• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Which amp was the biggest disappointment? Which exceeded expectations?

kesslari

kesslari

Groovin' with Fusion Cuisine
Staff member
Gold Supporting Member
Dec 21, 2007
15,227
45,059
Santa Cruz Mtns, California
Disclosures
Lark in the Morning Instructional Videos; Audix Microphones
#1
Inspired by the "Has Anyone Been Disappointed in the Genz Benz Streamliner" thread... they're amps, they're not gonna fix world hunger. But sometimes our expectations are not in line with the reality of any particular bit of gear.

For me:

Biggest disappointment - GK Backline 115. Bought it when I got back into playing after a long hiatus (all prior gear sold). I expected too much - a combo that would sound good at gig volumes.. It did not deliver, in spades.

Exceeded expectations the most: GK 800RB, bought the week it came out. It replaced 60 lbs of rack gear, I played many hundreds of gigs with it. That amp did everything for me except drive girls home when I was done with 'em.
 
#2
biggest disappointment: none. i know what to expect out of low end budget gear so i'm never disappointed. everything else is just different shades of good, so i'm never disappointed.

exceeded expectations the most: ampeg micro vr stack. never in the world did i think i could find the guns to gig with a 210, especially a very small 210 like the 210av. while i did order another cab for it, it's mainly to whack myself off, as this rig has totally exceeded my expectations for a 150w @ 8 ohm ss micro head into one of the smallest and lightest 210's i ever saw.
 
#3
Exceeded expectations:

When I demo'd the Mesa M6 Carbine at my local shop, I just didn't get it. I thought it sounded too dry and frankly loud.

But, I bought one anyway (TB peer pressure) and wow was I impressed by how it sounded outside the shop and in real band live settings.

Now I'm a huge fan of the M6.
 
#5
disappointed - did a gig once through a brand new 700RB (and from the pics of the night looks to be 2 GK cabs). my only experience w/ GK. I've always wanted to play one. I'm still interested in getting to know another GK but that night didn't do it for me. So thin and no oomph. I won't judge off of one performance though ...

Exceeded expectations - an Ampeg SVT 5 Pro (I think? had 2 rows of knobs) Through an Ampeg 410 ... man, I was using a 5'r and when I went to the B my pants were flappin! I've never been one for an extreme amount of bass in my tone but this was just really cool - but still articulate! I've used a B-15 a few times in studios but never live, this is my only other Ampeg experience . . .
 
#6
I have two that come to mind. One was a Peavey. It was the worst sounding amo I ever had. I had just started playing and wasn't really sure what I should sound like.

The second was a Hartke head and cabinet. Sounded great when I played alone but when I played with a band, the sound got lost.
 
#8
Buster Brown said:
Biggest disappointment: I would have to go along with Jimmy here...I am usually very anal when it comes to amps. I don't get fooled too often.
Click to expand...

well - I'll add that both the experiences I listed above were from nights I was using a house amp. As in no other choice . . .

as far as amps I've owned, yeah I'll go w/ you on this - by the time I shell out $$ I'm 99% sure I'm getting what I expect ...
 
#9
Matt Dean said:
Exceeded expectations:

When I demo'd the Mesa M6 Carbine at my local shop, I just didn't get it. I thought it sounded too dry and frankly loud.

But, I bought one anyway (TB peer pressure) and wow was I impressed by how it sounded outside the shop and in real band live settings.

Now I'm a huge fan of the M6.
Click to expand...


Exactly the same for me.I tried the M9 in the store and left pretty unimpressed.I didnt get what all the hype was about.Picked up a used one(Same TB pressure) and ran it at home and just loved it.

Now Im a huge fan of the M9
 
#11
My biggest surprise was my (used but almost new) Hartke LH500 which I picked up for only $200 CDN. I had anticipated getting it for a cheap backup to my GK 700RBII, but it has since become my main amp. So much low end! Last gig I played, I actually rolled the bass knob almost completely off, and it was still pushing tons of bass - the eq section in that amp is just fantastic, can't say enough good things about it. I haven't used my GK for a single gig since.
 
#12
Buster Brown said:
Biggest disappointment: I would have to go along with Jimmy here...I am usually very anal when it comes to amps. I don't get fooled too often.


Exceeded expectations: Without doubt, it would be the MarkBass CMD121P. Absolutely GREAT little combo!! Far more than I ever expected!
Click to expand...

That's funny! My absolute BIGGEST dissapointment was the CMD121P. I was using an amazing little EA Wizzy 10 at the time and decided to buy the Markbass combo for convenience. I quickly found the Markbass combo to sound like a piece of paper; thin, flat, sterile, flabby. Even my wife heard it and said "that's yucky. Sounds muddy and undefined - take it back" (she confirmed my fears, which I hadn't shared with her). I used it on one gig with a light drummer, acoustic guitar/vocalist, and a Pbass... Took it back to GC the next day. Maybe I got a dud, but I totally lost interest in Markbass from that day on.

Few amps exceed my expectations, but I will say that the EA Wizzy 10 cabinet FAR exceeded all expectations. I used that cab countless times with a full band, outside, with no PA support and it did my Pbass justice every time. Got a little flabby down low with a B-string at high volumes, but I expected that. Far louder, deeper, and clearer sounding than the Markbass CMD121P mentioned above. I only sold it to fund a second Epifani UL112 since the Wizzy 10 was 4ohms and my UL502 only goes down to 4ohms - preventing me from using additional cabs with the Wizzy. The Wizzy was so good, I almost sold the 502 to get a 902 so I could run a second Wizzy 10 or 12 with it, but I'm happy with my UL502/2xUL112 stack.
 
#14
Line6 HD400 head, first a disappointment in that it couldn’t handle the condensation going from the cold band trailer to the gig, and wouldn’t power the cab until it sat overnight indoors. But now powering my cabs in the music room, I really like it and many of the features.

GK 212MBE cab exceeded my expectations in that it put out so much more volume than the ‘90s GK 410 it replaced.
 
#15
Biggest disappointment for me was the SWR LA series. It was sad to see a fine USA bass amp company change to crank out cheap Chinese practice amps. I have a baby blue II that I've been impressed with it's versatility and build quality.

*Edit - I guess Eden is even a better example of dissapointment... At least SWR is still making some nice gear. Eden seems to never have recovered from their quality issues. I'm a long time Eden user from the late 90's so to see their downward spiral definitely trumps SWRs.
 
#16
Disappointment: Kustom Groove Bass 1200HD + G410 cab. An impulse buy with tons of power that always seemed to make the bass's sound obnoxious.

Exceeded: Bag End cabs- I underestimated their capability for low end. Hi there reggae bass!
GK amps- I loved my 1001RB. Took the advice of TB and it went beautifully.
Genz Benz cabs- Blown away by their cabs after I discovered them.
 
#17
biggest dissapointment... ampeg b2re. Sounded good but lacked volume and punch no matter what cab i paired it with.

exceeded expectations was the hartke ha 2500 i wasnt expecting much at all from a cheap 250$ bass head but it kills through just about any cab i have tried it with. Its very nice through a ampeg 1x15 and its great through an ampeg 4x10 that stays at my drummers house... and strangly its amazing through my swr 6x10.
 
#18
I bought this a few years ago primarily as a backup amp. After pretty minimal usage, it started having erratic background noise. I sent it back to GK twice over a two year period and the problem was still there. I bought a preamp for a 400RB IV from GK and it still had the problem. Although I love a GK's sound, I'm more than frustrated by their inability to fix their own product. I thought about buying the power supply/power amp module, but hell, I could just buy a whole new amp, but I'm more than hesitant about having the same problem again and GK's inability to provide this customer with adequate service.

Interestingly enough, the amp for which the 400RB III was supposed to be a backup for was an Eden Nemesis NC210 combo amp. In the 13 years I've owned it, it was my primary amp for 9 years, I never had any problem - nada, zip. Its the best amp I've had except for an old Kustom IV bass amp I used in the late 70's/80's. But its a boat anchor at 74 lbs. I've gone lighter in my older age using primarily EA amps, but I still use the Nemesis for about 1/3 to 1/2 my gigs. It'll be with me for a gig tomorrow afternoon.

L. Howard
 
#19
The biggest disappointment for me was the SWR Mo'Bass head I owned for about a year. From all the reviews I read it sounded like a real dynamic, powerhouse amp, something I needed at the time. I used it mainly with a 2x15 cab, for a short period of time with a Ampeg 8x10 then with a SWR 8x10 Goliath (from what I was told was a good match for this head).
In all the combinations the head sounded no where near the claimed 900 watts at 4 ohms. The gain pot had a serious static problem that wouldn't go away, plus a few reviews I read warned about the control pots being mounted to the PCB, I didn't think it would bother me but I did notice the knobs had sort of a "cheap" feel, and the built in effects sounded shallow and cheap.

The Acoustic 200 watt head, I believe it was the b200 head sounded great for the price tag. I demo'd it with a Acoustic 4x10, it has way more headroom in the eq than the SWR.
 
#20
Only real disappointment was the Demeter 201 preamp - loved the clarity, hated the lack of EQ.

The two that exceeded expectations for me were the
...Eden WT400 - The tone blew me away, it's why I own a WT-800 today.
and
.. GK MB2-500 which is my gigging amp for all but the loudest gig's I do. I love that little thing.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back