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DB750 vs SA200 thread?

F

fiveightandten

Sep 26, 2004
116
0
Connecticut
#1
Am I not looking hard enough, or do we really not have one of these threads yet?

As a (fairly recent) DB750 owner, i'm curious to hear some direct comparisons between these amps. The SA200 thread dove into this briefly, but if we don't have a thread dedicated to comparing and contrasting these 2 wonderful pieces of equipment, I for one would like to see it go down.

For anyone who has played one, but not the other, a typical 'it stacks up to an SVT like so...' opinion is very useful as well ;)

tombowlus, jokerjkny, others?

-Nick
 
#4
You know, on the one hand, I think to myself, "these heads are so different, it's hard to compare them", but then on the other hand, they both kinda aim for a modern take on a vintage (tube) tone, so I can see why there is an interest for this.

The short answer is, the SA200 sounds better, and the DB 750 gets louder. :cool:

Now, for the long answer, I should probably glean through some prior posts and piece together a more comprehensive response, but let me try to paraphrase.

The SA200 is a supremely musical sounding head. It can do a very traditional (and very good), full, warm "tubey" sound, but it can also get pretty quick, articulate and snappy (more of a modern tone), while still maintaining a pleasing girth. You can dial in a low end that is a bit on the big, round and slightly soft side but you can also keep the lows nicely tight and full. No matter what you do with it - and so far, no matter what cabs I play it through - it just sounds "right." And while I say that the DB 750 is louder, the 210+ watt SA200 (with the right cabs) has more than enough juice for even my loudest gigs (two SA410's with the SA200 get stupid loud). But the beauty is, the SA200 sounds great at any volume, which I find is somewhat unusual, especially in tube heads.

The DB 750 is potentially a more fickle beast. It has gobs of power, and the power amp section is truly top notch. It is full, warm and sweet (the power section). The frustrating thing with the preamp section on the DB 750 is that while it looks like the same layout as the DB 659, it certainly doesn't sound like one (and I prefer the 659, but that's the subject of another thread). But, at the right gain setting (generally pretty loud) and with the right cab (so far, the Berg NV215 and my custom Azola Super Wizzy's are my strong favorites with this head, though two NL-210's are really great, too), it just dominates: very full, very articulate, dynamic, aggressive, and just an overall visceral experience. I am not as fond of this amp at lower volumes, though it's certainly far more flexible in this regard than, say, a vintage SVT. The DB 659 into DB 750 power section actually gives the SA200 more of a run for its money.

Hope this helps, Tom.
 
#5
Thanks for the replies gentleman...

That's exactly what I was curious to hear about Tom. And what I was afraid you'd say. ;)

I'm loving the DB750. I think it's a great sounding amp, but I still find things to pick on with it. The pre-amp controls are finicky. I find that I can get it to EQ just the way I like it...but that's at extreme EQ settings. At that point the sound gets a little notchy. This can be remedied by turning up the gain to even things out, but at the expense of some punch.

Overall, i'm real happy with it. But at the price of admission, I feel like I shouldn't have any complaints about it. I just plain can't ever justify spending the amount of money a new SA200 goes for (I got the DB750 used at a great price). And finding a used one is near impossible. But reading the few threads about this amp got me curious. I wasn't even aware it existed until after I pulled the trigger on the 750.

I went from a 70's SVT to the Aggy. I feel like it was a lateral move, though I definitely still have plenty of time to spend with the Aggy before I feel like I know it inside out. It's also my first non-(all)tube gigging amp.

Thanks for the insight.

-Nick
 
#7
Yeah, now that the SA200 is discontiniued, it'd be really nice to see people loose their heads over equipment they won't be able to get their hands on. :D

I'm certainly one of those suckers... but I'll imagine it's kinda like it is with women. If you see a beautiful girl and never talk to her, you can idealise her, so she's perfect. In that way, I'm kinda pleased I live in a world where perfect amp exists... :P
j/k

J.
 
#8
jero182 said:
Yeah, now that the SA200 is discontiniued, it'd be really nice to see people loose their heads over equipment they won't be able to get their hands on. :D

I'm certainly one of those suckers... but I'll imagine it's kinda like it is with women. If you see a beautiful girl and never talk to her, you can idealise her, so she's perfect. In that way, I'm kinda pleased I live in a world where perfect amp exists... :P
j/k

J.
Click to expand...

FYI..they're BOTH discontinued.
 
#12
I got to spend about 20 minutes tinkering with the SA 200 once. What a great amp. I thought I might like to buy one somewhere down the road. If I only had my crystal ball and got to see the future of these amps I would have bought it on the spot.
 
#13
I own both amps - a DB750 and an SA200 - and gig them both in different projects.

Here's a snippet of a previous post of mine comparing the two amps using a Bergantino HS410:

SA200 vs. Aguilar DB750 with fancy NOS tubes . . .

Goodness gracious - I was not expecting this - the Sadowsky sounded SO much bigger and lower and brighter and juicier than the Aggie. This blew me away. I've been gigging the DB750 for over a year now and have been convinced that it is the best amp for me. Not any more. The SA200 just had MORE - more of everything. The Aguilar just seemed dark and boxy. No matter how hard I tried to dial in a similar vibe with the Aggie, I would plug back into the Sadowsky and shout out loud, "HA! You're kidding, right?!" This was a big shocker to me. Now of course, the DB750 wins in terms of sheer push and volume due to its monster power section, but the SA200 is no slouch either.

------------

Right - so I guess you see where I come down on the comparison! I'll tell you though, after a good amount of time and gigs with both amps I will say this - sometimes I prefer the dark punch of the DB750. I've found that in some projects, the SA200 sounds too bloomy in the low end and can feel a little sluggish. The DB750 NEVER feels sluggish or slow. So with a loud, funky blues band with horns for instance, I prefer the DB750. But with a female singer songwriter with a pop vibe, I LOVE the SA200.

But don't get me wrong here - the SA200 isn't just for chill music - I also use it in a loud rock band playing a jazz bass with a pick and it ROARS. This was a gig where the DB750 was almost TOO dynamic and punchy. I wanted a little more girth and forgiveness - enter the clear tubey grind of the SA200 - perfect.

So I was all set on selling my DB750 when I first got my SA200 and now I'm happy I didn't let it go. When it needs to be fast and punchy, I bring the DB750 - but for everything else . . .

:smug:
 
#15
Man . . . I wish he would! I was just in Brooklyn a few weeks ago and asked him that very question. The answer was a resounding "NO!"

He told me that he just felt too pulled in different directions with the instrument side of Sadowsky vs. the audio side of Sadowsky. He said he wanted to stick to what he did best . . .

Funny because I play his amp but Dan Lakin's basses . . .

:hiding:
 
#16
thanks for the post Ian. I need to hold off on a SA200 for now as I'm happy with my DB750/HS410 and fancy tubes as you put it :D

It's good to know that a Pro like you uses both.
I've got to get up and see Dan and Carl and the Boyz one of these days soon, it's been a while.
 

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