Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

What's the verdict guys?

Anyone tried any of the Orange or George Dennis stuff?

I'm a valve amp player, and have tried various Orange heads old & new. Never really cared for them with bass... too dirty at all but bedroom volumes. There are some that like that sound though!
I play Hiwatt, and love them... clean & LOUD.

I haven't seen the Dennis stuff. Can you play it somewhere? That's the only way to know... let YOUR ears be the judge!

What's the Hiwatt bass amp called?

I'm gonna try to get in and play the Dennis stuff not much about though.

Ronan,
Hiwatt doesn't make a bass amp... they are classed as "AP", meaning All Purpose. You can use them for guitar, bass, keyboards, etc...
Originals pop up fairly often on such places as the "bay". There are also reissues, hand-built in the UK just as the originals were, but are nearly as expensive! Check out their website for dealers near you. If you're in the US, and like to shop online, I know Bass Emporium carries the line.

If you're interested in learning more about Hiwatt, check out www.mhuss.com ... it's the UNOFFICIAL Hiwatt site.

The Hiwatt bass amps are called Custom 200 and Custom 400. They use KT-88 power valves for the output stage.
Checkout www.hiwatt.com under the 'Custom' section for more info.

Thanks guys. Another one to consider!

How do the Traynors compare to them?

I used to have a Traynor YBA-3 Custom Special, and I wish I never would have gottin rid of it. Great for bass or guitar. Closest you could get to an old Marshall at a third of the price.

That Hiwatt Custom 400 with a 115 and a 410 looks gooooood!

How about the Marshall VBA 400? Anyone know anything about those?

I've tried a Marshall VBA 400 a few times. A good amp, but a bit dark sounding for my tastes. I'm saving up for an Orange AD200 head and 2 15 inch cabs. I used to own an Orange amp. Superb. Never had a problem with it being dirty. Always sounded clean, clear and powerful.
YMMV.

Have you seen the thunderverb mark?

The hiwatts are so expensive.

I've heard mixed things about the new orange stuff. What version of the AD 200 are you using Mark?


I have seen a very reasonable traynor rig over here - I wont be able to try before I buy though I think.

I stick to my guns with my '72 SVT.

I've played the old Hiwatt DR203 (Custom 200) next to it as well as a Blueline '69 Linden SVT and a Mesa 400+, and I'd say that I preferred either mine or the Linden SVT of them all from that crop, depending on the sound I was looking for in particular. each had it's prime points, beside the Mesa, which was just blown away by all of the above. I'd like to play the new Orange stuff and see how it stacks up.

Saving up my cash to get an AD200 bass head. I used to have a 100 watt Orange head and a 1x15 cab. Really focused deep sound, with plenty of mids too. Don't know what model it was. I think a 70's one.
I think the point about people having different experiences with certain equipment is a lot to do with playing style. I'm a quite agressive finger style player. I usually crank the treble a lot. If you play with a pick, you might have to roll off the treble a bit to cut down on the dirt factor. Most older valve amps are good sounding anyway. The reissue stuff seems to be missing a bit of 'magic'. Probably down to the valves used. Even NOS valves are not quite the same as true older valves.
Tried Marshall, Ampeg, Orange Hiwatt etc. To my ears the older stuff kick ***. But I suppose with a bit of EQ-ing, any amp can sound great.

I own an SVT CL and a B-15R. Heavy amps, but they sound great if you're into tubes.

I've tried the new Orange 200W tube bass head. I really like the idea of it. It's smaller and lighter than an SVT. But when I played through it, I thought it was too over-the-top with distortion. As somebody said above, it was almost impossible to get a clean sound out of it.

I tried the Traynor 200W tube bass head also and thought the opposite. I had a hard time getting it to distort.

Has anybody tried the 300W Eden tube bass head? At 40 lbs, I'm interested!

The Eden head is built for them by Koch Amplifiers, from Holland IIRC, light, nice sounding and clean but... not to much variance in tone from my sit down with one.
Also in the same pricing point is the Sadowsky SA200 which you should definitely check out if you are going tubes. The tonal options are outstandingly sweet and wide.

Cheers