I have been using Aguilar all tube gear since the late 1990s. I use the DB659/DB680/DB728 and the DB359 with either the GS212 or GS112 cabinets. Gear sounding tube gear. Love it!
![20161103_040954[1].jpeg](https://www.talkbass.com/attachments/20161103_040954-1-jpeg.981296/ "20161103_040954[1].jpeg")
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Non-Ampeg Tube Amps
- Thread starter primusfan1989
- Start date
I got 2 MESA 400+ bass amps bought new in the 90's ... got two because had one at a big show, turned it on to do sound check and it started smoking so turned off, called Mesa, got all new tubes -- you could do that in those days - had to take out 2 tubes at a time - turn on - if worked, good to go, if not, turn off, replace next 2 -- turn on, etc -- I guess they are wired in "series" and there are 12 power tubes -- learned a lesson about tube amps - still got em in my basement but haven't played for 13 years -- using GK MB800 -- whodathought?
You've been having some fun, brother.
I used to enjoy building amps from kits but have gotten away from it. Anyone who can clone an amp from scratch impresses me!
Here are some Traynor YBA-3's I have:
Late 1960's YBA-3
IMG_20160911_172549 by Invalid Link Removed, on Flickr
A view of a early 1970's YBA-3
A-yba-3 - 425 by Invalid Link Removed, on Flickr
At one time I had a Fender 300 Pro & a Peavey VB-2
P1010105 by Invalid Link Removed, on Flickr
P1010538 by Invalid Link Removed, on Flickr
Late 1960's YBA-3
A view of a early 1970's YBA-3
At one time I had a Fender 300 Pro & a Peavey VB-2
GREAT IDEA FOR A THREAD!
I don't own a tube amp, but there's a 90w Tuber that I get to play through now and again – I'll post a pic when I can.
The tube amps I use for bass are Dynacords these days. They are very wide frequency-wise, and designed as PA or general purpose amps. The G-2000 has bass boosts on both channels. I jump the "low noise" inputs together to get more control over clean output.
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Verellen Meatsmoke. 300 watts (switchable to 100W), and a footswitchable OD channel.
Sounds so good, weighs a LOT.
Sounds so good, weighs a LOT.
The tube amps I use for bass are Dynacords these days. They are very wide frequency-wise, and designed as PA or general purpose amps. The G-2000 has bass boosts on both channels. I jump the "low noise" inputs together to get more control over clean output.
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I've read about the legendary Dynacord amplifiers, but this is the first time I've gotten a good look, thank you.
Weren't these used as the basis for West amps?
Man, I'm not gonna knock bass guitar tube amps and I'm not gonna knock nor promote solid state amps but I am going to say that most high quality solid state bass guitar amps are full frequency range of 20 hz to 20,000 hz.
How about tube amps? Especially, the old ancient bass tube amps from the 70s and older. Most of these amp have very simple and crude amp designs.
Yeah, they pull off excellent over-drive sounds but how is their fidelity level? (I used to have a Mesa 400+ and it put out the most "nasal, honky, dominate midrange sound" and I hated it!)
As long as a solid state amp is not over-driven, it puts out clean, clear, high fidelity bass sounds and all the sizzle a slapper could ever want. If we want to put some "dirt" on the sound, there are a multitude of effects pedals and some with preamp tubes. And, there are also SS amps with tubes in the preamp section for over-drive through the gain knob.
So, what is my point? Yeah! What is the fidelity range of these old ancient bass guitar tube amps that are supposed to be the "holy grail" of bass sound?
How about tube amps? Especially, the old ancient bass tube amps from the 70s and older. Most of these amp have very simple and crude amp designs.
Yeah, they pull off excellent over-drive sounds but how is their fidelity level? (I used to have a Mesa 400+ and it put out the most "nasal, honky, dominate midrange sound" and I hated it!)
As long as a solid state amp is not over-driven, it puts out clean, clear, high fidelity bass sounds and all the sizzle a slapper could ever want. If we want to put some "dirt" on the sound, there are a multitude of effects pedals and some with preamp tubes. And, there are also SS amps with tubes in the preamp section for over-drive through the gain knob.
So, what is my point? Yeah! What is the fidelity range of these old ancient bass guitar tube amps that are supposed to be the "holy grail" of bass sound?
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Here's a vintage Bassman 70 I just got through fixing. I bought it off eBay for a great price in "as-is / untested / tubeless" condition.
A blown resistor on one of the power tube sockets was immediately apparent but there were no other obvious issues.
In addition to that repair I wound up also replacing all the electrolytic caps, both power tube sockets, added an adjustment trimmer to the bias circuit leaving the balance pot in place. And since it came without tubes a new set was installed along with replacement shields for the preamp tubes since they were also M.I.A.
It was fun bringing this thing back from the dead. It sounds fantastic. And though I'm an "Ampeg guy", I think I'll be keeping it around for a while.
A blown resistor on one of the power tube sockets was immediately apparent but there were no other obvious issues.
In addition to that repair I wound up also replacing all the electrolytic caps, both power tube sockets, added an adjustment trimmer to the bias circuit leaving the balance pot in place. And since it came without tubes a new set was installed along with replacement shields for the preamp tubes since they were also M.I.A.
It was fun bringing this thing back from the dead. It sounds fantastic. And though I'm an "Ampeg guy", I think I'll be keeping it around for a while.
Garnet amps were ahead of their time. Features such as pull for boost, stage chaining for distortion, innovative tone stages, relays for switching were pioneered in these designs before others adopted these approaches. The Herzog was a small amp with a dummy load whose output was fed into the input of an amp.
Jim Kale
BTO
Jim Kale
BTO
I used to think this way too, until I got my Ashdown CTM-15 and heard power tube distortion. I've had (and have!) a litany of boutique pedals (analog and digital) that claim to nail tube sounds. After playing through my Ashdown (and now my SVT), I realize they don't come close to getting the weight, warmth, and musicality of actual power tubes being pushed (or even clean). There are times when you just need some glass and iron!
The frequency response of the typical bass tube power amp is probably better than you think. For example, Sunn amplifiers used the Dynaco MkIII power amp in the 100S and 200S in the late 60's. That's normally used in hi-fi audio applications. How the designer voiced the preamp is a different matter. I prefer loud n clean myself and don't ever overdrive the preamp tubes.
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"Fidelity" doesn't have any direct relationship with whether an instrument amp sounds good or not. You might as well be comparing knob shapes or tolex color.
i have no real need for super clean lows. in fact i high pass my signal at around 50hz with an fDeck. being able to reproduce 20hz is useless for my application.
