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New Aguilar AG 700!

#222
best bass and mid tone. tight and punchy rock tone. I want to be heard and feel without beeing too loud and muddy.I play mainly with my fingers and with a pick for some song. 80% of time at the rehearsal room 20% live gig. I play with 3 guitars with 412s + full drumset and as many cymbals as he can fit on his riser.
 
#224
Hydron said:
best bass and mid tone. tight and punchy rock tone. I want to be heard and feel without beeing too loud and muddy.I play mainly with my fingers and with a pick for some song. 80% of time at the rehearsal room 20% live gig. I play with 3 guitars with 412s + full drumset and as many cymbals as he can fit on his riser.
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Either amp should do the trick, the AG will have more clean headroom, still, comparing Tube and solid state is apples/oranges.

I would add, a tube amp will be less demanding of a compressor where solid state would for a "tight and punchy" sound since tube amps naturally compress your signal.

I've played with bands that ran 2 half stacks (412) and the amp with a 212/410 cab was enough for medium gigs, 412/810 was enough for bigger ones where the rest of the band cracked it.
 
#225
RoeyHaviv said:
Good question, In theory, you will only get 700w total with either 1-4ohm, 2- 8 ohm or 4 ohm + 8 ohm, in the last case, only a third of the power will go to the 8 ohm cab so it should sound unbalanced.

That said, I doubt any player needs more than 700w into a single 4ohm 410 unless you're playing arenas and those gigs have backline.
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RoeyHaviv said:
Good question, In theory, you will only get 700w total with either 1-4ohm, 2- 8 ohm or 4 ohm + 8 ohm, in the last case, only a third of the power will go to the 8 ohm cab so it should sound unbalanced.

That said, I doubt any player needs more than 700w into a single 4ohm 410 unless you're playing arenas and those gigs have backline.
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Update: Received a reply from Aguilar's tech: [email protected]
"You would not lose any sonic fidelity by using a 4 or 8 ohm cabinet, if anything, you may just hear that one cab (the 4 ohm) sounds louder than the other. But that is also fairly slight. I prefer having two cabs of the same impedance but you can always get the 8 ohm now and see what you think. It is always easy to sell of the 4 ohm cab later if you wanted to go with two 8 ohm cabs."​

Has me thinking keeping the 4 Ohm cab may not a bad way to go. For situations where (1) cab will do, I can use the 4 Ohm, and for others I can add a second 410 at 8 Ohms. I'll check it out and see how it goes.
 
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#227
ursus said:
I have the trickfish Bullhead .5, and I´m very happy with it. Haven't got a chance to try the AG 700 yet
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Don't want to go too much off topic here but could you elaborate on the Trickfish .5?
I gave a number of different amps (Glockenklang Steamhammer, Eich T 1000, Darkglass M900, Markbass Ninja, Mesa Subway 800) a go a few months ago in my local store and one was the Bullhead 1K. Sounded damn fine.
Have only heard and read a couple of things about the smaller Bullhead but what I know so far looks interesting.
What kind of music do you use it for?
What's the basic tone profile?
Have yoou used the DI-out yet?
Loud enough for bigger gigs with 4x12 guitarists?
etc...
 
#228
Hydron said:
best bass and mid tone. tight and punchy rock tone. I want to be heard and feel without beeing too loud and muddy.I play mainly with my fingers and with a pick for some song. 80% of time at the rehearsal room 20% live gig. I play with 3 guitars with 412s + full drumset and as many cymbals as he can fit on his riser.
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Just received the AG 700 and after one rehearsal, I am completely sold. The AG 700 has the goods, and is very close to being on par with the DB751, as in excellent head room, power to spare. Usually have to run my D800 at noon, and ran the AG 700 at 9 o'clock position (just for reference).

As for having more sound without being too loud, the best way to accomplish this is by adding more speakers. A sound engineer told me a long time ago, there is no substitute for moving air.
I know a lot of excellent bass players are very happy with their single 12", or 2 x 12" bass cabinets, its a great mid-range tone that sits nice in a mix. However, for my applications, I found I had to turn up too loud, and just never felt comfortable. So I went back to 410 for small shows and (2) 410's for large stages, and outdoors. The difference is when your moving more air, its easier to create a large presence at lower volumes (24 inches of air movement vs 80 inches of air movement). I've spent a lot of time and $$$$ to come full circle with 2 x 410 cabinets. Thankfully Aguilar has come out the SL410x! at 49 lbs its easy to move, and it truly really has a fantastic tone, and commanding presence.
 
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#229
I have watched every AG 700 demonstration video that Aguilar has posted and think they only show a bit of what this amp is capable of doing. None of those videos appealed to me. The amp is capable of very wonderful fat, warm, articulate tone with lots of headroom. Pretty amazing for something that small.

I have an Alembic F-2B preamp in a rack with a Crown K2 power amp. That has been my go to amp when I want to feel that power....but now...I don't have to carry all that weight. I'll probably still use the rack rig if I get an outdoor gig where a generator is involved. Class D amps tend to get unhappy when the incoming power is low or unstable. For other gigs....I'll use the Aguilar.
 
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#230
Chuck M said:
Class D amps tend to get unhappy when the incoming power is low or unstable. For other gigs....I'll use the Aguilar.
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Actually SMPS/class D amps are very happy when the power gets low or unstable. They will detect problems and shut down BEFORE damage occurs (including OVERvoltage protection on some models), whereas many conventional amps will simply fail. This is why warranties are getting longer on class D amps compared with traditional amps, because they are more reliable overall.
 
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#231
Chuck M said:
I have watched every AG 700 demonstration video that Aguilar has posted and think they only show a bit of what this amp is capable of doing. None of those videos appealed to me. The amp is capable of very wonderful fat, warm, articulate tone with lots of headroom. Pretty amazing for something that small.

I have an Alembic F-2B preamp in a rack with a Crown K2 power amp. That has been my go to amp when I want to feel that power....but now...I don't have to carry all that weight. I'll probably still use the rack rig if I get an outdoor gig where a generator is involved. Class D amps tend to get unhappy when the incoming power is low or unstable. For other gigs....I'll use the Aguilar.
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The Alembic F-2B preamp is in a class by itself. The clean glassy tone coming through is something I've not heard from any other amp, or preamp. One of the best sounding bass amplification units I've ever heard live. And the bassist was pretty much a novice, a drummer that was starting to pick up the bass. But wow, unbelievable tone - he used a Halfner amp, but I've used the Crown K2 before with FOH subs, best slew rate in the business - I'm sure its a monster rig. What cabs are you using?

The AG 700 is a different amp, besides being a Class D amp, it has the Aguilar tone with more Hi-Fi capability than its predecessors. What I find unique, is that I'm actually using the deep, and bright switches (which on other amps found to be too intrusive for my taste). Really brings the cabinet to life (SL410x). You can still boost the bass (40hz) and Treble - which provides a very nice Jazz bass growl with thump. Articulation stays true across the fret board. Really brought out the voice on the Sadowsky MV5.

Interesting comment on gigs with generators... I think you're on to something there. Las time I played a show with a generator I had the AG DB750 - so I didn't notice any power drop. But the Keyboard player did have issues with his Hammond B3 Leslie cabinet. It want's the 60 cycle, and the generator was at something other (can't remember specifically).
 
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#232
Very nice to learn that the newer class D amps deal with power problems better than they used to. I remember a really bad gig with low incoming power voltage and an older digital amp. Don't remember what brand it was but it distorted and the output was not steady.
 
#233
Chuck M said:
Very nice to learn that the newer class D amps deal with power problems better than they used to. I remember a really bad gig with low incoming power voltage and an older digital amp. Don't remember what brand it was but it distorted and the output was not steady.
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If it didn't fail, perhaps the protection designed into it was doing its job?

I've seen plenty of traditional power amps fail spectacularly and catastrophically under such conditions. The good 'old days weren't as good as some folks fondly remember!
 
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#236
bertthebassist said:
The Aguilar AG700 is a really loud amp with a wide frequency response and a little growl. It may have a lot of growl, but I was trying to dial it out (drive at 0). IMO, it goes deeper than the Magellan or Subways and louder then the Quilter BB800. I did not keep it because I want my Mesa M6 sound in a light package, and so far, when I compare any light amps to my M6, none of them sound as deep, clean and/ or as loud.
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If/when you find one of the "micro" amps that will give the solid, clean, full low end....the crisp, clear attack of the leading edge of the note....the fast transient feel....the feel of HUGE power on tap....ect. of a M-6 Carbine please drop me a P.M.

I gig with two M-6 Carbine heads (one is a back-up.)
One of the M-6's power sections recently went out and I've been on the search for a replacement.
I'm finding that NO other amp on the market at this time comes close to a M-6. (I have not auditioned a Subway D800/D800+ or Genzler M800 head as yet, but have tried "many" of the micro and lead sled heads available.)

I asked reps of Mesa and other players in the know for recommendations for other heads with the sound qualities of the Mesa M-6 head.
They recommended I send it to Mesa and just fix the ole M-6....(Translation: there's nothing on the market that'll give you what a M-6 will.)
 
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#237
Actually, you asked for repair advice which is what you received. If you wanted replacement advice, that would have been different, don't you think?
 
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#238
agedhorse said:
Actually, you asked for repair advice which is what you received. If you wanted replacement advice, that would have been different, don't you think?
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"I think" the thread title was "Recommendations For New Amp Head To Replace Mesa...."

My question (I thought) was for any recommendations for another amp (Mesa or otherwise) that had the characteristics of a Mesa M-6 Carbine....that I'd already had one of my M-6's rebuilt/updated by the Calif. Mesa Service Dept. and was well aware of the costs and I wasn't sure "if" I wanted to put more money into the M-6 that was giving me problems at this time.
With repair/update costs, plus shipping costs, add in a few dollars more would put me in striking distance of a new micro.

I also in that thread mentioned my visit to my nearest Mesa Service center to try to get repairs and was told they don't service M-6's. Hence my considering another amp at this time.

Sorry for the confusion....
 
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#240
shoot-r said:
"I think" the thread title was "Recommendations For New Amp Head To Replace Mesa...."

My question (I thought) was for any recommendations for another amp (Mesa or otherwise) that had the characteristics of a Mesa M-6 Carbine....that I'd already had one of my M-6's rebuilt/updated by the Calif. Mesa Service Dept. and was well aware of the costs and I wasn't sure "if" I wanted to put more money into the M-6 that was giving me problems at this time.

I also in that thread mentioned my visit to my nearest Mesa Service center to try to get repairs and was told they don't service M-6's. Hence my considering another amp at this time.

Sorry for the confusion....
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Yes, I am confused because I have tried to help you several times... obviously with little success. I believe I tried to put you in touch with the service dept. as well as suggested where some of these are available used as well as new. Sorry I tried so hard to find a solution for you.

The M-6 has a unique and heavy voicing, it's not for everybody. This is why you are getting the same answers from many folks here, there really isn't a direct replacement as such. Not much different than the advice I would give for somebody looking to replicate the sound of their SWR SM series heads, another fairly unique product IMO.
 
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