• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Gear That Gets It Done- Your Favorite Workhorse

J

Jayson

Sep 27, 2011
46
3
Hannibal, Missouri
www.listentothecorners.com
#1
Ever had a piece of gear that quite simply saved your behind gig after gig because of it's reliability? Even better if it's an unlikely hero! Post your pics and talk about it!

For me, it's my head- an Ampeg B2re. I got it so cheap that I couldn't pass it up, but I know it's reputation as a quiet, toneless thing that didn't deserve the Ampeg name.

I bought the thing a couple of weeks before I quit my job and school to be a full time touring musician, and man has this little Ampeg come through! Great tone, rock solid, every night. And though my band is full electric, the most recent release is an acoustic EP, and so we play acoustic stuff a lot, sometimes in the middle of our electric sets. The Ampeg responds beautifully to the quieter acoustic stuff, and it's really become a standout piece of gear in our setup. The vintage Marshall 1x15 it sits on top of helps a LOT too.

Link Removed

So what's YOUR lifesaver?
 
#3
i've got an older Sunn Coliseum that has proven itself to be a tank over and over again. never had any issues with it through years of giving it hell. it doesn't see much use anymore(i've since moved on to a Viva Analog 360+ preamp/power amp setup), but when it does get fired up it works like a charm.
 
#4
SWR Basic 350 for me.

Used it for a loooong time running a hartke 410XL in bars and it's like a rock. Just lug it in, plug it in, play it as hard as you want, and do it all over again next weekend.

In all those years there was (maybe) 3~4 times I wished for more volume. Of course that only meant the little 350 ran WFO all night without a complaint or problem.

These days I got me a new bar sized room rig and the old reliable SWR is semi retired as my fave small room/practice amp. I'm still blown away at the clear, clean sound, not to mention the volume this thing puts out.

Granted, it's no slick, up to the minute class 3 mini marvel of the 21st century, but I've played a lot of those so called "great" physically small, light weight, mini amps and when run A-B with the SWR...well, let's just say I've done this a lot since last November and I'm still using the SWR, and just like the first time I plugged it in all those years ago it still brings a self satisfied smile to my mug when I flip it on.
 

Attachments

  • small bass rig.jpg
    small bass rig.jpg
    68.6 KB · Views: 137
#5
I'm going to +1 on what Byronic said, because I went years on my Coliseum and it just kept going and going w/o problems, even under serious AC line weirdness. Frickin' tank. Was never my cup o' tea in terms of tone (I used to feed it with a Furman preamp to get around that problem), but it never failed to power up and it never failed to be loud enough.

Another "old reliable" was a V4B I once owned, but the first thing I did once I got it home was to remove the ill-conceived tube shield :spit: and break that stupid thing in half right over my knee so the amp's internals wouldn't run at like six billion degrees. My front panel switches never failed but I did hear reports of others that did. But, a trivial fix in the field, and certainly not a deal-breaker.

Another amp that's seen me through the years is a Carvin SC3000 (classic minimalist SS sled). Not one hiccup except for an occasionally sparking power switch, which isn't bad for 30+ years old, with tons of stage time under its belt.

I've got other, more recent kit that SEEMS to be reliable, but it doesn't have the long history + hard knocks the other stuff had, so I guess it's n/a to this.
 
#7
My favourite amp is my pre/power rig. Tube twin channel pre-amp I designed and built. That feeds a stereo power amp, currently a Carvin DCM1000L. Speakers are a pair of 4Ω Acme B2s one per amp channel in a vertical stack. This system has been with me now for more than a decade and I love it. The amp is behind me in my avatar.
 
#8
The 800RB on top always got the job done even when I expected it not to. The Fusion takes its place, but even though I've had several offers the 800RB remains. I must stop using the 800RB as a loaner during repairs, everyone I let use it wants, someday it might not come home?

IMG_6285.jpg


IMG_5752a.jpg


HEY how did she get in there!!!!
 
#12
My favorite amp rig has been an Ashly SC-40 preamp into a QSC PLX 1202 , bridged into whatever 212 or 215 cab I feel like using. Although, I recently gave into GAS and bought a Carvin BX1500, which, right off the bat, is giving that rig a run for it's money. Hard to say until I get it on the gig, but so far, wow!
 
#14
My SWR 8004
This thing took beatings never intended for a bass head to take. It was exposed to eliments that would have took any other piece of equipment to its grave. I remember when i first got it, i recieved it off CL from another city so it was shipped. The idiot ups gut left it on my back stairs in a blizzard and didnt even know it was there till like days later. Plugged it in after warming it up and presto.
This thing played so many gigs and never let me down when i had to lean on it when needed. Awsome amp.
 
#20
My dad bought a Peavey TNT100 in '77, thats what I learned on in '87 & it went out 2 yrs ago. But I have been playing through a TNT 130 since '91 and its been everywhere with me & only replaced the basket about 7 years ago in the Black Widow. A true workhorse
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back