Most RELIABLE Bass Head ???

[Kirk Bryant]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Sunn yet. My 200S is 45 yrs old. I am the third owner and have had it for ten years. The guy I bought it from had used it for over 30 yrs and told me he had never retubed it or had it in the shop. He said he used it regularly but wasn't a heavy gigger. He said it worked fine when he got it and the only reason he stopped using it was he had dropped it and a transformer mount had broken. When I bought it I took it home looked at it and decided to fire it up. It worked fine. I had the mount fixed and put in new power tubes as the vintage pre glass was fine and it has worked flawlessly for the last 10 yrs.

Glockenklang, my Soul amp went 15 yrs before needing a service. I gigged that amp over 300 gigs per year for its entire time in full service. I retired it to light duty to move to Genz Benz.

My Genz Benz heads have been rock solid for 8-9 yrs.

I played SWR SM 400 for about 10 yrs of heavy gigging, 250-350 gigs a year and it was in the shop at least once or twice a year every year.

I have a BGW power amp I've owned for over 30 yrs and it has never seen a shop and still works fine.

A DC300 Crown is now in service at a friends studio and I was a gifted it by a friend who used it for Pa work since new with no service work and it still works fine. I don't know how old it is but I'm guessing 40 yrs or so.

 

[bking0217]

I had a Fender last me 20 years, but that was a combo. 20 years is a long time to me but you may feel differently.

 

[BlushResponse]

I'm still rocking all Trace Elliot gear from the mid 90's.

 

[Jeb]

I think the short list goes to unreliables.

I have a 90s Peavey TNT that I have gigged several times but it has been my rehearsal amp for many years without issue.

I gigged a QSC RMX power amp/Sansamp RBI pre for 7 years without issue, maybe 200 gigs (standard 4 hour bar gig). I sold the rack because of weight.

I probably have 50 gigs on my GB shuttle 6.2 with no problems.

Also my Carvin BX500 has had to have the ribbon treatment a time or two since 2011 but man, I've pushed that head hard and loud at every outdoor festival I've done since I've had it. It probably has 400 hours on it and many of those were brutal. Its baked in the heat, been rained on and all that goes with outdoor gigs. It goes with me outside again this Friday.

 

[rtav]

My Trace Elliot AH500X is from 1985 and sounds INCREDIBLE; the previous owner gigged it regularly throughout the 80s and 90s with never a problem, and I have NEVER had the slightest issue with it, ever. My Trace red stripe 1048 4x10 and 1528 2x15 cabs are from the late 80s and sound amazing; my 4052h is from the late 90s and still sounds great as well.

 

[cfsporn]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Sunn yet. My 200S is 45 yrs old. I am the third owner and have had it for ten years. The guy I bought it from had used it for over 30 yrs and told me he had never retubed it or had it in the shop. He said he used it regularly but wasn't a heavy gigger. He said it worked fine when he got it and the only reason he stopped using it was he had dropped it and a transformer mount had broken. When I bought it I took it home looked at it and decided to fire it up. It worked fine. I had the mount fixed and put in new power tubes as the vintage pre glass was fine and it has worked flawlessly for the last 10 yrs.

Glockenklang, my Soul amp went 15 yrs before needing a service. I gigged that amp over 300 gigs per year for its entire time in full service. I retired it to light duty to move to Genz Benz.

My Genz Benz heads have been rock solid for 8-9 yrs.

I played SWR SM 400 for about 10 yrs of heavy gigging, 250-350 gigs a year and it was in the shop at least once or twice a year every year.

I have a BGW power amp I've owned for over 30 yrs and it has never seen a shop and still works fine.

A DC300 Crown is now in service at a friends studio and I was a gifted it by a friend who used it for Pa work since new with no service work and it still works fine. I don't know how old it is but I'm guessing 40 yrs or so.

I didn't mention Sunn as they no longer exist. To be honest, I consider them (and most old amps) to be reliable as long as you change the caps and be nice to the tubes.

 

[bebass]

Similar to the last thread like this:

Spare amp. Brand doesn't mater. A spare is more reliable than any single amp. I take a little Eden WTX-260 to every gig and it has saved me twice now.

Bingo! It doesn't really matter what brand - ANY amp CAN take a dive. A spare in the pocket - SB200H for me - can be worth it's weight, in my case 1.5 lbs. I haven't yet needed it, but better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

 

[Gasman]

Both my amps were made in the mid 1980's. My GK 800rb (1984) and a Mesa 400 (nonplus), which I'm not sure of the exact year of manufacture. No problems with either.

 

[Obese Chess]

I had a Hartke HA2000 from the eighties/nineties that I beat the absolute crap out of until finally one day it got dropped during load-out and the volume pot snapped off. Larry sent me a new HA2500 when I called him and asked for a repair shop (lol) and it has also been bombproof. My 410XL from the same era has also been trouble-free and I am at least its fourth owner.

 

[mat666]

Glockenklang heart rock

 

[Jim Carr]

Reliability, important in aerospace, mil spec, and medicine. For bass amps, I bring a spare. That's the great thing about micro heads.

 

[Slough Feg Bass]

Peavey Mark Series has lasted through rain, snow, truck accidents, sand storms, beer.

My old Trace AH500 was with me about 20 years and never faulted, even when pushed beyond limits, with too many cabinets with the wrong ohms.

I sold it and the original 410 cab to a chubby Mexican kid who wanted to start a punk band. I figured that was a good place for it to go.

 

[Big John66]

I bought my blackline SVT in 1982 and gigged it hard until 1991. Never re-tubed, never serviced and only had a flight case for the last 3 years or so. It would go straight from the box truck or trailer to the stage in the middle of winter. When we downsized to the trailer, I would actually set it on the floor behind all the PA gear to keep it from shifting around since the trailer had no load straps. Now, I keep hearing about how delicate old tube amps are and how much maintenance the need.

 

[chris_b]

I played an Ampeg SVT3 PRO for nearly 10 years and it never missed a beat.

I took it in for a service once and the guy asked, "Why?"

They'd never seen an SVT3 in the shop before.

 

[alaskaleftybass]

I worked part time for many, many years in a repair shop in So Cal. The brands we saw the least and with only minor troubles were Peavey, G-K. Mesa and Hartke. Most reliable I can't really say as no way to know how many units were out there of each brand.

^^^ Yes. I very rarely or can't even remember the last time I saw a Peavey amp blowing up question here on TB.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I've had Peavey, Trace, and Carvin. Never an issue.

 

[lbbc]

I had a Yorkville 200t....heavy as an anchor, but always sounded great

 

[B-string]

I played an Ampeg SVT3 PRO for nearly 10 years and it never missed a beat.

I took it in for a service once and the guy asked, "Why?"

They'd never seen an SVT3 in the shop before.

They are VERY lucky or were not around when they first came out. Our shop was lousy with them during those days. I contribute that NOT to the amp's design though.

 

[Mystic Michael]

Let’s hear your preferences & recommendations.

Who can tell for sure? If you have Amp A, use it for 25 years, and it never breaks down...and you have Amp B, use it for 25 years, and it never breaks down - same thing with Amp C, Amp D, Amp E, & Amp F - then which one is "most reliable"?

MM

 

[garmenteros]

GK 400RB and 800RB.