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Class D Amps - Anyone else having second thoughts?

#41
I have an old Fender Super Bassman that sounds great, but it has those huge transformers that suck power and will blow an over utilized circuit. I have both the Markbass II and the Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0. Both are reliable, light, and have good tone, and plenty loud. I prefer the Markbass overall. Great tone, that and my Avatar 2x10 is what I use 90% of the time, and I have no desire to hall a tube amp around all the time.

Though, if I was playing guitar, I would most likely be playing a tube amp :) I haven't tried the power section of the Genx Benz yet, but a guitar preamp into the Markbass, and didn't like it as much.
 
#43
agedhorse said:
Thanks for the kind words okcrum.

Designing a product (any product) involves looking at the big picture, the whole picture, including the needs of the customer. It's a whole combinations of decisions that are made in the design process that gets us to the finish line. Everything in life is a tradeoff, choosing the best combination of tradeoffs for your application is what makes a better product. Some of this might involve using a more expensive component where it makes a difference and a less expensive component where it does not.

The definition of engineering is the design of a product using "trade-off" management rules. I still can't believe the number of product designers that do not get this simple principle.
Click to expand...
For what it's worth, I bought a brand new 9.0 yesterday. The look on Ed Friedland's face at the very last second of his YouTube product review said it all.
 
#46
Like others, I love the new technology.

I've been gigging my Shuttle 6 nearly every weekend in crappy bars and festivals for over two years with zero issues, and great tone. Most of my gigs run four hours.

If that's not reliability, I don't know what is. I can't imagine why I'd want a heavier amp, especially now that I have to haul the PA speakers in addition to my bass rig.

But hey, if you think a heavy amp sounds better for some mystical reason, feel free to lug away. Break a leg (hopefully not!)
 
#49
WJGreer said:
Ah, but the voicings on the SWR 350 and the LMII are very different, having nothing to do with the amp section (which, I think, is a class AB and not a D on a LMII).

IMO, there will always be legitimate personal preference for traditional amplification products, both for live sound and home audio. Nothing wrong with that. I do not, however, believe that there is anything objectively wrong or even inferior about micro heads. They are simply something a little different.
Click to expand...

Yeah, the LMII suits my situation better than the 350. Being half the cost of the 350 helps as well. But there was just something about the response of the 350 I miss.
 
#51
I've been using my Peavey IPR1600 since it first came out. Right after I bought it, I A/Bed it with an ElectroVoice Precision1200, with very similar specs through a pair of identical PA-style speakers with music. The Peavey didn't sound quite as clear and natural as the EV, but it did sound darn good, good enough that if you didn't have a fairly high-end amp playing right next to it, you wouldn't think twice about how it sounds. I have had zero reliability issues with the Peavey, it only weighs a hair over six pounds, and it can drive TWO 2-ohm loads at the same time (not that I would ever really need to, but the capability to do that is nice to have). For me, the trade off for an incredibly minute tonal difference (especially in a band mix like mine, with two high-gain guitars and a loud, busy drummer) is well worth it. The only thing I might do differently would be to wait for the IPR3000 to come out.
 
#52
I absolutely LOVE the sound of my tube amps. I currently own a B15S, Ampeg V4b and Orange AD200B w/ matching O115. However, I've recently developed a pinched nerve in my neck and its been causing me all sorts of problems. As a result I've had to purchase a lighter cabinet and gone back to using my GK 700RB. In my mind and to my ears, there is no question that the tube amps sound better but choices have to be made.

Will I find a way to continue to use my beloved tube amps? You bet. I recently took the B15 to the studio to record some demos. Will I probably use the lighter weight rig most of the time? Probably.
 
#53
I'm playing on average a couple of gigs a week plus or minus. I am my road crew. As others have stated, an easy 1-trip carry is worth a lot. No way I'd go back to a heavy head and cab. My current head isn't class D (LMTube - 7lbs but AB), but even the class D I did have, while it had an odd issue, it never failed at a gig.

Still love the idea of tubes and heavier hybrids. Played an Aguilar AG500SC last night at rehearsal (it replaced an SVT that was previous backline at the studio). Nice head, sounded great. I picked it up and even though "reasonable" weight, it felt like a boat anchor next to my LMTube. I'd never buy one. Unless someone else was hauling it.

If all the micros sounded like crap then it would be another story. But they don't. A lot of them sound great. I loved my ABM500 (UK made). But my LMTube sounds at least 95% as good to my ear. At 1/4 the weight. That is a (small) compromise I'm willing to take, especially since once you get in a live situation that last 5% is lost anyway...
 
#55
No seconds here...

I love my 400 watt, 6.5 pound class D amp.

I still have my 30 pound Class H amp around.
But honestly I haven't turned it on in months.

I can tell the difference between the two, but nobody in the audience can.

It's great to walk in, bass on my back, Gen 2 neo cab in one hand and Class D amp in the other.

I think for most bass players it's about tone.
In this case I think the amps are popular because they sound great.

And my Class D amp will bang heads, shake bootys and ring ears in 98% of the situations I play in.

It's not a fade, they're here to stay...
 
#56
Trade-offs for sure. Love my little GK amp. My older GK's have more bottom. The SVT will shake your guts. But carrying a backpack with my head and all cables is just a great trade-off. I can hear the notes cut through very well with the MB2-500. Wish it had a bit more richness.
 
#57
Like so many others...

I play through the "big nasty" SVT4Pro (and soon to be CL) but I also LOVE my MarkBass gear - not to mention the old Acoustic USA 370 (another big nasty).

I have never had a reliability issue with any of these (knock on wood) and while the MarkBass is a great "grab and go" amp, I'm not sure if I would embark on a cross country tour with it, either.....

I dunno...I think it comes down to, as it usually does, a matter of personal preference.
 
#58
agedhorse said:
The definition of engineering is the design of a product using "trade-off" management rules. I still can't believe the number of product designers that do not get this simple principle.
Click to expand...

I have to quote this, because it is the fundamental truth behind all threads like the current one.

But some trade-offs are better than others, per taste: I've gigged a Shuttle 6.0 with many cab designs for over two years -- WHAT A GREAT LITTLE AMP!!!
 
#59
been gigging the K1 Crown class D amp for going on 10 years. LOVE the tone, even though its 38 pounds. It was "lightweight" amp back when I bought it.. lol times have changed.

As far as reliability goes, I'd love for the damn thing to break down so I can get the new crown class D xls amps, much lighter, specs look similar. Damn thing won't die. It took a header and stopped working a few years ago, broken wire, easy fix. Outside of that, can't be beat. I just am more careful carrying the rack on icy ground now.

Randy
 
#60
I've been fortunate to have had several amps over the years, and while my Markbass 2x10 combo with the 1x15 ext cab does not have the dimension, warmth and depth that my SVT pro4 or SWR SM rigs do, it is pretty darn good. And considering the weight difference (my SVT head alone weighs as much as my whole Markbass rig), it's getting the job done and I'm not blowing out my back or, needing to use a van just to move my rig.

Bottom line, there is defiantly going to be a tone compormise compared to tube but, if you have to move your rig yourself, and your over 35. . . . . well . . . . . it might well be worth it.

Don't get me wrong, if I had a 'crew', I'd go back to the Ampeg rig is a second, until then, my Markbass is doing just fine.
 

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