Why did you choose the amp that you use?

[Frank77]

I prefer an amp without too much of a baked in tone. I played a Phil Jones Suitcase for about 5-6 years which I recently sold, and bought a Quilter Bass Block to replace it. To me, it sounds just as good for bass guitar, has more power, extremely light, and affordable - it was a no brainer.

 

[DirtDog]

Vibe meaning the way it looks? That is one thing that I can see. I wonder how many bassists base their amp choice off of how it looks, classic vibe vs modern vibe.

Yep - exactly that. I like the retro vibe of the ampeg stuff.

 

[JRA]

all good.

 

[StatesideRambler]

In fifty-plus years of playing bass I've rarely been disappointed with the tone of the amps I've plugged into, whether mine or someone else's. From the beginning I've considered myself a sideman so I'm looking for amp settings that let the singers and soloists stand out. At sound check I turn the knobs while using my ears and, as I said above, I've rarely been disappointed. (Did you ever notice that every room is different and needs different knob settings? I did.) If I was a recording artist I'd be more inclined to be a cork sniffer but the people who are drinking, dancing and partying don't particularly care if my sound has or needs a little more top end or less mid. When we're grooving they're grooving.
That's just my take on it.

 

[packhowitzer]

1) Tone
2) Volume
3) Price
4) Weight

GK MB800

 

[JeezyMcNuggles]

Between all the various threads on power amp class and all the differences of opinion, I have read a lot of descriptive words that really tell me nothing about what people are hearing. In my experience there are so many variables that dictate how a head sounds. Instrument and cab pairing, eq settings, desired amount of drive heard.

For me, my GK MB210-II and 210MBE-II are lightweight and loud enough for any stage I will play. I'll do some testing with it later, because honestly there is a specific frequency range that it has a bump in with the eq flat, that led me to choose it. It's not down at 35Hz, but it is what was the most pleasing out of all the MB combos to my ears when playing up and down the B string. I'm assuming it is somewhere around 60Hz but don't know for sure, so I'll run some sine waves through it. I'll add more to this thread later.

So what does everyone use? More importantly to me, why do you use it? What contributes to the sound you hear and love from your amp?

I got the Veyron M. I use it because it's cheap, looks good, and powerful. It sounds...okay. Clean as hell, just kind of bland. So, I use a pre pedal for tone. The Tube version actually sounded really good by itself, but I started having problems with it early on, so I swapped it out for the mosfet. This one's been going with no problems at all for a good while now.

 

[Booty Shaman]

I can tell you first that I did not choose my amp for it's portabilty. I have an vintage 1970s solid state Acoustic 270 & Acoustic 204 cab (a 100 lb. beast!). It is actually a guitar amp but has a good reputation among bassists. A guitarist I know didn't have room in his small living quarters for his amp and left it at my house for about a year. I became very attached to it - I just love the the tone. I can't even turn the knob up to half volume without blowing out all the windows in the house though. Apparently, it is the amp that Zappa favored. In any case, it is an awesome bass amp and when my guitarist friend came and took his amp back, I decided I had to find another one, which I did on Reverb for about $300. So, it was affordable and it sounds fricken awesome. All the musicians I play with love the tone too. It has a very round, deep quality -booming booming bass - nice reverb, distortion & tremelo (never use tremelo). I also have a GK Backline 110 that someone gave me that is more portable, but I don't really favor the sound I get through it.

 

[edencab]

summer of 2013, I walked into L&MQ and saw the Traynor SB200h...played it, loved it, bought it....I posted the 1st pictures on the internet, here, even before Traynor themselves had it on their website (there is an old thread here about that)
..almost exactly a year later, I wandered into a different L&MQ store and they had a used, but mint Orange TB500 (the feet weren't even scratched) for 1/2 retail price which at the time was +/$1000 CDN....I snapped it up....I'm set...

 

[bikeplate]

Because Bergantino makes the best stuff

 

[Woofer]

Had it narrowed down between my Rumble 500 head and a Carvin BX500. Fender had the longer warranty. I'm happy with my decision.

 

[juancaminos]

I wanted to downsize from the 370/408 Acoustic set up. Found an Eden WT 400 / 4X10XLT at a local GS and bought it. Haven't looked back. Great sound with everything on the amp set flat. I have experimented with the addition of an Eden 2X10 and using a Line 6 amp in the mix of things, but there is always something Eden speaker-wise.

 

[TemplesOfSyrinx]

Had an Ampeg SVTII for years. Great head. 95 lbs.

I now use a Carvin B1000 and a RevSound 212 cab. I still get 90% of those tasty Ampeg tones because I use a Tech21 VT Bass DI into the effects return. 600 Watts at 4 ohms. All I need with a total rig weight under 43lbs.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Between all the various threads on power amp class and all the differences of opinion, I have read a lot of descriptive words that really tell me nothing about what people are hearing. In my experience there are so many variables that dictate how a head sounds. Instrument and cab pairing, eq settings, desired amount of drive heard.

For me, my GK MB210-II and 210MBE-II are lightweight and loud enough for any stage I will play. I'll do some testing with it later, because honestly there is a specific frequency range that it has a bump in with the eq flat, that led me to choose it. It's not down at 35Hz, but it is what was the most pleasing out of all the MB combos to my ears when playing up and down the B string. I'm assuming it is somewhere around 60Hz but don't know for sure, so I'll run some sine waves through it. I'll add more to this thread later.

So what does everyone use? More importantly to me, why do you use it? What contributes to the sound you hear and love from your amp?

I mostly play with front a FOH PA, which means, my rig is my personal monitor. It's job is not to carry max low end to the audience. That's what subs are for.

It needs to be clean, not overly EQed, and audible without causing issues with the front of house mix. As for the sound, it's warm, clean, a very natural sound that lets the bass be the show, not the amp. Tons of headroom when needed. Plenty of dbs.

 

[Eon Sky]

I decided to downsize my rig right around the same time my Ashdown Mag 300 died on me. I spent a lot of time looking at combos, but realized I could get a new head that would be optimized for using half of my stack (Avatar 2X10) but still provide more versatility than a straight combo. I had been looking at Fender Rumble combos, and ended up with the Fender Rumble 500 head for the same reasons: light, not a lot of inherent "color" to the sound itself, and positive reviews. I've been extremely happy with it in both practice and live gigging for the two months I've had it.

 

[elgranluis]

my amp is a freaking all-tube, vintage svt. my backup amp is an all tube twin reverb with jbl sleakers.

the statement above is the reason why i chose my rig.

 

[crlujan]

Man, this could be a long story. Haha...

I use an Ampeg V-4B. Now, the story of how I got to there...

I used to use an Eden something or other (can't remember the model). Solid-state. Lots of watts.

I started playing in a 60s style r&b band. My co-leader in the band had some serious knowledge of vintage gear. I knew nothing. He really helped to whip me into shape playing-wise and tone-wise. We ended up in a studio that had a house Ampeg B-15-N. I used that and fell in love. Here's one of the tracks we recorded...

I searched and searched for a local Ampeg B-15-N and came up with nothing. The co-leader ended up talking me into a 67 Fender Bassman with matching 2x12 cabinet which we modded into a 1x15. It did the job okay for a little bit. But, I was really craving that buttery Ampeg tone.

Years later, I was able to track down a used Ampeg B-15-N on Guitar Center's used site. I had it shipped to my local GC and it was a hunk of trash. I never even brought it home. Man, was I disappointed.

Anyway, dorking around at GC one day, I plugged into the V-4B with matching 2x12 cab. Oh, man. All of that buttery tone was there. And louder. And new. So, I didn't have to worry about the vintage gear being rickety.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

[foolforthecity]

With FOH support these days, I'm down to a Mesa D800+ and 1x12 Mesa Ultralight. May get a second cab but I don't really need it.

 

[BrianVengeance]

Started falling out of love with my SVT4PRO about the time that the FSB300 was coming out. Sold the 'peg for what I put into it and ordered the Fender. Don't like running tubes without a backup, so ended up adding a D800+ to the stable as well. Have the Mojotone because I built it and it sounds pretty darn good.

 

[Element Zero]

Adaptability
Quality
Weight

The Mesa Subway D-800+, Subway 112 and 115 cabs have far exceeded the needs of both me and my wife's bands.

 

[CoffeeLove]

Eden WT400 is still my favorite, and the WT550 as runner up. While not super light, it weighs in at only15lbs, and has amazing warmth, big lows, articulate mids/highs (but not harsh), and an amazing EQ section. Also, I landed on Bergantino cabs as my preference for speakers.

Sold everything else, including my Ampeg SVT II non pro (and other Ampeg heads), my GK gear, my Genz Benz gear, my Trace Elliot gear, and the list goes on.

Good luck