Toobz vs SS - Bass Amps

[Demon666]

OMFG!!!

There's a fucking Reeves in the TB classifieds and all you guys want to talk about is TB gtgs and hard/soft plucking?

FOR SHAME!!!!

Your not going to get much grind out of a Reeves/Hiwatt. They stay pretty clean.

[MSUsousaphone]

I prefer clean. I at least don't like to get any grind from my amp. That's the only complaint I have of my Mesa Bass 400+. It's clean clean at first, but about an hour in gets WAY to growly. I'm thinking about changing the 12ax7 driver tube to a 12au7.

I want my amps clean and my pedals to do the distorting. That Reeves is my dream. And the fucked up thing/probably more of fate is that I have the funds saved up. I've been saving for an amp with this baby in mind.....just waiting for one to pop up.....but now the wife and I are having quints. Bye bye Reeves. You HAVE to be plugged into a cab and are not friendly to a man about to have five kids.

Man......I'm going to have to do something about this Mesa 400+. I need something solid state I can just DI out and use headphones on. My two options are to keep the 400+ and get a solid state Mesa amp for the at home stuff......or get a Glockenklang Heart-Rock II for the same price......so torn.....change my mind four times a day.

[sanfordandsonny]

You should be able to get to Nashville and back via I-55N roundtrip within 24 hours.
What cab would you use at home?
headphones?
10 baby ears wake easy.
So a DI wouldn't be using the power tubes
Maybe run your Ashley into a Tube MP (don't hate)
for a headphone amp. Maybe run your jam into a pair of home studio monitors?
Buy a 50watt guitar head with 6L6's (or of it'll take 6550)
That can be modded to bass magic.
You don't need that reeves I bet if you played it you'd go meh....

[MSUsousaphone]

Weeeeeeeeeell. The Glockenklang would be pretty easy. It's solid state, so no cabs needed. Just DI it to something with a head phone jack and I can instantly play using my whole board....and since I use a fEARful cab, it would sound really close to what my live sound would be.

The Mesa 400+ is about $800 less......but it being all tube, it HAS to be plugged in to a speaker....so it could never be used at home....that extra $800 would get me a nice solid state Mesa amp to use around the house....to be able to DI out to something with a headphone jack just like the Glock. But it probably wouldn't sound anywhere near what the Mesa 400+ would sound like live.

That's why I'm leaning Glock. Those things are tanks. So reliable. And I prefer only having one rig. There would be no difference in sound......I dunno.....

[Waterpilot]

Tough spot for ya man... Too bad you can't try them out or rent them somewhere first to ensure you like them. I wish I help but I haven't pleayed any of the amps you're talking about.

[sanfordandsonny]

Ahhh I totally inferred lo-tech liquidation.
Try the local guitar center and abuse their 30 return policy for anything they might have that could fit your needs.
They do end up with very random used stuff from time to time. I know they will ship used items from store to store but make sure you can do a return.

[MSUsousaphone]

I'll check. Glocks are FEW and FAR between. Kind of a reason just to get it.....they're so unavailable. It'd be like playing on a mint 1st edition squirtle card.

HEART-ROCK II, I CHOOSE YOU!!!!!

Tough spot for ya man... Too bad you can't try them out or rent them somewhere first to ensure you like them. I wish I help but I haven't pleayed any of the amps you're talking about.

That's it, man. And I know I'm being a little bitch about it, because if anyone of you came down here, put a gun to my head, and told me to Shut the Fuck Up and picked an amp for me......I wouldn't be upset with the result. It's both right answers. And yeah, I think the Glock wins hands down in every category (but price is equal) BUT the sound is a "?". Not a big question mark as I heard one being played 6 or 7 years ago, AND the rep is so good....it can't be bad....I just don't know if the sound is me.

But today I'm still resolute in the Glock. We'll see.

. And I prefer only having one rig.

New Mesa Strategy Bass has mute switches and post-D.I. according to that spec vomit I posted from the boogie blog

OOOOOOOOOOO RLY? I missed that spec. Innnnn-teresting. Before the kiddie bomb drop, the only amps I was looking at were this new Mesa and the Reeves......so I would have the Mesa hooked up to my fEARful `15/6/1 (like the current still has a place to go), but I mute it. The power still goes to the cab, so the amp isn't getting blown but no sound coming out at all? That would totally add a 3rd contender back into the mix.....Y U DO THAT?!?!?!

[MSUsousaphone]

Ooooomph. I so wish.

But I'd rather the kiddos and a great amp than no kids and an awesome amp. So feel bad for me not.

[Waterpilot]

But I'd rather the kiddos and a great amp than no kids and an awesome amp. So feel bad for me not.

[Derelict78]

But I'd rather the kiddos and a great amp than no kids and an awesome amp. So feel bad for me not.

[moose23]

Well okay yeah. With a 300 watt tube amp, you're not gonna be able to get it to overdrive unless you're playing madison square fucking garden. I never get why everyone over at talkbass always pulls that shit about a bassist needing 500 watts or some dumb shit to keep up with a 100 watt guitar player. That makes no sense at all. My guitarist and I are both playing 100 watt amps with similar sized cabs, and you know what, our volumes balance great. So I don't know why everyone over there always wants a thousand fucking watts or some dumb thing.

I think it has to do with them guys barely touching their bass strings when they play.

I use a pick and my "compressor" is "hit every note, chord, klang as hard as you can"
My other "compressor" is diiirt!
I have an MTI SVT and I will be modding it to switch from 300/200/100 watts.
So many of those TB dudes are all about headroom and that's fine w me
but dirty and low is the place I go.

I use a pick and my compressor is FUZZ. Don't hit as hard as I can but still dig in hard.

[MSUsousaphone]

Oh no no, man. It's all good. I took what you said as "hope your babies are awesome".

I was putting what I put as more of a general summing up of the whole past few pages. Kinda like "it's a tough decision, but a fun one, but no matter what, these kids have me happy" kinda thing than an answer to just you. I totally took what you said as all positive.

But yeah, that Strategy is sucking me back in a little. The way the awesome bass guru local guy put it to me, and the way logic would also go, "The mesas are amazing amps, but if you have a chance to get a Glock, it's a no brainer, get a Glock". The Heart-Rock II is my guy but it's priced pretty high for a used one. I'm not going to overreach. If the guy comes down, sweet, it's mine, if not, Mesa Boogie it is and I'm not too sad about it.

If the Mesa Strategy can have the speakers totally muted still having the DI active (basically, I could practice on a headphone amp while everything else is dead silent), then it's easily my #2.

[Dark Barn]

I know it's not really what you're interested in MSU but I own and love the GB Shuttlemax 9.2, and you can gamble on one at virtually no loss if you don't like it. Find one of the E-bay vendors that sells them for cheap, I got mine for $650 shipping included, if you don't dig it you can sell them all day long on Talkbass for 650 last I checked and the warranty is transferable to the buyer, so you're just out shipping. The FET channel on it is SO clean and so good. I have a fEARful-ish speaker that I use with it also. I know the forest of knobs on it is a little unsettling but I pretty much leave most of the EQ section flat, just boost the global Low Frequency knob and set the gain for the 2 different channels a little differently.

[MSUsousaphone]

I dig the Shuttlemax, a lot. I kinda put it with top of the line GK stuff and the not all tube Mesa stuff. If I had one, I would be happy with it......but I would still look forlornly at other amps from time to time. You know?

I'm just so close....I've had the bass of my dreams for 12 years now....never any bass GAS since....I'm there with my cab....there's no other cab I want.....the pedal board is where I want it, but hey, that will always be a bit fluid.....just one more piece of the puzzle.

[MSUsousaphone]

I've found my new amp. About to pull the trigger.

Everything I want. Small. Light. Headphone jack. Amazing sound. Built like a tank. A tad more than I wanted to spend.....but doable....



You have three months of bliss before I start this emo shit back up, again.