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Worst amp you played through

#281
Yeah...

SWR isn't bad quality, but the sound is totally wrong for pretty much everything I do.

I've always been surprised by how much different GK "Backline" series amps sound from regular GK. The regular GK stuff has lots of definition and a very useful, intuitive EQ. And some nice sounding overdrive. The Backline stuff I've played through was basically mud city at any EQ setting, except somehow also having an annoying tin can full of bees sound if I used the overdrive at all.
 
#282
My first real amp was a Tube Works head that I found in shop in NYC. The internet was in black and white back then, and steam-powered, and I didn't know how to research amps—but I'd heard that tubes were good, and this amp had the word TUBE emblazoned in bigger yellow letters than any other amp. And it sounded good in the store, from three feet away. The salesman said it had been the house amp for the blues club right downstairs, called Downtime. I figured that if it had been good enough for them, ever, it would be good enough for me.

Back home the problems started immediately. It didn't sound the same. It was bright. Screechy bright. Every eq setting sounded worse than all the others. It started yelling at me in French (turns out the preamp was picking up a Quebecois radio station). I tried a different tube to no avail, and when I started poking around, something off-script happened and I saw blue smoke. I found an old-time repairman with a white handlebar mustache who let me watch him tinker, very slowly, while he charged by the hour. Eventually he found the cooked part and fixed it with an elaborate addition of red and blue wires. The amp worked again, which is to say it sounded screechy when I played, and spoke French when I didn't.

A friend asked: "are you complaining about problems with the former house amp from a club called DOWN TIME?"

That was a good question. Eventually I sold it for less than what I'd paid to fix it.
 
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#283
Okay, I'll play. GK Backline 250. First of all, where in the hell did the number 250 come from.... it's 125 watts. Second: minimum 8 ohms. Booo. Third: all kinds of blah. Not your ordinary blah, mind you.... straight up "W.T.*. is that.... is that supposed to be tone?" kind of blah. Overdrive comparable to a cooked IC's last millisecond of life... just an all around terrible experience.

That said; yes I understand its niche in the world, but holy shizzle that thing was awful. The next one up the food chain at least "has a pair" that you can use some (any) other pre with.

My experience.
 
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#285
basscooker said:
Okay, I'll play. GK Backline 250. First of all, where in the hell did the number 250 come from.... it's 125 watts. Second: minimum 8 ohms. Booo. Third: all kinds of blah. Not your ordinary blah, mind you.... straight up "W.T.*. is that.... is that supposed to be tone?" kind of blah. Overdrive comparable to a cooked IC's last millisecond of life... just an all around terrible experience.

That said; yes I understand its niche in the world, but holy shizzle that thing was awful. The next one up the food chain at least "has a pair" that you can use some (any) other pre with.

My experience.
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I'm a big-time GK fan, but the difference between their standard line and Backline stuff was huge - I never liked any of it. I'm glad they put that behind them.
 
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#286
My first amp when I started playing back in the '80s: a Solton Bassgun. The noisiest thing I've ever heard.
Even trading it in for a Carlsbro (I think it was..) 1x15" was such a relief.
Later came an Ampeg SVT III Pro + Eden 210 cabinet - whew.. much better.

Now I play through either the Ampeg or - for convenience - a Aguilar TH350 into 2 Bergantino 1x12" cabinets. Awesome.. Light, portable, sounds fantastic. I've come a long way since the terrible Solton bassgun.

Regards
Mark
 
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#288
The amp I most disliked when i played through it was an Acoustic 360. The 360 sounded like it had pillows in front of the speaker and up close it was anemic sounding with no top and no bottom, all midrange. I have never liked long throw cabs like that anyway. Long throw cabs are OK on big stages when you can get some distance between yourself and the amp but they still don't have much top end and have little punch.
 
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#289
KickingBass said:
I haven't had a lot of experience with many different kinds of amps but I used (I think it was) a Traynor once last summer that was just awful, too boomy, underpowered, and I felt like the notes were not projecting into the crowd.
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Sorry but a post like this "I think it was" is so bogus it's inexplicable and possibly despicable. How can you flame something that you aren't even sure of the brand? :eyebrow:
 
#291
squarepeg said:
The second-worst bass amp I ever had was a Fender BXR400 with an 18" + 2x10" cabinet. The absolute worst was the infamous Fender Solid State Bassman:
SS%20Bassman%20s.jpg

Fortunately for me, Long and McQuade was generous on trade-ins back in those days.
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Oh man. Oh man o man o man.
 
#296
Luckily I think I have blocked out the memories of most all the worst amps I've played. But last year I was reminded how much my tastes and technology have changed in the last two or three decades. I played a benefit where I was told don't bring an amp there's a great bass rig. That should have been a warning flag. So when I got there I just had time to get up and play. As I came to the stage I saw the bass tragedy. It was an ancient GK RB400 1st gen. a 115 cab beat into nondescripition. With a matching 410 of unknown origin. I plugged into the head thinking "I had one of these" (in the 80's) and it sounded good then, right? WRONG! It was a miserable 1 hour set for me, that everyone loved except me. I left with the knowledge that my tastes in gear have matured well beyond this amp in the ensuing years. And thankfully I sound nothing like that anymore.
 
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#297
srxplayer said:
Complete Eden rig. WT800 with two 4 X 10 cabs. We owned it as a backline. It was crazy expensive. I don't think it was bad like a piece of crap (although if memory serves it did have some issues later) but I just thought it would be so great and we had everybody asking for one. So I played through it and... Really? This is what everyone raves about? What an overpriced very dull sounding rig. The expense associated with it makes it the worst to me.
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I played through an Eden 400 watt tube head about ten years ago several times, the amp was sterile sounding and had absolutely no character.
I have not liked Mark Bass amps either, boomy and clean at the same time if that's possible.
 
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#298
Jmozz60 said:
Oh yesss .... I had one of these blue Kustoms. . Mine had 3X15 in it though . Sound sucked . Even through the bright side . Plus a nightmare to move .....
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I saw a band in a neighboring town when i was 16 years old playing at a dance and he had one of those and a Fender V, it was a little distorted but I thought it sounded great, the bass player played the solo from Take Me For a Little While, Vanilla Fudge and he floored me. Never forgot that amp.
 
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