Why did you choose the amp that you use?

[DennyOnBass]

I quit my festival band and moved to a resort town, where parking is limited and I would sometimes need to carry my gear several blocks. My 30 pound rack and Bergantino HT322 weren't cutting it in the portability department. I needed something I could move without being exhausted before the show ever started.

I ended up with an Aguilar AG700 because it seemed like the nicest lightweight amp I could get with my Sweetwater card, and an AudioKinesis Hathor 1203 cab because a friend of mine beta tests them and fell in love with it when he let me borrow his. About 22 pounds total for a bass rig that sounds great? No brainer!

The secret weapon is a Keeley Compressor Pro and Two Notes Le Bass preamp pedal. I can dial in a nice combination of punchy, full range clean tone with some added grit. That leaves the EQ on the Aguilar head to just balance out my tone in the room, which is does exceptionally well.

So, portability, headroom, grit and grind. Works for me!

 

[Spirit of Ox]

I use 3 different Hartke heads. One is a late 90's HA3500, an LH500, and the newer class D TX600. They all sound great, are very reliable and Larry Hartke, whom I've met and spoke with, provides the best customer service in the industry.

 

[Fletz]

I was looking for a way to get the biggest sound with the best definition. I had played Markbass and Hartke stuff for years. I went Sansamp into Brand amp which seemed sort of defeating the purpose for using a name brand. I tried a rack sansamp RBI with a power amp, I realized it was the cleanliness I always wanted with the coloring of my favorite sansamp sound. It's also a cool looking, lightweight rack system. I still only use Hartke hydrive cabs because they help transmit the transparency of my amplification, sound amazing, are lightweight and, yea, they look cool too.

 

[bass71]

And now for something completely different.

I run a pair of Rumble 100V3 combos for the places I play. Light, cheap, sounds ok and loud enough to be constantly told to turn down.....and those sparkly grill cloths look so showbiz!

 

[JtSD619]

I had used all sorts of brands. Ampeg, Eden, Mesa, Peavy, Fender, before settling on my GK Neo 4x10 & 1001 rb head. Its a fairly light weight rig for me. I can use it at basically any venue my band will be booked at. Love the tone and growl. I played in a melodic hardrock band, but also love playing funk and R&B. GK just does it all for me. #Gkallday

 

[Dan Pomykalski]

I use a VHT Special 6. Before that I was using a Fender Champion 600 into a 410 bass cab. I picked up the VHT Special 6 because it has a tone knob. I also have a GK Backline 600, but the VHT is my go-to bass amp at the moment. I added a bass knob to it, and I'm planning on modifying the tone stack to be closer to an SVT.

 

[basslayer]

It was the only bad amp that has a stereo effects loop.

 

[HotelX]

I use an Orange TB1000. I got it because it is 1000 watts and I can't imagine ever needing a more powerful amp. It has a good overall tone to me. I never have to turn it up very loud so it is always pretty clean.

 

[mexicanyella]

My rig was assembled gradually to replace my first bass amp--a Peavey TKO 115S--and is a hodgepodge of devices consisting of

1) a Zoom B2 preamp, chosen because it was an inexpensive used purchase that included a tuner and compressor, and several amp models to experiment with as my tonal taste developed, and it has enough output level to drive my power amp;

2) a Peavey M-3000 mono power amp, chosen because it was cheap ($40!) due to being old, low-powered, heavy and mono, but can run flat-out into 2 ohms continuously if needed and it's not THAT heavy;

3) an AudioKinesis Birdhaus 48 cabinet that the builder sent me to try out and I loved its sound, portability and light weight.

I play a 4-string P and like the ability to get just a hint of overdrive when I dig in, with a lightly compressed-feeling mid-forward kind of sound. I can best achieve this by selecting the Zoom's compressor (barely on; it's pretty heavy-handed) into the Marshall Superbass model (gain 25-30%), into the 6-band graphic EQ (slight cuts at 75 and 150 Hz, flat at 450 Hz, slight boost at 1 and 3 kHz, -10 dB at 5 kHz). I don't use any cab modeling--don't care for the coloration--but the noise reduction works well for me.

Those settings will easily allow me to push the power amp hard enough to light the clip/DDT light on the power amp. I like the additional subtly compressed feel I think I can sense when I push it into DDT activation, and it happens at a volume level that works in my band.

The AK cab has two Faital 8s facing forward and one facing out of each side and that arrangement distributes the mids and highs very well. It's utterly non-beamy. I liked the slightly dirty sound of cranking my TKO hard through its Scorpion 15, but it is pretty beamy when I do that. The Zoom's "Marshall" plus compressor plus power amp DDT gets me a similar sound, but now I can stand anywhere in the room and hear it well.

 

[bebass]

..... because TalkBass told me to buy it.

I know you were tongue-in-cheek kinda joking. But I do feel this is a main reason many beginners and many enthusiasts do purchase a certain brand. Talkbass is an amazing resource for bass players. But we do have to remember that, many times, a player will say "this amp/cab is the best thing since sliced bread and is better than all the other amps/cabs" because that is the amp/cab they use, but at the same time they did not try out and compare all the amps/cabs.

In general, it may many times be best to seek an opinion of those who HAVE tried out most combinations on the market rather than make a decision based on the popularity of a thread. Or better yet; go try out (in addition to research) everything one can and then decide. And try not to let an "internet personality", who may or may not be biased, make the decision for you.

 

[NickFromNY]

For me it comes down to portablity, reliablity, affordability and replaceablity. What I mean by that is that I play a lot of outdoor stuff by the salt water, so I don't want to bring a super expensive rig to get destroyed by the salt air. I have a Berg CN410 that I use for indoor stuff, but for the outdoor gigs I use an SWR GoLight 4x10 that I picked up for super cheap. Sounds great and is light and portable. For heads, I can choose between a Walkabout, a Micro-VR or a "76 SVT. Most gigs it is the Walkabout...

 

[skidmarkbass]

Bought a Markbass rig in 2008, mainly because I was driving and Audi TT at the time and it fit in the hatch. SD800 with 410 and 115 + bass.

 

[mambo4]

I chose my Genz Benz Streamliner 900 because:

• Positive Customer Experience with Genz Benz, and @agedhorse in these forums.
• sounded awesome
• 900 watt @9 lbs

I was sad when Genz-benz got absorbed by Fender.
There's just no way a larger company can keep up good customer service.
If I ever need a new amp, I'm 100% going with Genzler

 

[Mike151]

I use a Hartke Kick Back 2X10 for rehearsal. More than fills the small room we rehearse in and I love the tone.
For live I use SWR 750W head and SWR Megoliath 8X10 cab. Small or large venues. I use it because it has so much headroom available that it sounds beautiful with the gain set at clipping - a small twist and the main set at about 1.
It just screams if I need it to but I really don't need all that. Tried the 2x10 hartke combo at a small venue once and I underestimated the size of the venue. Mistake! So, I always bring the big guns just in case.
Thinking about ordering a Hartke 410 and 1-15 cabs with a 1000 W. head. I love the sound of my little hartke but I don't know if that transfers to the larger rigs or not. Any suggestions on that would be greatly appreciated!

 

[zon6c-f]

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 own a variety of amps and basses

Each has its own unique voice and function

Most recent purchase is Bergantino forte' and Berg HDN1-12 cab
Purchased mainly due to class D head and neo cab being ultra light as I have bass players lower back and hernia issues

Bergantino is most transparent amp I've ever heard or owned ...Meaning very clear , what you put in .. you get out with no discernible tonal coloration of it's own

Hope my answer helps

 

[ArvindJayaram]

A Darkglass Electronics Microtubes 900 is my weapon of choice. I used to use a B7K Ultra direct into the FOH, but found that I missed out on the power that is very much an integral part of being a bassist in a heavy band. It's extremely lightweight, at 6.4 pounds, but is also very powerful, capable of outputting 900 watts at four ohm.

A major plus of the amp is that it has two really usable drives built into it, based on the Darkglass B3K and their Vintage Microtubes pedals. The distortion is footswitchable, but I don't find myself using it very often, given that I don't really change sounds when playing a single band.

What I really like about the main amp section is that you can select what frequency you want the low mid and high mid knobs to cut or boost. It also has tonnes of gain, while at the same time being transparent.

For effects, I have a really nifty Zoom B3 bass pedal. I usually use it for compression, as an octaver and if I want a different kind of distortion from the Darkglass stuff. A big plus about the Zoom is that in case I choose to run direct to the PA, I forego the effects section and instead use the cab section of the Zoom being fed by the Darkglass preamp output. Sounds damn huge, I really wish they had built a cab sim into the first run of the Microtubes amps.

 

[minimalist freedom]

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?

 

[Mktrat]

Bass Fly rig or a Boss Bass Driver into one of my SWR's.
Workingman15, LA15, or my favorite a Redhead version 1.0.
The redhead never (ok very, very, rarely) leaves my home.

I love the clean amp tone, but with a bit of outboard dirt!!

 

[minimalist freedom]

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?

My first real gigging amp I used is my Lab systems VP 400 valve pre/MOSFET out.
Bass boost(don't use) bass, mid (switchable) treble(enhance don't use) DI, 2speaker outs, big and solid build no longer made a few still around used hold their price.
it gives any sound I need...got lucky as I was persuaded by hard sell by salesman and now truly appreciate why he insisted it was the bees knees.
Have had offers to sell , that tells me I will not sell. Used with eminence 15 and EV 2x10.
Play many basses through it and it sounds funky, hard, subtle, warm or Spanky.
First amp was a carlsbro 100 combo with slider eq,s and 15" speaker which I regretfully sold.

 

[lermgalieu]

I ended up with a Mesa D-800 after years of trial and error, with my most recent amps being an Ampeg PF-500, then a Fender Bassman 100T. I don't dig the scooped Ampeg tone, I found out (or rather I do, but I'd like more options from an amp). The Fender sounded great (could get growly, had a nice eq section, had "that" tube sound), but I didn't like the weight, and the headroom wasn't the greatest. The Mesa has a beautiful full tone, but can be dialed into about any tone I would want, it is a bit dark without being scooped (unless you want scoop, in which case you can crank up the voicing knob), and you can get some grit by overdriving the input. Plays very nicely with P basses. The only other amp I could see wanting is an old Fender Bassman for the studio I build someday in the house I don't own yet.