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Which amp was the biggest disappointment? Which exceeded expectations?

#182
Disappointments for me have been every GK and Peavey head I have tried. I haven't been able to get a sound that I liked from any of them.

The Hartke HA3500 that I have has exceeded my expectations. I have had it over ten years and I always find it easy it to get different sounds for various types of music and with different basses and speaker cabinets. I can also get a nice "tube" sound with it when I want to. In addition, it has held up really well over hundreds of gigs and a lot of road miles.
 
#183
Amp heads:

Exceeded expectations......G.K. MB-500.

Biggest disappointment.......Ampeg PF-500.


Bass Cabinets:

Exceeded expectations......Avatar Neo 210.

Biggest disappointments.......P.V. B.W. drivers with the silver dust cap loaded cabinets.
 
#186
Most disappointing: Aria Loco bass Amp, back when i was a teenager in early 80ties, whic hwas supposed to be my first 'real' bass amp. Those were real clunkers.

Exceeded expectations: the Music HD130 with matching 115 cabinet i had to buy for a certain project back in the day. Tubes in the end stage do make a huge difference.

I am quite happy now with my TH500.
 
#187
kesslari said:
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.
Click to expand...

i had a GK backline 115. i was blown away by the sound for what it was. i thought it was awesome for a $250 amp. a great little practice amp. it would get pretty loud too for a small to medium gig. i never really used it at gigs though. i had my big amp for that. it's not intended to be a gig amp. it's a practice amp. that's prolly why you were disappointed with it.
 
#188
My GK 700rb II and 410 NEO cabs have completely exceeded my expectations. I never would have guessed I could get that great of a tone for so little money when I bought them. I am now a 100% proponent of GK products.

I was completely disappointed in a Carvin R1000. It was way to complicated, and if I was able to dial in a tone I somewhat liked. It wouldn't sound good the next time I played through it. It had way to many useless features, and the most complicated EQ I have ever seen on an amp.

I have an Eden E300T tube head that I thought was a dud for a long time, when playing it through my GK 410 NEO cabs. I picked up an old BW loaded Peavey 215D and used that head with it, and it was a whole different animal. I am loving that rig more each day now.
 
#190
Biggest disappointment: Genz Benz Shuttle 6.0, which was bass deficient and underpowered for my needs.

Exceeded expectations: Acoustic Image Focus - sounds great, plenty powerful, 2-Ohm capable, 4-pounds. My gripes are that it doesn't have separate high- and low-mid controls, or illuminated push buttons, and I dislike having effects loop jacks on the front panel. From what I've heard, the upcoming iteration addresses all of these issues. :D
 
#191
Disappointment: those GK kickback 2x10s that look like they have tons of potential and flexibility but should come with a tag that says "for bedroom use only."

Exceed: The Alembic F-1x tube preamp. There's a reason a lot of touring pros put this in front of all the other amps in the racks. Hard to put into words...one needs to hear it through a really high fidelity rig.

Lonnybass
 
#194
Biggest disappointment: Carvin B1500
Had it a week, just couldn't get a good tone. Shipped it back and found a decent late 90s SVT.

Exceeded my expectations; GK MB800. By far the best non-valve amp I've ever owned (including my beloved Trace Series6 12 band)
 
#195
joeydavidson said:
Exceeded - a 50w Jansen tube amp which served as my first gigging bass amp.
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Me too :) but mine is a 75 Bassman & I've still got it. So easy to get a big, rich tone from one of these with a TL-606 cab.
I was also delighted with the performance of my overhauled Selmer T'n'B SV 50 which I used at our last gig. I brought along another amp head just in case, but I didn't need it, even against two AC30'd guitarists.

Disappointed - Last year I finally got hold of a matching 2x12 Jansen cab, and the original Philips drivers are not very pleasant.

Yes... I like vintage stuff...
 
#200
I was pleasantly surprised by a used Ampeg B100R that I bought on a whim. Not a high end rig, and I did not pay a lot, but it sounds great. Very good bang for the buck.

Disappointment? Vintage Kasino, (same amp as a Kustom) solid state amp head that makes a hissing sound all the time. Annoying when no input signal is present. I have read that it is an inherent problem with old Kustom SS amps. Bought at a yard sale, and did not pay much for it, so no big deal.

Otherwise, all my other amps were selected after giving the choice some consideration, and so there are no other disappointments.
 

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