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DB750 : AG500 : DB359

S

spencer

Feb 22, 2006
797
2
37
#1
Im replacing my markbass little mark head.. Love the tone but it doesn't work at some places... weird..

Anyways I found a great deal and perfect color AG500 however it seemed very boring and lifeless to me compared to my little mark.. Almost like a Gk.. It might not be the amps fault as I wasn't in my normal setting and had volume low ect..

But can you describe the differences?

DB750

AG500

DB359??


I don't need much power.. 300 watts is about enough for me.Throw cost out of the equation
 
#2
But can you describe the differences?
DB750 - kinda one trick pony, beef nothing but... soft -> loud always sounds like a friggin tank behind every note beautiful... headroom for eons

AG500 - more mid range control a bit "faster" sounding

DB359?? - beautiful clean tube, not very loud, kinda of an one trick pony as well
 
#3
Got to agree there - the AG500 is the most versatile of the three, capable of "dialing in" tone pretty close to either of the other two amps. If you play the the tone controls enough and the boost switches you'll be able to get what you want. What cab are you using?
 
#4
spencer said:
Im replacing my markbass little mark head.. Love the tone but it doesn't work at some places... weird..

Anyways I found a great deal and perfect color AG500 however it seemed very boring and lifeless to me compared to my little mark.. Almost like a Gk.. It might not be the amps fault as I wasn't in my normal setting and had volume low ect..

But can you describe the differences?

DB750

AG500

DB359??


I don't need much power.. 300 watts is about enough for me.Throw cost out of the equation
Click to expand...

It doesn't 'work' in some places? What does that mean?

If you like the tone of your LMII, you will most likely dislike the DB750 (per the reasons posted above), and absolutely HATE the 359 (low power, VERY heavy, sounds great at low volumes, totally distorts and grinds at even moderate volume).

The AG500 will put out roughly the same volume as the LMII, and be a bit more polite in the mids and tuned to a bigger low end at the expense of a more even resonse through the mids. That would be my choice of the three you list by a large margin.

If you dig the tone of your LMII and need more power (again, not sure what your issue is), I would highly recommend looking at the Carvin B1500. It has all the wump and more of the DB750, but is voiced more evenly and closer to the LMII. Wonderful lead sled power and even tone at a good price!
 
#5
I've owned all three and still have the DB359.

DB359... Nice low/medium volume amp. Very clean and warm

DB750... think of a heavyweight fighter (Mike Tyson) Big strong powerful. Lot of low end and punch. With the right cab, it can become almost too much amp.

AG500... my least favorite aguilar amp. Kinda sterile in comparison to the others and very "middy". I never could get this thing eq'd to my liking no matter what cabs I used including aggie cabs
 
#6
Pickebass said:
I've owned all three and still have the DB359.

DB359... Nice low/medium volume amp. Very clean and warm

DB750... think of a heavyweight fighter (Mike Tyson) Big strong powerful. Lot of low end and punch. With the right cab, it can become almost too much amp.

AG500... my least favorite aguilar amp. Kinda sterile in comparison to the others and very "middy". I never could get this thing eq'd to my liking no matter what cabs I used including aggie cabs
Click to expand...

+1

except the 359 gets kinda loud with four 8 ohm cabs......
 
#7
I actually sold my LMII and purchased an AG500. I liked the LMII but I love the 500. It's a bit "quicker" than it's tube brethren, while maintaining that warmth that makes the Aguilars so appealing to me.

I've never thought of it as too mid-heavy, but I'm using it with GS series cabs which some people have described as mid-scooped, so maybe it's just a good pairing. I have to disagree with the GK comparison above however, because I have a GK head and A/B-ing them I 've found produces a very different tonal palette.

I was always impressed with the power of the LMII, but I've found that for me the AG500 sits in the mix better and requires less overall volume when I'm playing in a full band. It feels like it has tons of headroom.
 
#8
esoxhntr said:
Got to agree there - the AG500 is the most versatile of the three, capable of "dialing in" tone pretty close to either of the other two amps. If you play the the tone controls enough and the boost switches you'll be able to get what you want. What cab are you using?
Click to expand...

Playing through ampeg 8x10 but moving to and currenly own db2x12
 
#9
KJung said:
It doesn't 'work' in some places? What does that mean?

If you like the tone of your LMII, you will most likely dislike the DB750 (per the reasons posted above), and absolutely HATE the 359 (low power, VERY heavy, sounds great at low volumes, totally distorts and grinds at even moderate volume).

The AG500 will put out roughly the same volume as the LMII, and be a bit more polite in the mids and tuned to a bigger low end at the expense of a more even resonse through the mids. That would be my choice of the three you list by a large margin.

If you dig the tone of your LMII and need more power (again, not sure what your issue is), I would highly recommend looking at the Carvin B1500. It has all the wump and more of the DB750, but is voiced more evenly and closer to the LMII. Wonderful lead sled power and even tone at a good price!
Click to expand...

well it has cut out a few tomes at home and I hear this is somewhat common. I had taken it to a few places and it wouldn't run longer than a few seconds.. While there was another amp that worked just fine next to it..

I'm a fan of the 300/500 power range so the 750 does Seem like a little over kill.. What's all of your definition of quiet? To me if you can't hear or feel yourself with a drummer and guitarist it ain't loud enough. Also f it can't pub a low b. So it sounds bad cranked?
 
#10
KJung said:
It doesn't 'work' in some places? What does that mean?

If you like the tone of your LMII, you will most likely dislike the DB750 (per the reasons posted above), and absolutely HATE the 359 (low power, VERY heavy, sounds great at low volumes, totally distorts and grinds at even moderate volume).

The AG500 will put out roughly the same volume as the LMII, and be a bit more polite in the mids and tuned to a bigger low end at the expense of a more even resonse through the mids. That would be my choice of the three you list by a large margin.

If you dig the tone of your LMII and need more power (again, not sure what your issue is), I would highly recommend looking at the Carvin B1500. It has all the wump and more of the DB750, but is voiced more evenly and closer to the LMII. Wonderful lead sled power and even tone at a good price!
Click to expand...

well it has cut out a few tomes at home and I hear this is somewhat common. I had taken it to a few places and it wouldn't run longer than a few seconds.. While there was another amp that worked just fine next to it..

I'm a fan of the 300/500 power range so the 750 does Seem like a little over kill.. What's all of your definition of quiet? To me if you can't hear or feel yourself with a drummer and guitarist it ain't loud enough. Also f it can't pub a low b. So it sounds bad cranked?
 
#11
Can't comment on the db750 but have been using a db359 retubed w TungSols for several years now and love the tone. Warm, fat, clean and plenty loud for tasty r&b gigs. Gives every note serious girth. But it is a total pain to lug around. Not just heavy, but awkward. So I've purchased an ag500 which should arrive tomorrow, hoping to have similar sound in a far lighter package. Using one Bergantino hs210 cab. However, think you'd be best with the db750.
 
#12
spencer said:
well it has cut out a few tomes at home and I hear this is somewhat common. I had taken it to a few places and it wouldn't run longer than a few seconds.. While there was another amp that worked just fine next to it..
Click to expand...

I've never heard of a correctly-working class A/B amp doing this. I've played places with sketchy power and my LMII held up just fine.
 
#13
Pickebass said:
I've owned all three and still have the DB359.

DB359... Nice low/medium volume amp. Very clean and warm

DB750... think of a heavyweight fighter (Mike Tyson) Big strong powerful. Lot of low end and punch. With the right cab, it can become almost too much amp.

AG500... my least favorite aguilar amp. Kinda sterile in comparison to the others and very "middy". I never could get this thing eq'd to my liking no matter what cabs I used including aggie cabs
Click to expand...

That's weird about the AG500. Mine's in a 112 combo and, with a GS112 extension, it sounds fantastic. And I don't even like 12s. I plugged it into my GS410, and it still sounded great. I guess one man's meat is another man's colonoscopy.
 
#15
I really enjoyed the AG500 I had. I hated how it sounded at solo practice volume and could never dial in a tone I liked, but it was absolutely kickin' with a band.

Now I have a DB359 which sounds great no matter what. It is not the easiest to move around, but if you find the right rack case and are using a dolly it's not a big deal. Good luck finding one though, Aguilar stopped making them a couple years ago.
 
#16
spencer said:
well it has cut out a few tomes at home and I hear this is somewhat common. I had taken it to a few places and it wouldn't run longer than a few seconds.. While there was another amp that worked just fine next to it..
Click to expand...

Not common at all, and this makes no sense. Something is seriously wrong somewhere either in your signal chain, or with the amp itself. If your LMII is under warranty, get a replacement and be happy!
 
#17
woolysock said:
Can't comment on the db750 but have been using a db359 retubed w TungSols for several years now and love the tone. Warm, fat, clean and plenty loud for tasty r&b gigs. Gives every note serious girth. But it is a total pain to lug around. Not just heavy, but awkward. So I've purchased an ag500 which should arrive tomorrow, hoping to have similar sound in a far lighter package. Using one Bergantino hs210 cab. However, think you'd be best with the db750.
Click to expand...

LMK What your first impressions are
 
#19
msquared said:
I really enjoyed the AG500 I had. I hated how it sounded at solo practice volume and could never dial in a tone I liked, but it was absolutely kickin' with a band.

Now I have a DB359 which sounds great no matter what. It is not the easiest to move around, but if you find the right rack case and are using a dolly it's not a big deal. Good luck finding one though, Aguilar stopped making them a couple years ago.
Click to expand...

whys it so hard to move i thought it was much smaller than ag750
 
#20
spencer said:
whys it so hard to move i thought it was much smaller than ag750
Click to expand...

No, it's a horse. It's only two rack spaces, but it's VERY deep and VERY heavy. There are very few of these around. They didn't make many, and it was discontinued quite a few years ago. Again, unless you play very softly, or like a very distorted tone, I would avoid this amp.

Again, there must be something wrong with your LMII, since hundreds and hundreds of us have done thousands of gigs with these amps with virtually no problems (these heads have a rock solid reliability reputation). If you LMII is under warranty, I would get it replaced or repaired (no amp line has 100% reliability, and there will be some failures). There is nothing in the LMII design that should result in it behaving differently that any other amp on the gig regarding 'cutting out' or whatever, assuming you aren't running it at less than 4ohm nominal impedance.
 

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