• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Thunderfunk Initial impressions- Eden is Gone.

#41
now i understand where all you guys where coming from... i thought it was just some sort of cliche or something... but you guys were right.
:help: i may have to change my username to TFB550B :D
just kiddin... well off to work for a while...

Chef said:
I was serious!
Since I got mine, I've tried many other high end heads, and mostly regretted it. The TFB is still hands down my go to piece of gear.
Click to expand...
 
#42
svtb15 said:
The weird thing is, you can even notice the punch at very low levels.. I mean coffee house ,acoustic guitar matching levels.. it is noticeable even at those extreme low levels..
it just reacts so fast you cant help but notice.. unlike any other amp that i have ever tried or owned..ashdown, ampeg, eden,EA,Epifani, gk, trace elliot, b1500, mesa mpulse600, etc..any of them.... i loved my old mesa mpulse but where the TF is just starting to breathe and kick butt the mesa would have been in full bore tube distortion if thats what i wanted ...
but this TF has headroom... I have to say i am real happy..
Click to expand...

Dang it. Exactly what I didn't need to hear.:)
 
#43
svtb15 said:
ok i will be a snob..;) only kidding.. but when i got my nyc sadowsky5 my GAS for 5 string basses went away.. it has been years since i had bass GAS... at oone time i had 27 5-strings because i was on a quest to find one that i liked..
I no longer have 27 5 strings..Only 2 at this time and im real happy.

and honestly i feel the TF will take care of my Amp GAS.. i have been so fortunate to be able to play and own some great gear and i know what i hear. This thing may have put the GAS to rest for years to come.. the only thing i can think of that i would maybe GAS for is the REDDI DI, and maybe if Thunderfunk ever comes out with a high power 1100watt amp ,i would like one of those.. then i could get rid of everything else..
This TF is hands down the best self contained amp that I have ever played. period. thank you for allowing me to indulge.
Click to expand...

I still have 5-string GAS, so I gotta prioritize and do some cost-benefit type of stu'. My Skylines are matching up to the amp gear for now. The TFunk and a used Metro or MTD are soon coming on the radar.
 
#44
svtb15 said:
The more i play this amp the more i see what people like Kjung and Tommix mean..
It not only sounds good but it feels good too.. it punches you hard.. I notice i have a smile on my face with this thing... thank you Bassist30 for insisting on the TF... I sincerely mean that.
Click to expand...
HEY! What about me and KJung???? :)

Man, readin' the luv here is gettin' me teary eyed... :D

svtb15, I'm not the LEAST bit surprised by your joyful results. Man, I still remember the first time I played the TFB "at volume" at a gig thru my EA cabs, and especially when I hooked my Skjold up to it late last year for the first time... like you said about "punches"... I felt like I was like getting punched in the chest by a pro boxer with every note. That "quickness" that's also being discussed here. Ahhh, then comes that smile... :)

TFB's rule. It's not my only amp, but it would be if it came to that.
 
#47
jmain said:
The TFunk and a used Metro or MTD are soon coming on the radar.
Click to expand...
Better have plenty of fresh underwear on hand... you'll need them. :)

My TFB550B almost made me cry the first time I played my MTD thru it with brand new strings and a pair of EA NL-210's. I'd never ever heard a bass sound that incredible before in my entire life.

Now here's the kicker I haven't seen anyone else mention yet...

The TFB has another special trait you'll learn about later... some heads really sound a lot better thru some cabs vs others. The TFB shines thru ANYTHING. I have YET to find a cab I felt the TFB didn't "pair well" with. This is a first for me. I don't know why this is, because it's even true with largely the same EQ settings. Maybe something about what Dave was saying about the "holes" in the tone with other heads?
 
#48
To below: Yeah, me too...

Vic said:
TFB's rule. It's not my only amp, but it would be if it came to that QUOTE]





[QUOTE:The TFB has another special trait you'll learn about later... some heads really sound a lot better thru some cabs vs others. The TFB shines thru ANYTHING. I have YET to find a cab I felt the TFB didn't "pair well" with. This is a first for me. I don't know why this is, because it's even true with largely the same EQ settings. Maybe something about what Dave was saying about the "holes" in the tone with other heads?
Click to expand...

Yessir, this has been the case with me so far too. My 420 ain't met a cab it didn't like.
 
#50
Vic said:
Better have plenty of fresh underwear on hand... you'll need them. :)

My TFB550B almost made me cry the first time I played my MTD thru it with brand new strings and a pair of EA NL-210's. I'd never ever heard a bass sound that incredible before in my entire life.

Now here's the kicker I haven't seen anyone else mention yet...

The TFB has another special trait you'll learn about later... some heads really sound a lot better thru some cabs vs others. The TFB shines thru ANYTHING. I have YET to find a cab I felt the TFB didn't "pair well" with. This is a first for me. I don't know why this is, because it's even true with largely the same EQ settings. Maybe something about what Dave was saying about the "holes" in the tone with other heads?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I got TFunk and MTD GAS all at the same time. Not that my gear is shabby, cuz I'm very thankful for what I got. But I need to hear an MTD through a TFunk into these Epi cabs.:ninja:
 
#53
Vic wrote: "My TFB550B almost made me cry the first time I played my MTD thru it with brand new strings and a pair of EA NL-210's. I'd never ever heard a bass sound that incredible before in my entire life."

Sounds like my reaction when I plucked the 1st note through a TFB420/Whappo Jr. My jaw dropped. I'd never heard any of my basses sound that good.:D I'm looking forward to plugging into my fresh from the Lab 550B that landed on the doorstep today. No worry, Dave uses lots of bubble-wrap.;)

Ken
 
#54
I, too, had to swallow hard when reading the 'hype' about the ThunderFunk amps. I wanted the pre/post XLR DI option-at one silly point, I said that it was a 'deal-breaker' (remember that one, Dave?). Curiosity got the better of me-that and Dave's incredible trade-in policy!!! (Thank you, thank you-you made it happen for me!!!). I absolutely HAD to try one. No matter what you have read on any ThunderFunk post here or elsewhere...THEY ARE ALL THAT!!! and then some. I'll echo what was said earlier. The ThunderFunk has all of its brilliant sound regardless of overall volume. I have used just one GS112 on quiet gigs and all of the tone and responsiveness to my touch is there, just like it is with two cabs and really 'roastin' it. My TF is like a chameleon...it takes on whatever tone I want it to-"hi-fi" to old, squooshy vintage. I have never, ever, played a SS head that could do 'tubetone' so well. Without "patented tube emulation circuitry",I might add, lol! Other bass players, locally, have been mesmerized by it. AFAIK, mine is the only one in the (large) area. I am sure that is due to pricing. We are not an affluent area. I am certainly not 'born of the manor'. I don't have the chops of many of my fellow forumites-but I am a serious 'techie' and I have a very good ear. Again, it was Dave's generous trade-in policy (Dave, have I said "thank you" enough?) that allowed me to go out on a (for me) financial limb and try the TF. Once I did, I was hooked. If I had to sell my (beater) car and ride a bicycle back an forth to work (50 miles-which I have done), I would do it, just to save for the TF. The build quality is simply exquisite. You will never, ever, feel controls that are as smooth and solid. Componentry throughtout, is spec'd with quality first, cost, second. Dave took an amp, that from all accounts, was excellent-and made it better. Much better. In fact, as you may have noted...he doesn't rest on his laurels as so many in the industry do. If Dave can figure a way to improve something on "his baby"...he does so. Without worrying about model changes or such drivel...the improvements show up as soon as he has proven them. And we all benefit. Usually at "no extra cost". Playing my ThunderFunk and having "popped the hood" to look at its guts-I am surprised that Dave is able to sell them for what he does. There is a lot of "hands-on" in each of his amps.
If you are open to an amplifier that is not a tube amp-for whatever reasons-you owe it to yourself to actually try the ThunderFunk. Take it from me-an avowed 'cheap bastidge'-you won't get one at discount...anywhere. Is the ThunderFunk worth it? Only you can answer that.
I can honestly pledge that it is simply more amp than I could imagine in a two space 17 lb package. I have yet to hear any amp that sounds subjectively better-regardless of price. I have gone through many amps in the 30 or so years that I have been playing. There are bloody few that I can consider to be irreplaceable. My F-1X preamp is one...my ThunderFunk is the other. Death not withstanding...as long as I can play bass...I will not be without a ThunderFunk.

humbly,

Kim
 
#57
The timbre knob gives me the full sound that I needed with my set up. I love that knob. Helps to deal with a rooms acoustics as well. What if the room is too boomy and you need to have a clearer sound? Adjust the Timbre knob to run flat or perhaps turn it a little to the right. Do you need to be your tone to be fuller sounding or do you want to add some warmth? Turn the knob a bit to the left. It quickly creates a huge difference in the tone.

Kim- Your rave review about the Thunderfunk was excellent!
 
#59
Brad Johnson said:
After talking about these for years (and their precursor, the Amplified Music Products amps) it's nice to see how well they've caught on.
Click to expand...

You guys make me blush! :o Brad, isn't your amp 3 years old? What took these other guys so long?

On the comments about playing one note, etc, Lanice Morrison played five notes and bought the amp. What surprised me more is he didn't play anymore than that. We made the deal, and he put it in the case and took it with him.

I also think the best comment was, "The biggest problem with the amp is remembering to stop playing at the end of the song." That's how it should be.

And sorry about diversion into the silver question. To clarify I wasn't saying that the caps sound like silver being dropped; just that different metals have different sounds, and silver has a nice sound even if it's an electrical sound.

The question about the red label on the hot salsa is of course, the color makes no difference. Cause and effect. Chicken or the egg. What works, works. The trick is in knowing it (ears). You shouldn't measure what we're doing. You should listen. And it's mostly just good design practice; identifying a problem; knowing how to fix it; and knowing when it's fixed. Having listened to amps for so many years, I have an attitude of listening in the nooks and crannies for specific "defects." When I listen to other amps I hear things that I would still fix which means the other brands aren't done designing before they go into production. I just got an email from a guy who improved his other brand amp by going through it and doing the same thing by changing cap types and even values. He tried changing the opamps also. This is one reason I use sockets. I figure in the future they'll be a hot rod market where we'll find some different or new opamps that sound better and we can play with switching things around.

Dave :D
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back