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Marshall VBA 400... WOW!!!

#27
kaputsport said:
I play older Marshall stuff (Marshall DBS 7400/7200) and matching 4x10 and 1x15 and a DBS 2x10...

Best tone and amp I have have ever owned...

And because no one knows about them... I bought the whole stack (# cabs, 2 heads) for under $1000 dollars shipped...
Click to expand...

I remember being on tour in Scandinavia and the bass rig provided for the trip was A DBS head and a 4-10 cab sitting on top of a 2-15 cab. We were playing BIG rooms (indoor arenas of 10,000 +) and this thing sounded simply AMAZING. I met and talked to Jim Marshall not long after getting back and asked him about the system because I couldn't find any for sale in the states. He said he gave up trying to build and sell bass amps because "were" known for our guitar amps and they just weren't selling in enough numbers to keep production going.

I told him that was a crying shame because it was truly one of the most amazing amps 'd ever plugged into...
 
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#31
geddeeee said:
About 6 months ago, I picked up a second hand Marshall VBA 400 and matching 4x12 cab.
All I can say is WOW!!! What an amp! I got both for about £800.

I've recently joined a new band after a 2 year hiatus, and have now played 3 gigs with 'The Beast'.
My Rick 4003 sounds absolutely unbelievable when played through it. I initially played through a Line 6 Bass POD XT Live, but am now going straight into the Marshall.

The warmth and punch of this baby is superb. The 4 x 12 cab is great too. It takes everything I can throw at it, and never 'farts' out at all.

The Bright and Deep switches are on. This gives me good top end and also a nice tight, fat bottom end, which can punch holes through steel.
I've found the best setting is Treble about 9 o'clock, Middle at zero and Bass about 11 o'clock. The Gain is usually at 9 o'clock. This gives a superb growl when I dig in over the bridge pickup on the Ricky.

I've heard a lot of bad things said about this amp, and they are ALL wrong. I've owned SVT's, Hiwatts and Orange amps (all valve) in the past. The Marshall is without doubt, the best amp I've ever owned (and I've been playing 30 years!!).

If any of you get the chance to try one of these out (with the 4x12 cab), I would recommend it. Any bass player looking for a GOOD valve amp, the Marshall VBA 400 should be on the list.

A TRUE classic........
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middle on zero and bright and bass boost on? holy mid scoop batman.

on a more serious note though, these amps are pretty good and are going for alot less than there worth at the moment if you looking for a serious amp i'd recomend picking one of these up
 
#36
Gedeeee I know you said you prefer the VBA400 to the old SVT tone, however I would love to hear from anyone else who has directly A/B d them. I am very close to buying a new all valve amp and am on the fence between the Marshall and an SVT-VR! (there is nowhere in Perth Aus to do it myself :( )

Sorry dont mean to start another 'vs' thread

Also has anyone got any comments on playing the VBA 400 through other cabs e.g different brands or speaker sizes?

Cheers
 
#37
I've not had the pleasure of trying out a VBA400, but have gigged with a band that used it live and it sounded pretty sweet to me! I know that Tom Araya from Slayer switched to a Marshall tube amp from the SVTIIpro for the last Slayer album. I believe it was a VBA400 and not the Lemmy sig.

I use a Laney Nexus Tube which is also 400w with a 8xKT88 output
 
#38
I'm very impressed with the preamp tone I get from my circa 1980, ss, Marshall Lead 12 combo. The lows are still fairly dynamic, even though the highs are very consistent, as if highly compressed--very Iron Maiden.

Kinda clumsy carrying the combo and a 70lb. poweramp to shows tho. I need to get a way lighter power amp....
 
#39
about three yesars ago there were 4 VBA-400 stacks for sale on craigslist here. each stack was a the VBA-400 head with a 4x12 on top of the matching 2x15, all of them in white. they belonged to Brian Adams, he used them on the tour where they played as a three piece and he played bass. i wanted one so bad but didn't have the money at the time. *kicks self*
 
#40
SerratedBass said:
I've not had the pleasure of trying out a VBA400, but have gigged with a band that used it live and it sounded pretty sweet to me! I know that Tom Araya from Slayer switched to a Marshall tube amp from the SVTIIpro for the last Slayer album. I believe it was a VBA400 and not the Lemmy sig.

I use a Laney Nexus Tube which is also 400w with a 8xKT88 output
Click to expand...

Not much of a Slayer fan but perhaps Ill check out the last album just to scope the bass tone.

The You Tube demo of the Laney Nexus sounds really sweet too.

taurus1 said:
about three yesars ago there were 4 VBA-400 stacks for sale on craigslist here. each stack was a the VBA-400 head with a 4x12 on top of the matching 2x15, all of them in white. they belonged to Brian Adams, he used them on the tour where they played as a three piece and he played bass. i wanted one so bad but didn't have the money at the time. *kicks self*
Click to expand...

Ha ha Slayer vs Brian Adams maybe the Marshall has versatility after all! Not sure I d be keen for a white one, however 2nd hand versions of this amp seem hard to come by:(
 

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