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Why did you choose the amp that you use?

#141
I wanted to go all-tube and didn't want to 'rehab' an older amp, so was looking for a new build. After reading the Bass Gear review of the Reeves Custom 225, I ponied up and placed the order. No regrets, it is a GAS ending amp. I don't have to move my gear, so its 60lb weight is not a factor for me. It feels big when played. Anyone who's ever cranked an SVT knows what 'big' feels like. :) It is clean, clear, and authorative. I started with a NOS JAN/Phillips in V1, but have a Mullard there now. Tweaking the presence and treble controls brings the sweetest highs I've ever heard. :cool:
 
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#142
mambo4 said:
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
Click to expand...
Or Mesa...as we have the wonderful Andy @agedhorse here...formerly of Genz
 
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#144
Why I play a GB STL 900.
Its light.
It has a warm vintage amp style voice that I like.
Its loud. 900 watts@ 4 ohms.
It was affordable. Less than $600 used.
I love this amp!!! If I could put a ring on it and marry it I would.
 
#145
my main live amp is the boogie d800+. Why I love it:

• I don't feel it has a "baked in tone," but a hugely wide range of awesome tones are available, depending on how you set it. Has an array of tone shaping options such as parametric EQ, High and Low boosts and high-pass filter. High pass filter is something I never knew I needed, but what a great tool. Fantastic for tailoring the amp to specific cabs. I have a 2x10, for example, that farts out if you drive too much sub frequencies into it. With the hp filter, you can just dial that out, problem solved.

• Love that you can push it into sweet, highly credible tubish overdrive territory, if that's what you're going for. It even has a little "OD" light that comes on when you're in that zone, which helps in finding the sweet spot. But if you don't want any drive, simply don't push the input, and it can be as clean and modern sounding as you need it to be.

• It goes down to 2 ohms, which I find very useful, as my live rig is modular and I tailor it to the room/gig. I've used it with a 1x10, 2x10, 1x12, 2 1x12's, or 2 1x12's plus a ten on top. Sounds great in all these configurations and ohmages.

• Never have any issues being heard/felt. Plenty of power on tap for any situation.

• And yet it also sounds great at lower volumes. Not necessary to crank it loud to get it to the sweet spot, like some amps I own or have used. Also helpful in this regard are the low and high boosts, which help add fullness and brightness at lower volumes.

• It has a great DI with all the features I want, such as pre/post eq option, ground lift, and it's not tied to the master volume. Tone coming out FOH or into the recording interface is fantastic. Also if you want to know what that tone sounds like, it's hard to say, because it depends upon what bass you're playing and how you set the amp.

• It's super light, around 6 lbs. There are many amps in this weight range, but not too many that tick all the boxes of features, power, tone, flexibility and reliability. Sling it over my shoulder in it's carry bag (included) and forget it's there.

• It's been rock solid reliable, and if it ever isn't, which I doubt will happen, I have a lot of faith in Mesa (and a certain highly accessible TBer who happened to design it ;)) that any potential issues will be rectified quickly and satisfactorily.

• I'm a huge fan of Mesa, so I like supporting a brand that I have had nothing but good results with over 30ish years of playing. Not just me, but the people I've played with. Every guitarist I ever played with who had a boogie, had a great tone, and no issues.

Damn, guess I'm a fanboy. :laugh:
 
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#147
I use 2 (both with the same cab).

I use a GK 1001RBII & a GK MB800 both through a GK NEO412

The 1001RBII is my main gigging amp for many reasons, sound (both smooth and angry, depending where you dial it), not "too" heavy as weight goes, and I love the bi-amp feature, plus I like how the amp looks cosmetically as well...win/win.

The MB800 gets used if I'm looking for a smoother, more HiFi tone I guess...it pairs well with our acoustic shows, that's not to say it can't get loud....because it is REALLY loud if need be...add the fact that I can toss it in my gigbag makes it even more appealing for difficult load in/out gigs.
 
#148
Tecamp PUMA 900.

Small and light.

Excellent tone both for electric and upright.

It pack a big kick on the attacks. I feel like there is a horse kicking me in the chest every time I hit a note.

There is power to spare. It is loud and clean without ever breaking a sweat.

I have tried to buy and like other amps. While the "baked in" sound is clean and flat to my ears, I jnow it isn't. Because it sounds different through the preamp than it does through the effects return jack. And every amp and preamp I have bought since, even ones with more features, always sounded better when Fed through this amp's input than any other way.

I will get more amps and preamps but this one is staying with me for good.
 
#149
My current amp system started out when I bought my first Acme B2 cabinets. I was looking for a way to drive them fully and decided to go pre/power. I bought a Carvin HD2000 Class D power amp then thought about how I was going to drive the amp. I like using tubes so I designed a simple two channel tube pre-amp using two 12ax7/ECC83 and one 12AT7/ECC81 to drive the output transformer. Each Channel has Gain, Treble, Bass and Level controls. They also have a channel mute switch.

The system sounds great with any of my basses that are in the rotation especially my fretless. :)
 
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#153
I prefer a clean tone with an aggressive edge to it. For 20 years I played a solid state Ampeg SVT 200T with a P Bass wide open into an 8x10 or the Isovent cab.

I've always been a fan of the GK sound so I picked up a Backline 600 as spare head years ago.

Fast forward to last year and I was able to pick up a very nice used GK 800rb from a TB member. For me it has everything I want. Good clean tone that can get aggressive, plenty of power/volume and solid state. I'm still playing in Hardcore punk bands in my mid 40's. Types of venues and PA support can be all over the map in the DIY world. Jazz bass and sansamp into a 6x10 hasn't failed to be plenty for any situation I've found myself in.
 
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#154
PraiseBassing said:
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?
Click to expand...

I used to use an Ampeg SVT-PRO5. It's heavy, solid, reliable, has a clean channel and an overdrive channel that can be blended (OD sounds like arse on its own) and an octave blend. I had to stop using it. Why? The dynamic response is just too slow, and the notes are muddier than I like.

What converted me is a Genz Benz Shuttlemax 12.2 (actually I borrowed a ShuttleMax 9 for a gig and loved it). It's a Class D amp with a tube pre-amp channel and a solid state channel that can be blended. Super light. But most of all, the mids fly through the air in a way that suits my style. I'm a fast picker and the amp is never too slow for me, it's like it pushes the details out through the cab. Also, the direct out is nice and clean which sound engineers love at live gigs, so I don't get lost in the mix. The only 'flaw' is that Aged Horse loves and protects his gear. The Genz Benz is very finicky if the power conditioning is terrible which is often the case at low-end venues. There is no way to bypass the protect mode and I've had some moments where it was just easier to use someone else's amp than to trouble-shoot the bad power cable or outlet or whatever.

My favorite sound I've ever gotten live came from playing through a Mesa Boogie bass rig. It may have been the Strategy 88 but I'm not sure. It could also have been a discontinued model. All I know is that the punchiness was ridiculous! I still got definition, but waaaayyyy more balls than my normal tone. I had to turn it way down so as to not dominate my band and it still cut through. It seems that Mesa bass amps are pricey and that's why nobody uses them, but maybe one day...

The amps that I play regularly in rehearsal studios tend to be Ampegs or GK1000/GK2000. They are just OK to me. I find that with the muddier sound, I turn up too loud in an attempt to hear my finger attack the way I do with my normal rig.

Honorable mention: Orange Terror Bass. If I was to play in a pure classic rock or stoner rock band I would use one of these. Also a Class D light box, but sounds huge. It's a nice amount of grit and very warm which is why it works so well for 70s or 90s material, but some of my stuff doesn't translate so well.
 
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#156
My favorite rig is my Orange TB1K and the pair of OBCs that I recently acquired after moving away from Schroeder. I definitely love the warmth of this setup, and to my ears, it's the warmest sounding hybrid amp I've ever played. I've mulled over whether or not to go full tubes, but I really love my current amp's form factor.

My other amps (Mesa D800+ - jack of all trades without the following "master of none" disclaimer, and an Ashdown ABM that satisfies my closet doom metal fandom) are still keepers and I can't imagine getting rid of them anytime soon. But really, there are only a few amps I flat out dislike. I tend to focus more on the strengths of each amp's voicings rather than worry about their limitations.
 
#157
I used a Trace Elliot AH400SM for nearly 20 years. It was my rig and my sound...played a lot of gigs with that amp. It finally gave up the ghost two years back and I got a great deal on an Ashdown Mag 420. It wasn't my first choice but for the price it was a no brainer. Sound wise, it's similar to the Trace. Just as punchy and loud. It's got a while load of bells and whistles that I don't care for much. The one knob compressor is okish, the one knob octaver is pointless and the one knob dirt is a bit to heavy metal for my tastes. But the vanilla amp is great and the EQ is useful too.
 
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#158
I have an Ampeg PF-350 + Ampeg 210AV at home. The reason I have this setup is because A.) I read a ton of great stuff about the Micro VR on Talkbass, and the guy who is the go-to guy for all things Ampeg (Jimmy something?) said there is no discernable difference between the VR head and the PF-350, and B.) I was amazed at how light the 210AV was. I also have a GK Backline 112 that I bought to basically use as a monitor at church. That one stays at church. I got it because I found it cheap on Craigslist. It would probably make more sense to swap them and have my Ampeg at church, but someone recently got his Taylor guitar stolen from our church so I'm really uneasy about bringing the Ampeg rig to church.
 
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#159
I use a TC Electronic RH750. Mostly as a preamp, since the drummer and I are always on IEM's and the rest of the guys are happy to feel the bass through the PA. But as a preamp: it has a four band semi-parametric eq, programmable gain/preset volume, a little dirt capability, an incredible compressor, and it sounds great. It's got three memory presets, a built-in tuner, and a footswitch that lets me change presets, mute, and display the tuner at my feet. It's also loud as hell and relatively light. All that adds up to a feature set that I can't find in any other gear.

Tom
 
#160
The quest for the holy grail of course!
I have been through a LOT of amps before returning to my first love: Trace Elliot.
But yeah. Currently owning 8 amps... Tech21 Darkglass Mesa Roland PhilJones and a bunch of Trace Elliots.

I must be nuts. It seems the HEXA VALVE is the king of amps though. That tone is just so thick yet tight yet punchy yet lively yet awesome...
 

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