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My ThunderFunk

#21
Brad Johnson said:
Sweet... got only one joke about my monster stereo system.
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:D I use to love the giggles while setting up my Bagend S12 & S15 + BH-260 head turned open mouth gawking once my band started :D

I played many multi band shows sharing the stage with GK+Hartke stacks, Ampeg refrigerators and the like... my "stereo system" moved more air, cut thru and sounded better!
 
#22
Exactly.

This was the first time I took only one Nahas, figured I'd risk it thinking it would give me a chance to open up the amp a bit more... with the AMP and two cabs I pretty much coasted through any gig.

With the single cab I ran the TF around 50% on both gains, everything else flat or centered. Turned the horn on the cab down to about 1/3, even set flat the combination of this rig and the Elrick NJS had a ton of highs. Sounded very big and tight, great mids and that signature Elrick high end, it all seem to come through unimpeded, just as I'd hoped. Chances are if it let the Elrick be itself it'll do the same with the rest of my basses.

This thing should be pretty nice with two cabs.
 
#24
frandiaz said:
Any of you Thunderfunk owners have use the D.I. for recording or live sound and with what results? I mean good tone, noise free, etc.

TIA
Fran
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DI sounds great. Very similar to the headphone tone and noise is minimal. Signal level is adjustable and adequate. I can't believe the tone, even in my crappy B* mixing board.

I have found that finding "that tone" was easier with this head than anything I've ever tried - intuitive.
 
#25
Very cool Brad! I'm still digging mine, and I pretty much bought mine because of how much you raved about your A.M.P.'s. Plus I wanted a lightweight amp for my smaller rig :cool:
It's 400 watts is easily louder than my 400 SM400 or Ampeg SVT3Pro that are rated about the same wattage.
 
#26
jerry said:
Very cool Brad! I'm still digging mine, and I pretty much bought mine because of how much you raved about your A.M.P.'s. Plus I wanted a lightweight amp for my smaller rig :cool:
It's 400 watts is easily louder than my 400 SM400 or Ampeg SVT3Pro that are rated about the same wattage.
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Cool indeed, jerry.

I did another gig this evening, took the same Nahas 1-12 and my fretless Brubaker... perfect:D

We did more a of a straight ahead thing than the other gig; "Night in Tunisia", "Straight, No Chaser", stuff like that along with funked up standards like "Blue Bossa" and "St. Thomas". Medium volume, no PA, quintet with keys, sax, drums guitar and bass. It sounded great. Low B went way down and was very tight. 3-D Jaco vibe with the bridge pickup soloed, loads of thump with both quadcoils up... the joke around here is that my fretless sounds depressed, it "cries" so much;)

I don't know how those other guys are rating their amps but my AMPs easily hang with the higher powered "other" amps. The TF seems to be more of the same.
 
#28
I have a Gibson GB-440 which I believe is kind of between the AMP and the Thunderfunk. I believe the Gibson was the amp that the Thunderfunk was based on.

I don't think there are enough reasons to upgrade from the Gibson to the TF, but what do I know. Has anyone tried both the Gibson and the TF?

I've played mine every Sunday for the past several months, and it absolutely delivers the goods. I was running it through an Epifani 2x12 (4 ohm), and now it's going through an EBS 4x10 (4 ohm).

I'm using my Aguilar DB359 this weekend just to try something different, but I've been really happy with the GB-440.
 
#29
todd 4ta said:
I have a Gibson GB-440 which I believe is kind of between the AMP and the Thunderfunk. I believe the Gibson was the amp that the Thunderfunk was based on.

I don't think there are enough reasons to upgrade from the Gibson to the TF, but what do I know. Has anyone tried both the Gibson and the TF?

I've played mine every Sunday for the past several months, and it absolutely delivers the goods. I was running it through an Epifani 2x12 (4 ohm), and now it's going through an EBS 4x10 (4 ohm).

I'm using my Aguilar DB359 this weekend just to try something different, but I've been really happy with the GB-440.
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I could keep using my AMPs with no regrets. I'm pretty sure the GB-440 has more in common with the AMP BH-420 than the TF. The TF is an updated version of our amps, with some nice upgrades IMO.
 
#30
I've owned the AMP, the GB440, and the ThunderFunk. The Thunderfunk is a nice improvement over the original GB440 which it is based on. If you can find one for the $500 to $600 range like Brad it is well worth that amount. But $995.00?

BTW, the ThunderFunk IS a GB440 with some better quailty parts.
 
#31
NeedMoreBass said:
I've owned the AMP, the GB440, and the ThunderFunk. The Thunderfunk is a nice improvement over the original GB440 which it is based on. If you can find one for the $500 to $600 range like Brad it is well worth that amount. But $995.00?

BTW, the ThunderFunk IS a GB440 with some better quailty parts.
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I wouldn't pay a grand for an amp, IME there's no need (I don't have that original owner hangup;)). Given that, if I were to spend that much money on an amp I'd spend it on a ThunderFunk long before a comparably priced Eden, SWR, Ampeg, etc.

:D
 
#32
Brad Johnson said:
I wouldn't pay a grand for an amp, IME there's no need (I don't have that original owner hangup;)). Given that, if I were to spend that much money on an amp I'd spend it on a ThunderFunk long before a comparably priced Eden, SWR, Ampeg, etc.

:D
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I wouldn't spend a grand on an SWR, Eden, or Ampeg either. But if someone has a grand to spend, they'd be better off spending a few dollars more for an iAmp800. Also in the ball park is the new Acoustic Image Focus at 600 watts. I still think the best bargain out there is the 700 watt GK 1001RB-II at $650. I've owned 3 AMP BH420's, 1 AMP SL-1, 4 GB440's, and 1 ThunderFunk, all in the $150 to $550 range. Good amps for that kind of money, but there are other alternatives that in my opinion need to be considered when getting in the 1K price range.
 
#33
I have a few gigs under my belt and so far this amp is hitting nothing but homeruns.

Last Saturday on an outdoor gig it sounded excellent. Still setting everything flat and just adjusting the gains. I used my first Brubaker NBS-1 and Elrick Platinum Hybrid 5. Ran a signal to the board (great pro sound company did the sound) and the main engineer commented that it sounded great and he was leaving it flat. The monitor engineer made the same comments, it really did sound great. Very easy soundcheck;)

So far the rig has been way more than adequate for everything I've thrown at it. Sounded great with a fretless, last night I used it with my FMT V and massive thump ensued. Plugged in the Fodera Anthony Jackson 6 and a whole 'nother kind of massive happened. Each and every bass sounds like it sounds... exactly what I want.

Still highly recommended.
 
#36
BlacksHole said:
Brad, you mentioned uipgrades - can you be more specific? SInce you tend to run your amp flat, I'm guessing that the upgrades aren't so much in the eq range (i.e., wider bass control etc.) but rather in routing options, speaker hook ups and the like.
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In one of the threads here David Funk actually went over all the mods he made to the amp. I only noticed the EQ centers had changed by accident... I happened to look at the TF and noticed the high treble semi-parametric control was voiced much higher than on the AMP.

There are more rear patching capabilities. I'm using a rack tuner through the front panel so it's not in the signal chain.

The speakon out is nice though I can't really say I hear a difference between it and the 12 ga. 1/4" cables I was using. The fan is nice because now instead of running warm it runs cool. It's also a fairly quiet fan and it's switchable (on-off). There's a level control on the DI that may come in handy... in the past I have had sound folks complain about the hot output on the AMP. The Enhance function is a big step up from that Mid Suck button on the original. Did away with the crossover which was a waste IMO IME. The TF is also a more standard size at two spaces so it fits easily in a rack case and feels like it weighs nothing. I think the AMP is 2 1/2 spaces. I didn't rack mine.

I think the TF may sound a little smoother on top. Maybe I'm imagining that. The AMP sounded fine and I could easily continue to gig with it. In the situation I'm in, with the gigs I do and the cabs and basses I use, the TF is a perfect match. I haven't tried it with my EAs or my Bag Ends yet.

So far, like my AMPs, it's simply been a matter of plug and play. I love that... no fumbling around trying to get a good room sound, somehow this just sounds right in every situation I've found myself in so far.
 
#38
Congratulations Brad!

I must say that I had a good laugh a few posts back, when comments were going back and forth about how you get such good deals on your purchase prices for used gear. You are truly the King when it comes to scoring quality gear for an outrageous price.

After reading this thread, I feel like I need to go out and buy one of these heads too! Arrgh!!!

:hyper: :rollno: :bassist: :rollno: :hyper:
 
#39
i have been looking at the tf.at the current time im having a custom 112 with a mid driver(650 watt)cab made.i want to go with a 8 ohm cab so i have flexability to add a cab.just wondering if the tf will push it enough at 8 ohms or if im better off with a 4 ohm cab to max the power and get a bigger cab for bigger gigs.
 
#40
plankspanker04 said:
i have been looking at the tf.at the current time im having a custom 112 with a mid driver(650 watt)cab made.i want to go with a 8 ohm cab so i have flexability to add a cab.just wondering if the tf will push it enough at 8 ohms or if im better off with a 4 ohm cab to max the power and get a bigger cab for bigger gigs.
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I did a gig with just the TF and one Nahas 8 ohm 1-12. The cab is rated at 400w, I don't know what the actual efficiency rating would be... probably average. It held up very well in a room that held about 150 people, without PA support.


Depends on how loud you're going to need to play. So far the two cab setup has coasted through my gigs.
 

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