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The Official Reeves Bass Amp Thread

#401
The DAV BG-1 is way less colored than the 610 and two channels.
He also offers them in a rack version 1 mic one D/I. The BG-1U
as well as a 500 series.

Mick Hinton the designer was lead engineer for Decca Records.
The day before I bought my BG-1, David Gilmour's crew bought 48 of them for the On An Island Tour
and for the show at Royal Albert Hall.
 
#402
spiritbass said:
When I was a kid, I used to love plugging into the SVT on display at my favorite music store, but I have never owned or gigged one. It took me a while (I'm almost 60 years old!) to get around to investing in an all-tube amp that 'does it' for me. IMO, if your gear actually kills GAS, you're saving money. I'm repeating myself, but it's true every time I say or type it. :cool:
Click to expand...

Many people learn the hard way, if that money burns a hole in your pocket and you buy cheap, you end up spending more in the long run when you upgrade and in too many cases never escape an endless chain of mediocrity.
 
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#403
FFTT said:
The DAV BG-1 is way less colored than the 610 and two channels.
He also offers them in a rack version 1 mic one D/I. The BG-1U
as well as a 500 series.

Mick Hinton the designer was lead engineer for Decca Records.
The day before I bought my BG-1, David Gilmour's crew bought 48 of them for the On An Island Tour
and for the show at Royal Albert Hall.
Click to expand...

The TAB Funkenwerk V-71 D/I also gets a lot of praise from engineers, as does the A-Design Reddi.

I needed a good mic preamp more than anything.

I can still go D/I through the BG-1 with a simple 1/4" to XLR adapter cable
 
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#405
primussucks9126 said:
How much do those BG-1s run? Can't find a price on it. I actually really like the color the Solo 610 adds, as it sounds a fair bit like the tone I go for anyway. Especially when I compared it to other DIs like the REDDI and Avalon U5.
Click to expand...

The BG-1 runs $690.00 plus import duty of about $70.00
I just bought mine direct.

Not sure if he has a dealer in U.S. these days or not.

I'm trying to find the link to a thread over at GS that breaks down the tonal characteristic
of a bunch of preamps.
 
#407
One thing about the Reeves 225 as well as the vintage Hiwatt DR-201 was that these amps were designed Special All Purpose.
Not only exceptional for Bass & Guitar but also killer with analog keyboards.

They have the clarity for the highest highs and the power and headroom to support the lowest lows.

Push the gains and you can get those keys to grind like you've never heard before.

For studio or live applications, that makes these amps an incredible value.
 
#408
FFTT said:
One thing about the Reeves 225 as well as the vintage Hiwatt DR-201 was that these amps were designed Special All Purpose.
Not only exceptional for Bass & Guitar but also killer with analog keyboards.

They have the clarity for the highest highs and the power and headroom to support the lowest .
Click to expand...

How similar / different are the reeves and the hiwatts in terms of circuit design? Are they a direct clone or are there various tweaks to the gain structure / tone stack / power supply / output section.
 
#409
The Reeves has more power than a straight up clone and is EQ'd more as a bass amp, but is easily tweakable for guitar and keys.

There is the Reeves 400 if you want the baddest of them all, but you're back up to SVT weight.
 
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#414
David A. Davis said:
I have no present or foreseeable need for a custom 400, but I still want one :)
Click to expand...

Me too!

FFTT, I haven't read through the entire thread, but I see you run a Custom 225, and have gigging experience with an old SVT. How does the 225 compare with the older vintage SVT's?

I'm in the market for a tube head, the 225 is on my list along with the SVT-VR, the Heritage SVT and a few others. The SLM-era SVT-CL and SVT-2Pro I once owned were both too distorted sounding at gig volumes, so I gave up on both and sold them over 10 years ago. Neither compared clean(er) tone-wise to the mid 70's Black Line SVT that I used to borrow from a local bassist for big gigs.

That Black Line was magical. It was louder than ever needed, yet was much cleaner sounding, and had a very musical sounding mild distortion when it was cranked up.

I know the Reeves amps pay homage to the old Hiwatt amps, which have a somewhat cleaner tone. Does your 225 provide plenty of volume, yet stay cleaner sounding?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, just like David, I'd love the 400, but the 225 is much more in my budget and I find it's lighter weight to be more up my alley.

Take Care!​
 
#415
The big difference with the Reeves is that the sound is richer and more natural than an SVT.
I tried the newer SVT's VR & CL and just came away disappointed.
I also wasn't all that wild about hauling 85 pounds again.
I passed on a super minty clean '72 Blue Line the same day I bought my 225 for the same price.
I'm feeling no want for power or clean headroom with my 225.
Most importantly, it records like a dream.
 
#416
On the lower power alternative,

A while back I talked to Bill about the possibility of building a lower power 2X KT88 clean machine, but
he didn't think there would be a strong enough demand for one.

He is a custom builder, so maybe he might build a lower powered version on special order???
 
#417
FFTT said:
The big difference with the Reeves is that the sound is richer and more natural than an SVT.
I tried the newer SVT's VR & CL and just came away disappointed.
I also wasn't all that wild about hauling 85 pounds again.
I passed on a super minty clean '72 Blue Line the same day I bought my 225 for the same price.
I'm feeling no want for power or clean headroom with my 225.
Most importantly, it records like a dream.
Click to expand...

Thanks so much for the reply!

The video that's posted on their website is really cool. A P-Bass played through the 225 and their 4-10" cab is a very drool-worthy tone IMO. A great example of tube amp putting out a warm, musical sounding overdrive.

The Custom 225 is certainly at the top of my list!
 
#420
Arthur U. Poon said:
Me too!

FFTT, I haven't read through the entire thread, but I see you run a Custom 225, and have gigging experience with an old SVT. How does the 225 compare with the older vintage SVT's?

I'm in the market for a tube head, the 225 is on my list along with the SVT-VR, the Heritage SVT and a few others. The SLM-era SVT-CL and SVT-2Pro I once owned were both too distorted sounding at gig volumes, so I gave up on both and sold them over 10 years ago. Neither compared clean(er) tone-wise to the mid 70's Black Line SVT that I used to borrow from a local bassist for big gigs.

That Black Line was magical. It was louder than ever needed, yet was much cleaner sounding, and had a very musical sounding mild distortion when it was cranked up.

I know the Reeves amps pay homage to the old Hiwatt amps, which have a somewhat cleaner tone. Does your 225 provide plenty of volume, yet stay cleaner sounding?

Sorry for the barrage of questions, just like David, I'd love the 400, but the 225 is much more in my budget and I find it's lighter weight to be more up my alley.

Take Care!​
Click to expand...

@beebassdude has some experience with SVT's and Reeves as well.
 

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