How / Where do you try out new amps and cabs?

[eric9353]

I'm going through that "do I need new / lighter gear" phase as my old back no longer wants to lug SVT heads and cabs up and down stairs. But as I look for potential replacements, I'm finding it hard to find anything in stock in stores to try out. I know this is due to folks buying online more, but--how do you try out new amps and cabs? I know they'll ship it to me, but seems like a hassle to ship 50-100 lbs of gear just to test drive. And my understanding is that for the store to bring one in, I'd still need to buy / return under the 30 / 45 day return window. Is that the answer (order to home or store, return it if it's not the sound I want)?

Recently my example is the Ampeg 2x12AV and the V-4B head. I'm in Richmond, VA, and couldn't find them here, or the DC area, or VA Beach, or Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill...that includes GC, Sam Ash, Chuck Levin's, etc.

 

[Solude]

More or less. Buy, try, keep or return, repeat as needed while trying not to eat too many restock fees along the way. There are days I think I should just walk in, drop a hundred on the counter and walk out empty handed to save some time

 

[Killing Floor]

Honestly, I ask my goofy friends. Mind if I plug in for a minute? (Hands beer)

 

[Ric Vice]

It’s become exceedingly more difficult to audition a new amp here in St.Louis. Once upon a we had several locally owned music stores that carried different amplifier lines where you could walk in have a pleasant conversation with the proprietor’s who were interested in music or musicians theirselves. Locally Guitar Center destroyed that. We now have only have two, J Gravity Strings and Killer Vintage that I regularly visit. The other significant one isn’t a pleasant experience as the owner is very abrasive and aloof and would really prefer that he sold instruments only to touring professionals. He only tolerates the public when he’s forced to. So, for the most part I read reviews on Talkbass and if enough come up positive I’ll try buying it used off the TB classifieds.

 

[gtirard]

I play on different brands and models in the rehearsal studios we rent with my band: mostly Markbass, Fender, Hartke, recent Ampegs (not SVT).

That's very handy to learn what gear I don't like.

It's more difficult to try out gear that I will like. I order things with the idea that I can return it if I don't like it, and I've been lucky so far.

 

[rapidfirerob]

I just ordered two Barefaced One10 cabinets. No way to try out ahead of time. Uniformly excellent
reviews so I'm not worried. I can return if I don't like them in any case. 16 pounds each.
Pricey but you only live once, I understand.

 

[gtirard]

I just ordered two Barefaced One10 cabinets. No way to try out ahead of time. Uniformly excellent
reviews so I'm not worried. I can return if I don't like them in any case. 16 pounds each.
Pricey but you only live once, I understand.

That reminds me that I even did order a custom finish version of my Barefaced One 10, which was risky because I couldn't return it in case I didn't like it… But I love it.

To come back to the initial question:

• Yes "buy / return under the 30 / 45 day return window" is probably one of the most frequent scenario
• I agree it's a hassle for cabs
• It's not only because E-commerce killed brick and mortar shop, it's also because the offering as expended so much that even classic store cannot keep everything in stock. I Paris, I still have many music shop, some specialized in bass gear only, but even those who have GR Bass cabs for example only have a few models, generally not the one you're looking for.
• I think we must accept to take some risks
• For amps and cabs, you have to try in context, which you cannot do in a real shop. If you want to make sure that a cab is loud enough and sounds good for your band / drummer / guitarist, you have to take it to the rehearsal anyway.

So it's not surprising that so many Talkbass threads ask for gear advices, including questions that nobody can really answer, like "will this gear be loud enough for my band?".

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

I'm going through that "do I need new / lighter gear" phase as my old back no longer wants to lug SVT heads and cabs up and down stairs. But as I look for potential replacements, I'm finding it hard to find anything in stock in stores to try out. I know this is due to folks buying online more, but--how do you try out new amps and cabs? I know they'll ship it to me, but seems like a hassle to ship 50-100 lbs of gear just to test drive. And my understanding is that for the store to bring one in, I'd still need to buy / return under the 30 / 45 day return window. Is that the answer (order to home or store, return it if it's not the sound I want)?

Recently my example is the Ampeg 2x12AV and the V-4B head. I'm in Richmond, VA, and couldn't find them here, or the DC area, or VA Beach, or Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill...that includes GC, Sam Ash, Chuck Levin's, etc.

You'll love it. The v4b ri sounds almost exactly like an svt vr. Except, half the weight, and it gets dirty quicker.

But, if you're coming from an svt, you'll love it.

 

[Marko 1]

I'll find a good deal (on-sale, used) on something that “stirs” me,

do some research (often reading/asking here), and if it has no obvious negatives, I'll grab it.

So far I'm very happy with the results.

 

[Clark Westfield]

I feel your pain, as I’m constantly shopping now for a 212 cab. I’ve worn out my Google.

Want to pull the trigger, but dropping $1200 or more without testing, looking, touching, is a gamble.

Using TalkBass and user feedback to ultimately make my decision.

I think that may work, as the players I see using this equipment, kick my a#* in the performance department.

That accounts for something, right?

 

[Micha84]

You might want to try and contact big stores beforehand.
An hour drive from my home town once was the largest music store in europe. Then the internet happened, I moved away and recently I returned. I, too, was looking for an amp and cab, so I got all excited to go to the store and test out ALL the gear like I did when I was a kid. Boy, was I in for a surprise when the store was still there, but just about 10% of its former size. They had very few amps that I could actually play and I went home empty handed and disappointed. But they told me that they could arrange something when I call in a day beforehand and tell them what I would be interested in. Haven't tried that, though, and might not be true for other stores.

 

[gtirard]

You might want to try and contact big stores beforehand.
An hour drive from my home town once was the largest music store in europe. Then the internet happened, I moved away and recently I returned. I, too, was looking for an amp and cab, so I got all excited to go to the store and test out ALL the gear like I did when I was a kid. Boy, was I in for a surprise when the store was still there, but just about 10% of its former size. They had very few amps that I could actually play and I went home empty handed and disappointed. But they told me that they could arrange something when I call in a day beforehand and tell them what I would be interested in. Haven't tried that, though, and might not be true for other stores.

Yes, a lot of stores (big or small) only have a few amps, but can easily order many others very quickly from the distributor. It all depends on them, if they want to be helpfull and bother ordering for you the models you want to try.

That's how I bought my GR Bass NF210V, super difficult to find, but I had to pay a 50% deposit before they order it. In case I didn't like it, I could use my deposit for something else, but I had to either buy something from them or loose my deposit. I understand. It all went well…

 

[MarshallAC50Stack]

?...as I look for potential replacements, I'm finding it hard to find anything in stock in stores to try out. I know this is due to folks buying online more...

The music gear retail industry has changed enough that in some ways it is easier to buy boutique gear online than it is to find traditional music store brands in brick and mortar stores.

 

[shoot-r]

I feel your pain, as I’m constantly shopping now for a 212 cab. I’ve worn out my Google.

Want to pull the trigger, but dropping $1200 or more without testing, looking, touching, is a gamble.

Using TalkBass and user feedback to ultimately make my decision.

I think that may work, as the players I see using this equipment, kick my a#* in the performance department.

That accounts for something, right?

The biggest reason I've stuck to using the TB Classifieds for used equipment purchases is because most players on TB seem to be really good people who don't want to intentionally mislead another TB member.

When I'm interested in different equipment I'll go to the TB forums and research what I think my ears will like, make a choice, then watch for it to pop up in the classifieds.

If you purchase used, quality, in good to great condition equipment and should it turn out your not happy with it, you'll have no problem flipping it by again using the TB Classifieds.

Case in point:
All the equipment in this pic came from the TB Classifieds.
All of it came to me in great condition at prices that were roughfully half (or less) than what they sold for new.

I've yet to have a bad experience dealing with another TB member.

 

[Goatrope]

Amps - Bass Cabinets - Bass Central

Back in the day we'd go to Chuck Levin's for everything. These days, every purchase is a result of Talkbass research and internet sales.

However: If you happen to have a reason to visit Orlando on a vacation, you can stop into the nearby Bass Central, which is one of the last remaining brick and mortar shops carrying amazing bass gear. I know it's a hike from DC, but....

The Wild Card approach would be to put out word here on TB to see if anyone in your vicinity is gigging the gear you lust after, and go see then play. Be "that guy"(in a good way) that comes up to the bassist on break to talk gear.

That's about as close as you can get. We seldom get to hear our gear in the context we will run it. There's always an element of risk. TB commentary helps to mitigate that risk.

 

[jthisdell]

Rocket Music in Blacksburg has quality gear, I bought a pair of Bergantino cabs there. Now he seems to be stocking more of the new Genzler cabs.

Also Jive Sound in Alexandria, I bought a Tonehammer 500 there several years back. His website is down but I think he is still in business.

Either of these you should call/email first. Neither sells Ampeg but have very quality gear.

 

[ThinCrappyTone2]

I'm going through that "do I need new / lighter gear" phase as my old back no longer wants to lug SVT heads and cabs up and down stairs. But as I look for potential replacements, I'm finding it hard to find anything in stock in stores to try out. I know this is due to folks buying online more, but--how do you try out new amps and cabs? I know they'll ship it to me, but seems like a hassle to ship 50-100 lbs of gear just to test drive. And my understanding is that for the store to bring one in, I'd still need to buy / return under the 30 / 45 day return window. Is that the answer (order to home or store, return it if it's not the sound I want)?

Recently my example is the Ampeg 2x12AV and the V-4B head. I'm in Richmond, VA, and couldn't find them here, or the DC area, or VA Beach, or Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill...that includes GC, Sam Ash, Chuck Levin's, etc.

In my experience, trying amps/cabs at full volume, in real-world situations, is the only way to know if they're going to work out. Lots of things sound great at low/medium volume, but turn to mush or get harsh at real-world volumes.

And even if the thing I want exists at a local music store, the folks who work there are understandably not too cool with the idea of cranking their amps to gig volume and putting them through their paces in the showroom. So it's really hard to test it for real, even if it's locally available.

I'll admit that because of that, my purchase decisions on amps is heavily weighted on product/company reputation and tons of research. By the time I buy something, I'm pretty sure it's going to work, even before hearing it in person. The company's policies and rep with regard to repair/warranty also plays a big part.

One thing I'll occasionally do, if I think there is a chance I might need to return something big and heavy, is to just suck it up and buy from Guitar Center. Even if purchased online from them, you can at least return it in person if it doesn't work out. As opposed to strictly online stores where you'd have to ship it back to them to return it.



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

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I'm going through that "do I need new / lighter gear" phase as my old back no longer wants to lug SVT heads and cabs up and down stairs. But as I look for potential replacements, I'm finding it hard to find anything in stock in stores to try out. I know this is due to folks buying online more, but--how do you try out new amps and cabs? I know they'll ship it to me, but seems like a hassle to ship 50-100 lbs of gear just to test drive. And my understanding is that for the store to bring one in, I'd still need to buy / return under the 30 / 45 day return window. Is that the answer (order to home or store, return it if it's not the sound I want)?

Recently my example is the Ampeg 2x12AV and the V-4B head. I'm in Richmond, VA, and couldn't find them here, or the DC area, or VA Beach, or Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill...that includes GC, Sam Ash, Chuck Levin's, etc.

I’m at the point where I don’t need any gear. I haven’t for the last 11 years, but I did buy a WD-800 last year so I don’t have to take my rack setup. I have a 210 cab that is movable (50lbs) without stressing myself that covers all inside work. For the few gigs I play in a year, I’m not about to invest in more gear.

‘But if I’d needed gear to try out and there was nothing in my area worth trying out, for the price of gear, taking a sojourn to where there is a better selection makes sense.

 

[Jogobass]

Lots and lots of youtube videos and hope for the best.

 

[SJan3]

I'm going through that "do I need new / lighter gear" phase as my old back no longer wants to lug SVT heads and cabs up and down stairs. But as I look for potential replacements, I'm finding it hard to find anything in stock in stores to try out. I know this is due to folks buying online more, but--how do you try out new amps and cabs? I know they'll ship it to me, but seems like a hassle to ship 50-100 lbs of gear just to test drive. And my understanding is that for the store to bring one in, I'd still need to buy / return under the 30 / 45 day return window. Is that the answer (order to home or store, return it if it's not the sound I want)?

Recently my example is the Ampeg 2x12AV and the V-4B head. I'm in Richmond, VA, and couldn't find them here, or the DC area, or VA Beach, or Raleigh / Durham / Chapel Hill...that includes GC, Sam Ash, Chuck Levin's, etc.

In many cases, yes. Do your homework online/YouTube/reviews from credible sources etc. to narrow down choices. Purchase from reputable sellers with generous return policies. In my case, I'll order from MF and if not pleased return at GC. Costs nothing but a car ride. Or, ship return and chalk up restock fee to "rental fee" (45 days is a pretty long time to "audition" gear). But I've only returned one amp simply because I didn't like it. I have returned others for some functional or cosmetic flaw. In that case, MF or Sweetwater will typically do an exchange at no cost to you.
But the original point stands. Do your research thoroughly and you'll likely make a choice that will satisfy you. Of course if you have music retailers close by, take a ride and audition what they have in stock. You may find your dream rig there.