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Fender 800 Pro Head

A

avast_bass

Nov 7, 2004
266
3
Dundee, Scotland
#1
Howdy,
I'm looking into buying a new head as my Laney really is an insult to my lovely USA Jazz. I was looking into buying a Fender 800 Pro head, but was just wondering if anyone had any important info, advice or opinions on it. I'm also interested in an SVT3 Pro, but my budget really doesnt allow it and i need something in the next few months. Ideas or Suggestions? I play a Fender Jazz, mostly rock and melodic punk, but a good tone is very important to me. I dont like overly distorted bass.

I play alongside a gibson les paul, through a sovtek mig100 head (this sometimes becomes a fender tele through fender twin).

I live in the UK (so prices are all crazy here)

Thanks
 
#2
UK Bass Guitar magazine issue 13.

Shootout and Review:
1st Place: Ampeg B5R
2nd Place: Peavy Pro 500
3rd Place: Fender 800
4th Place: Hartke HA550

Conclusion:

Peavey and Ampeg get equal first billing from everybody
followed by Fender and the Hartke.
When it comes to sound the Ampeg once again tops the
chart with its warmth and tone that seemed to suit
all the test cabs and basses equally well.

The B5R is more expensive and it shows.
Ampeg is worth the extra.
Click to expand...
 
#5
at the moment im playing through an ampeg 6x10, however this doesnt belong to me but i have the ability to use it as long as i want. My own cabs are 2 laney 4x10's at 8ohm, and theyre rubbish.

I wrote this thread just to ask any questions about the fender amp, as i dont know much about it. However, looking about at mid price amps, I've been drawn to the peavey pro 500, the fender 800 pro, and an offering from Markbass - the club 450.

I've never seen Mark Bass amps used before, anything i should know about them? In Britain, they retail at around the same price as the peavey and fender.
 
#7
why forget the markbass? not that i dont believe you, but it'd be useful for future reference. The peavey is supposedly more easily distorted and rougher sounding, better for rock, whereas the fender holds a clean tone very well but doesnt have as versatile an EQ section. However, the extra power would be very useful for me. I will try to play through both of them though and see what i think.
 
#8
I've owned the Peavey, it's a great amp. One thing to keep in mind, it's 350 watts @ 4 ohms, 500 @ 2 ohms. For me, it lacked volume when ran at 4 ohms, and clipped. But at 2 ohms, it was brutal...very loud and never clipped, or ran hot.

The Fender is 800 watts @ 4 ohms, 1200 @ 2 ohms. I've never played this amp, but I have played the 400 pro...which is the same preamp, but less power. I loved the tone of the 400. I have been considering the 800 myself.

Peavey has been advertising a Pro 1600, which is similar to the Pro 500, with more wattage and features. I haven't heard anything lately about this amp, it's not even on Peavey's website anymore.
 
#10
With your cab setups, both 4 ohms, I recommend the Fender..for the extra wattage.

You stated that you record with a SVT setup. How about going with an Ampeg SVTCL preamp and a poweramp? This would be closer to your recorded tone. I'm not sure if that's important to you or not, but remember that the Fender will sound completely different then the SVT.

I still recommend the Fender for live gigs.
 
#11
i'm not too worried about reproducing my live tone on gigs as we play frequent gigs to small crowds (no greater than 150) in basements, small venues, medium venues, allsorts... and so sound varies greatly ever night (especially with engineers changing my tone sneakily during set). What I need is something with the power, reliability and tone to pull off playing in a loud environment.

Thanks for all the opinions!
 
#13
I had a Bassman 400 and it sounded killer. The amp just had some speaker and rattle issues so I traded it in. If the 800 Pro was out back then, I probably would have bought one in a second.

I purchased a Thunderfunk which has a similar sound, but is handmade and built extremely well for about the same s the 800 Pro.
 
#15
I owned the 800 Pro for a bit more than a year. I was always impressed by it and had no problems. It is a clear, powerful amplifier with many good features. Build quality was good, with no slop in the pots, firm switches. I would highly recommend using rear rack ears, because the two rack space front panel cannot support the weight on its own. Mine started to warp a bit until I got a rack with rear rails.

Recently I upgraded to an Ampeg SVT-4 Pro. The biggest difference in changing my setup was the change in cabinets (going from an SWR 610 to an Ampeg 410). The SVT and Fender sounded nearly identical through the SWR cabinets. There were some subtle differences, especially using the Ampeg's nicer compression. However, for the money, you can't beat the Fender for power and sound. It's a really nice piece of electronic work. Believe me, you WILL appreciate the extra power, and the 2 ohm stability.
 
#17
+1 on the Fender considering your Cab configuration.

*EDIT - Just realized I replied to a thread that was started in the Stone age..LOL

Looks like you got an Orange on the way! thats fantastic! I have been hearing a lot about this head lately....must...fight..GAS!!!
 

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