Amp for a 4003

los_sentidos · Post by **los_sentidos** » Thu Feb 24, 2005 10:13 pm

Personally I'm not a fan of the MAG stuff - I liked some ABM stuff I tried when it was first out here in the UK but the stuff I tried most recently with my Ric wasn't as good IMHO.

For someone not wanting to blow a load on something like an Ampeg I'd really suggest Hartke gear (you can get the 3500 head dirt cheap now) and the 5500 heads are great value. A friend who runs an amp repair business said that the electrics in the Ashdown stuff is pretty unreliable and that he doesn't see much from the likes of Trace, Ampeg and Hartke which is a good sign - but that the Hartke build qualiy he has seen has left with in no doubt that they are great amps.

Those trayner amps sound good - I've never seen one here.

As an aside has anyone used a Fafner? I have had 2 pro bassist here rave about them!

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 2:59 am

The thing is Scott do you specifically want a combo? Are you limited by budget? If you are then forget Ampeg (It will also keep your spine intact if you do ! Ha Ha) cos they are expensive !! Are you concerned about the physical size ? In my opinion you do not need to have hernia inducing Ampeg bass heads and 2 man lift 8x10's etc for a good bass sound. There are many smaller rigs out there that wont break the bank or your back. I would suggest going to a big dealer in bass gear and trying out all that fits your budget. Big doesnt mean good, nor does expensive ! It does tend to follow that you get what you pay for like most things in life though. I have heard fairly good things about Hartke although they are mass manufactured in China I believe. They are like Ronan says very reasonably priced. Ronan - Havent heard one single horror story about Ashdown ABM. They are known for reliability. I dont know about the MAG range though. Was your friend referring to the MAG range when he said they were unreliable. They sell 100's of them, is it because they sell more of them that he sees more of them in the workshop ? There are not too many Ampegs sold in the UK because of the price of them so he wont see many of those. I was a Trace Elliot user and got let down very badly by one (brand new) blowing its power supply the 1st note of the 1st song at a big gig. My ABM has played for 100's of hours and not paused for breath.

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 3:20 am

One name that hasn't been mentioned here yet is Aguilar. I tried their GS112 cabinets (1x12", ported w/tweeter) and they are pretty warm-sounding. The price is about $350-400 each and a pair of them compare favorably to my Ampeg SVT410HLF cabinet. And the best part is that each one weighs 39 lbs. as opposed to 110lbs. for the 410HLF.

For bass heads, I still like Ampeg, although I am willing to try one of the Aguilar preamps.

The Mesa Walkabout is not a bad little amp, either.

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 4:43 am

Does anybody here own a Mesa Walkabout? I played through one for a few minutes at GC(as part of the 1X12 combo). I though it sounded really good especially considering its size and weight. I could see getting the head and bringing it along to a gig as a spare, the thing would probably fit under a car seat! Or as a more portable alternative to my big rig to take to practice or smaller gigs.

Speaking of big rigs, I just took the Ampeg plunge myself on Monday at my local GC(SVT Classic head and 410HLF cab). Thanks for the tip Bob Young, Jeff Rath, and everyone else who told me to go there. It sounds great. I'm still getting used to it though. They had a $200 off the speaker for President's day which made it only $499.

On a related note, my knee still hurts from carrying the cab down the stairs to my basement and I'm not getting any younger or stronger! Not to be a whiner, its smaller than my last big rig, but for me it was a two person job. I should have known better than to carry it by myself. I just couldn't wait for the wife to get home to plug it in!

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:07 am

I can walk into most gigs with my Ashdown 2x10 cab in one hand and my ABM300 head in the other. There is well enough power for I would say 75% of the shows without bringing my other 2x10 There must be something to be said about that Jeff. Portability and weight are a huge factor when you are a regular player. Stairs are the killer in any venue. I have been doing this for 25 years and I just dont want to lift heavy rigs any more.

highway_star · Post by **highway_star** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:13 am

"I just dont want to lift heavy rigs any more"

That's why I bought the Aguilar cabs. They weigh 39 lbs each and lean to the warm side. I may consider the Aguilar DB659 preamp based on some favorable responses I've heard.

rhampshire · Post by **rhampshire** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:28 am

>>
Is the SVT still a tube amp?
>>

There are many "SVT's" out there: Classic, AV, II, II Pro, III Pro, 350, 200T, IV Pro... they all wear the same three little letters, and they all pale in comparison to the real deal 1970's all tube SVT.

Yeah, the heads weigh 87 pounds (120+ in a roadcase like mine) and the 8x10 cabs weigh ~165, but nothing compares to having that beast roaring behind you onstage. They've pretty much been the king of bass amps since 1969, and for good reason.

The closest new thing to the real deal is the SVT classic or SVT-AV, and while they're good amps, the old ones still blow them away.

Can ya tell I love mine?

ricosound · Post by **ricosound** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 9:34 am

OK. I just sold my GK 700RBII-210 for several reasons I don't care to elaborate. I am looking at either an SWR Super redhead or an Ashdown ABM 300-210 combo. Any opinions here (I can't believe I said that!) Both have great tube front ends and a mixture of usable features. Same size, weight, power, all that jazz.

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:30 am

I replaced an SWR (I hated it, although the redhead is rated) with my Ashdown gear. I like Ashdown a lot did I mention that ? The 300-210 is a combo version of what I use basically. I dont think you would be disappointed.

ricosound · Post by **ricosound** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:46 am

The only big knock for me with the Ashdown is the lack of a headphone jack for silent practice. Does anyone know how to use a line level out to power headphones? Is there an adaptor or something?

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 10:49 am

I'm considering a Mesa Walkabout or an Ashdown as my next amp when the time comes (unless I can get hold of another Marshall Superbass for my Ricks), and I'm very interested in the Aguilar 2x12s too. As I've said before I hate to be loud on stage (plus my back is screwed), so the smaller and lighter the better for me. Oh, and as Jeff Rath pointed out, I'm kind of a smiley eq guy and have never (YET!) got on with Ampeg... never say never though, although an SVT is out of the question.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:34 am

Time to beat my chest, haha! I've been using 70's SVT heads with 70's SVT cabs for 30 years and lug them myself, why? Because nothing else sounds as good IMHO. They defined modern bass sound. A good Ric and a good SVT is a sound that people love and won't soon forget. No amp I have ever heard can reproduce the crispness of the Ric with all the bottom at the same time at wall shaking volume if you need it. They are in a class by themselves.
If I were going to get an Ampeg for home use it would be either a 70's B-15N or a 70's B-15S, they both sound like little SVT's and are 30 and 55 watts respectively, they're fliptops with one 15" and all tube, but are much more modern sounding than the classic 60's B-15N's and cheaper too. The B-25B is also a good sounding head, it's the same thing as the B-15S I think.
Ampeg calls almost everything they make an SVT nowadays, the real SVT is a 300 watt tube head with an 8 X 10 cab made from 1969-1987. Most people prefer the 70's Magnavox amps made from about 1971 to 1979.
They do not make the SVT anymore, they always have prefixes after them, SVT-CL, SVT-PRO etc. The closest thing made now like Rob said is the SVT-CL and the SVT-AV which is an SVT-CL with 70's cosmetics. If I were going to buy a new amp I'd get one of those but there are plenty of real ones around because they last forever. I had a SVT head fall off the top (4') of an 8 X 10 once onto a concrete sidewalk and it didn't hurt it one bit (made a crater in the sidewalk though) I must admit I was amazed when I turned it on and it still worked though.

rhampshire · Post by **rhampshire** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:45 am

Can ya tell Bob and I like SVT's?

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 11:59 am

haha!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Feb 25, 2005 12:00 pm

For my first year here my name was bobampeg, I had to get rid of that, I was a marked man, probably still am.