I agree, I wasn't a fan of the DB659. The AG500 is much clearer, yet still with a warm low end.KB said:
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Thunderfunk TF420 vs. Aguilar AG500
- Thread starter michele
- Start date
I have only used the Thunderfunk, and I must say that my search has ended.If there is a better amp out there, I hope I find it someday, and that it doesn't cost more than my first car, but I have stopped looking for it.That's how good I think the Thunderfunk is. Thought you might like to know that there is one on ebay now with a but it now of $595, and an opener of $495.That is a great price on a serious amp.
Mel Monihan said:
Okay! But this thread is about comparing the two amps! The fact that you can't compare the two, and have no interest in doing so, is at least off the subject!
JOME77 said:Some people take themselves to seriously!
Well, I thought it was a good point. Sometimes it seems harsher in print.
If so, sorry.
I own the Thunderfunk and it is so good that I don't even think about other amps. It is easy to use and lightweight. It is worth the money.
Mel Monihan said:
I sent two emails to the Ebay seller with the Thunderfunk with no reply. Curious. Things that look too good to be true usually are. When I get no response from an ebay seller, that's the first 'caution' flag. Too bad. would love to check out a Thunderfunk amp. - Gary
jeflepard said:
hey Jeflepard, what kinds of ampls have you used in the past that might be comparable? what kind of cabinet are you playing through? what kind of bass and what style of music?
The ebay seller is "thunderfunk" . You may try emailing Dave Funk directly on it.
I am still considering the Thunderfunk vs the Aggie. The Thunderfunk is a few hundred $$$ cheaper.
I am still considering the Thunderfunk vs the Aggie. The Thunderfunk is a few hundred $$$ cheaper.
KB,KB said:
I've got a friend in Atlanta that drove down to check out my Thunderfunk and was really impressed with the sound and quality. He eventually purchased the AG-500 though. I believe the major reason was the channel switching feature. He later told me the channel switching feature was pretty much useless for his style of music because he couldn't get a clean sound out of Channel 2.
I'd say based on his comments, unless your into the overdrive sound, your paying the extra $$$'s for the additional 100 watts at 4 Ohms. You're not likely to hear the additional 100 watts and for what it's worth my TF is capable of much higher CLEAN volumes than my bridged SWR SM-500.
You can't go wrong with the TFB-420. I've owned it several months now and everytime I play a different gig I walk away more impressed! I can use my fretted or fretless basses and just a tweak of the Timbre or Enhance knob and I've dialed in the changes I need to my sound. Absolutely the best plug and play amp I've found
I'd purchase an AG500 but I just can't get passed the fact that there is no "Combine" mode for the channels. Now that's just unacceptable. I feel if you are playing with that much gain, it sure would be nice to have some of the clean channel for a bit of support. What were they thinkin ?!?!?!?!?
KB said:
Is that Ebay seller related to Thunderfunk? I would be surprised if someone like Dave Funk or one of his staff were unresponsive to their own auction. Curious. What was bothersome is that the Thunderfunk being auction says it may differ from the configuration shown on the website. But I can't find out how it is different.
I have owned so many amps. I will try to remember them all. Carvin Pro- 500, Swr 750, Ashdown Abm 500, Ampeg Pro 3, Gk 1001, Aguilar Db 359, Kern 777 with Crest LT 1500-Great system. Of all the amps the Thunderfunk is my favorite. I play the Thunderfunk thru an Accugroove El Whappo Jr. The Thunderfunk is lightweight and easy to use and it sounds great. It is also priced reasonably. For the money it is hard to beat. I play with the Barry Richman band and we play Blues, Classic rock. I have not played thru the new Aguilar so I cannot comment on it. I am sure it sounds good. I hope my post is useful. Please remember my comments are based on my experiences.
Dave_Funk said:
Hi Dave,
Ebay email must be messed up. Would you send a PM to me Via Talkbass ins response to my questions. I dont know why I never got your replies. Thanks! - Gary
Well. I finally got a chance to compare a new Aguilar AG500 with the TFB-420 Thunderfunk. A fellow TB'er from Atlanta brought his AG500 over to the house and we gave them the once over.
The cabinets that we used were a SWR Goliath Jr. III and an Aguilar 112. The basses used were a Roscoe LG 3005, Elrick Gold Series 5, F Bass BN5, Sadowsky Tokyo and an Ambush 5. For the sake of time I won't go into the specifics of how each bass sounded with the 2 amps but I will say that overall both of us thought the F Bass was superior in both amps (but IMO the Roscoe was a very close 2nd).
I plugged into the AG500/Aggie 112 first and the tone was nice and warm. I was pleasantly surprised with the sound of the Aggie 112. It held together well at fairly high volumes. The AG500 seemed to produce a slightly tighter sound out of the Aggie 112 at high volumes (maybe due to a few additional watts @ 8 ohms?) but with the both cabinets in parallel, both amps produced a nice tight and clean sound at loud volumes. When plugged exclusively to the Goliath Jr. both amps performed very well.
I definitely prefer the "Enhance" and "Timbre" features on the TF for quick EQ changes. The "Deep" and "Bright" switches on the AG500 were OK (very similar to those found on GK amps)but in no way provided the flexibility found on the TF controls. I had to adjust the various EQ controls on the AG500 to dial in sounds that could be easily obtained on the TF via minor adjustments of the "Enhance" and "Timbre" controls.
I found it impossible to get a clean/warm sound out of the "Saturated" channel on the AG500. The fact that it doesn't allow you to blend it with the normal channel made it useless IMO (unless you're into an overdrive sound).
Overall both amps sounded very good. If I had it to do again I'd still purchase the TFB-420 instead of the AG500. Slightly less money (TFB-420 - $850-925; AG500 - $1,000-1,100) and just a better plug and play amp.
The cabinets that we used were a SWR Goliath Jr. III and an Aguilar 112. The basses used were a Roscoe LG 3005, Elrick Gold Series 5, F Bass BN5, Sadowsky Tokyo and an Ambush 5. For the sake of time I won't go into the specifics of how each bass sounded with the 2 amps but I will say that overall both of us thought the F Bass was superior in both amps (but IMO the Roscoe was a very close 2nd).
I plugged into the AG500/Aggie 112 first and the tone was nice and warm. I was pleasantly surprised with the sound of the Aggie 112. It held together well at fairly high volumes. The AG500 seemed to produce a slightly tighter sound out of the Aggie 112 at high volumes (maybe due to a few additional watts @ 8 ohms?) but with the both cabinets in parallel, both amps produced a nice tight and clean sound at loud volumes. When plugged exclusively to the Goliath Jr. both amps performed very well.
I definitely prefer the "Enhance" and "Timbre" features on the TF for quick EQ changes. The "Deep" and "Bright" switches on the AG500 were OK (very similar to those found on GK amps)but in no way provided the flexibility found on the TF controls. I had to adjust the various EQ controls on the AG500 to dial in sounds that could be easily obtained on the TF via minor adjustments of the "Enhance" and "Timbre" controls.
I found it impossible to get a clean/warm sound out of the "Saturated" channel on the AG500. The fact that it doesn't allow you to blend it with the normal channel made it useless IMO (unless you're into an overdrive sound).
Overall both amps sounded very good. If I had it to do again I'd still purchase the TFB-420 instead of the AG500. Slightly less money (TFB-420 - $850-925; AG500 - $1,000-1,100) and just a better plug and play amp.
