For the record I thought the little mark tube sounded awful. The 50T is probably a great option that is an easy carry.
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My Ampeg tube amp sounds great with DB. But most my DB playing is quiet acoustic gigs, so , I can't justify carrying the DB and a heavy amp. At some point, I may get a PF-20T with 10 inch speaker. I think I could reasonably transport them along with a db.
The 50t is really good for upright, I would love to hear it with a Berg nv115, but we don't see many Berg's in northern NH... Peter, do you run the nv horizontal so the v4b can sit on top?
I use it vertical with Monique and horizontal with the V4b. I don't own a 50T but someone brought one over and while not as loud sounds a lot like the V4b. The V4b and a nv115 sounds really great.
You might be surprised, there are Class D amps that feel and respond like tube amps. The Walter Woods MI series were analog amps with SMPS power supplies. I still have one, it sounds and responds like a tube amp. Just my take.
Ric
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I've used an Ampeg b15n since 1977. It has done 50-100 gigs a year in that time. That's thousands of dates. The only maintenance on it I have done is about 25 years ago a couple tubes replaced, and this year it went into the shop but the tubes are ...still ok! The repair shop gave it back to me no charge. (a loose wire)
Anyway, I know you are not receptive to a wee tank like the b15n. While my amp was in the shop, I tried a Traynor 200 watt D class with separate 15 " speaker. The amp weighs about as much as a book. It was excellent! I hauled my upright down to do this. If my Ampeg head was toast I would just buy a D class and use my 15" box. In my opinion the speaker is a huge part of the sound. I have a 12" GK and it just ain't ballsy. The 15" is.
I see you are using a Traynor Bassmate. We had one in the high school jazz band back in 1973. It did not sound too bad. Traynor has come a long way. Yesterday I brought home an old Yorkvllle (Traynor) Bassmaster xs800h. That's 800 watts rms. It has a tube pre amp section to get a tube sound. Your Bassmate, and my b15n, are about 30 watts. Just for a laugh, here's a pic of my new amp beast. For the plank bass of course!
Anyway, I know you are not receptive to a wee tank like the b15n. While my amp was in the shop, I tried a Traynor 200 watt D class with separate 15 " speaker. The amp weighs about as much as a book. It was excellent! I hauled my upright down to do this. If my Ampeg head was toast I would just buy a D class and use my 15" box. In my opinion the speaker is a huge part of the sound. I have a 12" GK and it just ain't ballsy. The 15" is.
I see you are using a Traynor Bassmate. We had one in the high school jazz band back in 1973. It did not sound too bad. Traynor has come a long way. Yesterday I brought home an old Yorkvllle (Traynor) Bassmaster xs800h. That's 800 watts rms. It has a tube pre amp section to get a tube sound. Your Bassmate, and my b15n, are about 30 watts. Just for a laugh, here's a pic of my new amp beast. For the plank bass of course!
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I've been running my Noble preamp into a Markbass 121p to get a much warmer tone for my uprights. I highly recommend it - with the FDeck, of course
I was intrigued by this thread so pulled out my Ashdown CTM-15 and 1x8 cabinet and tried it out with my EUB. I used to gig with this setup with my EB. It sounds good, but I am not sure if it is worth the extra weight.
Just had to try the Ampeg PF-50T.
I love the way it actually fits on my small speaker cabinet! (Total first.)
The first Jazz gig trial went quite well. Slightly more portable than the old Traynor with significantly more headroom. This Ampeg noons out with a relatively flat response. I actually switched in the "Ultra Hi" on the amp and backed off the hi-pass filter on my preamp to replicate the wild highs & lows from the older tube heads (didn't quite get there but this newer amp manages to fill the room more without feeding back).
I think this is going to be a keeper!
I love the way it actually fits on my small speaker cabinet! (Total first.)
The first Jazz gig trial went quite well. Slightly more portable than the old Traynor with significantly more headroom. This Ampeg noons out with a relatively flat response. I actually switched in the "Ultra Hi" on the amp and backed off the hi-pass filter on my preamp to replicate the wild highs & lows from the older tube heads (didn't quite get there but this newer amp manages to fill the room more without feeding back).
I think this is going to be a keeper!
How do you transport the head to gigs? I don't even see a strap on the chassis. Cool looking head though...Just had to try the Ampeg PF-50T.
I love the way it actually fits on my small speaker cabinet! (Total first.)
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The first Jazz gig trial went quite well. Slightly more portable than the old Traynor with significantly more headroom. This Ampeg noons out with a relatively flat response. I actually switched in the "Ultra Hi" on the amp and backed off the hi-pass filter on my preamp to replicate the wild highs & lows from the older tube heads (didn't quite get there but this newer amp manages to fill the room more without feeding back).
I think this is going to be a keeper!
Who chopped that Traynor BassMate into a head? I owned one of those combos (20 watts, 1-15") and it is the one and only amplifier I regret having sold. Paid $65 for it in the early 80s when such amps were considered worthless. I never used it for DB, though.
I recently had a bit of an amplification existential crisis.
My Shadow SH-951 was on the fritz, but I thought it was my Rane AP-13. With a gig coming up I decided to plug into my Orange Terror Bass and see if I could make it work for upright. After EQ'ing it, I was surprised how great it sounded. It just seemed to have a character to it that added a more musical quality.
Now, I mostly play Slap bass with some pizz and occasional arco and you do lose some Slap definition with the tubes, but it seems like a small trade off.
Currently I'm running the Grace Design BiX in the effects loop of the Orange and I must say that I'm really pleased with it.
I've also tried running every various combination of the FDeck, BiX and Orange TB1000 and this setup seems to sound best.
When I A/B it with my Rane AP-13/Crest Prolite 2.0 setup, I miss whatever character it is that the Orange TB1000 adds.
I realize that the Terror Bass is a hybrid, but it's one of the few hybrid heads I've tried that actually sounds like a tube amp and it has headroom for days.
I'm gonna try this setup at my rockabilly gig next Friday. I'm a little worried about feedback, but I'll bring the FDeck along so I can use it for the HPF/phase switch if need be.
My Shadow SH-951 was on the fritz, but I thought it was my Rane AP-13. With a gig coming up I decided to plug into my Orange Terror Bass and see if I could make it work for upright. After EQ'ing it, I was surprised how great it sounded. It just seemed to have a character to it that added a more musical quality.
Now, I mostly play Slap bass with some pizz and occasional arco and you do lose some Slap definition with the tubes, but it seems like a small trade off.
Currently I'm running the Grace Design BiX in the effects loop of the Orange and I must say that I'm really pleased with it.
I've also tried running every various combination of the FDeck, BiX and Orange TB1000 and this setup seems to sound best.
When I A/B it with my Rane AP-13/Crest Prolite 2.0 setup, I miss whatever character it is that the Orange TB1000 adds.
I realize that the Terror Bass is a hybrid, but it's one of the few hybrid heads I've tried that actually sounds like a tube amp and it has headroom for days.
I'm gonna try this setup at my rockabilly gig next Friday. I'm a little worried about feedback, but I'll bring the FDeck along so I can use it for the HPF/phase switch if need be.
Agreed,
There were Class D amps out there that emulated tube amps and were much lighter.
Jule Monique has the ultimate of course in his tube pre. He is also working on a new pedal!
Ric
I play through a Demeter VTBP-M-800D and Bergantino 112 cabinet. The Demeter sounds very tubey- the front end has tubes but the power section is class D
They sound awesome with electric bass and pretty awesome with upright too.
They require two trips from the car - one for bass and one for rig.
I'm trying to slim things down so I can carry my rig on the shoulder while carrying my bass
They sound awesome with electric bass and pretty awesome with upright too.
They require two trips from the car - one for bass and one for rig.
I'm trying to slim things down so I can carry my rig on the shoulder while carrying my bass
The tote bag for the QSC K8 is a decent fit. (Tad loose - I may augment the protection with a sheet of foam. If I stay with this for the long haul I may splurge on a bag from Studio Slips with a shoulder strap... or just keep my eyes peeled for the right small duffle bag at the thrift store.)
I can do my upright, the speaker and the head in one trip pretty comfortably! (The bag with padded handles is definitely easier than the more conventional box with the strap handle.)
Yeah, once you get a taste of that super low end, it's pretty hard to let that go.
In theory with its lesser efficiency it's not the best match for any amp of modest wattage. But I tried it anyway and it worked.
I have been browsing for just the right simple small cabinet - something more efficient and ideally with no crossovers at all. (Like the old Bag End S-15D or the 12" or 10" variants - alas, no one in the used market seems to want to ship, anymore.)
I have been looking real hard at those Orange "Terror" and Demeter hybrids and I'd surely love to try them. I guess I've grown cynical because I've tried the hybrid approach so many different times in the past.
As recently as last month I lugged my old rack (SVT-IIP tube preamp + Crown PLX 2402 power amp) to a Jazz gig just to see how the double bass would respond. It was okay, but it didn't really win me over.
I will probably always hang on to at least one good Class D device for a handy backup. All 3 of my older tube amps have needed it.
As recently as last month I lugged my old rack (SVT-IIP tube preamp + Crown PLX 2402 power amp) to a Jazz gig just to see how the double bass would respond. It was okay, but it didn't really win me over.
I will probably always hang on to at least one good Class D device for a handy backup. All 3 of my older tube amps have needed it.
I know it can sound like a quacky science experiment. But an all tube amp projects the right hand weight on the notes in a way that a solid state amp cannot do. It may not be worth the carry but it is glorious.
I have been looking real hard at those Orange "Terror" and Demeter hybrids and I'd surely love to try them. I guess I've grown cynical because I've tried the hybrid approach so many different times in the past.
As recently as last month I lugged my old rack (SVT-IIP tube preamp + Crown PLX 2402 power amp) to a Jazz gig just to see how the double bass would respond. It was okay, but it didn't really win me over.
I will probably always hang on to at least one good Class D device for a handy backup. All 3 of my older tube amps have needed it.
Here's a review I wrote up for the Orange Terror Bass 1000 (Mods, I'm not endorsed by Orange or anyone else):
"Well, now that I finally have a cabinet that I can crank up the volume, I figured that I should share my experiences with the Orange Terror Bass 1000.
First off, there aren't many upright bass players using them, so if you're looking for tips & tricks on how to optimize it for the upright, you're in for a lot of interwebz searching. That's the bad news. I can only think of a few players like Djiorde who are currently using one. The good news is that its the first hybrid style amp I've tried that actually sounds more like a tube amp if that's what you're looking for. Also, the power rating seems pretty accurate (compared to other solid state/hybrid amps). Meaning it actually sounds like 1,000 watts.
The TB1000 is a really simple amp on the surface. It can run either a 4 or 8 ohm load through use of an internal limiter you can switch on the back. I thought this was a neato feature. It doesn't have any 1/4" speaker outs though, and even though it has two speaker outs, they only handle the sum of your load and the amp won't do a 2ohm load. Meaning, if you have two 8 ohm cabs, you have to select the 4 ohm option on the limiter switch regardless of if you have one cab hooked up to each output or your cabs connected in series and you can't run two 4 ohm cabs.
It has an effects loop that bypasses the preamp section but not the tube EQ, and a DI with a ground lift (thank you!). I've read that the DI is really hot (line level) but I haven't had a chance to use it yet. [update: I've used it and it works perfectly. This was apparently a problem only on the earlier first run amps].You can use a piezo directly into the input and it has a -10db pad, but I got better results using my FDeck HPF before the input. The input is 1mohm, so YMMV.
The tube based EQ section is really basic and not voiced flat at the 12 o'clock positions. I find myself wanting a graphic EQ (easily remidied) for notching certain frequencies, but for now, cutting all the mids seems to do the job with the bass knob at noon and the treble knob at about 11. How you set each knob effects the other selections though, so you're experience may vary depending on your cab, etc. The Orange Amp forum has some good info about how the EQ knobs interact.
The gain knob is very touchy, and the original tubes were microphonic at the get go. Reading through different forums, I settled on a JJ Tesla 12ax7 for the input (V1) and an EH gold plate 12ax7 for the EQ (V2).
These were better, but not what I was looking for.
Unlike many other hybrid amps, tube selection makes a big difference in the tone of this amp. If you have a friend who happens to have a bunch of preamp tubes you can try out, give them a call. Michael Quiroz was kind enough to let me test drive some before I bought them. Without his help, I might still be trying to find the right match. He lended me a box of about 100 preamp tubes for experimenting with.
I tried every combination of tubes in V1 & V2 that I could imagine. What I settled on was a Jan Phillips 12ax7wc for V1 and (surprisingly) a Fender rebranded GT12ax7 for V2. These two combined gave me a full, rich, musical tone that I loved. I also tried a Jan Phillips 5751 in V1, but found myself cranking the gain knob to about what a 12ax7 would be at with a lower setting. It did sound great and gave me some more headroom especially before feedback at higher volumes, but I liked the JP12ax7wc tone better.
How does it sound? Awesome. Especially the louder you crank up the volume. it seems to really come alive with the gain knob set at anout 9 o'clock and the volume at about noon. From there on up with the volume, it only seems to sound better. It still sounds great at lower volumes, but it really shines when you push it. You CAN get it to sound like your bass but louder with careful EQ'ing, but I preferred a little more girth and grit to my tone.
If you like that super clean slap tone it's probably not the amp for you, but if you like the sound of an SVT or a more "wooly" sound, this amp has it in spades and sounds especially fantastic playing pizz lines. The tubes seem to add a bit of natural compression just like an actual tube amp. More defined than an Ampeg B-15, but not as punchy as a real SVT. However, its 1,000 watts of goodness in an eleven pound compact package with a 70's era disco vibe. If GK amps are your thing, you probably won't like it. If Ampegs are your thing, I'd say its a big improvement over a PF800 or most of their smaller amps.
So, that's my take on it. Hope it helps anyone who's curious about trying one out. I love it a lot..."
