Members Picker Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Tubes.... I like tubes ... they give me that warm fuzzy feeling. So there are countless tube guitar amps, but for bass they are nearly non-existant. There's the Ampegs -- SVT-CL etc. Mesa 400 Trace V-6 and V-8 (neither of which are made anymore and impossible to find.) And that's about it. There's an assortment of SS amps out there, but why so few choices for the tube lovers that play bass? I just want an all tube 300+ watts yummy, tasty, grungy, guttersnipe of an amp. that will bring out the best of my bass sound. Maybe I'll have to build one from scratch unless I find a good deal on one of the few options listed above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members bassesofalessergod Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 get a GK and use pedals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members i_wanna_les_paul Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Traynor YBA-200If you can find a used Peavey Classic 400, nice amps or the Alphabass in a lower-wattage configAguilar, if you've got the moneySame for the Sadowsky.Old SunnsFender Bassman 300 There's others, but I'm forgetting some, I know. Dustin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 http://www.poweralley.com/Traynor%20YBA200.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FreestyleIntruder Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Marshall VBA400 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members lownote Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Fender Bassman 300 Pro . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members justinbass Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Another thumbs up for the Traynor YBA-200 for affordable, awesome tubeness. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members More Cowbell Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Mesa Bass 400+ That's what you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yools Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Go used with an old Mesa Boogie Buster Bass 200 or a D-180. Both excellent alternatives; not quite the 300 w you're looking for, but each puts out a lot of volume into the right cabinet. -Yools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members molsen Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 get an SS head (cheaper) and use the money you saved to buy a badass tube preamp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fealach Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 There are many tube bass heads. If you limit yourself to new ones, you have few choices, but if you keep an eye out for used ones you will have many to pick form, and save a boatload of money. 300+ watts, off the top of my head: Mesa 400 (w/6550 tubes), 400+ (though the actual wattages are open to debate, they can hang with the big amps) Various Ampegs: vintage, CL, VR, 2, 2Pro Trace V6, V8, HexaValve Peavey Classic 400 Eden VT300b (but beware...) Marshall VBA400 Fender Bassman 300/Sunn 300T Fender 400PS Phil Jones T 500 (maybe just a myth) Traynor YBA 3A If you can get by with 200, you've got probably hundreds to choose from; the Traynor mentioned previously, Aguilar DB359, old Sunns, a few Sound City heads, the Sadowsky, more Traces, Hiwatt, Marshall, Mesa D-180, Peavey Alphabass,Orange... the list goes on. Some of these (even the big ones) you can find for under $500; some will be a bit more (like the Phil Jones that listed for $10,000) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Onkel Bob Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 I bought this for about $1000-1200: Just keep your eyes open. Also any reason you think you need 300W? Edit: Not the bass though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Picker Posted December 22, 2006 Author Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Not bent on 300w. Just want to make sure I can keep up with the band and was following the 3X wattage of guitar theory and was just bemoaning the lack of options. Currently I'm running a Sansamp RBI through a poweramp, which does quite well, but being a tone freak, I would like to upgrade to a tube amp at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members poorboy Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 A used CL can be had for around $850.Save to get what you really want.Don't buy a "SETTLE FOR". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Thumper Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Originally posted by justinbass Another thumbs up for the Traynor YBA-200 for affordable, awesome tubeness. +1. I love mine, even though it has 'only' 200 watts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members JeffBass Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Try a Marbass head at your nearest GC. It has a VLE filter that dials in tube-like warmth and is getting RAVE reviews. Very versatile and musical head. Also try the EVO series from Ashdown, great rock heads. I have a GK 700rbII stack and when I run my Sansamp in front of it, it's quite awesome. GK = greatstuff. Carvin's new BRX series is also top-notch and with factory direct, quite a bargain. All great heads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members molsen Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 peavey pro 500 is an excellent SS head with a built in tube preamp. full param. EQ too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Yools Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Why is it so hard to find a decent bass head? I so want to parody this thread title... but in the spirit of the holiday season, I'll refrain.... -Yools Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FreestyleIntruder Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Originally posted by Yools Why is it so hard to find a decent bass head? I so want to parody this thread title... but in the spirit of the holiday season, I'll refrain....-Yools o just do it you {censored} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonathan_matos5 Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members sunburstbasser Posted December 22, 2006 Members Share Posted December 22, 2006 Don't forget Sovtek. Those go pretty cheap on the used market and pump out some serious volume for their wattage. Of course, most tube amps do! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members One_Dude Posted December 23, 2006 Members Share Posted December 23, 2006 Some time back I got worn out looking for a bass amp that had just the tone and punch that I want. I gave up and bought a Peavey guitar head and run it to a bass cabinet. I've never looked back and get lots of comments on how good it sounds. JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted December 23, 2006 Moderators Share Posted December 23, 2006 Originally posted by One_Dude Some time back I got worn out looking for a bass amp that had just the tone and punch that I want. I gave up and bought a Peavey guitar head and run it to a bass cabinet. I've never looked back and get lots of comments on how good it sounds.JR Whatever works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TimmyP Posted December 23, 2006 Members Share Posted December 23, 2006 If you play through good PAs, all you need is a GK combo. If your stage rig is all there is to get some bass to the crowd, get an Eden WP100 and a Crown K1. Preferably through AcmeBass.com cabinets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members pickinatit Posted December 23, 2006 Members Share Posted December 23, 2006 Depending how much you can spend. Sunn Model T $ 1,000 Sunn 2000S $ 750-800 They're not quite the wattage you said you're looking for, but plenty loud (although I'm presently having some volume issues with my 2000S that I'm sure will be corrected, because they are supposed to be "don't play them indoors" loud). The range in tone achievable thru the 2000S is simply amazing. It was often used as a guitar amp. They don't have a lot of features, just volume, treble,bass & bass boost, but for TUBE BASS Amps, they are as good as it gets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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