The Acoustic Club

[JacklegBass]

That was my first bass amp back in the early 70s. I have very fond memories of it and wish I still had one.

The 150b was renamed as the 140 in the 2nd generation Acoustic line. It's essentially a 150 without the tremelo and reverb. Definitely worth considering, sounds great with a 2x15.

 

[ghostinthemach]

It appears that 150b's have a consistent, if not overwhelming level of demand as most Acoustic products do.
It seems there's always one available through my normal haunts.
Never having played through one I can only recount the presence as a mild indicator of demand, as they do eventually sell.
I'm sure one of the members with direct experience will weigh in.

There @JacklegBass beat me to it.

 

[rico bass]

 

[Clark Westfield]

B100 amp here.

Great practice amp; not enough juice form my bands drummer.

Love the sound.

 

[rico bass]

The 301 cabinet is the best ounding cabinet i have ever heard J bass rear pickup sounds crispy and crunchy like no other. Evey bass player should try one if they have the chance, amazing sound. The 470 sounds great but lacks enough power 170 watts.

 

[zon6c-f]

Opinions please?

Last month I went to purchase a totally vintage 361 locally as paying $$$for shipping is absurdly high

I recall 361 as not only being very loud but totally articulate and vastly different finally from my 370

I digress... This 361 was beyond LOUD
and would feed back on 2 when facing and fed back on 5 when facing away

Didn't buy because only articulation I could get was in vari amp. One tone only

I appreciate the tuner oscillator on vintage 361 and was I'm pressed with built in fuzz ....but fuzz on this one sounded like cheesy emulation instead of "Doors"fuzz

Loud? This thing has breath of Thor but when I played stacatto everything blurred. Not Jaco at all

Owner said it is a nostalgia piece and wouldn't recommend regularly gigging

I didn't want to buy and have it become a money pit I wanted a vintage amp that would eat quad stacks for snacks and cause jaws to drop with awe

I've been craving that 361 since owner said it wasn't for sale Now I can easily afford it and we made a reasonable offer

So I thanked the owner and bought my Bergantino rig

I want opinions as to why the 361 didn't sound articulate

Thanks

 

[TomB]

There's a 150b for sale locally. Are they something worth considering?

I gigged a 140 (same amp, I think) for many years, sometimes 6 nights/wk, usually into a 2x15. It only broke once, and was cheap to fix. Pretty nice if you're satisfied with a 125 watt amp.

 

[zon6c-f]

Years ago I bought 200 combo

Plenty of volume to perform with Tons of tone in 6 band semi-parametric ! No fart-out with B string ! Costs small fortune to accomplish that in any size

Even mighty Ampfridge with 8-10s farts on B string which is why I purchased GC AC B200 years ago

Next year I bought 200 Head and 1-15 cab in separates because I found the combo was too heavy although a one- carry into vehicle I prefer 2 carry : Cab then head into vehicle; small hand truck into venue

Recently bought new GC ac 600 class d
as I am seeking small n powerful and more affordable

2-10 neo cab didn't articulate B string at all and weighed more than anticipated

I really liked the visual blue light eq but was 4 ohm min which meant 2 cabs

I had just bought a 1-12 cab and the new 600 crackled and buzzed which was totally unacceptable. I tried different basses cabs cords. Was the head

Overall didn't sound as good as my older B200 so I returned it. Kudos to GC for making return easy

Ymmv

 

[JacklegBass]

The 301 cabinet is the best ounding cabinet i have ever heard... The 470 sounds great but lacks enough power 170 watts.

For a cabinet as efficient as the 301, the 470 should have power to spare. Even a 150-series head should really be enough for rooms of about any size.

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

That was my first bass amp back in the early 70s. I have very fond memories of it and wish I still had one.

The 150b was renamed as the 140 in the 2nd generation Acoustic line. It's essentially a 150 without the tremelo and reverb. Definitely worth considering, sounds great with a 2x15.

It appears that 150b's have a consistent, if not overwhelming level of demand as most Acoustic products do.
It seems there's always one available through my normal haunts.
Never having played through one I can only recount the presence as a mild indicator of demand, as they do eventually sell.
I'm sure one of the members with direct experience will weigh in.

There @JacklegBass beat me to it.

I gigged a 140 (same amp, I think) for many years, sometimes 6 nights/wk, usually into a 2x15. It only broke once, and was cheap to fix. Pretty nice if you're satisfied with a 125 watt amp.

Thanks!
if I get a chance, soon, I'll go take a look at it.

 

[ghostinthemach]

I want opinions as to why the 361 didn't sound articulate

In my experience that head needed a good tech overhaul.
I've never seen a healthy Acoustic head lacking definition. Set flat they're a very 'mid-forward' voicing. That's why they work great with folded horn cabs.

 

[zon6c-f]

Did I mention this 361 was loud ?

But only had one overall tone which would have been great for blues only
If Loud was all I wanted....

 

[Dr_Feelgoood212]

Did I mention this 361 was loud ?

But only had one overall tone which would have been great for blues only
If Loud was all I wanted....

You don't need tone if your rig can replace a skyscraper demolition company!

 

[zon6c-f]

When playing stacatto the notes just blurred

I remember 361 as a loud and tonal Monster

Price was good but how much to get it back to what I was expecting?

So I turned it down . Even had foot pedal

 

[ghostinthemach]

When playing stacatto the notes just blurred

I remember 361 as a loud and tonal Monster

Price was good but how much to get it back to what I was expecting?

So I turned it down . Even had foot pedal

Someone with proper knowledge will make us all cry with how easy a fix that blurring probably is.
It's probably worth some careful search engine work both here at TB and here:
unofficial acoustic control corp forum - Index page

 

[bostrowskij]

There's a 150b for sale locally. Are they something worth considering?

On my 140 you have max clean volume already about 10 o'clock on the knob, from then on you´ll get more and more overdrive but of a very good kind. I don't know if it's because my amp needs a recap job or something, or if it's the way they are. Anyway I really like the overdrive sound in a rock'n roll setting, the clean sound is maybe a little weak without PA support.

 

[10cc]

Opinions please?

Last month I went to purchase a totally vintage 361 locally as paying $$$for shipping is absurdly high

I recall 361 as not only being very loud but totally articulate and vastly different finally from my 370

I digress... This 361 was beyond LOUD
and would feed back on 2 when facing and fed back on 5 when facing away

Didn't buy because only articulation I could get was in vari amp. One tone only

I appreciate the tuner oscillator on vintage 361 and was I'm pressed with built in fuzz ....but fuzz on this one sounded like cheesy emulation instead of "Doors"fuzz

Loud? This thing has breath of Thor but when I played stacatto everything blurred. Not Jaco at all

Owner said it is a nostalgia piece and wouldn't recommend regularly gigging

I didn't want to buy and have it become a money pit I wanted a vintage amp that would eat quad stacks for snacks and cause jaws to drop with awe

I've been craving that 361 since owner said it wasn't for sale Now I can easily afford it and we made a reasonable offer

So I thanked the owner and bought my Bergantino rig

I want opinions as to why the 361 didn't sound articulate

Thanks

Most people do not know how to manage the controls. While using the vari amp you can not turn up the control knob. Leave the control knob turned down while selecting the different settings in vari amp. You can hear a huge difference in frequency. Then turn up the control to liking. It also sounds much better with the bright on.
Bass and treble at noon.

 

[zon6c-f]

Got no tonal variation from bass n treble knobs
But wish I had known the vari amp trick!

Could have changed my mind !

 

[zon6c-f]

Spent a little under price for 361 as for my Berg rig

Maybe next year!

 

[ghostinthemach]

I have a question for owners of vintage Acoustic 406 wide (or similar era Acoustic) cabinets.

Mine is loaded with likely original white domed 15 inchers. My cab feels ridiculously light for its size. I run it with a matching 120 head and when stacked I can easily move it around. Just minor adjustments (even lateral-no wheel assist as the wheels are on the tilt back panel!) as I have a lot of cabs in a corner and need to move things slightly when connecting and dis-connecting heads. Each time I'm struck by how it feels like a functionless prop in weight compared to its considerable volume (displacement not dispersement in this case, but funny how both apply).

Is it that the wood was not only high quality but has also now dried out and lost moisture weight?

Are yours unusually light for their size?

I'm not kidding I'm strongly considering trying to weigh this thing. I bought it from a pawn shop a few months back to replace a Peavey shallow 2x15, which felt like twice the weight. Didn't expect the 406 wide to be much lighter. Big win as I now have no trouble 'one man-ing' my 2x15 cab now for the few occasions I still need/want one.
Volume and tone are huge with the 120 watt head. These are your Grandfathers watts, not the sissy watts of today hahaha...