I've never used the Trickfish Bullhead, but have used a Bergantino Forte (purchased in 2019), with an assortment of Berg cabs and no complaints. The fact that the Forte is "neutral" is why I love it (I've heard them described as the Bose of amplification and can't disagree). I mostly use a couple of custom Jazz Basses, that all get different tones, so I can set the amp and let the bass (and my fingers) do all the work.
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Trickfish 1K vs Bergantino HP2
- Thread starter otto B
- Start date
Late to this, but a comparison to Bose isn't probably what you wanted it to be.
"No highs, no lows, it must be Bose"
"No highs, no lows, it must be Bose"
The Bergantino B|Amp, at least, just sounds like a great bass amp in my opinion
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
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I have gig time with both the Ultra and the Forte D, as well as many other heads. The Forte D is a classic Berg in all the right ways with an "easy button" dial to bring in a bit more character if you want that. It is a very cool feature and let's you rapidly revoice the head on the fly and everything stays in balance. For people like me who don't use effects pedals (except on occasion) I appreciate amps like the Forte D that give me some quickly accessible options.
Without taking anything away from the Forte D's excellent performance, I am beyond pleased with the Ultra. It is unlike almost anything else I have played and I believe it will be seen over time as iconic for its innovative design and powerful, versatile performance. There are a lot of great heads out there these days, but few are like the Ultra in terms of setting an undeniable benchmark.
What fascinates me most is that above all other attributes I associate Berg products with being less voiced without sounding sterile. That is a really hard trick to pull off when it comes to musical instrument amplification IMO. Jim's designs just feel like they support the player and the instrument in a very transparent way that enables a lot of nuance and subtle aspects to be heard that more voiced equipment would alter or bury completely.
I am not against voiced amps and cabs and own quite a few, but when you want what I can only call the Bergantino sound there is no one that does it better IME.
Without taking anything away from the Forte D's excellent performance, I am beyond pleased with the Ultra. It is unlike almost anything else I have played and I believe it will be seen over time as iconic for its innovative design and powerful, versatile performance. There are a lot of great heads out there these days, but few are like the Ultra in terms of setting an undeniable benchmark.
What fascinates me most is that above all other attributes I associate Berg products with being less voiced without sounding sterile. That is a really hard trick to pull off when it comes to musical instrument amplification IMO. Jim's designs just feel like they support the player and the instrument in a very transparent way that enables a lot of nuance and subtle aspects to be heard that more voiced equipment would alter or bury completely.
I am not against voiced amps and cabs and own quite a few, but when you want what I can only call the Bergantino sound there is no one that does it better IME.
Well hell. I just went to order an HP Ultra from Long & McQuade, and they tell me that the order code is "April 1" but that is internal code for "not likely to bring this in, because of tariffs." (april fools, you see) Yes, I am Canadian.
Nothing's sure, I left it with them and had them flag my account for callback to get a concrete callback.
Nothing's sure, I left it with them and had them flag my account for callback to get a concrete callback.
Update: I did a thing. A Bergantino HP Ultra with carry bag and footswitch is just purchased. It was in stock at Bass North.
Cheers for the advice, especially to Jim.
Cheers for the advice, especially to Jim.
Can confirm, I ended up with a Mesa Bass 800D. I am very happy at this point.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,771
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- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
I really like the Mesa Bass 800D and admittedly have some connection to that head and Mesa that runs deeper than just being a customer. The 800D is a fairly voiced amp by design intent and it has some wonderfully room filling characteristics. It's hard not to smile when you play it even if it's not your preferred sound.
That said, IMO if you want something that is less voiced, but far from sterile that offers some of the 800D's cool attributes, the Bergantino Ultra is probably the place to look. I have been nothing but impressed from the first moment I played the Ultra. In its "classic Bergantino audiophile" kind of way it brings depth, slam, power, and even some character enhancing voicing features that that give it a huge room enveloping sound with a tad more polite attitude than the Bass 800D.
Both amps are killer in all the right ways and deliver an unmistakable room filling presence and fullness to the bass, yet they are different enough in voicing that most players would likely have a strong preference for one over the other. Me, I prefer owning both!
That said, IMO if you want something that is less voiced, but far from sterile that offers some of the 800D's cool attributes, the Bergantino Ultra is probably the place to look. I have been nothing but impressed from the first moment I played the Ultra. In its "classic Bergantino audiophile" kind of way it brings depth, slam, power, and even some character enhancing voicing features that that give it a huge room enveloping sound with a tad more polite attitude than the Bass 800D.
Both amps are killer in all the right ways and deliver an unmistakable room filling presence and fullness to the bass, yet they are different enough in voicing that most players would likely have a strong preference for one over the other. Me, I prefer owning both!
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And just to be clear, I'm not bagging on the Forte HP, it's a phenomenal amp, just not the right one for me. As I've mentioned elsewhere, I'm really not a fan of tube amps, but I'm not a fan super detailed/transparent/clinical amps either. I suspect I would thoroughly enjoy the Ultra. That said, another crucial selling point for the 800D for me is its simplicity and lack of bells and whistles. It's a hit-string-go-boom kind of amp and, as I've found with various electronic music devices, I really value working with devices that impose a certain amount of constraints and just do what they do.
I love to hear what you think about the Berg Ultra tone vs your LittleMark lll.
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
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Congratulations! If the Markbass gear was working for you, but you wanted a bit more audiophile polish with user tailorable character, punch, and enormous presence, this head should put a huge smile on your face. I've played a lot of gear over the years (1970's through today) and the Ultra is a true standout in all the right ways.
While any Berg cab will usually make me happy, I discovered that this head added a new dimension to my existing cabs from different companies. Of course it also made my Berg cab sound incredible.
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Early take on it, the Bergantino head is even more 'honest' than the Mark Bass head (I have them to play back to back on the same cabinet, after all). Meaning that I am still playing with the compressor and the filters to take some string noise and artifacts out of the mix, because the head is very sensitive to the guitar. Fine with me. What I really appreciate so far:
I won't be able to really know what my new rig will sound like until the cabs come in, but so far, it's exactly what I was after. I haven't tried this with the SansAmp or the Octave/Shifter as I'm trying to nail what I like for my three basses first and then introduce things that may or may not improve the overall sound.
I'd have tried this head out days ago, but I had to "special order" in some 5' speakon cables. All they had were 25' at the music stores nearby, and my Mark Bass cables are 1/4" to speakon, so I wasn't able to use them. Weird but it is what it is.
- the drive circuit is great, I'm setting at around 10 o'clock
- the way the drive circuit seems to lower master volume is great
- the vintage voicing is truly different, it's not a subtle change (I'll likely not use it, myself)
- the gain control is very simple and effective to use on this head, with linear control
- the volume is likewise linear, I dislike volume controls that are biased to fool consumers
- my 400W 8ohm cab sounded better as I turned it up (naturally much more than 40% volume is pushing it)
- with so much overhead power, it gets more clarity at volume than my 300W amp on that cab *
- the compressor does what they do, but it seems less intrusive than others to clarity (like my Behringer)
- the punch button is not subtle and definitely useful for a song where you want the bass to stand out
- likewise, the bright button is not subtle ... but switching frequencies makes it more so, if desired
- the controls make real changes, some heads don't change sound without major pot sweeps
- the Ultra is not perceptibly different in weight than my 500W Mark Bass heads, amazingly
- I like the broad feet on the head, they hold it in place well and isolate some from vibration
I won't be able to really know what my new rig will sound like until the cabs come in, but so far, it's exactly what I was after. I haven't tried this with the SansAmp or the Octave/Shifter as I'm trying to nail what I like for my three basses first and then introduce things that may or may not improve the overall sound.
I'd have tried this head out days ago, but I had to "special order" in some 5' speakon cables. All they had were 25' at the music stores nearby, and my Mark Bass cables are 1/4" to speakon, so I wasn't able to use them. Weird but it is what it is.
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Thread revival: I'm awaiting delivery of a used Ultra. Based on much in this thread, it's just too darned tempting! Thanks to all for their input throughout...
Jim Bergantino
Commercial User
Be sure to check serial number and if it’s 994 or lower I would recommend downloading latest firmware on our website and updating.
Enjoy!
Al Kraft
Supporting Member
- May 2, 2016
- 10,771
- 40,450
- Disclosures
- Mesa Boogie beta product tester and player support
I was a little skeptical at first about a "SW download" for my bass amp as I had never done something like that with any previous gear. That said, I found it quite easy to do, and while the changes were subtle, I liked how the amp sounded with them.
This aspect of Jim's design is really cool, as if the amp itself isn't more than enough to continually put a smile on your face every time you fire it up.
This aspect of Jim's design is really cool, as if the amp itself isn't more than enough to continually put a smile on your face every time you fire it up.
Here's something interesting for you... I didn't like the vintage voicing of my #1002 and so I thought ... "why not load the software file in anyways, it'll just replace the same version if it's already got it." Guess who is using the vintage voicing now?
I'm not at all sure what this means. Could be that the number 01002 on the side of the box isn't actually #1002 unit. Don't know.
I'm not at all sure what this means. Could be that the number 01002 on the side of the box isn't actually #1002 unit. Don't know.
912...gonna explore the download as I'm dragged, kicking and screaming, into the 21st century - Thanks!
I have had this experience. Both great amps, but the Ultra has a lot more power and seems more "bright." They really are in a different category since the Genzler has tubes (iirc) and has a bit more quick-shape capability but no variable compressor, or high/low pass filters. The drive, bright and punch features of the Ultra kind of match up with the Genzler in sound variability but take more work (and have more flexibility).
If I was comparing an amp of this level, and didn't need the additional power, I'd consider a few other amps as well, having done a multi-month dive into this sort of decision. I prefer the Mesa TT-800 to the Genzler (and about anything in this price range) for sure, and I played through an Aguilar 500 with two channels (seems that they haven't made this in a while) that sounded great the other day. You might also consider the 1000W Vintage Mark Bass amplifier, as it has a tube preamp.
The two amps that define this thread are on a whole other power level, I wouldn't compare them to sound quality as while they do have a deeper ability to recreate sounds from power overhead, that part of the equation is a bit more subtle.
