To me, the Bergantino amps are the cleanest most uncolored amps I have ever played. That said, I think a lot depends on what cabinets you are using.
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Hunting for a clean-sounding head with nice sparkling highs
- Thread starter NeonVomit
- Start date
Clean, transparent ("sound of your instrument only louder"), and doubling on upright ... Added up, that makes me immediately think of Acoustic Image and Euphonic Audio. I'd try them out if those are available used where you are and are in your price range.
If you want a nice portable rig for upright the GK MB150 (12” speaker) works great and you can add an 8ohm cab to run both speakers for a little more heft. I’ve also had success with the Ampeg B-50r combo (also single 12”). Neither have tweeters though so you might not get the sparkling highs you’re after.
Genzler Magellan is my vote. Lots of great choices out there and only your ears will tell you what it is you need.
Good luck.
Good luck.
From an availability/price point factor for you, I’m not sure this will work, but tonally, I’m casting a vote for a Phil Jones Bass head/cab, or a small powered cab paired with a Bighead preamp. PJB is what comes to mind when I think transparent but not sterile. I have a smaller Session 77 combo, and it is very clean but punchy for a small amp. It was a great deal purchased used. I don’t play upright, but I understand PJB is a favored brand.
I have a D-800 and a GK MB Fusion. Both great amps. I get the sense the Mesa will outlive me with its build quality. The GK has a brighter native tone and I do like the hair you can dial in with the tube front end, only if you want it.
Would recommend the GK. Mine is the 500 watt model; if I were buying again I'd go for the 800.
Would recommend the GK. Mine is the 500 watt model; if I were buying again I'd go for the 800.
Thanks for the tips dudes!
The Eden dealer here is actually a friend of mine and completely forgot about that - I may well go there tomorrow and have a go! He's having a clear-out of some gear so I might steal a good deal. Things are getting back to normal here so small gigs with limited audiences are happening.
Link Removed, I'll probably get an extra discount on top of that.
Will look at the other options as well! Cheers!
The Eden dealer here is actually a friend of mine and completely forgot about that - I may well go there tomorrow and have a go! He's having a clear-out of some gear so I might steal a good deal. Things are getting back to normal here so small gigs with limited audiences are happening.
Link Removed, I'll probably get an extra discount on top of that.
Will look at the other options as well! Cheers!
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I highly recommend the Genzler MG800 (or the smaller MG350 if you don't need all that power). It's a very versatile amp, transparent, well voiced EQ, and the Contour control is awesome.
I'd say Genzler or Bergantino or Trickfish but the cab is probably more important than the head at this point.
That's another possibility! Will check it out!
Those sound super-sweet but out of budget sadly!
Those sound super-sweet but out of budget sadly!
MarkBass Nano 300 or Genzler Magellan 350. Both compact with ample power and not overly colored.So I'm after a really clean, transparent sounding amp with nice sparkling highs.
I've got a GK 700RB and a Mesa D-800, and they both very much have 'their' sounds which I love but want something more neutral and uncoloured that would really let an instrument's tone shine. I'm happy with my cabinets, (GK NEO410 and Mesa Subway 1x12 and 1x15).
The intended use is for some smaller acoustic/jazz gigs. I love my D800 but the top end I feel doesn't quite sparkle without really boosting it and it getting brittle - not much of a problem when I'm pounding through power metal/death metal tracks at high volumes, but for small jazz/acoustic combos I'd like a bit more top end. The GK is quite good at this, but is too bulky and would be overkill for smaller shows (and I'm holding off selling for now anyway, because I've heard GK will be putting out a bunch of new class AB heads end of this year, and even then I'd only use it for large gigs which are... uh... not happening for the foreseeable future).
I'd also very likely be using it for upright and acoustic bass.
So anything at around 350w, doesn't have to be super powerful as gigs would be fairly small. Compact-ness is a big plus. Budget isn't that limited, I could go up to 700 Euro (i.e. around $800ish) but don't feel the need to go all the way up there if it's not necessary.
Ideally I'd go out and try all of these, but again... not really doable in the current situation!
I've like what I've heard of the GK Legacy heads, and Eich, Epifani, GR Bass, and Aguilar are what I've heard in samples to be fairly 'clean' sounding with a nice top-end. Glockenklang sound good too but they're out of budget. Some Hartke heads as well seem interesting, with the added bonus of being quite cheap. Same with the Trace Elliot Elf, and the Warwick LWA 500 looks good.
Any other ideas or suggestions? I'd likely order online, and if I'm not happy with it return to the store for a refund. I've got time to kill
So I'm after a really clean, transparent sounding amp with nice sparkling highs.
I've got a GK 700RB and a Mesa D-800, and they both very much have 'their' sounds which I love but want something more neutral and uncoloured that would really let an instrument's tone shine. I'm happy with my cabinets, (GK NEO410 and Mesa Subway 1x12 and 1x15).
The intended use is for some smaller acoustic/jazz gigs. I love my D800 but the top end I feel doesn't quite sparkle without really boosting it and it getting brittle - not much of a problem when I'm pounding through power metal/death metal tracks at high volumes, but for small jazz/acoustic combos I'd like a bit more top end. The GK is quite good at this, but is too bulky and would be overkill for smaller shows (and I'm holding off selling for now anyway, because I've heard GK will be putting out a bunch of new class AB heads end of this year, and even then I'd only use it for large gigs which are... uh... not happening for the foreseeable future).
I'd also very likely be using it for upright and acoustic bass.
So anything at around 350w, doesn't have to be super powerful as gigs would be fairly small. Compact-ness is a big plus. Budget isn't that limited, I could go up to 700 Euro (i.e. around $800ish) but don't feel the need to go all the way up there if it's not necessary.
Ideally I'd go out and try all of these, but again... not really doable in the current situation!
I've like what I've heard of the GK Legacy heads, and Eich, Epifani, GR Bass, and Aguilar are what I've heard in samples to be fairly 'clean' sounding with a nice top-end. Glockenklang sound good too but they're out of budget. Some Hartke heads as well seem interesting, with the added bonus of being quite cheap. Same with the Trace Elliot Elf, and the Warwick LWA 500 looks good.
Any other ideas or suggestions? I'd likely order online, and if I'm not happy with it return to the store for a refund. I've got time to kill
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TL;DR: If it's available in your area and you don't need a ton of power, you might look for a used, version 1 iAmp Doubler (particularly if it's had the update performed by EA which increased its headroom a bit). If you can get the version 2 (more power), that'd be worth looking into.
You could also try running a small, external pre for DB (maybe with electric, too) with either of your existing heads (maybe into the aux-in on the D800 or the effects loop on the GK) or with whatever amp you get.
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I'm reading three things in the OP:
- sparkling highs (likes the GK for this, finds the Mesa dark)
- digs but wants to avoid the baked-in voicing of the GK and Mesa (let each instrument's character shine through)
- likely doubling electric/doublebass
I haven't scoped them, but the EA and AI amps strike me as "flat" or close to it in terms of not having baked-in peaks and dips in the voicing (with the Acoustic Image being cleaner, to boot). Some Markbass amps are supposed to scope pretty close to flat, too (actually, @tombowlus, of Bass Gear Magazine, is likely to have had a lot of these amps on the bench and might be able to comment) but I still hear a "Markbass sound" that I would guess has to do with something other than peaks/dips in voicing (harmonic distortion? something else?).
The GK amps are all heavily voiced. I haven't played the Subways, but I hear a voicing in all the demos I've heard. Eden -- voiced... warm (bump in low mids -- or maybe I'm thinking of the cabs, or both?) but clear... flexible EQ. Eich -- will definitely do clear and give you all up top you could want, but is voiced, too (I played it side-by-side with the hot-rodded Doubler -- found the Doubler more natural and even, Eich wide and slightly aggressive, though can see what people like about it -- I posted a demo of the Eich in one of the threads on that amp). Some of the other amps (GR Bass, etc.) I'm not familiar with.
If the 802 is like the 800, it will be loud and fairly neutral in terms of not having peaks and dips baked-in (maybe a tiny bit of bloom in the lows through a cab), but a bit rolled-off up top. I believe that Quilter specs the amp as "bandwidth limited at 15 KHz." That's plenty in a lot of situations, but might affect the "sparkle and air" frequencies, depending on what you consider those to be.
Specs aside, I hear the 800 as being less open at the very top than many amps. The 802 has a more flexible EQ (and I haven't tried it) but, unless they've voiced the amp differently and/or opened up the top end, I don't see it as being the best option for the OP's stated goal of "sparkling highs" (though it should allow for more shaping of its mids and highs than the 800).
That said, the 800 (and, I assume, the 802) will pop harmonics nicely -- it does have a little hair or added harmonic something that lends itself to that.
I agree with the folks saying that cabs have a huge effect on the sound -- OP, if you have a way to boost your signal sufficiently (maybe even running through a recording interface -- or playing a loop, recorded direct) and run through the effects loop of one of your amps, that might give you a better idea of what a "neutral" amp sounds like through your cabs.
On a side note, I'm interested to see what, if anything, GK comes out with for new class AB amps (per the OP). I still find a good AB amp to have something that I haven't quite been able to equal with one of the new, compact heads, for all the positive qualities that many of them posses.
When I think of an amp to be used with upright as well as electric bass I immediately think of Euphonic Audio. Their stuff sounds incredible on upright, and their top end is definitely very present.
I use Trickfish gear and think that's well worth a look. Their top end is slightly rolled off, but it's present in all the right places thanks to the Mike Pope preamp.
I use Trickfish gear and think that's well worth a look. Their top end is slightly rolled off, but it's present in all the right places thanks to the Mike Pope preamp.
+1
I’ve had an AI Focus 1 and an EA 12/horn 15 years with no issues.
Transparent and powerful.
I like the Eich T-900 (350 or 500 for your purpose). It is light, really small, powerful, and sounds great, IMO.
Not much talk about them on TalkBass compared to other brands.
Not much talk about them on TalkBass compared to other brands.
I take my 700rb to small gigs... sometimes. Usually i bring my old 400RB. This brings me to my recommendation of finding a used deal on the the newer 400RBiv or a BL600. If you like what the GK does, its little sibling is a good choice. I loved my 400rb on DB gigs.
