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Guys, give me a reson to go for VB-2, or E300T

yamaha

yamaha

Apr 7, 2006
1,264
14
57
Montreal
#1
I've tried many all tube heads, and they are just amazing. (I now use Markbass and/or pre-power setups). I've been seriously considering going all tube (in addition to my current kits, not to replace). It really is tone heaven. I've tried Traynor, Peavey, Laney, Eden, Ampeg, Fender, and Orange.

My 3 favorite tones are Ampeg, Fender and Orange, but all 3 have serious drawbacks. Ampeg : so much reliability issues. Fender : god it's huge and heavy, and does NOT look good on anything (It's wider than all my cabs). Orange, well, price is a huge issue.

I've really liked the Eden and the VB-2 a few times, but other times (connected to different cabs and/or played with different basses), I was not so impressed.

Guys who own all tube amps, especially those who can do serious comparations between my favorite 3's and the others out there, chime in for your opinions please.
 
#2
Well I believe in able to have Ampeg SVT or V4 tone, you must buy Ampeg, I don't believe the tone can be copped no mater how good you can replicate something. However, other tube amps sound badass too, especially the VB-2, plus I bought mine used for $600. It's just a really good sounding amp for the amount of dollars you're spending.
 
#3
ampeg's reliability issues seem to be pretty much over. now that they fired the idiots who used to run loud and replaced them with people who actually respect ampeg and their customers, qc is a lot better, and while i can't say you won't get an occasional bum unit (happens to everyone), i have a lot more faith in their products than i did 2 years ago.

peavey does make a very nice tube head imho, but i agree...you want ampeg sound, buy ampeg.
 
#4
Here's my views .. I've had a Ampeg V4-B for decades and it has the unique sound ... it doesn't sound like anything else, due to the fact that the power tubes start to break-up at around 11 o'clock on the volume setting, but it does get good tone before that setting and it is gig-able with an efficient cabinet and a lot of people use it ... I do, it has 4-7027/6L6 power tubes ... I also have the Fender Bassman 300 Pro amp , and yes, your going to have to deal with the weight, the tones that one can get are many, but you really have to spend time with that amp to find your sound, and yes, you can get a SVT tone/sound out of that amp, that amp has 6-6550 tubes in the power section , and the basic sound is big, warm and fat ... I recently acquired a Peavey VB-2 and have been using it lately ( it's new to me and ..heck why not ) and it really does have a really good sound to it ( I used to have an old Traynor YBA-3, and it sounds somewhat similar, due to the fact that the power section uses EL-34's ) the Peavey has gotten some workouts in a gigging environment using a 4x10 and an old 1990's era 8x10 SVT cabinet, and the sound is very big & fat & warm ( I'm old school, finger picking bassist, and grew up using tube amps, and I like a big,fat, warm tone ... why I got rid of most of them ...that another book of stories ) and all in all ..the Peavey VB-2 is a very good bass amp, it has 6-El-34 power tubes ...as to the Orange & Eden amps ...can't say one way or another as I haven't played any of them ...as to the new Traynor YBA-200 .. it's O.K. a good basic amp ( it doesn't sound anything like the old YBA-3 amp ), but, it I didn't like it's tone, you'll need to do some tube rolling on that amp, and it is a well discussed subject on it's own and if you by a used one make sure it's the series 2, it has the manual bias set-up, the first run had an auto bias feature that was somewhat troublsome ...all in all that is my view & experiance with the stuff I own ... I will admit, I did buy the Peavey VB-2 without trying it ...and I do like it .... oh, one thing ... tube amps are some what finicky, the power tubes do wear out and different tubes sound different from brand to brand and the quality is highly variable, from brand to brand and from lot to lot with in the same brand, but it is something you put up with when dealing with tube amps .. I basically come full circle as to amps ...and I still have my hybrids amps, but I've been using the tube amps more .... the down and dirty answer to your question, after all my rambling buy the Peavey if you don't want to spend a boat load of cash .... if your after the Ampeg tone and don't want to fiddle with the Fender, buy a VR- SVT, fix the stand-by relay, and your good to go ...or just buy a Sansamp VT pedal, and use it till you find what you really want ... sound & deal wise ......
 
#5
I looked into the Eden and discovered it was made in China. Don't know if that's an issue for you, but it was for me. I got a truly amazing deal on a VB-2 a couple of weeks ago and I have been very satisfied. I have been playing fender tube bassmans (a 70, a 100, and a bassman ten), and maybe it's the cabinet, but the VB-2 is giving me way more bass and presence than I had before. I guess Ampeg is the standard but I find them overpriced considering you can still get a Mesa Boogie 400+ for under $1000, so I'm saying go for the VB-2
 
#6
I think Peavey hit it out of the park with the VB series, I can't stress how much I enjoy the VB-2, and remember, I had the Ampeg V4 first, and that's the tone I love. Not to go back on my word of what my first post said, but I think you can get somewhat Ampegish tones with the VB-2. I'm all about old-school tones a well.
 
#8
I use the Eden 300T. It is the best sounding amp I've used, though my experience is limited to shuttle 6.0, Eden wt550, Markbass F1. The clean head room out of this thing is pretty amazing. I got a new B stock for $700 with 2yr warrenty so the china thing didn't hold me back. The overdrive sounds great to my ears though that's not entirely what I go for. With my retro pre and compressore I can get fat vinage warmth and a hifi tones and it handles my slap and mutron peaks like a champ. The DI on mine is noisy but I've heard reviews that say it works great, either way for its tone and price I can over look the DI. It's only 40lb and sounds great through my SVT-410he. Best 700$ I ever spent!

That being said, I still want an Ampeg, the portaflex doesn't seem to have the headroom to be my main amp and the SVT CL or VR is outside my student budget.
 

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