Which bass amp head?

[Andrew Truscott]

I am thinking of buying a solid state bass amp head. I currently use an Orange Terror 500w for my 1973 EB3 bass when I am playing the music of FREE, and it sounds great, but my Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling bass, which I use for Bad Company, doesn't sound so good through the same amp. I think it needs solid state, whereas the Terror has a valve pre-amp. Can anyone suggest an amp head that I can get 500w from using my two cabs? Orange 400w and a Bareface 600w. Both are 8ohms.

 

[gtirard]

I am thinking of buying a solid state bass amp head. I currently use an Orange Terror 500w for my 1973 EB3 bass when I am playing the music of FREE, and it sounds great, but my Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling bass, which I use for Bad Company, doesn't sound so good through the same amp. I think it needs solid state, whereas the Terror has a valve pre-amp. Can anyone suggest an amp head that I can get 500w from using my two cabs? Orange 400w and a Bareface 600w. Both are 8ohms.

I would wait for the soon to be released Quilter Bass Block v803, because I love the BB800 (clean but warm) but it's no longer available, and the successor v803 will offer 3 voices : "modern", "warm" and "qtube" (quilter tube emulation).

So you could use the "modern" voice for Bad Company and "qtube" or "warm" for FREE…

Just my 2 cents anyway…

 

[Andrew Truscott]

I would wait for the soon to be released Quilter Bass Block v803, because I love the BB800 (clean but warm) but it's no longer available, and the successor v803 will offer 3 voices : "modern", "warm" and "qtube" (quilter tube emulation).

So you could use the "modern" voice Bad Company and "qtube" or "warm" for FREE…

Just my 2 cents anyway…

Thanks for that. To be honest I have never heard of Quilter and I would be nervous about something totally new to me. I was thinking maybe a used Trace Elliott, because I have used them before.

 

[5StringBlues]

Thanks for that. To be honest I have never heard of Quilter and I would be nervous about something totally new to me. I was thinking maybe a used Trace Elliott, because I have used them before.

Nothing to be nervous about with quilter, a proven brand. The Q in QSC power amps stands for quilter. It's the same company.

 

[BaltBass5]

Thanks for that. To be honest I have never heard of Quilter and I would be nervous about something totally new to me. I was thinking maybe a used Trace Elliott, because I have used them before.

1. Quilter is top notch gear manufactured by Pat Quilter who founded QSC Audio.

2. I doubt that the Preamp tube of the Orange is a problem...having said that, you could always swap the preamp 12AX7 for a 12AU7 which would keep the tube goodness albeit at a lower gain stage so you won't get any breakup.

3. If you are looking for a GREAT all around Class D Head that can cop ANY sound you are looking for then I'd take a SERIOUS look at the Mesa Subway D800+ and call it a day!

Best of luck with your tone searching!

 

[mmbongo]

I agree with the Quilter idea, or a Mesa Subway D800+.

 

[Minimalist]

I am thinking of buying a solid state bass amp head. I currently use an Orange Terror 500w for my 1973 EB3 bass when I am playing the music of FREE, and it sounds great, but my Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling bass, which I use for Bad Company, doesn't sound so good through the same amp. I think it needs solid state, whereas the Terror has a valve pre-amp. Can anyone suggest an amp head that I can get 500w from using my two cabs? Orange 400w and a Bareface 600w. Both are 8ohms.

What makes you think it's the amp and not the cabs or settings?

 

[MotorCityMinion]

Quilter is a great starting platform. The bare bones control panel on most quilters leave plenty of room for pedal goodness.

 

[Aloe]

maybe it's time to tweak the EQ on the MM and get different strings?

I've seen guys getting nice tones of a Terror Bass and active multiscale extended range basses and frankly won't blame the amp in this case. a Stringray's EQ might be not that intuitive tho, but it's a bass from nearly 50 years ago and many people played them in tube amps since, including the MusicMan's own all tube amps.

at the end, it might be the bass, you might just not like it. but, again, tweaking the on-board EQ and different strings can make a huge difference.

 

[Al Kraft]

Thanks for that. To be honest I have never heard of Quilter and I would be nervous about something totally new to me. I was thinking maybe a used Trace Elliott, because I have used them before.

Quilter is a very high quality, reputable company with great technical underpinnings and reasonable pricing. This link will give you some background: www.quilterlabs.com/pages/mission

While I do not currently own Quilter gear, I would not hesitate for one second to buy it. Quilter's offerings may not be what you're looking for performance or feature wise, but they are as solid as anything else out there IMO.

 

[Shlabotnik]

Thanks for that. To be honest I have never heard of Quilter and I would be nervous about something totally new to me. I was thinking maybe a used Trace Elliott, because I have used them before.

Quilter has been around for a long time. You have probably seen their PA gear under the name QSC.

 

[walking Bass]

Bergantino - I just replaced a GK 400rb with the HP2X. Wow, what a difference. The GK 410t cabinet never sounded so good.

 

[mrjim123]

Try with your bass before you buy. I'm not convinced that going solid state will give you what you want. And I would heed posts #7 and #9 before buying a new amp.

 

[dustinymichaels]

Someone once said that active basses sound better through a solid state. I tend to agree. Currently using the Tone Hammer 500/Stingray and I think it sounds pretty great.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I am thinking of buying a solid state bass amp head. I currently use an Orange Terror 500w for my 1973 EB3 bass when I am playing the music of FREE, and it sounds great, but my Ernie Ball Musicman Sterling bass, which I use for Bad Company, doesn't sound so good through the same amp. I think it needs solid state, whereas the Terror has a valve pre-amp. Can anyone suggest an amp head that I can get 500w from using my two cabs? Orange 400w and a Bareface 600w. Both are 8ohms.

Before buying a new amp, these are two very different basses. My experience with MM basses is that the gain on these is mammoth compared to the EB3, especially if you are using dial settings 2-3--4 on the rotary dial. This additional gain has to be dealt with ,not only volume wise, but tonal EQ wise as well to get an acceptable tone. Keep in mind that this gain could effect your speaker cab as well.

As for the MM bass and the head in question, I'll bet I could get a good approximation of the bassist in Bad company if I spent some time twisting dials.

But, if you are suffering from gas, there is only one cure..and you know what 9 out of 10 "Sound Doctors" here on this board recommend in a case like that?

 

[JutMitch]

Have the Mesa D800+, Aguilar AG700, Aguilar Tonehammer 500, Galien Krueger Fusion 1200s hybrid as far as Class D goes. I would say my favorite would be the Aguilar ToneHammer followed closely by the Aguilar AG700. I'm really a Mesa guy at heart with my M9 and my Walkabout as far as Class A amps go, but it's hard to deny how good Aguilar Class D stuff is. Tonehammer for vintage driven sound...AG for a very, modern sound. Also have a ToneHammer preamp in combination with the AG for the best of both worlds. The ToneHammer is the one amp that in my opinion sounds great with my MM Sterling, Jazz, P, 50s P and sounds great with all my cabs (including Barefaced SC).

 

[el murdoque]

I'd start off with the Orange amp set as neutral as it would go, which would be mids maxed and bass and treble around 1-2 and take it from there.

I know at least two guys personally that own/owned Stingrays and play/played them through the Orange Terror 500 and these guys sounded good.

 

[BobKos]

Following @gtirard 's post above, I am thinking Mesa TT-800. The Boogie channel would work well with the EB0; the Subway channel will work well with the SR5. All in a respected, reliable package.

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[jastraw]

I came to say Quilter fits your bill. I used a Quilter BB800 for thousands of gigs with zero issues. I use mostly with Barefaced Big Baby 2. So I know they work well together. Sometimes with a Musicman. The Quilter will handle the power and ohms stuff automatically.

I have zero need for the upcoming BB803. Have to resist... lol.

 

[agedhorse]

Someone once said that active basses sound better through a solid state. I tend to agree. Currently using the Tone Hammer 500/Stingray and I think it sounds pretty great.

Someone once said the earth was flat too, but that was proven false…