amps. I've got a Custom 225 w/ the 410 and highly recommend it.

I've been reading a lot into Reeves amps. They seem to be "as good as it gets."

 

[TMARK]

I've been reading a lot into Reeves amps. They seem to be "as good as it gets."

The Reeves 225 I played through was great. See also the Verellen Meatsmoke amp.

 

[dbase]

I wish they made a 300 watt tube version of the Ampeg B15n portaflex. Maybe in another lifetime

 

[D.M.N.]

@amusicalperson If you're looking at Reeves I'd also take a peak at Hi-Tone amps. They're more of a straight up clone of the DR201, and have received the approval of Dave Reeves' son. This is not to knock Reeves, from what I've seen, they're incredible amps, highly favored here. However, I was looking into one a while back and felt that the Hi-Tone was better suited for my desire to get a DR201. The Reeves has some tweaks that make it more bass-oriented than the technically AP DR201, and while that is probably the perfect thing for most here, I'd like as original as possible. Both are very high quality builds, just a matter of preference. I also talked to Clayton, the guy behind Hi-Tone, about the possibility of building slave amps to go with the Hi-Tone 200, and he said it could totally be done, you know, if you want to just be way over the top.

 

[amusicalperson]

@amusicalperson If you're looking at Reeves I'd also take a peak at Hi-Tone amps. They're more of a straight up clone of the DR201, and have received the approval of Dave Reeves' son. This is not to knock Reeves, from what I've seen, they're incredible amps, highly favored here. However, I was looking into one a while back and felt that the Hi-Tone was better suited for my desire to get a DR201. The Reeves has some tweaks that make it more bass-oriented than the technically AP DR201, and while that is probably the perfect thing for most here, I'd like as original as possible. Both are very high quality builds, just a matter of preference. I also talked to Clayton, the guy behind Hi-Tone, about the possibility of building slave amps to go with the Hi-Tone 200, and he said it could totally be done, you know, if you want to just be way over the top.

Thank you VERY much for this!

 

[bobyoung53]

I've got to ask; what was the price?

It was somewhere around 4-5 grand, it was advertised as a "man's bass" big neck etc.