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Thunderfunk TF420 vs. Aguilar AG500

#61
jock said:
What is "the switch" ?
Anyone got a pic of the new 500W model? Does it look the same? Any other new internal/external changes?
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It's a small toggle switch on the front above the power rocker (KB posted a picture on some other thread of his rig). "The Switch" is to change the tonality of the preamp from a warm tubey tone to a more sterile flat "hifi" tone like EBS or iAmp which some prefer for Double bass or slap.
 
#62
TFrigfront.gif
 
#63
davidmwilson said:
I DO love Aguilar amps, but I have an open mind.
With the 7 day tryout period from Thunderfunk I have nothing to lose.
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The AG500 is my choice. I got rid of my Stewart1.6/Demeter rig to get the AG500. I must say that it was the best Amp decision I have ever made. The Aguilar tone is very versite simple to E.Q. The tone is punchy, fat, warm, glassy, mids, what ever you want just dial it in. As for the distortion channel, I don't use it for much but it does sound good. I run my AG500 through a BAGEND B210-BXD, Trust me, tone for days. I play the following basses: Scott Ambush Custom-5, BNG-5 Zebra Ken Smith and a F Bass BN5. Through the years I have purchased nothing but high-end bass gear, I must say that the AG500 has raised the bar and is simply the best head I've ever owned. Simply said, the bar has been raised. :bassist: :)
 
#64
Hats off to all you wonderful people who made this correspondence such a friendly one. Brad and Dave, I really do hope I have a chance to try a TFB-550 sometime in the near future. Maybe I will decide that I like that better than the Aggie. I think I've made a good decision for the present for me, though. Like I said, I mainly need a flyweight version of the DB359 for my sound. I really didn't need the amp, but hey... I actually felt really guilty about not buying an AI Focus, and I may go back to the AI if the AG500 doesn't do it for my upright. Needless to say I haven't sold my Contra yet. But like I said, the punch just wasn't there for my electric tone, so that's why I am going for the AG500. I think TF and Aggie must both make wonderful products, there are some very loyal users of both. If I was rich, I'd have one of each.... Anyway, thankyou all so much for your input, I look forward to hearing the TF the first opportunity I get.
 
#65
I've been using the DB359 for acouple of years now and I love it, especially the simplicity of the controls, I play mostly fretless in a hardcore fusion band and gig with a pop band. That being said I just got my Thunderfunk acouple of weeks ago and I can't find anything my Aggie does better, I consider that a very high compliment. I'm also now using the TF for recording and the results are equally as impressive.
 
#66
rbeard said:
The AG500 is my choice. I got rid of my Stewart1.6/Demeter rig to get the AG500. I must say that it was the best Amp decision I have ever made. The Aguilar tone is very versite simple to E.Q. The tone is punchy, fat, warm, glassy, mids, what ever you want just dial it in. As for the distortion channel, I don't use it for much but it does sound good. I run my AG500 through a BAGEND B210-BXD, Trust me, tone for days. I play the following basses: Scott Ambush Custom-5, BNG-5 Zebra Ken Smith and a F Bass BN5. Through the years I have purchased nothing but high-end bass gear, I must say that the AG500 has raised the bar and is simply the best head I've ever owned. Simply said, the bar has been raised. :bassist: :)
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Just curious... Did you try the TF as well? I'm glad you said positive things about both of the AG500s channels.
 
#68
DaveAceofBass said:
The distortion will be useful for some of my groups, but both Davidmwilson and Dave Avenius at Aguilar talked me out of the Fulltone Bass Driver and into the AG500 instead of the pedal and an AG500SC. Tell me what all you TBers think.
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Well, I don't think it was talking you out of the Fulltone so much as what was going to work best for your situation.
The Fulltone in 'comp cut' mode is the best sounding out of the box "plug and play" od to my ears. I've spend a lot of time / money on OD pedals over the years, the AG500 second channel is up there with the Bassdrive, Multidrive, SparkleDrive, Deep Fryer etc IMO. It's also more flexible than any other I've seen.
I use od/dist a lot, but I know the second channel on the AG500 isn't for everyone. That's why it's great Aguilar are bringing out the single channel version, to give people a choice.

re: the whole parametric / 'simple' eq thing. I don't really care too much as long as I get the sound I want. Like Brad, I'd prefer to get a great sound with as little eq'ing as possible and then adjust to personal taste / room requirements as necessary. Parametric EQ is great for that.

The AG500 sounds great to me out of the box, needed little eq'ing. I'm sure the Thunderfunk will too and I'll have a difficult decision on my hands!
 
#69
davidmwilson said:
re: the whole parametric / 'simple' eq thing. I don't really care too much as long as I get the sound I want. Like Brad, I'd prefer to get a great sound with as little eq'ing as possible and then adjust to personal taste / room requirements as necessary. Parametric EQ is great for that.
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I quote this because Mark Wright at AccuGroove says the same thing about flat EQ. Let's start from there.

Some amps sound good with some speakers because the manufacturer compensated for some "deficiency" in the amp or speaker by adjusting the matching component. Now you know why your results vary. It depends on what combination you have. AccuGroove have been described by me as being "flat." That can be misinterpreted as "lifeless, sterile, etc." That's not what it means. If the speaker lacks low end the amp can be adjusted to use it's "power" to compensate. With that power being used for something other than flat power out, your total power out is less. Why do so many customers say they run my amp flat? That it sounds louder than it's wattage? Plug 'N Play? Hard to get a bad tone? etc.? Because I'm not comensating for a matching speaker, and I've made efforts to improve the QUALITY of the tone, and not just the "frequency response." Same with AccuGroove and Bergantino. Listen to how sweet Jim's cabs are. It's more than frequency response. What AccuGrooves are supreme at is full frequency power out. A faithfullness that puts the bass guitar, and the amp into the air. The cab becomes invisible. BUT tweak a little EQ and it goes into hyperdive because it started from "flat."

To summarize I'm commenting on the use of as little EQ as possible. It's the best place to start.

Dave
 
#70
Well,

I got the opportunity to play both of these fabulous amps today with my recently acquired Elrick NJS (see basstasters.com). I have to say up front that this post will be of no help to anyone wanting a definitive "_____ is better than ______" review. I can honestly say after spending approx. 20 minutes (I know, not a whole lot of time, and not a gig) running them through the fingerstyle, slap, tap, double-thumb, chordal gauntlet I don't know which one I would choose. As has been stated, the Enhance and Timbre features on the TF are very sensitive and do allow a wide variety of tonal shaping by themselves which is cool. Strangely enough, for me personally the AG was a bit more plug and play, but that is a purely subjective preference for that warm Aguilar tone. Additionally, the TF seems to be a bit more versatile in terms of the amount of EQ'ing available although the AG did seem to have plenty of flexibility and, again, this is all outside the context of screaming guitars, etc... But the AG's deep and bright buttons added nice depth and brightness (imagine that), and the EQ as a whole was much more sensitive (responsive?) than on the DB 750 which I also tried out just for fun (Sidebar... the DB750 was a beast, and I'm really surprised at how close the AG comes to that tube warmth of the AG). So, I found the AG's EQ was very flexible, just maybe not quite as much as the TF. I also like the Limiter feature and think it would be a nice addition to the AG.

The AG's 2nd channel I actually liked very much, despite the fact that I've never been a huge fan of distorted/overdriven bass tone. The way I've heard it described (not that this is the fault of anyone, just what my brain conjured up) I imagined constant Big Muff tone in varying degrees of fury, but I actually got a very mild, SVT grind out of it that was quite pleasant. It should be noted that the AG was played through an Aguilar 112 and the TF through an Ampeg 112 (all that was available), and that my NJS is a VERY clean, bright bass. Also, the TF was a standard TFB420, not the EU and no "Switch," although I'd like to hear what that sounds like.

I may have forgotten some things that I'll add later. . . the context was limited and the comparison was relatively brief as I was trying to get on the road to beat the nasty weather. Any questions about my curt and somewhat vague report are more than welcome. . .
 
#73
Dave_Funk said:
An amp is only as good as it's speaker. That's why we recommend AccuGroove speakers to get the most out of your amp.

Dave
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Yeah, unfortunately that was all that was available to me at the time. . . I definitely realize the results were not what they could be with an AccuGroove, etc...
 
#74
DaveAceofBass said:
Just curious... Did you try the TF as well? I'm glad you said positive things about both of the AG500s channels.
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Yes, I had an open mind just like yourself, Checked out my buddys TF (TB JROME). IMO the the AG500 shined on headroom and overall tone, but remember this is my opion. Call Jim at Atlanta Bass Gallery, he will mostly likly have both Amps in stock.

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#77
Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Well I have the Accugroove Whappo Jr. coming (I'd like a side of fries with that), and I'm gonna try it out with the AG500. Interesting that Dave Funk should recommend those cabs, I'm sure Aguilar would recommend their own, yet I'm buying the Aggie (no offense Dave, I just know what to expect, I still love you dude!!!). But I have (and had) various Aguilar cabs, and wasn't crazy about all of them. I actually didn't care much for the GS112s, they didn't seem to have enough headroom for me, but they sounded good. So I wound up with a second-hand Acme B-1 cab for a tiny rig, which I would've bought a small Accugroove, but the smallest cab isn't that small, and I like the B-1 for upright. I also had a GS115, and that sounded great, but I found I would take my GS210 first, and if I needed one cab, I'd take my SWR Bigfoot. So I did like 212s, but not the GS112s (for me, not that they're not good, they are, but not for my uses). So the only time I'd ever use my GS115 was with a full stack, so I decided to sell it, cause I don't like lugging that much around. I also figured the Bigfoot was outdated for me, and I sold that too, and that's why I got the Whappo Jr. (should be here soon). Oh, I hung on to the GS210, but if I have more cash I may sell that and get the Tri 210.

As for user comments on both amps, I think for me I won't use that parametric, but I do know how to use it. I thought I really liked parametric EQs, but I found out that I prefer a dialed in EQ... I still have to hear a TF, but knowing how much I like the Aggie sound, I think I'll be happy. :smug:

Now, Davidmwilson, question for you. You are selling the AG500 because it lacks headroom at an 8 ohm load with your EA 210 you told me. I know you love trying new gear, but the TF has the same headroom, does it not? So how will this solve your problem? Are you planning to sell the amp after you hear it, just to sample the TF taste versus the Aggie? Curious, but you know you're great dude, don't take me seriously, but answer the question!!! I'm teasing ya, but got to know!!! ;)
 
#78
DaveAceofBass said:
You are selling the AG500 because it lacks headroom at an 8 ohm load with your EA 210 you told me. I know you love trying new gear, but the TF has the same headroom, does it not? So how will this solve your problem? Are you planning to sell the amp after you hear it, just to sample the TF taste versus the Aggie?
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Various comments have been made about how the TF sounds louder than it's rating. I DO want to see how the TF sounds, but I'm also interested to see if I perceive it as louder than the AG.

The AG500 @ 8ohms/250W has done me very nicely for the few gigs I've used it on (bit of a gig drought the last few months for a few reasons). I don't NEED the extra headroom today, but will in the next few months. I can either
a) go back to pre/power setup exclusively
b) get a more powerful solid state head, or different rated cab
c) Use ag500/tf for smaller gig, use ag500/tf with preamp/di outs to drive power amp for larger gigs. If the TF IS louder, then that raises the threshold I'd have to bring in a power amp at.

I have a single space peavey dpc1400x power amp, so c) could well be a viable and portable option for me. In which case it's down to which of the AG and TF I prefer tonally. As I said before, with the 7 day TF trial period, I have nothing to lose.
 
#80
DaveAceofBass said:
Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Well I have the Accugroove Whappo Jr. coming (I'd like a side of fries with that), and I'm gonna try it out with the AG500. Interesting that Dave Funk should recommend those cabs, I'm sure Aguilar would recommend their own, yet I'm buying the Aggie (no offense Dave, I just know what to expect, I still love you dude!!!).
Click to expand...

I'm sure that the Accugroove cabinet will sound excellent with the AG500. I've heard great things about them. Just for the record, I was the other player that A/B'd the AG500 against the TFB-420 with RBeard. Roland loves the AG500 and thought it sounded better for him than the TFB-420. I personally thought the TF was a better sounding amp and based on all of the different basses we plugged in, much easier to make the EQ changes required for each bass. Had Aguilar choosen to provide a 2nd channel capable of a warm tube sound with the ability to produce clean sounds, I would have considered it an advantage , but as others have stated, that wasn't the intent of their design. I suppose that's correct and it's obvious. To me it's like having an ejector seat in a helicopter, it's usless! :D
Bottom line is they're both excellent amps. Different strokes for different folks! ;)
 

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