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What Is The Best Amp You Ever Owned?
- Thread starter faulknersj
- Start date
And has the voice of God?
I've never played a SVT at gig volume, but I loved plugging my jazz bass into them at my favorite music store back in the day...
Over the years, I have owned at least one of all the major brands and some not so major. At the end of the day I always came back to an Ampeg SVT and fridge. That's not to say that some of the others weren't good (the Pearce pre-amp and Crown power amp for example were great) but it always seemed I was happier with the Ampeg. Plenty of choices out there and there has to be at least one that get's your tone. I could have saved a lot of money over the years had I not been chasing tone and I have gotten to the point of just plug in and play whatever is there since I haven't had to provide a backline in years.
(?)1968(?) (I bought it used and knew next to nothing about bass amps, at the time) SVT with two 8 x 10" cabinets.
I have been spoiled because it was my first bass amp. and has become the "measuring stick" I use to rate all other amps.
I'm loving the Genzler Magellan but really miss the Mesa Walkabout.
- Apr 1, 2000
- 17,410
- 9,869
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Roscoe Guitars, DR Strings, Aguilar Amplification
This rig. I can use up to 4 GS112 cabs. It's an absolute beast.
I've had a few amps over the years...
The Streamliner is a pretty great amp.
Thunderfunk
Fender TBP-1 preamp was pretty great (regret selling)
The Streamliner is a pretty great amp.
Thunderfunk
Fender TBP-1 preamp was pretty great (regret selling)
I had the Fenser TBP-1 Pre with that Fender power amp (1200 ways?) too and that thing killed!!
Never tried the Magellan, but those Walkabouts are sweet. The only reason I sold mine was to fund my Reeves C225 build. I wanted to go all-tube and didn't want to refurb a vintage amp. After reading Tom Bowlus' review of the Reeves, I took the plunge. God willing, I'll be playing it the rest of my life. It's that good.
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Definitely my Hiwatt DR201. The rather aggressive upper mids probably won't work for everyone but I LOVE it. No other amp (with MAYBE the exception of some Matamps) have given me anywhere remotely the same "heft" as a DR201 into a good cab. Playing a DR201 with the volume and lows pushed hard is something that can't be described in words. The lows HAVE to be pushed hard on these amps, to balance out the aggressive mids.
I also love my Selmer Treble'n'Bass MkI, but only for recording. 50 watts just isn't loud enough for the bands I'm in. And yes, it has a tube rectifier which most bass players seem to hate. Personally I love the smooth dynamics I get from tube rectified amps. I see it as a subtle, smooth compression. And the TONE... This is an amp I will NEVER sell. I believe these amps were based on a Blonde Bassman, but with EL34s in the output section. Later versions didn't have the tube rectifier (or the fake croc-skin).
I've got some other REALLY nice vintage tube amps too but these two are my favorites. It's sad that no-one manufacture really great tubes anymore. The end of the tube amp era is coming closer each day and personally I think NOTHING beats a good ALL-tube amp.
I also love my Selmer Treble'n'Bass MkI, but only for recording. 50 watts just isn't loud enough for the bands I'm in. And yes, it has a tube rectifier which most bass players seem to hate. Personally I love the smooth dynamics I get from tube rectified amps. I see it as a subtle, smooth compression. And the TONE... This is an amp I will NEVER sell. I believe these amps were based on a Blonde Bassman, but with EL34s in the output section. Later versions didn't have the tube rectifier (or the fake croc-skin
).I've got some other REALLY nice vintage tube amps too but these two are my favorites. It's sad that no-one manufacture really great tubes anymore. The end of the tube amp era is coming closer each day and personally I think NOTHING beats a good ALL-tube amp.
The best sounding amp I had was this EA iAmp 800, seen below at our rehearsal space and with a rather younger me driving a backline cabinet with it at a festival.
Beautiful tone, but it just didn't push enough air.
Beautiful tone, but it just didn't push enough air.
I agree with your all-tube view.
I've never played a DR-201, but considering how much I like my Reeves C-225, I'm sure I'd dig it. 
AFAIK, Bill is still building them...
The rig i always come back to is my Eden WT550 (pre us music) and one or two Acme Low B2 4 ohm cabs.
I don't have a lot of experience trying different amps compared to most above, but am not really looking around after finding my Walkabout.
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My best rig ever was a killer early 70's "blue line" Ampeg SVT head that I used with a Sunn Concert Bass 2 X 15 cabinet loaded with a pair of JBL K-140 speakers. However, once I quit playing full time and had to schlep my gear all by myself for my weekend warrior blues gigs, it was just too much for me.
Best sounding amp I've had was a fender bassman 300 pro. It's so loud and has the fullest gut shaking sound I've ever come across. I ended up trading it off for two reasons. First, they're big expensive monsters to work on, resulting in big repair bills. And second, it was humongous, wider and deeper than any other head I've had, didn't fit on top of a lot of cabs, and was really really heavy making it a total chore to move around.
