Most RELIABLE Bass Head ???

[agedhorse]

I own sone Yamaha products with SMPS that are over 25 years old, not a single problem. It's not the technogy, it's how well it's used.

I also own a couple dozen QSC amps with SMPS that are at least 15 years old and have not had a single SMPS failure there either.

 

[Passinwind]

Less common (I just don't know of any personally) that use a line frequency power supply with a class D output.

Crown K1, K2, Aguilar AG500, iAmp 800, for starters.

 

[Spectrum]

Anything from the mid 1980s with the word "Peavey" on it.

After a nuclear war all that will be left are mutant cockroaches rocking out on old Peavey gear.

 

[TheRealKong]

Ok, lets start.

My SWR Redhead didn't let me down - for about 16 years. It did get warm, not to say hot. But this was "normal". It died some day, and could not be repaired in germany. We couldn' t get the original parts, and three trys failed. So it was over.

An early GK 400 RB MK I went up in smoke after 3 years of heavy giging, and one of two 800 RB went up the same way.

Only amp that never let me down is my Peavey TMax. I bought it used, now it must be about 20 years or more, no problems until now.

Bought a used LM II 5 years ago - no problems.

My main amp for the last 4 years is my beloved GenzBenz GBE 1200. Wow, what an amp! I purchadsed it used, as always. And - no problems.

 

[NightTrain]

Guess I got the bad one!

The only amp that's ever let me down in
50 plus years of gigging is a Hartke 3500.
Bought it used 10-12 years ago and it's
failed me 3 times, twice it wouldn't fire
up for gigs and once in the middle of
the first song.

My vote is for 60s and 70s Traynors and
80s Peavey, never failed me in thousands
of gigs. Actually got good use out of late
80s and early 90s Yamaha amps as well.

 

[fnordlyone]

Anything from the mid 1980s with the word "Peavey" on it.

After a nuclear war all that will be left are mutant cockroaches rocking out on old Peavey gear.

Yep. I just got a line on the Peavey Combo 300. It looks like hell. Owner says it functions but needs a new speaker (listed as salvage). I hopefully will have it in the next couple of days. Nice addition/backup head… seems like same power amp as my Mark IV, but with one simple pre and a cab with BW. Quite confident that the head is fine. I like the tones I can get from my Peavey, by the way. I've got several pre's and pedals for more diversity, but the Mark IV has lots of sounds to play with (two channels that can play together or apart and crossovers to feed tone into outside power amps and cabs. It is happy at a 2 ohm load; lends itself to experiment with multiple cabs.
fnord!

 

[beans-on-toast]

My Peavey Deca 700 PA amp is still going strong. It dates back to around 1985, so 30 years of service.

It's interesting to note that Peavey really lead the way in offering Class D amps early on.

 

[bassfacer22]

My vote is for 60s and 70s Traynors and
80s Peavey, never failed me in thousands
of gigs. Actually got good use out of late
80s and early 90s Yamaha amps as well.

Hey I got 2 different Tube Traynors That I have just sitting here I havent used them for I don't even know since when.. I bet they still work..

here is one.. it was my dad's.. it must be from the 60/70s who knows.. how to find out..

 

[JIO]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
would be worth firing up!

 

[bassfacer22]

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
would be worth firing up!

yeah.. would be.. but fortunately I have a 4x10 Epifani cab and WalterWoods amp head to kill that traynor.. so..

 

[bassfreakah]

i HAVE A EDEN WT-300 AND IT HAS BEEN A GREAT HEAD FOR EVER. DIRTY POTS OR THE TEC SAID WORN OUT POTS. HE REPLACED THE GAIN AND VOLUME POTS A YEAR AGO. IT IS JUST SUCH A GREAT SOUNDING HEAD I AM WILLING TO FIX IT BECAUSE I THINK IT IS WORTH IT. i KEEP A FENDER RUMBLE IN ITS BAG UNDER THE SEAT AND USE IT WHEN NEEDED. WE HAD A PA AMP STOP WORKING AND THE SOUND MAN USED THE RUMBLE AS A POWER AMP FOR ONE MONITOR MIX . SO IT IS EASY TO KEEP A BACKUP THESE DAYS SO YOU CAN KEEP YOUR FAV AMP AROUND FOREVER. I THINK ANYTHING WILL WEAROUT IF YOU USE IT.

 

[onlyclave]

any of you guys that have had the amps last 10-20 years..

there is a power conditioning thread here on talkbass.. for reference,

Have any of you been using Voltage Regulators or strips with your Amps that last 20 years or just plugged it in to whatever power at all different venues straight to the wall??

Furman. /thread

I have a SWR Bass 350 amp I bought new in 1993 that I just retired from service because I got tired of lugging that heavy gear and I has played probably 1000 gigs hooked up to a 4ohm Goliath Jr II that whole time. I had it plugged into a Furman PL-8 from day 1 and when that PL-8 fell apart a couple years ago I bought a new PL-8C and plugged the amp right back into it. Never blown a fuse, never had a failed tube, never had a hiss, pop or scratch and that amp was run on stage with the volume knob from 12-3 o'clock for years.

Those Furman conditioners have saved my gear for years and regardless of what the deaf people on this forum claim that PL-8C with the updated SMP+ filter in it sounds better.

I guess it's worth noting that I usually let my amp run for 15 minutes after the gig is over to let the fan reduce the heat in the chassis before I turn it off and close up the rack case. Just shutting it off and killing the fan lets the heat soak in and ages components a lot faster.

 

[agedhorse]

Furman. /thread

I have a SWR Bass 350 amp I bought new in 1993 that I just retired from service because I got tired of lugging that heavy gear and I has played probably 1000 gigs hooked up to a 4ohm Goliath Jr II that whole time. I had it plugged into a Furman PL-8 from day 1 and when that PL-8 fell apart a couple years ago I bought a new PL-8C and plugged the amp right back into it. Never blown a fuse, never had a failed tube, never had a hiss, pop or scratch and that amp was run on stage with the volume knob from 12-3 o'clock for years.

Those Furman conditioners have saved my gear for years and regardless of what the deaf people on this forum claim that PL-8C with the updated SMP+ filter in it sounds better.

I guess it's worth noting that I usually let my amp run for 15 minutes after the gig is over to let the fan reduce the heat in the chassis before I turn it off and close up the rack case. Just shutting it off and killing the fan lets the heat soak in and ages components a lot faster.

Funny, you state with absolute certainty that you have a single piece that has operated with a "power conditioner" without failure, yet I can say with equal certainty and having used several HUNDRED pieces of gear over 30 years without a single failure due to a power issue. This is over say 4000 shows, with hundreds of pieces of gear and not a power conditioner in sight. Racks and racks full of far more "sensitive" gear. Statistically, your single sample size is insignificant. Even mine, with a few hundred samples is only mildly significant. Now taking a sample size of say 5000 would carry more impact.

Regarding "letting your fan run to prevent component aging", having also designed power amps for the pro audio touring industry, in addition to the MI industry (bass amps, guitar amps etc.), this is not an accurate statement. Any residual heat would shorten the life of the amp by maybe a few seconds (if at all) over the entire lifespan of the amp. I have confirming data on products that I have designed, backed by numbers in the thousands, or tens of thousands.

I wish these internet myths would die, they are just so wrong on so many levels. Ugh.

 

[onlyclave]

Funny, you state with absolute certainty that you have a single piece that has operated with a "power conditioner" without failure, yet I can say with equal certainty and having used several HUNDRED pieces of gear over 30 years without a single failure due to a power issue. This is over say 4000 shows, with hundreds of pieces of gear and not a power conditioner in sight. Racks and racks full of far more "sensitive" gear. Statistically, your single sample size is insignificant. Even mine, with a few hundred samples is only mildly significant. Now taking a sample size of say 5000 would carry more impact.

Regarding "letting your fan run to prevent component aging", having also designed power amps for the pro audio touring industry, in addition to the MI industry (bass amps, guitar amps etc.), this is not an accurate statement. Any residual heat would shorten the life of the amp by maybe a few seconds (if at all) over the entire lifespan of the amp. I have confirming data on products that I have designed, backed by numbers in the thousands, or tens of thousands.

I wish these internet myths would die, they are just so wrong on so many levels. Ugh.

Get over yourself, bro. Do you want me to call them surge protectors instead? Suck it.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

Do a tiny bit of research on who you're telling to "suck it". Trust me.

 

[JimmyM]

Get over yourself, bro. Do you want me to call them surge protectors instead? Suck it.

LOL!

 

[bassfacer22]

So I haven't checked this thread in weeks and I come back and see:


- Agedhorse gives a legitimate reply and some "guy" says to suck it...

I guess we don't want years of experience and real world engineers advice anymore..

 

[agedhorse]

This is apparently why the myths won't die!

Most quality manufacturers design the necessary protection into their amps (I certainly do) and then test for this when doing their EMC disturbance and immunity testing.

Unfortunately, the very folks parroting these myths do not understand the science and engineering behind the subject they parrot.

 

[beans-on-toast]

Most RELIABLE Bass Head ???

One that's been designed well and has been properly maintained. My point being, they go hand in hand.

 

[MultiScaleMale]

I use a power conditioner in my rack, but it's mostly as a convenient, rack mountable extension cord with lights and it displays the voltage in case there's ever anything weird happening, I can rule out voltage.