I can't believe how wonderful pristine my Peavey Mark IV struts its stuff with many more options in tone control than the new stuff.
fnord!
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Most RELIABLE Bass Head ???
- Thread starter Brad T. Bass
- Start date
fnord!
okcrum
in your chest
This is not so surprising. The power amp in the Backline 600 is the same as the 400RB. The preamp is different though.
I've got a 7000 from probably about 1992-3, and have had a lot of trouble with it over the years, but it got abused pretty bad at various gigs, so god only knows whose fault it is.Ditto my HA3500. I got it around 1990, it fell off of my stack on the first gig with it, and kept on playing. (It was a very wobbly stage with singers & guitarists bouncing around!I didn't notice that had happened, until after the song ended.) I haven't had a problem with it at all in the 25 years that I've played it.
okay, i'll bite (pun intended). why was your amp over a salt water tank full of piranhas???
Best IMO:
Walter Woods
Aguilar
Carvin
Worst IME:
GK - seems like EVERY one I've owned had to go in for service INCLUDING the 800RB that I bought new back in the mid-80s when they were the hot head to get
Walter Woods
Aguilar
Carvin
Worst IME:
GK - seems like EVERY one I've owned had to go in for service INCLUDING the 800RB that I bought new back in the mid-80s when they were the hot head to get
In the future, there will be no wars. Just old Peavey amps. They are indestructible. The tone, eh, one can do better (you can also do worse), but for reliability? Unbeatable.
Of all the amps I've owned, I'd say the old GK RB-series is the mest reliable. I had a 400RB for many years and played through many 800RB's and, even if they looked like they've been through war or had been dragged behind a road-train in the Australian outback, they still worked just fine.
I haven't had a bass head fail me, in rehearsal or gigs - in over 20 years. So, to me, everything I've owned has been reliable.
GK, especially the 800 RB
Peavey (from what I hear, I've never owned one).
Walter Woods (I've played hundreds and hundreds of gigs with mine, with zero problems.)
Peavey (from what I hear, I've never owned one).
Walter Woods (I've played hundreds and hundreds of gigs with mine, with zero problems.)
- Oct 18, 2012
- 6,683
- 5,538
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Fender, Spector, Ampeg, Curt Mangan, Nordstrand Pickups, Korg , Conquest Sound
I have owned several MIA Ampeg heads and combos all of which have been great. I have also owned a couple of GK heads which were also very good. The worst I've owned are Peavey (by far the worst), Fender Rumble and Hartke, although the Hartke was better than the Peavey or the Fender.
I had a British made Trace Elliot from the 90s once upon a time. I think it was made from kryptonite, never once skipped a beat. Weighed a ton though so I traded it in for an Orange Terror Bass that had to be repaired twice and left me down badly on stage. Now I have to bring 2 amps everywhere...just in case.
Put my vote in for GK as well. I played 40 gigs on the MB200, and another 15 on the mb500, NEVER any problem. And that is with the wonky power that these dumps had available.
I liked my Markbass LMIII, but it cut out quite a bit when the power was wonky (even with a surge protector), it would just drop out for about 5 seconds of a song, here and there.
I liked my Markbass LMIII, but it cut out quite a bit when the power was wonky (even with a surge protector), it would just drop out for about 5 seconds of a song, here and there.
I've never had any problems with my GK MB 200, 500, 800 heads. Or my Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2 or ShuttleMAX 9.2. Or my Fender Rumble 150 V2. Or... well, any of my amps really. Just take good care of them, don't push them too hard and I think you'll find all but a select few are pretty darn reliable.
I bought a Peavey Mark VIII bass head in 198?. It's been to probably 500+ gigs. Been left in cars in the summer and the winter and STILL performs as good as the first day. Even the bottom mounted fan still works and is still quiet. I'd say this head is VERY reliable and shows how good the old Peavey amps were.
Yep, and backed by that 2-year, even-if-you-break-it, transferrable-to-others warranty speaks volumes too. Haven't had an issue with my Traynor, and my former bassist's Yorkville is still kicking after 10 years of her owning it (she bought it used too). I've heard about a couple of other companies but mostly here on TB - I have no hands-on or acquaintances with anything else I can speak for (besides one older, all-tube Ampeg, not sure of model though) that was gigged steadily and stood the test of time.
