Toobz vs SS - Bass Amps

[D.o.S.]

NSFW: show

[Gearmond]

i think for bass the difference can only be heard in the bedroom/basement.

dude with the roundest toanz i've heard uses SS

[Mudfuzz]

i think for bass the difference can only be heard in the bedroom/basement.

[Derelict78]

i think for bass the difference can only be heard in the bedroom/basement.

uhhhh...no

[Gearmond]

you are all blinded by mojo

[Derelict78]

I know lots of people that used solid state, switched to tubes and swore never to go back. the other way not so much. not blinded, deafened

[warwick.hoy]

Currently I'm relying on SS technology (albeit my was current in the 80's and 90's),....and while I'm relatively satisfied with it,...I too feel like I'm missing out by being a fuzz lover,....and not having a tube head.

I've really only been able to compare and contrast on guitar "practice" amps and my little Pignose G40V smokes the SS Fender practice amp I was using.

All the things as described. Tube amps are a lot more musical,...take fuzz and OD with a lot less abrasiveness and are just overall a more pleasing sound to me. That is from a guitar perspective, and from an in the basement practice standpoint,...I want to get a 1x12 Bass Cab (likely an Avatar) to pair up with the G40V and just switch out when I wanna get my bass practice/noise sound experimentation in. I did actually pump a bass cab with the G40V in store and I thought it sounded pretty legit. Bottom end was there. Highs were a little brittle.

My understanding is that you can push a Tube amp a lot harder than you can a SS amp. Not sure how true that is,...but a 300w Tube amp will supposedly keep up with a much more powerful SS amp.

My only other experience has been with a buddies bass rig. He used to run and SVT4Pro (into a 4x10 and single 18) which is a great sounding amp that I've played through. This time last year he had switched to an SVT CL which he let me use on a gig that his band and mine shared a bill with (through the same cabs). I was much more impressed with the CL over the 4Pro and it was just as loud.

My aim is to pick up a Mesa Boogie 400+ to run with my existing cabs. I want to go this route even though I know retubing it can be pricey,...but I think I prefer the MB sound over the Ampeg sound I'm pretty sure it is a more powerful amp. I also like the fact that it is rack mountable, which is a nice thought since I can mount the amp in the center of my rack and get a little more airflow underneath the thing for cooling.

I'm pretty much reserved to having to squirrel away $1600 and bide my time until one comes available. If nothing comes up,...I'll just try to find a new or new-ish SVT CL.

Price is a gripe. I never have any luck finding any good deal on any interesting Gig-gable Bass Tube Amps on CL and recent searches of the 400+ on fleabay netted nadda (well some literature and an ad cutout of Kirk Hammett ca $5.98 Garage Days EP). I think MuddFuzzer should just sell me his.

As far as DI,...I'd just ask the guy to mic your cabs. Bring an SM57 and a stand and when he hands you that XLR cable that normally goes into a DIbox point at the mic and say "There you go".

As mentioned before,...it's in the poweramp section where the magic happens. So going Tube Pre into SS power (this is how "Hybrid" bass amps are setup) is kinda useless IMO. I don't think overdriven 12AX7s alone is all that pleasing.

I don't really care about weight. I'm already lugging around a 60lb rack.

[/re-regurgitating what everyone else already said]

[Toonster]

i think for bass the difference can only be heard in the bedroom/basement.

dude with the roundest toanz i've heard uses SS

When I play my tube-amp, everything in the house shakes and the gain and master knobs aren't even past 3 both.. THose tubes aren't even really doing their job at that point

[bigchiefbc]

I really don't know where the hell you guys are finding these deals. I watch eBay and Craigslist religiously, and I never see an all-tube head going for cheapz.

Dude a single search on guitar center used will show you something reasonable 7 times out of 10 and if you hang around stuff pops up.

I guess it depends on what you consider reasonable. Important note to point out: I've never spent more than 300 bucks on an amp, and I don't see myself being able to do so for a long long time.

[D.o.S.]

you are all blinded by mojo

Shut yo flying cat-beast face, mo'fucka!

[Mudfuzz]

you are all blinded by mojo

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuwbKakPRRI[/youtube]

[Fuzzy Fred]

KUSTOM TUCK AND ROLL AMPS OR YOU'RE A PUSSY

BECAUSE THEY LOOK FLUFFY

[behndy]

sigh. now i kinda lust for a Big Tooby. gotta sort out a Timeline and a M5 and a interactive sampler/trigger setup for mah drummer, then i'll be checking out some Large Clunkin's.

again, damn you all.

[warwick.hoy]

Since we are on the subject/sorry for the hijack.

I may have a lead on a Peavey Classic Series 50/50 Tube Poweramp on the cheap. I'm assuming it's 50w per channel,...not sure what impedance it will run at or if it will run at bridged mono (With my cabs it would wind up being a 2ohm load. I'll do some research).

I'm used to running a Preamp -> Poweramp setup so there is no issue there but there is going to be a serious drop in power from what I'm currently running (about 400 watts per channel; stereo). I keep hearing that 100w Tube is still pretty effing loud and I'm not pushing my current poweramp hard with my pre at all. The preamp is running about 3,...poweramp level is near max on each channel.

I'm really wanting to move to a tube setup for live gigs,...but I'm wondering if this has the power to keep up and if there is any hangup running a solid state preamp into a tube poweramp. If the "magic happens" in the poweramp section then do I really need a toob pre as well?

I'm hoping that if the shop will let me take it up to the rehearsal spot and try the amp out (I'm tight with the shop it's in,...it's on consignment and I'm trustworthy). If the price is right and it will keep up and sound good,...I may pick it up. If not I may still pick it up anyway for other applications.

Opinions? Is it junk?

[D.o.S.]

I know nothing about the Peavey in question. I do know that finding tube slaves (aka tube power sections only) is a goddamn pain in the ass and is usually pretty expensive.

100 Watts tube is the same volume as 100 watts SS, but since there's more useable headroom you're able to get away with less--hence why the SVT is legendary for being stupidly fucking loud, even though it measures in at a "meager" 300 watts. I'm not sure how much clean volume you'd get with that head, but most people who use tubes don't use 'em for crystal clean tone anyway.