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New Aguilar AG 700!

#81
bassclef04 said:
Finally picked up the AG700 yesterday. So far first impressions are great! I may send my EBS Reidmar 750 back.
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Al Kraft said:
Based only on what I've read so far it would appear to be a touch more Mesa D-800/GK MB voiced than Tone Hammer voiced. However, I'd imagine it is still unmistakably Aguilar and perhaps more than a little reminiscent of the AG500.
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If it's as clear as GK and Mesa ,or more like a Markbass kind of sound, I would buy it.
 
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#85
What did it for me is both amps in flat settings, i preferred the Aguilar over the EBS. The AG700 sounded much fuller and punchier than the EBS without boosting or cutting anything. The EBS is cleaner and a bit more articulate perfect for slap and solo playing.




ursus said:
bassclef04 said: ↑
Finally picked up the AG700 yesterday. So far first impressions are great! I may send my EBS Reidmar 750 back.

What is the main difference between Ebs and the Aguilar and why do you want to keep the Aguilar?
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#88
bassclef04 said:
What did it for me is both amps in flat settings, i preferred the Aguilar over the EBS. The AG700 sounded much fuller and punchier than the EBS without boosting or cutting anything. The EBS is cleaner and a bit more articulate perfect for slap and solo playing.
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Thanks for your input, I am interested to hear all the feedback out there on this new amp (like I need another amp).

One thing that has always mystified me a bit, though, is the penchant shared by many for comparing and judging amps based on their "flat" all-knobs-at-noon position sound. I know this is just kind of a shorthand assessment technique, but can lead to conclusions and to "common wisdom" about the amps that is deceptive. It would be extremely rare for me to run any amp in its flat position for gigs etc. So it always seemed to me that to compare 2 amps, its best (if a bit subjective-- but aren't all "how-does-it-sound?" questions?) to work with each, tweak and dial, to get as close as you can to the sound you like, and then see which one is closer.

I have a TH350, and a MB 200 and MBF800 from GK, so the comparisons being discussed here are very interesting and informative for me.
 
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#89
Good point! I've could have gone into greater details about comparing both amps but i only know what sounds good to me and what i am looking for in terms of tone and feel from a bass amp. I totally understand where you're coming from.

Plutonium244 said:
Thanks for your input, I am interested to hear all the feedback out there on this new amp (like I need another amp).

One thing that has always mystified me a bit, though, is the penchant shared by many for comparing and judging amps based on their "flat" all-knobs-at-noon position sound. I know this is just kind of a shorthand assessment technique, but can lead to conclusions and to "common wisdom" about the amps that is deceptive. It would be extremely rare for me to run any amp in its flat position for gigs etc. So it always seemed to me that to compare 2 amps, its best (if a bit subjective-- but aren't all "how-does-it-sound?" questions?) to work with each, tweak and dial, to get as close as you can to the sound you like, and then see which one is closer.

I have a TH350, and a MB 200 and MBF800 from GK, so the comparisons being discussed here are very interesting and informative for me.
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#90
What I got it from the AG 700 so far is the "tone" is pretty Aguilary -- clean, rich of low and mid, and in some sense, not quite broad in treble: this characteristic is what I felt from TH500 as well. I think treble could be made up with an additional preamp or something, though.

I think the most impressive thing of the AG 700 is a lot of headroom. It's more than I expected from the previous experience with the AG 500 clean channel or the AG 500 SC heads. There is an obvious progress and I am pretty satisfied with that feature regardless I will need a drive pedal :)
 
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#91
I feel the AG700 is a bit brighter than the TH500 but yes similar characteristics.



takkya said:
What I got it from the AG 700 so far is the "tone" is pretty Aguilary -- clean, rich of low and mid, and in some sense, not quite broad in treble: this characteristic is what I felt from TH500 as well. I think treble could be made up with an additional preamp or something, though.

I think the most impressive thing of the AG 700 is a lot of headroom. It's more than I expected from the previous experience with the AG 500 clean channel or the AG 500 SC heads. There is an obvious progress and I am pretty satisfied with that feature regardless I will need a drive pedal :)
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#93
Just got my AG 700 from Sweetwater. I had a Mesa Subway D800+. My initial impression is it sounds more modern and clean than the Mesa. Easy to dial in a great tone with the bright and deep switches. Volume wise i feel like the AG700 is louder at 8ohms than the Mesa. I haven't tried it through 4 ohms. Sound is very tight and sounds incredible with my Jazz basses. So far very happy with it and like it significantly more than the Tone Hammer 500. I couldn't get the sound I liked with the Tone Hammer due to the vintage tube vibe the amp was going for. One particular thing I like about the AG is the simplicity. It seems to be a happy medium between the Mesa Subway and the Subway +. As much as I liked the Mesa + the EQ was a little much for my needs and I purchased it for the bright switch. The AG's simple eq and the inclusion of the deep and bright switches was the major selling point for me. The reliability associated with Aguilar also played a role in the buy. I have my first real world gig in a week with it so hopefully it performs well. Really satisfied so far with this head and feel Aguilar did a great job filling a modern sounding segment to the class D amps in their line. Highly recommended based on my tonal tastes.
 
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#94
coltshockey81 said:
Just got my AG 700 from Sweetwater. I had a Mesa Subway D800+. My initial impression is it sounds more modern and clean than the Mesa. Easy to dial in a great tone with the bright and deep switches. Volume wise i feel like the AG700 is louder at 8ohms than the Mesa. I haven't tried it through 4 ohms. Sound is very tight and sounds incredible with my Jazz basses. So far very happy with it and like it significantly more than the Tone Hammer 500. I couldn't get the sound I liked with the Tone Hammer due to the vintage tube vibe the amp was going for. One particular thing I like about the AG is the simplicity. It seems to be a happy medium between the Mesa Subway and the Subway +. As much as I liked the Mesa + the EQ was a little much for my needs and I purchased it for the bright switch. The AG's simple eq and the inclusion of the deep and bright switches was the major selling point for me. The reliability associated with Aguilar also played a role in the buy. I have my first real world gig in a week with it so hopefully it performs well. Really satisfied so far with this head and feel Aguilar did a great job filling a modern sounding segment to the class D amps in their line. Highly recommended based on my tonal tastes.
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Sounds like it is close to what I'd imagine - a class D version of the AG500 :D

I doubt it is louder than the Mesa. Could be the master volume taper or the voicing. I think the Mesa is likely a bit thicker in the low mids (but not nearly as much as the TH500), and opening that up on the AG700 would give a bit more apparent upper mids which are easily heard. Should be pretty comparable power-wise.

You're right about the eq on the +. You either love it/need it or hate it/don't need it. I think that is why Mesa has both the D800 and + available as they appear do somewhat different players. I'm curious to see what the AG700 feels like. Recorded videos only go so far, and the feel of the front end of the amp is important to me. I do like that they acknowledged that they increased the headroom in the preamp - that was an issue for me with the TH and occasionally with the AG500 (though I only played the AG500 in supplied backlines).
 
#96
I'm interested. Long time TH user, but I kind of fell out of love with the TH for a while. Played some other amps, and recently rediscovered the TH with some knob twisting.

I keep the gain on my TH low, so I like the idea of more headroom in the pre. A little more juice, and the 2.67 thing don't hurt.

Generally don't like "bright" amps, but those kind of terms are hard to define.

Looking forward to some good reviews / comparisons.
 
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#99
nostatic said:
But iirc it had traditional transformers (hence the 18 lb weight) and had "Tripath" switching (class T - whatever that means).
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I covered all that several pages upthread (see post #35 for starters), it's a Class D amp regardless.
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#100
Not sure if it is the recording technique, but I hear some "Aguilar" sound in there. It reminds me of a TH (I had the pedal), but "clarified." There is some chewy thickness in there. Not sure I'd identify it as an Aguilar in a blind test, but I'm certainly not shocked by some change in direction.
 

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