I am trying to debate what amp I want to get next. I am between Trickfish 1K and Bergantino HP2. Has anyone can tell me any feedback on what is the difference between the two.
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Trickfish 1K vs Bergantino HP2
- Thread starter otto B
- Start date
I’ve owned the B1K for years and have used various Forte amp iterations on many gigs, though I’ve never owned one. I did own the Super Pre for a while, which is basically the front end of the B|Amp. For me it’s a simple distinction. The B1K sounds better (to me) right out of the box. It’s just a really nice sounding amp. The downside is that it kind of just does one thing and outside of extreme knob positions just does principally does that one nice sound. The Berg is much more flexible and capable of a wider range of tones, but to me never sounds quite as sweet as the B1K doing its thing. If I were deciding between the two I would decide if I wanted a lot of good tones, or if I wanted one great tone. This is very generalized, but that’s my take. Fittingly, my favorite combination is my B1K into any number of Berg cabs, which I prefer to Trickfish cabs almost across the board despite the Trickfish cabs being very nice.
I own a Forté HP1, and owned a B1K for a few months. I found the B1K to be a “dark” sounding amp, it sounded excellent with my ash/maple F Bass BN5, which is a bright/clear bass, but something like my Lakland 55-94 (also ash/maple, w/ bartolini pickups and electronics), which is a dark sounding bass, it wasn’t a good match. It’s not muddy or anything, but definitely a low & low mid push. I sold it, but it was not because I hated it, I just preferred other stuff.
Overall I think the Bergantino is more “neutral” and lets the bass itself shine through. With the HPs (i think they’re about to release the “ultra”, 4th revision of the amp), the punch and bright switches are usable, and the variable ration compressor is good- I prefer a pedal unit, but in a pinch (when you’re on a small stage and the guitar player(s) brought their touring rigs
) , it’ll do. The built in lpf and hpf are both nice, and the drive circuit has a lot of variety with the free (whether you buy the amp new or used) downloadable patches. It is a loud effing amp too, and I like the big volume knob, easy to find, and the bluetooth footswitch is pretty sweet too, although i honestly only need the mute and drive buttons on it. And it goes down to 2 ohms.
I really like the B1K gain staging/metering, once you get it dialed in it is great. And I never found it lacking for power or oomph- their power ratings are a bit unorthodox, but that amp is loud and doesn’t break up or run out of gas in my limited usage. I didn’t like the eq center switches resetting every time the amp was powered off, and while the volume knob is all the way to the right, they are all the same size. And the amp only goes down to 4 ohms, which may or may not be an issue for you.
They are both really nice amplifiers, just different.
Overall I think the Bergantino is more “neutral” and lets the bass itself shine through. With the HPs (i think they’re about to release the “ultra”, 4th revision of the amp), the punch and bright switches are usable, and the variable ration compressor is good- I prefer a pedal unit, but in a pinch (when you’re on a small stage and the guitar player(s) brought their touring rigs
) , it’ll do. The built in lpf and hpf are both nice, and the drive circuit has a lot of variety with the free (whether you buy the amp new or used) downloadable patches. It is a loud effing amp too, and I like the big volume knob, easy to find, and the bluetooth footswitch is pretty sweet too, although i honestly only need the mute and drive buttons on it. And it goes down to 2 ohms.I really like the B1K gain staging/metering, once you get it dialed in it is great. And I never found it lacking for power or oomph- their power ratings are a bit unorthodox, but that amp is loud and doesn’t break up or run out of gas in my limited usage. I didn’t like the eq center switches resetting every time the amp was powered off, and while the volume knob is all the way to the right, they are all the same size. And the amp only goes down to 4 ohms, which may or may not be an issue for you.
They are both really nice amplifiers, just different.
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I appreciate the feedback. I always thought that Bergantino amps are built just to match their cabs, and that for the most part is an ok amp to match with any other brands. What cabs are you using?I own a Forté HP1, and owned a B1K for a few months. I found the B1K to be a “dark” sounding amp, it sounded excellent with my ash/maple F Bass BN5, which is a bright/clear bass, but something like my Lakland 55-94 (also ash/maple, w/ bartolini pickups and electronics), which is a dark sounding bass, it wasn’t a good match. It’s not muddy or anything, but definitely a low & low mid push. I sold it, but it was not because I hated it, I just preferred other stuff.
Overall I think the Bergantino is more “neutral” and lets the bass itself shine through. With the HPs (i think they’re about to release the “ultra”, 4th revision of the amp), the punch and bright switches are usable, and the variable ration compressor is good- I prefer a pedal unit, but in a pinch (when you’re on a small stage and the guitar player(s) brought their touring rigs
I really like the B1K gain staging/metering, once you get it dialed in it is great. And I never found it lacking for power or oomph- their power ratings are a bit unorthodox, but that amp is loud and doesn’t break up or run out of gas in my limited usage. I didn’t like the eq center switches resetting every time the amp was powered off, and while the volume knob is all the way to the right, they are all the same size. And the amp only goes down to 4 ohms, which may or may not be an issue for you.
They are both really nice amplifiers, just different.
I have a HP2 with a Darkglass 212 and it’s sounds amazing.
Loud, punchy and clear.
No real color, just the sound of your bass and your fingers.
My main rig
Loud, punchy and clear.
No real color, just the sound of your bass and your fingers.
My main rig
- Apr 3, 2003
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Both are phenomenal, top-tier amplifier options. I don't own a Bullhead 1k, but I have a .5K and a 3K (which do sound slightly different from each other). Of these three heads, the spectrum of "more open and airy" to "more heft and bigger lows" run, IME/IMHO: .5K, then HP2, then 3K. The HP2 is just about as open/bright as the .5K, and has just about as much heft/slam as the 3K, so it somewhat spans the gap. I can definitely dial-in any of those three to sound like the others. The 3K, though, has the fairly unique ability to sound huge, even at low volumes. It reminds me a bit of the Berg IP cabs in this regard.
Again, IME/IMHO, both Bergantino heads and Trickfish heads play well with any other brand of cabs, especially if said cabs are aimed at a more neutral, balanced response.
Again, IME/IMHO, both Bergantino heads and Trickfish heads play well with any other brand of cabs, especially if said cabs are aimed at a more neutral, balanced response.
I have Bergantino cabs (a HG410x, NXT212 and NXT112), but I've played a friend's Bergantino B-amp through an Eden 410XLT (and heard him and other's as well) and it sounds great.
Interesting thread - I use inefficient but glorious Fearless cabinets, have been dabbling with the B1K, and thinking about Bergantino, as I need stuff that provides a serious 8-ohm jolt. In truth, for gigs I'm getting good mileage out of a bridged Hartke LH1000 (750 RMS into 8 ohms), but don't dig the limited EQ and the 30+ lb. weight is getting to be a bore. The Bergs have a lot of great features (hpf!) and apparently a broad range of tones...but is it true that all notes pass through some sort of DSP? Call me silly or old-school, but I like staying in the analog realm (and I don't see a Class D power supply disrupting that, if the preamp is analog), and am concerned accordingly. Am I delusional? Also thinking about Ampeg (Yamaha) V12 and some of the Peavey/Trace Elliott stuff that promises a lot of 8-ohm wattage and voicings that could work well in my 80's/90's/Alt. cover band, whereas the B1K is perhaps too refined for such things. Thoughts?
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Whether or not any DSP is applied, there is a trip through an AD converter, and then a DA converter. Neither of these are of any consequence as the latency incurred will be completely imperceptible.
I owned a Trickfish Bullhead 1K for as short time, and around the same period I borrowed a Forte for a couple of weeks, so I can offer a comparison - not with the HP2, though. The Forte is the more neutral of the two but capable of some degree of vintage voicing via the VPLF control. It has gobs of power and a very practical but not overly complex feature set. I found that the Bullhead 1K had a noticeable midrange emphasis and a fairly pronounced upper mid character that I never could quite dial out, also it seemed like I maxed out the volume control on my loudest gigs. I know a lot of people like them, though.
I could easily live with the Forte, but my micro head of choice these days is actually a Quilter BB803.
I could easily live with the Forte, but my micro head of choice these days is actually a Quilter BB803.
Thanks for those helpful responses. Perhaps my fear of digital conversion is overblown, and I simply need to play through the Bergantino and find out how it feels and sounds. Onward!
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
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I had the opportunity to play the Bergantino Ultra recently with a number of different cabs from different companies and it sounded great with all of them. In fact it breathed a new kind of life into them with palpable weight and fullness to the notes even at living room volume. I think that Bergantino cabs have such a great reputation that people naturally assume that Bergantino amps are probably matched to work well with Berg cabs.
The B/Amp as I recall did have the ability for a user to dial up profiles for various Bergantino cabs to provide the optimal match for a fully flat response profile. While a super cool feature, the B/Amp worked well with other manufacturer's cabs using its default profile. But once again this could lead to an erroneous conclusion that you need to match up Berg amps and cabs to get the best result.
As @MattLplaysBass said earlier "Overall I think the Bergantino is more “neutral” and lets the bass itself shine through." . To me the overarching Bergantino design approach with cabs and amps has this as their foundational focus. So naturally Bergantino cabs and amps play well together as their core design attributes are similar. However, IME Bergantino products all play well with other brand amps or cabs.
I have no experience with the Trickish and never comment on gear I haven't played or at least heard someone play.
Al Kraft
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When I had the chance to play the Ultra the only thoughts in my mind were fond memories of the old days of Crest CA9 power amps, Aguilar D750/751 heads, etc. While the Bergantino may not be the sound you're looking for, the last thought you'll have with any Berg head IME is the word digital.
- Apr 3, 2003
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HP purchaser here. Not at all knocked out with it. Sterile would be my word. Sold it on quickly. I spent enough time with it to know it wasn't going to work though. Shame, I had such high hopes.
I really rate the Pope Flexcore pre amps though so would be very interested in the Trickfish which may have that DNA.
I like everything about the ethos of Bergantino...but do not get along with the sound of that amp or cabs I used.
Form factor is very nice though.
I really rate the Pope Flexcore pre amps though so would be very interested in the Trickfish which may have that DNA.
I like everything about the ethos of Bergantino...but do not get along with the sound of that amp or cabs I used.
Form factor is very nice though.
Jim Bergantino
Commercial User
The original HP had a very tight, detailed, and quick response characteristic to it that some felt leaned more towards the "sterile" side of the spectrum. Others loved this aspect of the design for its very accurate representation of their bass and ability to cut thru a busy mix. The one thing I can say about the Ultra, which has now replaced all earlier versions of the HP's (HP, HP2, and HP2X), is sterile is the last thought that will come to mind when playing thru it. It has all the detail and finesse of the original HP's with a richness, fullness, and depth never heard or felt in other Class D bass heads. IMO of course. I hope you have the opportunity at some point in your travels to check it out and let us know what you think.
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Grateful for all of this input. For the record, the 8-ohm fearless cabs are power hogs. IIRC, designer Greenboy wrote that the F112 needs 600w, and 750w for the F115 to properly do their thing, and in early reviews Ed Friedland was gleefully pumping 2000 watts into an F112. I've had the sad experience of excellent amps rated at 400w/8 ohms simply running out of steam on the F115, at moderate volume levels. Meanwhile, I long ago learned that big power and headroom can make a huge difference in how the bass presents at low and medium volume. For many years my main rig was a Genz Benz mini-stack: 6.2 shuttle, 112T cabinet with saddle, and an extension 112T. I was able to cover a lot of my stuff (jazz/folklorical/latin and Panamerican rock) with one cabinet, and the difference in replacing the 6.2 with a 9.2 was not subtle - an instant and substantial upgrade in ease, authority, responsiveness and projection at all volume levels, and particularly appreciated at low and medium volume (obviously not cranking the 9.2 into a single cabinet). I'm now primarily playing in a cover band and the F115 can handle anything and everything so long as adequate juice is flowing. The Trickfish 1K can do that and would have done it quite well in my prior situations...along with either the F112 or F115 (never used them together and they are in different spaces) I can get a tuba-like warmth and whomp that I really dig...but now seek more voice in the rock/cover band context, and don't want to become a pedalmaniac.
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Al Kraft
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If you get the chance, I think the Bergantino Ultra would be worth a listen. Even if it's not exactly what you're looking for it's a playing experience you won't forget. It's a head that IMO is not able to run out of clean headroom regardless of how power hungry your cab or cabs may be.
For rock covers it has a number of cool voicing features that seem both useful and usable to me...I add the word "usable" because some gear (pedals, heads, etc.) have neat features that are simply too much of what could have been a good thing.
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My Trickfish Bullhead 1k is the best amp I’ve ever owned. That through my TF212V is tone heaven. I think I may have found my ultimate rig. I’ve owned Bergantino, Aguilar, EBS, Ashdown, SWR, etc and this Trickfish rig is my favorite of all.
