New Vintage Undertow 500D

[jewbacca218]

I'm super excited about this new amp. I've been wanting a New Vintage Undertow 300 for some time now, but they just did an unofficial announcement for the 500D - a rackmountable tube/class d hybrid amp. Here's the write-up:

"Two years of R&D has finally culminated in a prototype for a rack-mounted bass amp. We redesigned the all-tube preamp of our Undertow 300 to fit inside of a 2-space rack chassis and matched it with a Class D module that is over-designed to produce the greatest sounding hybrid bass amp on the market. We are calling this model the Undertow 500D - featuring a three-tube preamp identical to our Undertow 300/160, transformer-balanced and tube-driven studio direct out, and the ability to push two 8x10 cabs with a 2-Ohm stable output that is virtually unheard of in a Class D amp. The greatest part of this amp is that it weighs in at just over 13 pounds. The Undertow 500D is the perfect solution for touring and recording musicians that aren't willing to sacrifice tone and functionality for a light-weight, road-ready amp. This piece is currently being beta-tested by Rick Burch of Jimmy Eat World in Australia for the Soundwave Festival. Be on the look-out for a more complete product announcement, information, and a preorder for the amp in the near future. Email [email protected] with any questions regarding the Undertow 500D."

Sounds like everything aside from the module is all hand-wired. I'm anxiously awaiting some more photos and some demos of the amp. If it's even half the price of the all-tube 300, it looks like I'll be picking this up one it is released!

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[jewbacca218]

There's a bit more info on their Facebook and Instagram pages. I'll relay any further info/clips I see.

 

[jewbacca218]

I guess the prototype has been used for a couple of shows now. Here's a quote that Rick from Jimmy Eat World said about the Undertow 500D:

"Truly powerful. Very sensitive, especially the active mid, a tiny bit goes a long way which is rad. This amp can put out a wide range of sounds, of course I love the ripping New Vintage growl. And this amp has plenty of power to carry a big, controlled bottom end along with the rip. Huge. ... The bottom line - this amp kills!"

..I can't wait to hear more about this.

Here's a live shot that New Vintage posted as well.

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[pharaohamps]

I just got one of these and thought I'd post bit about it.

It's a 2U rackmount enclosure, nice and light at about 12lbs. The rear panel has an input (for connecting to the output of another piece of gear in your rack,) DI level control and output, and two Speakon jacks. Front panel has gain, treble / middle / bass, active mid / freq, and master volume. The main input is on the far right next to two small toggles for bright and 15dB pad.

I A/B'd this with my mid-90s SVT-II non-Pro, and the U500D is both louder and more lively sounding. My '66 P sounded great with the bright switch engaged and a bit of mid push from the active mid control. The center position on the freq. selector is roughly 900 Hz, which puts this in Ampeg territory. I set up the U500D through my Ampeg cab and was blown away by how big and present it sounded. Sure, it can do vintage-sounding just fine but it can also nail a big and bold modern tone. That active mid control is pretty intense...

More later, once I use this at a few rehearsals.

 

[pharaohamps]

Gig report - I've played my Undertow 500D at rehearsals for a couple of months, and just had my first gig with it on Friday.

Running through two Ampeg SVT115EN cabs, EBMM Sabre Classic and some pedals. The U500D holds it own with two guitars and a loud drummer EASILY. Compared to my Ampeg PF800 head the U500D has both a lot more headroom and a much nicer sounding preamp. Higher gain settings on the Ampeg result in more compression, whereas the Undertow just gets nice and crunchy.

I've got two New Vintage 115 cabs on order, loaded with Celestion Neos. Until then my late '90s Ampeg cabs will be just fine.

 

[HotelX]

Gig report - I've played my Undertow 500D at rehearsals for a couple of months, and just had my first gig with it on Friday.

Running through two Ampeg SVT115EN cabs, EBMM Sabre Classic and some pedals. The U500D holds it own with two guitars and a loud drummer EASILY. Compared to my Ampeg PF800 head the U500D has both a lot more headroom and a much nicer sounding preamp. Higher gain settings on the Ampeg result in more compression, whereas the Undertow just gets nice and crunchy.

I've got two New Vintage 115 cabs on order, loaded with Celestion Neos. Until then my late '90s Ampeg cabs will be just fine.

Are you still enjoying the amp? Looks interesting

 

[pharaohamps]

Are you still enjoying the amp? Looks interesting

Yes! Very much so. I actually purchased a couple of 1x15" cabs from New Vintage a few months ago and it's a great rig. I'd buy another one in a heartbeat if I had it to do over again.

 

[peteybass]

I have to say IMHO this is one of the best sounding bass amps ever. Light and crazy loud (like the Orange Terror 500). My favorite tones are the Ampeg SVT, Aguilar 750, Mesa 400+. This honestly has that sound plus a whole lot more. Can do the woolly warm tone but never sounds sloppy. Also can stay clean and articulate. 13 lbs and the DI is fantastic. This one has the Jensen and Tube DI. Amp and Direct out are dead quiet and tone controls are super responsive. Sounds great with my P, J and P/J. The sound of the instrument comes through but has that warm tone I love. Has a pretty quiet fan and they say does 2 ohms which I have never seen in a Class D. Anyway dont play much anymore but just saw this old thread and thought I would throw in my $.02.

Not all positive as at $1,950 with the Tube DI not cheap and only comes in a 2 space rackmount which I dont love these days. Also wish it had a mute but still great sounding and dynamic.

Follow up: contacted New Vintage via email and they got right back to me. Excellent Customer service. FYI units can be ordered with a mute switch or have one added. Also custom enclosures are also available. They have some exciting bass cabinet choices including a new 2-12 I want to get. Nothing left to complain about now Worth Every Penny. No affiliation just exciting when an amp sounds the way you expect it to.