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Why did you choose your amp?

#161
pica said:
I'm having a hard time choosing an amp. I've been reading all the threads on different amps and researching amps on line. Truth is there is just way too many amps out there. So I'm curious what made you choose the amp you bought. Was it power, size, portability, special features, etc.
Click to expand...

I chose the Demeter VTBP-M-800D for several reasons:

1. The Demeter tone. The best rig I've ever played through featured a Demeter pre
2. Portability - it's ten lbs
3. Power - 800 watts, and from what I've heard, 800 kick-in-the-pants watts
4. Simplicity - it has simple, but musical and effective, tone shaping ability

According to those that have one and/or have tested one. Mine has not arrived yet.
 
#163
Vintage SVT here

So it clearly wasn't weight, size, portability or price that was important to me.

For me it was finding that early 70s R&B, rock n roll, soul tone that felt very elusive for a long time. And I found it in my 1972 SVT. But I have to tell you that if I had found the Barefaced 69er earlier, I might have stopped at my SVT-CL.

For size, weight, portability and price I went for a Genz Benz Shuttle 6.2. If you run it with a 4 ohm cab it has more than enough power and it sounds pretty good for a small rig. Especially with a Darkglass VMT in the chain always on.
 
#164
For me it was a lot of things. I wanted something low maintenance (which meant no tubes) but still sounded good like a tube amp. I wanting something easy to move yet powerful (which is the tough part as these two don't normally go together.

My main rig is 4 space gator rack bag which has tech 21 sans amp RBI, a crown xls1500 and a korg rack tuner (which runs outside of my signal chain so it doesn't suck tone). I mainly use my ampeg 410he cab which is probably the smallest and lightest non neo 4x10 cab out their and i also really like the tone which is the closest thing i could find to an 810e. I used to own an ampeg 810e and will still rent or barrow one for big festival shows on the rare occasion when gigs like that come up but i really just got tired of movin the 810. Our whole band collectively agreed to downsize from the 810 and two 412 guitar rigs, to a 410, and two 212 guitar rigs, everyone is much happier.

The rack is amazing. I still can't get over how powerful it is and how dead silent it is when I'm not playing. And it was a really affordable setup. The RBI is about $300 new, the crown is about $350 new, the rack bag was another hundred but that's still like $500-600 cheaper then other amps I've owned that weren't as good.
 
#165
I chose mine by using my ears - Genz Benz Shuttle. I went to a large music store and a/b'd all of the heads through the same cabinet and chose the Genz Benz because it sounded best to me. Cost was a factor, but I would have spent more if I had found something I really liked. You can read all the reviews in the world, but in the end it should sound good to you, regardless of what everyone else thinks. I played some heads that are very popular on TB that I didn't like.
 
#166
For me, it went like this:
I wanted to upgrade the tone and loudness of my amp (a Trace Elliot combo).
1) For better tone, I went Ampeg (which I like best)
2) I wanted a head, with two cabs, which would be small and light enough for two stairways.
3) a limited budget, so no tubes (for now...;))
So, a PF800 with a PF115HE and PF210HE was the solution for me.
 
#167
pica said:
I'm having a hard time choosing an amp. I've been reading all the threads on different amps and researching amps on line. Truth is there is just way too many amps out there. So I'm curious what made you choose the amp you bought. Was it power, size, portability, special features, etc.
Click to expand...

I chose the GK 1001RB-II & the GK NEO412

Why?
Because I absolutely fell in love with the tone, and the bi-amp feature is so cool, plus the amp has more than adequate power for my needs

The 412 moves a TON of air, and sounds absolutely fantastic with a 5-string (that I rarely use, but it needed to be able to handle it).

The rig is portable enough (I can fit the entire thing in my Camry :D).

I know what you mean about all the choices available, it truly is a great time to be a bass player...I remember a time when there were far less options...:bored:

The search is almost as much fun as finally finding "your amp" :bassist:

Good Luck!!
 
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#168
Because it was 150 bucks!!!


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(It's a great amp though, as well..) :thumbsup:
 
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#169
I bought my amp for the power first I suppose. My old yorkie went out on me, so I thought it did (ended up being a instrument cable, go figure! But I ended up with a lovely, awesomely better amp because of my stupidity), so I went to Sam ash to take a look round. I wanted something more powerful and modern. I had about a third of the knowledge I have now at the time (I joined TB right around this time) so I really only knew of a few brands. It ended up being between a Hartke, SWR or ampeg. The ampeg didn't have the power I was looking for (pf350) so I went with the SWR 750x because I liked the way it sounded and new it was a $1400 amp and they had it marked for $500 used. I thought that was a hell of a deal. I got it home and something made me take it back. I don't really know why now. I think it's because I thought it also lacked the power I was looking for. I almost went with the Hartke LH1000 I think it was. But I turned around and saw a GK sitting there. Hadn't considered it the first time I saw it there. I'm glad something told me to plug it in and try it. Man am I glad. I ended up getting the GK 1001rb II. And I'm still rockin it today. Love that amp. It's powerful, sounds awesome, has mostly all the features I could want or need and the price was right used.

So for me, I guess it's power and what I can afford. You can usually get most amps to sound the way you want to with a pedal/preamp and a cab. I'd spend more money on a cab than an amp any day.


Killing gods
 
#171
Ibanez Promethean 3110...hard to find the 500 watt model so I tried this.
Rather impressive sound from such a small amp...I can pick it up with one finger...and most people can't believe how friggin' loud it is.
Fits in my '87 Fiero GT along with my Thunderbird, too!
 
#172
vasilio said:
GK RB1001mk11 + GK Neo 410 .
Been using GK for 35 yrs or so , never let me down.
Before that Sunn,Acoustic, Ampeg, Fender and a Sound city 200b that was straight out of Dr. Frankensteins castle.
( Thing would glow and the transformers would be smoking on stage )
Loved them all but settled on GK for the clean sound.
Click to expand...

I like the fact that you're using the same exact rig as me and you've tried all that other stuff. You have you're reasons I'm sure. I will always want a 70s SVT and some type of ampeg cab. But I'm happy with what I have now.


Killing gods
 

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