Bass amp question - Acoustic

[DarkAxel]

Heyyy... thinking about getting another amp. Hopefully before I tour germany next March or so...

Want something powerful with nice colour, something that takes pedals well and sounds killer with 15s but is also great for "unconventional" aggro sounds in the vein of Jesus Lizard and shit like that. Now... I have a lot to compete with volume-wise but can't transport huge rigs, the realistic thing is one or two 15s or a 115+210

(the current cab now is an SVT classic 115 construction with Celestion Kappa. Love the punch, very happy with it...)

anyway my main question is - are the 300W Acoustics (360 or 320 - might be able to pick up the 320 actually) able to compete with a cooking Marshall Plexi (non-RI) with just one or two cabs? So probably not even running on the 300W but something like 200-250W? NOT big venues

and also - good for punchy middy tones?

I'm pretty happy with my GK, but to be honest... have more bands and I think that some might be better with a little bit of more "colourful" tone

[D.o.S.]

I mean, have you tried an Ampeg?

[brokenchannels]

If the G-K is loud enough wouldn't adding a different pedal or preamp work to change your sound enough?

Or do you want to try a different amp for the sake of it?

[bronzetalon]

I've been nothing but happy with my rusty box into a carvin power amp but thats just me.

[nad]

I've only used a full 360/361 setup, and those are stupid loud. They also sound stupid good, but getting them repaired is a stupid process... unless you do it yourself.

I say if you like the Ampeg 115, get a second one, keep the GK, and then crank the Boost knob! That was my chosen way to make a GK sound more interesting.

[DarkAxel]

without quoting to save space:

New Ampeg is not really my thang. At least not any I've tried (new SVT Classic comes close...). And older, used Ampegs are not really... existent here where I live

The GK is loud enough and is pretty versatile. It's mainly a matter of a) not having to carry the amp around from space to space and b) yeah, for the sake of it Been always interested in some of those legendary amps and I might have a shot on getting one (found a good connection for vintage amps). I mean shit - it's definitely not a necessity. I could easily live with the GK until I blow it up

and... getting a second 115 is the plan for the future And to be honest, the Boost knob lives around 2 or 3 o'clock all the time, turning it up really makes the amp go hard

maybe it'S stupid. Maybe I should just get a second RB400 to keep each in one rehearsal space

[brokenchannels]

Then if it's for the sake of it, an old Acoustic amp will sound cool, as would an old Sunn. Traynor made some good sounding and rugged solid state amps back in the day for both bass and guitar. Check out the TS200.

A really good sounding (in the way I think you'd appreciate) old Ampeg is the solid state V-6B. They're not super heavy, but are really big and about 240 loud watts. I think they look very cool and are quite different from the current Ampeg amps and can often be found for pretty cheap.

Where are you located?

[WayToHip]

I had an Acoustic 136 (100 watt combo 15" speaker) and while I could overpower anything under a halfstack, I thought I had the driest, most boring bass in the world. Sure, it had nice "warmth" and the bass knob above 11 o'clock would distort the speaker, but I needed the treble all the way up. It sounded "vintage".

I'd try a Hartke. It has a mid bump you can't get rid of, also really clean. No idea about how it takes pedals.
I own now a new Trace Elliot, and its 12 slider EQ means I can do whatever I want.

[misterstomach]

i love those acoustics. they're loud as shit and sound great. probably my favorite solid state bass head, and you can get them so cheap usually. i like them a LOT more than gk. fuck that gk. get the acoustic. and play it through a 2x15. that amp deserves a 2x15, and so do you. it's a big step up in terms of volume and sound from a 1x15.

[scabiosa]

I have an acoustic 220. Only 170 watts.

it was louder than my peavey t-max (450 watts), loud enough for my loud drummer

And the sound, the sound, man, fokkin the best sound solid state can bring!!

[DarkAxel]

A really good sounding (in the way I think you'd appreciate) old Ampeg is the solid state V-6B.

Where are you located?

FUCK THAT LOOKS NIIIICE

I'm from central Europe, so that's the problem

I'd try a Hartke. It has a mid bump you can't get rid of, also really clean.

really couldn'T get a decent sound out of most hartkes i've tried not for me

i love those acoustics. they're loud as shit and sound great. probably my favorite solid state bass head, and you can get them so cheap usually. i like them a LOT more than gk. fuck that gk. get the acoustic. and play it through a 2x15. that amp deserves a 2x15, and so do you. it's a big step up in terms of volume and sound from a 1x15.

you make me feel like making good choices

I have an acoustic 220. Only 170 watts.
it was louder than my peavey t-max (450 watts), loud enough for my loud drummer
And the sound, the sound, man, fokkin the best sound solid state can bring!!

sweet, thanks for that! I really hoped for some comments coming from experience as well

okay, I'm going to hassle my friend to get me the 320 now.... for a solid state - what's the best choice for conversion - a step-down transformer or a new transformer altogether?

[DarkAxel]

Oh maybe one more question, in case things don't work out and shit... should I consider old Peavey?

Not sure how loud the lower wattage ones do, never played nor heard any

[NDominy]

get an acoustic AND an old peavey and run each one into its own cab

[dase]

360s and 370s are loud as crap in that way that once you turn them up past about four you're not going to get any more out of them. But well, playing with dudes using sunns and plexis and the like mine never went above two.

[DarkAxel]

got to try my friend'S Acoustic 140 through a shit cab - just to get an impression of the character

FUCK

it's right on the money. Only thing is - I really DO need more headroom. I'm a hard hitter anyway, so even without any pedals I got quite a lot of breakup from it. TO be honest - I'd rather get a 370 and play with volume on 2 just to be safe But the tone is there, didn't expect to lose my shit over it that much, but that's one greatly responsive and lively amp. Big love

My choices have been narrowed down to either the Acoustics 3xx (preferably 360 or 370) OR the old tranny Ampeg SVT 200T. Backups are Sunn Coliseum 300 and the Ampeg V6B. Now it's the saving money game (but with christmas, my birthday and graduation - that shouldn't really be a problem) and the waiting game (before we actually find some, preferably the Acoustic and get it here

thanks y'all for the opinions maybe anyone could also chime in on the SVT 200T while we're at it?