Biggest dis: Tossup betwixt WT-550(weak/there's a tube in there? Really?)& SVT-3 Pro(450 watts @ 4 ohms? Maybe 150...). Exceeded: CXC-110(Oh MY what a sweet lil combo. Miss you like my first love).
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Which amp was the biggest disappointment? Which exceeded expectations?
- Thread starter kesslari
- Start date
Did not meet expectations: Trace Elliot 1x15 tube combo - sexy looking but sounded like charlie brown's teacher.
Exceeded expectations: SWR Instersellar overdrive thru an SM900, SWR gen 1 6x10, mesa 2x15 - This rig has KILLED in every venue for 10+years for me! Ungodly headroom, beautiful tone and capable of doing it at incredibly loud volume. Interstellar od gets nods from house sound EVERY time - whatsit? how do you get that cool distortion?! I will never forget the first time i plugged into an swr.
Cons: On medium stages forcing close proximity to this rig will literally shake your bowels to the point of the trots between sets! Both cabs on their side stacked on top each other makes for a nice wall o sound. This rig def goes to 11!
Exceeded expectations: SWR Instersellar overdrive thru an SM900, SWR gen 1 6x10, mesa 2x15 - This rig has KILLED in every venue for 10+years for me! Ungodly headroom, beautiful tone and capable of doing it at incredibly loud volume. Interstellar od gets nods from house sound EVERY time - whatsit? how do you get that cool distortion?! I will never forget the first time i plugged into an swr.
Cons: On medium stages forcing close proximity to this rig will literally shake your bowels to the point of the trots between sets! Both cabs on their side stacked on top each other makes for a nice wall o sound. This rig def goes to 11!
Biggest disappointment:
SWR SM 900 back in 98'. Blew fuses constantly at lower volumes than one would expect. Unfortunately, one of those times was when we opened for Run DMC and The Pharcyde...blew on the first song.
Most Surprising:
The Avatar TB-153 15"/6"/1" bass cab. This cab VASTLY exeeded my expectations and the expectations of my band members.
Honorary Mention:
Genz Benz Shuttlemax 6.0.
An incredible head...any tone I could ever want is acheivable beyond expectations and the D.I. out draws rave reviews from soundmen.
SWR SM 900 back in 98'. Blew fuses constantly at lower volumes than one would expect. Unfortunately, one of those times was when we opened for Run DMC and The Pharcyde...blew on the first song.
Most Surprising:
The Avatar TB-153 15"/6"/1" bass cab. This cab VASTLY exeeded my expectations and the expectations of my band members.
Honorary Mention:
Genz Benz Shuttlemax 6.0.
An incredible head...any tone I could ever want is acheivable beyond expectations and the D.I. out draws rave reviews from soundmen.
Dis: MB LM800 Tube. I paid extra for a tube pre? Where is it? Sold.
Exceed: The Eden WT800 I bought for $100. Dang! And my Berg ht210. And my trusty GK 400rb that keeps on pumping clean bass tones going on 20 years.
Exceed: The Eden WT800 I bought for $100. Dang! And my Berg ht210. And my trusty GK 400rb that keeps on pumping clean bass tones going on 20 years.
- : Ampeg SVT 4. 1200 watts bridged? maybe if I had 2 of them. I don't know if there was something wrong with it, but not only did it sound particularly muddy (through an SVT410HLF, which always sounded good), but it didn't have any usable headroom.
+ : Acme Low B cabs. Feeding them enough watts makes me smile. I heard they were great, but FEELING how great they are is a totally different thing. Other bands think I'm crazy playing through just a 2x10 at smaller gigs. Then they hear it.
+ : Acme Low B cabs. Feeding them enough watts makes me smile. I heard they were great, but FEELING how great they are is a totally different thing. Other bands think I'm crazy playing through just a 2x10 at smaller gigs. Then they hear it.
All this talk of bowel movements makes me think. Recently I saw a bass player at a jazz/blues gig using a powerful rig that was pumping some serious low frequencies...... and it was totally annoying. The lows just overpowered everything else and ruined the show. Pants flapping, kick you in the guts lows? No thank you.
- Fender rumble custom 1995 i think, looked nice, just didnt hit the spot for me.
- Ashdown Mag C115 300 Evo II Combo. That thing keeps cutting out, i have to make it work by hitting it hard on the top, bad connex somewhere and for me the sound seemed too over processed and just doesn't cut through.
+/- All the Trace gear i owned, 1x15 combo, quatra head with 4x10"+1x15" seemed Ok at the time.
+ My first big amp, Peavey 400B Mark III Series with a 2 x 15" why i got rid of this for a Trace Elliott combo later on i do not know. From memories i used to fire this up and home and the neighbours would bang on the wall. Good clarity, depth and power.
+ Ampeg SVT '74 Magnavox +8x10" , my current amp and will be till the day i die, im gonna get burried with both that and my Fender P. It's the sound for me.
- Ashdown Mag C115 300 Evo II Combo. That thing keeps cutting out, i have to make it work by hitting it hard on the top, bad connex somewhere and for me the sound seemed too over processed and just doesn't cut through.
+/- All the Trace gear i owned, 1x15 combo, quatra head with 4x10"+1x15" seemed Ok at the time.
+ My first big amp, Peavey 400B Mark III Series with a 2 x 15" why i got rid of this for a Trace Elliott combo later on i do not know. From memories i used to fire this up and home and the neighbours would bang on the wall. Good clarity, depth and power.
+ Ampeg SVT '74 Magnavox +8x10" , my current amp and will be till the day i die, im gonna get burried with both that and my Fender P. It's the sound for me.
I tried a 4pro, didn't like it. Couldn't get any grit out of the thing. I realize that's probably because it's not made to do that, but still, just not the amp for me.
pablomigraine
Commercial User
Biggest Disappointment: (tie) Markbass LMII and Aguilar DB750.
Exceeded Expectations: (tie) Genz Benz Shuttlemax 9.0 & EBS TD650
Once you got over how light it was, I found the Markbass to be unremarkable... despite a well thought out EQ. With DB750 it more like... yeah it sounds nice but hell.... not two and some thousand dollars and 40+lbs nice!!
just my $0.02.... I know I'll get flamed for the DB750... It's human nature to get offended when you realize other people are talking openly about having made the same expensive mistake you have, and prefer to keep it quiet...
Exceeded Expectations: (tie) Genz Benz Shuttlemax 9.0 & EBS TD650
Once you got over how light it was, I found the Markbass to be unremarkable... despite a well thought out EQ. With DB750 it more like... yeah it sounds nice but hell.... not two and some thousand dollars and 40+lbs nice!!
just my $0.02.... I know I'll get flamed for the DB750... It's human nature to get offended when you realize other people are talking openly about having made the same expensive mistake you have, and prefer to keep it quiet...
Biggest dissapointment: Ampeg tube preamp (don't know the type anymore). I did test it at home for a couple of days but I did not buy it (I bought a 1st gen BBE bass-preamp instead). The ampeg sound was there but it produced enormous amounts of hiss. The BBE had a less impressive sound but it was very silent, no hiss at all.
Exeeded my expectations: Bugera BVP5500.........
Exeeded my expectations: Bugera BVP5500.........
+1 on what Jimmy said about what to expect with low end gear. My biggest headaches were the high-end ampegs mainly a vR and a 2pro. Both were sent back, I am real happy with my stock svT cl, just the way it goes.......
Biggest dissapointsments:-Mesa 400 +, after hearing all the talk I found it hard to get a good eq setting, seemed real "mid-rangy".
-SWR Redhead, I know people were really digging these. But all I could get was a good slap tone. It sounded "honky".
-SVT-3 Pro sounded very underpowered.
Biggest joy - Eden 410xltcab I cought in 2000/2001. Handles all the lows I can thro at it. But it is a heavy beast to carry!! Eden WT400 from 2001 sounded more like 600+ watts than 400.
-SWR Redhead, I know people were really digging these. But all I could get was a good slap tone. It sounded "honky".
-SVT-3 Pro sounded very underpowered.
Biggest joy - Eden 410xltcab I cought in 2000/2001. Handles all the lows I can thro at it. But it is a heavy beast to carry!! Eden WT400 from 2001 sounded more like 600+ watts than 400.
Disappointment: Why won't my 25 watt practice combo let me be heard in a band situation with acoustic drums? That was ignorance on my part!
Exceeds Expectations: Eden CXC-210 combo, which contains the WT-330 amp. The preamp give me more than I could ever use control over the tone and the amp packs a hell of a punch. I've been using this combo with a D-115T cabinet for nearly 5 years and have never been disappointed.
Exceeds Expectations: Eden CXC-210 combo, which contains the WT-330 amp. The preamp give me more than I could ever use control over the tone and the amp packs a hell of a punch. I've been using this combo with a D-115T cabinet for nearly 5 years and have never been disappointed.
interesting! both amps are on my "knock over an old lady to play" list
. . . care to elaborate?
Biggest dissapointment : Carvin Redline 1000 head . All the features and EQ you could hope for and a basic lifeless voicing that made getting a usable tone an endless chore .
Biggest suprise : Carvin BX500 . I got it Wednesday and took it practice that night . Sounded good right away with the EQ flat and even better with a little tweeking . Carvin has got something good going on now .
Biggest suprise : Carvin BX500 . I got it Wednesday and took it practice that night . Sounded good right away with the EQ flat and even better with a little tweeking . Carvin has got something good going on now .
Biggest Disappointment: EA iAmp500/NL210 rig. Sounded great, but massive noise and other reliability issues. Close second, Markbass LMTube800.... sounded more solid state than my LMII.
Exceeded Expectations: Markbass LMII... when they were released 3 or 4 years ago, none of us could believe an amp that size, and at a cost that was roughly half many other amps, could (at least for me) sound more powerful and better than the amps I had costing double or triple.
Exceeded Expectations: Markbass LMII... when they were released 3 or 4 years ago, none of us could believe an amp that size, and at a cost that was roughly half many other amps, could (at least for me) sound more powerful and better than the amps I had costing double or triple.
- Biggest disappointment = Ampeg BA115HPT Combo............At the time it was their highest end combo with 300 watts, and a tube pre-amp. I have to take it to the repair center when new (3 hrs away), only to find out it was faulty. It took three other replacements (four total) before I got a good one!! As soon as I could, I sold it............Fortunately, the guy is still playing out with it today!
- Three most surprising = 1) Found a New Old Stock Ampeg VB4A (Anniversary) USA Made Head, and Matching Ampeg Anniversary 610 Cabinet while the Vietnam era (change over) was in full swing. I was traveling on business, and shazaam, there it was, at a music store I just happened to stop in.............Now it is one my favorites, with warm gooey tube goodness! 2) Markbass Little Mark II, it was my first Markbass head, but it made a lasting impression! 3) Recently purchased a new (2011 NAMM Intro) Fender Rumble 410 cabinet. It is just supposed to be an inexpensive backup, but it really sounds pretty good for $299.00 shipped!! Not using a Rumble head though, Markbass, and Genz-Benz.
- Three most surprising = 1) Found a New Old Stock Ampeg VB4A (Anniversary) USA Made Head, and Matching Ampeg Anniversary 610 Cabinet while the Vietnam era (change over) was in full swing. I was traveling on business, and shazaam, there it was, at a music store I just happened to stop in.............Now it is one my favorites, with warm gooey tube goodness! 2) Markbass Little Mark II, it was my first Markbass head, but it made a lasting impression! 3) Recently purchased a new (2011 NAMM Intro) Fender Rumble 410 cabinet. It is just supposed to be an inexpensive backup, but it really sounds pretty good for $299.00 shipped!! Not using a Rumble head though, Markbass, and Genz-Benz.
