Who on TB uses or has used Laney bass amplifiers? SS or Tube, whatever floats your boat. I don't hear about them really, so I'm curious about people's experience.
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Laney Bass Amps
- Thread starter socialleper
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Had one at my practice room a few years ago. RB9 and 410 cab iirc. Sounded good to me.
Haven't used the newer Nexus (tube or hybrid) amps, but have read good reviews on the all tube head.
Glenn Hughes uses em live, last time I looked.
Haven't used the newer Nexus (tube or hybrid) amps, but have read good reviews on the all tube head.
Glenn Hughes uses em live, last time I looked.
My first true bass amp was a Laney L120BH with 15" cab. Bought it secondhand sometime around mid-90s.
It's occupying space in a corner these days.
There's a Laney Club thread that you might find of interest, too.
It's occupying space in a corner these days.
There's a Laney Club thread that you might find of interest, too.
Always been curious about their big 400 watt tube amp. Never had the chance to play one, or seen one, though.
And there is not a single good demo of it on youtube.
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Very clean, yes. I used to run a Bass V-Amp and EQ through it to tone it up a bit.I'd rock it, it's definitely a garage jam amp. I bet it does great cleans.
Also replaced the original driver with an Eminence a couple of years after I got it.
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The new Nexus does look very impressive because of the EQ. Most tube amps have very remedial tone controls. I like that, but the fact that no one here in the US really uses Laney concerns me. I have the same concerns Traynor. I only know about Laney because of Tony Iommi and Traynor because of TB.
I feel like Laney must be the next “sleeper” brand:
Their stuff is all over craigslist, gc used, and reverb at consistently $200-$500 less than comparable models from the big names, and Tony Iommi and Matt Pike use them.
That said, guitarist from one of my bands took a gamble on one of those ridiculously low priced 100 watt heads on gc used, only to have it blow a fuse on its first night out. He took it back to gc where the tech said they’re “notorious for blowing fuses.” So that “warranty repair” turned into a “warranty return.”
Their stuff is all over craigslist, gc used, and reverb at consistently $200-$500 less than comparable models from the big names, and Tony Iommi and Matt Pike use them.
That said, guitarist from one of my bands took a gamble on one of those ridiculously low priced 100 watt heads on gc used, only to have it blow a fuse on its first night out. He took it back to gc where the tech said they’re “notorious for blowing fuses.” So that “warranty repair” turned into a “warranty return.”
Had a 100 Watt Linebacker bass head, which I was "convinced" by an overzealous sales person would blow away my (then) ailing V4B.
Boy, was he wrong. I tried to like it, but it was a gutless wonder- the V4B was way louder and better tone...
I guess the only time Laney really works for me is in the hands of Mr Iommi's SG, being driven by a Rangemaster!
Boy, was he wrong. I tried to like it, but it was a gutless wonder- the V4B was way louder and better tone...
I guess the only time Laney really works for me is in the hands of Mr Iommi's SG, being driven by a Rangemaster!
My first combo - must have been around 1986-1988. Can’t remember the model, but is was not very good. Pretty horrible actually. As a brand they are still around so I expect the newer models to be a lot better.
Wow, that is so familiar.
In my first year as a bass player in 1987, I picked up a used Ampeg V4B for $200 and rocked the hell out of it. Then, some bonehead used it without asking me and blew it up so I decided to buy a new amp from the store.
I knew nothing about bass amps so I let the salesman recommend one for me. I bought the Laney Linebacker 100 because he said it would "blow away" any other amp and was perfect for the heavy metal that I was currently playing. He sold me with the idea that Black Sabbath used Laney amps.
I wasn't impressed with it. It had almost no variation of tone and just sounded thin and sterile. And the output was lame. Supposedly 100 watts of solid state amplifier but it was quieter than most 60 watt practice combos that I've heard. I struggled with it for a couple of years and then stepped up to a Hartke 3500.
It seems to me that Laney has made and still does make some fantastic amps that are worthy of professional use. But they've also made some stink-boxes that I consider just about useless.
The Ashdown CTM30 is half the price. I own an LB30 (predecessor to the CTM) and I know it sounds great.
Dang near $1200 for a 30W head is kinda crazy.
Yeah, the feature set on the Nexus heads' preamps looks nice. Tube bass and treble EQ, and a two band parametric mid EQ that can be turned on and off.
I would like someone who plays something other than bad slap bass to do a demo of one.
Pete Trewavas from Marillion used to use a B1 hybrid head or 2x10 combo for the longest time. Graphic eq, comp overdrive.Sounded good to me!
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