Glockenklang Bass Art Classic Preamp

[tyjacks]

Anybody have any experience with the Bass Art Classic Preamp ? Lookoing to match this with a QSC PLX series, Crown or Crest 400+ watt amps. Glockenklang also makes their Bugatti 300 and 400 Poweramps. Any user/player info, other than whats on their website would be very helpful.

 

[TRIPSTER]

I own the Soul head but have played through the Bass Art. It's nothing short of amazing. I took my Soul head to a pal's house in New Orleans and compared the tone to his Demeter/Stewart setup through his Accugroove cabs. He almost cried at the tone from my Glock. It was that good. According to Udo Klempt-Giessing (the Glock designer) the Soul is the budget model. The Bass Art is way better than the pre in the Soul. In short it was fatter, richer and deeper than the Demeter pre that Stew had. Also,the EQ was turned off! (On the SOUL) To think that there isn't one single tube in a Glockenklang it's really amazing. I have had no complaints. To be fair though, the Demeter was brighter sounding with a more crunchy top end and it had a faster attack. It did sound very good. I just prefer the Glock sound and I think you will too. Hope this helps.

 

[tyjacks]

TRIPSTER,
Thanks for the info, sounds like they are great products. I plan on ordering from Bass Alone next week. Trying to match it with a good power amp. This will be my first pre-amp and seperate amp setup.

 

[Dan Knowlton]

I have the Heart-Core head and it is nothing short of incredible! Since buying it I have had no GAS for anything else! (Except for an F-Bass and that shouldn't count) Do yourself a favor - buy the Glock!

Dan K.

BTW - John DiMaggio causes LOTS of problems - when I first met him I was satisfied with a Zon Sonus 5 through a SWR Sliverado! LOTS of GAS since then - good thing my wife is OK with it!

 

[TRIPSTER]

Music Unlimited is a good spot and so is Guitar X. You can find that dealer info at www.salwender.com.
To Dan Knowlton: Are we the only Glock users here? Hopefully tyjacks will join us soon. I agree about having no GAS. I used to work for GK and played GK for years. I still love those amps but when I heard Glock it was game over. Great stuff and uncompromising quality.

 

[prockenklang]

My main rack consist of a Glockenklang BassArt pre-amp(the original)and (2)Glockenklang Bugatti 400 poweramps.I haven't heard a rig that even comes close! The Bugatti poweramps are by-far the best poweramps I have found for bass guitar and as far as the new BassArt Classic pre-amp,I love it! It has a few new features that I wish I had on the original. I also own the new Bassart Classic head(the first one in America),and have owned an original Bassart head,(3)Heartcores,and (4)Soul heads. If you really want to hear the true sound of your bass,buy a Glockenklang.

 

[TRIPSTER]

The above is the rig I used at Bass Quake. I was wonderful. I need it. You will give it to me, right, John? Yes. You will.

 

[zoran]

I use it with no EQ at all, and I like it because being so punchy but still warm. Not to mentioned we make all our recordings with it. It often reminds me when it's time to change my strings I hate its clarity sometimes.

 

[Vunz]

Although I recently sold my Bass Art top (the 300W version), I still can vouch for its superior quality. I have yet to encounter an other bass amp that is constructed in a way Glock is. When you open your Glock amp (do not do this when your warranty is still valid!) you will see what I mean.

The reason why I sold my Glock is that I only play upright, using a Schertler transducer with a Schertler preamp. In all other cases, the Bass Art is the perfect upright amp (when I was using a piezo Wilson pickup I was perfectly happy with it), but since the Schertler also is a class A preamp, I had no use for the preamp section of the Bass Art anymore. It was very difficult for me to let it go, however... But then again, I have two Link Removed that I will never part from!

Vincent

EDITED to post a link to the Glock website

 

[tyjacks]

This all sounds great, I thought about the Bugatti 300/400 amps but at 59lbs and 63lbs they are a little heavier than I expected. Would the QSC PLX's or Stewart 1.2 or 1.6 have near the same quality?

 

[prockenklang]

Originally posted by tyjacks
This all sounds great, I thought about the Bugatti 300/400 amps but at 59lbs and 63lbs they are a little heavier than I expected. Would the QSC PLX's or Stewart 1.2 or 1.6 have near the same quality?

No

 

[TRIPSTER]

They are heavy. They are also Class A. I'm not sure what that really means. I just know that I have heard 30 watt Class A guitar amps just KILL volume wise. I CAN tell you that the Bugattis have tone to the bone BUT, Stewart and QSC don't suck either. If I could afford it I would use a Bugatti. Tone vs. weight is not that much of an issue for me. There's my 2 cents. Hope this helps.

 

[Vunz]

Originally posted by prockenklang
No

Well, I have to admit that with my Bass Art, which has a 300W mono version of the Bugatti power amp, I never had any problems to be heard, not even when I played rock cover tunes in front of large audiences. Mind you, at the time I only used one 8 Ohm speaker, so the real output was only about 180W! Glock relies on old fashioned, rock solid technology, such as big (and I mean really big) transformers and pure class A technology. Hence the weight.

I have yet to receive my Lab.Gruppen power amp, which will replace my Glock, so I cannot yet compare its capacities to the Glock, but I hope I made the right decision to go for less weight (which is important for me, since I go to gig a lot with public transportation - and an acoustic upright!). I will keep you posted.

Vincent

 

[zoran]

One important thing. I saw every glock user on this thread is more than 30... years old. LOL, so we know what's the best.

 

[GRoberts]

I was in San Diego this past Summer and visited John Dimaggio at Bass Alone. I wanted to demo some basses and was able to play through the same cabinet that I own; Bergantino HT322. I powered my experience at Bass Alone through a Glock "Soul" head.

John said that it has less power than what I have with my Ashdown ABM500 EVO. But he said the Glock head is one of the most accurate and honest sounding heads on the planet. A great way to hear what a bass 'really' sounds like.

I demoed a variety of basses; Bone Oracle 5, MTD, Celinder, Warrior, Hanewinkel, Sukop etc. (Bone Oracle was truly most impressive)

I plugged in not expecting anything out of the ordinary. But WOW!, was I ever blown away by the quality of tones I heard from the Glock/Bergie combo. The purity and clarity of tone was simply STUNNING. I didn't turn it up that loud since I didn't want to bother the other customers. All that remains is to know whether the Glock Soul Head has the volume and punch for medium to large rooms. I gained incredible respect for Glocks preamps that day.

I would love to know if you guys think the Soul head will keep up with most loud (not stupid loud) rock bands. I also play Funk, R&B, Garden Jazz etc. I'm not so worried about those music styles since there is typically more sonic space in which to live. Thanks!

 

[Vunz]

No problem whatsoever. The soul is loud enough for most, if not all, non-PA situations. And in the case the band needs a PA the Soul is more than sufficient to function as a monitor. Mind you, I do not have any experience with the Soul, but only with the older Bass Art, which even has less power than the Soul. But even with the Bass Art I was able to get my sound across, even in the loudest rock bands.

In short: buy one. I'm serious.

Vincent

 

[Jugghaid]

I have a Heart-Core that I bought from prockenklang about a year ago (thanks John, now I'm a die hard convert). It's by far the best head I have ever owned. No contest. I've played a ton of high end rigs and the Glock beats them hands down. I am selling it (trading it actually) right now as I am going to upgrade to a Bass Art Preamp and Bugatti power amp.

Buy one.....you will never regret it.

 

[TRIPSTER]

Jugghaid. I envy you.

 

[Mark Sacchetti]

I have had the good fortune to help rep Glockenklang in the past.
I own a Heartcore amp with a tedd cab and the 2x10 Glock cab. It is by far my favorite rig to gig with. I traded my Walter Woods amp to Mike Dimin for a Buscarino A/E bass after buying the Heartcore amp.

Randy Coven has played through this rig said it sounded like an STV on steroids. Mike Merritt, Rufus Reid, and Michael Moorer have all played through Glockenklang products at various events.
Steve Swallow has a Bass Art pre amp in his rig.

I have met and seen Kai Eckhardt play a gig in NYC with Trilok Gurtu using a Bass Art rig pushing 300 watts and sounding amazing.
The point being that quality products always out perform the hype of "we need more power Scotty".

To my ear and mind these are some of the finest bass systems on the market today. My only regret is that I am not able to afford the Bugatti and the new Bass art classic pre and the 2x12 cab to complete my Glock rig.
So if you can afford it by all means buy Glockenklang products. They are lifetime investments.
Peace,
Mark

 

[TRIPSTER]

Originally posted by Mark Sacchetti
I have had the good fortune to help rep
I have met and seen Kai Eckhardt play a gig in NYC with Trilok Gurtu using a Bass Art rig pushing 300 watts and sounding amazing.
The point being that quality products always out perform the hype of "we need more power Scotty".

To my ear and mind these are some of the finest bass systems on the market today. My only regret is that I am not able to afford the Bugatti and the new Bass art classic pre and the 2x12 cab to complete my Glock rig.
So if you can afford it by all means buy Glockenklang products. They are lifetime investments.
Peace,
Mark

Please preach on brother. You are bringing tears to my eyes!