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Why does everyone love AMPEG so much?

#245
madurolover said:
Well they guy at GC said MarkBass is the best but I bought the Ampeg. I think they just push that brand and get a higher revenue return.
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Me too. Every time I visit GC in Atlanta I get some guy trying to sell me on a MarkBass cabinet and head. They leave it as the only playable amp in the uh... Bass "Room" (closet really)... De-railing aside, I do like the new ampeg svt heads. I had a chance to do some recording into one and I was really happy with it.
 
#246
Ya, Markbass and Acoustic are GC's pet brands. I think Markbass actually makes some good stuff. The cabs aren't to my liking but the Little Mark heads are quite good. These days I think there's better in the micro world, but I give respect to Markbass for making people take notice of micros...even though Ampeg was the first major manufacturer to put out a micro head ;)
 
#251
JimmyM said:
Ya, Markbass and Acoustic are GC's pet brands. I think Markbass actually makes some good stuff. The cabs aren't to my liking but the Little Mark heads are quite good. These days I think there's better in the micro world, but I give respect to Markbass for making people take notice of micros...even though Ampeg was the first major manufacturer to put out a micro head ;)
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Jimmy,
Yes, indeed they were, those heads just weren't my cup of tea though, the new PF 350's and PF 500's are far superior IME, IMHO. I guess you have to give Ampeg props for effort, because until they did that, your only option in a Class D amplifier was the Walter Woods, but they were and still are very high ticket items. I have two of the Woods amps, and they are incredible, but for kids, college students, weekend warriors, and even some professionals, the Woods amps are just to expensive. With that commitment to the Ampeg legacy, Loud Technologies developed a Class D amp that sounds great and is reasonably priced. The funny thing is, that everyone credits Gallien Krueger with the first commercially produced micro heads, but if I understand the technology correctly, until they released the MB500 and the MB200 those little MBE and MBS heads were micro in size and name only, they didn't use a switch mode power supply. Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong on this one.

Ric
 
#252
Here's what my guitar tech(he's the guy who built Chris Squire's green bass) told me once as we were discussing amps... We grew up with the Ampeg sound and as a result try to emulate it with newer, lighter, transistor amps. It cannot be done. That said, as time marches on we have now grown used to this newer 'approximate' sound which has become 'standard'. Mind you, this is just a theory. I still own a '69 SVT and would use it all the time but it's just not practical in my city. I always request a 70s SVT on a backline but when I'm carrying my amp it's an old, old GK400RB. Again, that's just my taste. I feel that some newer amps are making progress in the features/reliablity department but miss the boat on tone. But let's cut to the chase, your sound is in you not the amp.
 
#256
fenderfreak said:
... We grew up with the Ampeg sound and as a result try to emulate it with newer, lighter, transistor amps. It cannot be done. That said, as time marches on we have now grown used to this newer 'approximate' sound which has become 'standard'.
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Fender Freak,
Walter Woods built a couple of amps in the early 90's with a switch mode power supply, coupled to a Class A/B linear power amplifier, that got pretty close to the SVT, no cigar mind you, but very close. Problem was, his MI-400-8, and MI-600-8 amps were only available for a couple of years, and cost $1,599.00 and $1,899.00 respectively. These amps acted like tube amps with all solid state circuits. I know this because I own a MI-400-8 (400 watts rms at 8 0hms) and we put it side by side an SVT-VR in a local music store, into a 8x10 cabinet and it worked beautifully. Just my opinion though. There aren't many people who own these amps, so not a whole lot of players have ever heard them.

Ric
 

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