Selling my yamaha PB-1 preamp is one of my true regrets.The best I ever sounded was this . . . .
80's Yamaha PB-1 Preamp
. . . . sitting on top of one of these . . . .
Yamaha P2200 stereo power amp, same time period.
. . . . pushing two of these:
JBL Cabaret Series single 15.
I'm not much for looking back, but this rig was the loudest, easiest, most responsive rig I ever owned, and after conventional (i.e., Peavey bass stacks) it was an utter revelation, I never worried about not loud enough/pushing to catch up and going into ugly, out-of-breath distortion. And that amp was the heart of it, those P-series Yamahas were so smooth.
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What Is The Best Amp You Ever Owned?
- Thread starter faulknersj
- Start date
I have two. My first one is my Eden WT500/800 that I bought in 2010 directly from David Nordschow (founder of Eden) when he left Eden to found DNA. It's a dual powerblock WT500 amp that he upgraded to 800-watts into 8Ω bridged from the original 500-watts. That's actually a pretty easy conversion because the WT500, WT600, and WT800 all shared the same power section with just different power supplies. So he upgraded the power supply and used that amp on his cab test-bed to develop all the Eden cabs from 1999 until he left in 2009.
It's a hybrid amp, meaning that it uses a tube (12ax7) in the impedance matching section operating within specific parameters to generate the tube warmth that the Eden WT amps are known for. EQ section has a shelving control set at 30Hz for bass, followed by three semi-parametric controls to cover everything from 30Hz up to 14KHz, and another shelving control to control everything about 2.2KHz. It's an amazingly versatile EQ section that will allow you to "ring in a room" to identify any frequencies that the room is either sucking out or reinforcing. But usually, I just end up dialing in a little boost to about 1:30 in the low-mids at ~250Hz and that's all my sound needs. That little boost in the low mids gives me great presence and definition. The only drawback to it is that it weighs about 36-lbs. in its rack.
Here it is on top of both of my DNS cabs (210 and 410). They are both 8Ω cabs so it can only bridge into one of them at a time, but it can play both if needed. At this venue, the DNS-210 handled everything easily by itself while my 410 ended up just being and expensive amp stand
My other "best amp" is my DNA-800. It's a class D amp that is dead quite and can produce 800-watts rms into either 4Ω or 2Ω. It has a much simplified EQ with Bass at 35Hz, low-mids at 500Hz, high mids at 2KHz, and Treble for everything above 2KHz. I run the boost the same in the low-mids as I do in the Eden amp and also add a little bass boost because the Bass is set at 35Hz in the DNA amp instead of the 30Hz that it is in the Eden amp. But the sound comes out virtually identical and it only weighs 4.8 An added feature of this amp is its excellent compressor, which has adjustable threshold and ratio controls. You can do everything from adding just a touch of sustain all the way to elephant stomp-flat compression - no dynamics and notes continue to sound for as long as you keep the note fretted. David built this one himself in May of 2021 because his factory was out of stock waiting on parts, and he had the parts on hand to put one together for me.
He also signed and dated it:
This amp will power both of my cabs at once sending 400-watts to each of them. But honestly, in most cases I'd rather bring that 36-lb Eden amp with me instead of the 52-lb. DNS-210 cab. At music festivals using my Eden amp bridged into my DNS-410, I get told to turn down if I run my master up to 10:30, so I don't really need to bring both cabs...it does look good though...
It's a hybrid amp, meaning that it uses a tube (12ax7) in the impedance matching section operating within specific parameters to generate the tube warmth that the Eden WT amps are known for. EQ section has a shelving control set at 30Hz for bass, followed by three semi-parametric controls to cover everything from 30Hz up to 14KHz, and another shelving control to control everything about 2.2KHz. It's an amazingly versatile EQ section that will allow you to "ring in a room" to identify any frequencies that the room is either sucking out or reinforcing. But usually, I just end up dialing in a little boost to about 1:30 in the low-mids at ~250Hz and that's all my sound needs. That little boost in the low mids gives me great presence and definition. The only drawback to it is that it weighs about 36-lbs. in its rack.
Here it is on top of both of my DNS cabs (210 and 410). They are both 8Ω cabs so it can only bridge into one of them at a time, but it can play both if needed. At this venue, the DNS-210 handled everything easily by itself while my 410 ended up just being and expensive amp stand
My other "best amp" is my DNA-800. It's a class D amp that is dead quite and can produce 800-watts rms into either 4Ω or 2Ω. It has a much simplified EQ with Bass at 35Hz, low-mids at 500Hz, high mids at 2KHz, and Treble for everything above 2KHz. I run the boost the same in the low-mids as I do in the Eden amp and also add a little bass boost because the Bass is set at 35Hz in the DNA amp instead of the 30Hz that it is in the Eden amp. But the sound comes out virtually identical and it only weighs 4.8 An added feature of this amp is its excellent compressor, which has adjustable threshold and ratio controls. You can do everything from adding just a touch of sustain all the way to elephant stomp-flat compression - no dynamics and notes continue to sound for as long as you keep the note fretted. David built this one himself in May of 2021 because his factory was out of stock waiting on parts, and he had the parts on hand to put one together for me.
He also signed and dated it:
This amp will power both of my cabs at once sending 400-watts to each of them. But honestly, in most cases I'd rather bring that 36-lb Eden amp with me instead of the 52-lb. DNS-210 cab. At music festivals using my Eden amp bridged into my DNS-410, I get told to turn down if I run my master up to 10:30, so I don't really need to bring both cabs...it does look good though...
All my amps sounded good but these stood out by a mile: Dynacord BS412 combo, Aguilar TH500 and AG700 and Thunderfunk TF550 and TF750 amps.
Tube amp? Hiwatt DR103
SS? Acoustic Control Corp. 370
SS? Acoustic Control Corp. 370
My Gibson GB-440 into my Eden D215xlt. Still own it and always will.
Hard to say because I have owned so many amps over the last 50 years, but the one I like the best at present is a Mesa D-800. Does everything I need it to do realy well.
I used to have a 2-8 version.
We had a bunch of Cabaret series cabinets and wedge monitors in a theatre I worked it in the late '80s. Man, those thing are HEAVY!. . . . pushing two of these:
JBL Cabaret Series single 15.
Best for sound - Ampeg B-15, early 25w with double baffle and Jensen speaker. As I have commented, these amps are a bass player's crack - once you've tried one everything else is just chasing it. But 25W is only enough for the studio nowadays. Best for power and "feel" - Hartke LH1000, bridged into 810 HyDrive. Do not own, but played a gig with a WD800 into my two 1-15s and was quite impressed.
He's got it dialled in well too. Sounds greatSorry, I was drooling over that Sonor kit.
- Feb 12, 2006
- 61,080
- 5
- 221,186
- Disclosures
- Development Engineer-Mesa Boogie, Development Engineer-Genzler (pedals), Product Support-Genz Benz
Yes, they were ball-busters for sure. I don't think their was a cabinet in the series that weighed less than 90 lbs or so!We had a bunch of Cabaret series cabinets and wedge monitors in a theatre I worked it in the late '80s. Man, those thing are HEAVY!
Yeah, it takes real effort to make Sonor stuff sound bad.
Sadly, my Force 3000 kit sits unplayed in a closet due to space and noise constraints. It's Roland V-Drums for me these days.
I dream, though. I dream.....
Mesa WD-800 = exceptional tone + the EQ section is so handy.
I also love my Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 Just can't bring myself to part with it! Sounds too dang good!
I also love my Genz Benz Shuttle 9.0 Just can't bring myself to part with it! Sounds too dang good!
Genz Benz GBE750
I currently use a Peavey Mini Mega 1000 Class D......it is #2
I currently use a Peavey Mini Mega 1000 Class D......it is #2
I was checking out Gibson Thunderbirds one day in a music store and I was looking for an amp to plug one into.
The first amp was an Orange Glenn Hughes combo. I love Glenn Hughes, I assumed it would sound fantastic but I couldn't get it to sound good for the life of me.
I assumed it was the Thunderbird just not suiting my style, but I plugged into a Rumble 40, and was blown away by the amp. The bass was fine, but the Rumble 40 was what really moved me. At this point I was gigging a Hartke/Peavey setup, occasionally using various SVT house setups.
My brother asked me to recommend him a practice amp for bass, and I recommended the Rumble 40. I played the heck out of that amp when I was at his house with a bunch of great basses.
It occurred to me, probably one day when I was carrying a 50+ lb cabinet, to look at the other Rumble offerings. I mean, it's Fender, right? That's when I saw that the 29lb Rumble 800 combo existed. I bought it pretty quickly and it's been my favorite amp ever since. It sounds exactly like I need it to sound, whatever that sound might be, has a great emulated speaker DI out, is loud as heck if I need it to be, and is incredibly portable.
I honestly don't really even look at amps anymore. Basses, all the time, pedals sometimes, amps I think I'm set. I have two Rumble 800's, in fact.
The first amp was an Orange Glenn Hughes combo. I love Glenn Hughes, I assumed it would sound fantastic but I couldn't get it to sound good for the life of me.
I assumed it was the Thunderbird just not suiting my style, but I plugged into a Rumble 40, and was blown away by the amp. The bass was fine, but the Rumble 40 was what really moved me. At this point I was gigging a Hartke/Peavey setup, occasionally using various SVT house setups.
My brother asked me to recommend him a practice amp for bass, and I recommended the Rumble 40. I played the heck out of that amp when I was at his house with a bunch of great basses.
It occurred to me, probably one day when I was carrying a 50+ lb cabinet, to look at the other Rumble offerings. I mean, it's Fender, right? That's when I saw that the 29lb Rumble 800 combo existed. I bought it pretty quickly and it's been my favorite amp ever since. It sounds exactly like I need it to sound, whatever that sound might be, has a great emulated speaker DI out, is loud as heck if I need it to be, and is incredibly portable.
I honestly don't really even look at amps anymore. Basses, all the time, pedals sometimes, amps I think I'm set. I have two Rumble 800's, in fact.
Best sounding - Mesa 400+
Best sounding yet also practical - GK 800rb
Best sounding yet also practical - GK 800rb
Fender Bassman 25! These things have tone for days, are ultra reliable, dirt cheap, and easily transportable!
Fender Super Bassman on the 610 Pro Neo
