JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
- 20,970
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
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Looking for a new amp
- Thread starter mwbassace
- Start date
As others have said - the Mesa TT-800 is what I'd get with that budget! (And hope to get before too long)
Also, don't be turned off by the number of knobs and switches - its got two channels so only half the number of knobs as it looks like, and the manual is fantastic!
Also, don't be turned off by the number of knobs and switches - its got two channels so only half the number of knobs as it looks like, and the manual is fantastic!
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Man, i'm back in amp heaven/hell. I've reseaarched all these before but now going back I realize how awesome they all are in their own way. And how hard the decision really is (& isn't cause there's not a wrong choice really).
It also points out the need to not only actually play the amp thru your cabs alone but jammimg/gigging them for me to truely hear whats what.
It also points out the need to not only actually play the amp thru your cabs alone but jammimg/gigging them for me to truely hear whats what.
JeezyMcNuggles
Inactive
- Feb 23, 2018
- 14,723
- 20,970
- Disclosures
- I suck, but nobody really notices
V4b is an svt vr with a 100w power section. It absolutely kills through an 810e.Man, i'm back in amp heaven/hell. I've reseaarched all these before but now going back I realize how awesome they all are in their own way. And how hard the decision really is (& isn't cause there's not a wrong choice really).
It also points out the need to not only actually play the amp thru your cabs alone but jammimg/gigging them for me to truely hear whats what.
It's not a tough decision, as you can see. I can blow you away with my V4B.
I'd suggest you take a look at the [Invalid or Expired Link Removed] amp with a street price of $799. Please note that I am a DNA Endorsing Artist, but I'd be recommending this even if I were not.
I finally bought one of these in Late May and it's really nice. I weighs 4.8-lbs and puts out 400-watts into 8Ω, 800-watts into 4Ω and will also handle 2Ω if you need it. The sound is clear and clean and it has a simple EQ section with very usable EQ centers. The bass EQ controls everything from 35Hz and below, the lo-mids are centered at 500Hz, the high-mids at 2KHz, and the treble is everything above that. It also has a very usable "Shape" control that boosts the bass, cuts the low mids, and gently raises the treble. It's much better than the "Enhance" control that David put on his Eden amps when he owned Eden, and it works over a wider range so there's more granularity to using it.
It has both a gain and a master control plus a "mute" button that mutes everything except the tuner out. To get the best sound out of it turn the Master way down or off entirely, set all the EQ's at flat, make sure the shape control is off, and the compressor is off, and then slowly bring up the gain while playing as hard and low as you will all night. When you can get the "gain-set" light to dance and not stay totally on or off, you're at the ideal signal to send to the power section. Then just raise the master to a reasonable lever and tweak the EQ if you need it. After tweaking the EQ, you may need to re-adjust the gain again with your new settings. If you change basses, you will need to adjust the gain to your bass. If you're using an active bass, you should pull out the Gain control to pad the signal -12db.
There's an effects-loop on the back, ground lift, DI with pre/post switch (switch is the front panel "shape" control knob pulled out for pre-EQ), an adjustable DI level control, an aux-in with adjustable level control, two speakon outputs and one "emergency" 1/4" output (only use for 400-watt operation, not 800-watts), and a rear input jack. That rear jack is handy for plugging in rack effects without having jumper wires all over the front of your amp. You can only use one of those inputs at a time, so it's either the front or the back one, not both.
It also has input for a footswitch that is available separately to bypass the EQ (runs everything flat) and to bypass the Shape control. That's handy for solos because you can set the shape to something that sounds good soloing and still have your "in the mix" EQ set up for normal play. Turn off the EQ and turn on the Shape with the footswitch for solo and with two more stomps the shape is off and your pre-set EQ is back on for playing in the group. There's also a "slave-in" jack under the Footswitch jack. That allows you to hook up the DNA-800 up as a powered slave to any other amp or preamp, totally bypassing the input jack, pre-amp, and all the controls on this unit.
The other really nice thing this amp has is a very nice built in compressor that is adjustable for both threshold and ratio. I played around with it a bit and was quite impressed. The higher your turn the threshold control the more quickly the compressor comes on and as you turn up the ratio it compresses more and more. You can take it everywhere from adding just a little more sustain to your signal while still having good attack and dynamics to turning your sound into a no-attack, no-dynamics, Farfisa Organ type sound where you can pound on the strings as hard as you can with no noticeable effect. It can just keep that note at the same level as long as you have your finger on it. And it's dead quiet too - no noise at all. Plus I like the look of the flashing purple light as it is actively compressing.
Front:
Back:
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Swimming against the current here: my pick would be a (used, because discontinued) Peavey Headliner 1000 (1,000 watts RMS). They're going for about $350 on Reverb and elsewhere, and they're great amps for rock. The day I bought one and tried it on a gig, my Ampeg PF-800 was relegated to backup status.
The Headliner is the most tube-sounding solid-state amp I've ever used. The Peavey engineer who designed it and who used to reply to questions in Talkbass threads said that, among their modern bass amps, the Headliner series was designed for maximum volume, which is apparently achieved by rolling off the low end as the volume increases, thus mimicking the behavior of the tube amps we all love. Mine certainly obliterates my PF-800 for sheer volume.
The Headliner is the most tube-sounding solid-state amp I've ever used. The Peavey engineer who designed it and who used to reply to questions in Talkbass threads said that, among their modern bass amps, the Headliner series was designed for maximum volume, which is apparently achieved by rolling off the low end as the volume increases, thus mimicking the behavior of the tube amps we all love. Mine certainly obliterates my PF-800 for sheer volume.
I have a stable of amps and cabs. SVT. V4. Walkabout. Two bergs. 810e. Candidly, I should get rid of everything except the SVT, the 810 and the Bergs....and get a Mesa WD800 or TT800. Get a Mesa. That is my advice. You'd be all set, needing nothing, and you could keep your eyes out for an SVT.
