dan670844

[quote name='Sean' timestamp='1385231678' post='2285940'] I'm about to start gigging regularly with my Mesa Boogie 400+ and I was wondering what spares should I carry? I'd be interested to hear from any users of big valve amps what they carry as spares. I already carry a good DI but should I carry an array of valves too? [/quote] I regularly gig my CTM300 it never misses a beat, HT fuses is all I would bother with, the absolute must with big tube stuff is this...... Dont put it on your cab, let it be somewhere else where there is no massive amount of vibration during gigs and let it warm up for at least 10 mins before using (also preheat before HT) and most importantly let it cool down for the same before moving it. Moving it should always be a gentle affair no sudden shocks. Big bottles such as kt88, 6l6, kt66 etc are very mechanically weak when they are hot, They are also quite heavy. I think it is safe to say that 99% of any problems in big tube stuff is caused by a mechanical break down in the big bottle. It will then be as reliable as any other amp, depending on how old the components are in the circuit.

[quote name='Ghost_Bass' timestamp='1387377323' post='2311264'] Not sure this is the right place to post this (if not i ask a moderator to please move it to the right place). I recently bought a F-1X and it's valve (still the original one, after 18 years) isn't at it's best, it has lost too much output when i compare it with a EHX 12AX7 i have at home. I'v been doing some research and found this very interesting topic: [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/122331-the-humble-12ax7-vs-the-lesser-used-5751/page__hl__alembic%20f1x%20valve"]http://basschat.co.u...c%20f1x%20valve[/url] It convinced myself (after reading obbm's post) to get a NOS 5751 valve but my question is: Wich one? I'm not fully aware of the valve market and on top of that the F-1X has a metal sleeve for the valve that doesn't alow room for just any valve to fit in, they can't be too "fat". I'm looking for some advise from BC'ers as to places to buy good valves and good brands. Also F-1X owners who had replaced their valves and wich they ended up using. If any BC member has some spare valves and is willing to ship i'll be more than happy to buy one. One other thing, at this time let's say that price isn't an object for a very good NOS 5751 valve, of course i'm not going to spend £100 on one but i don't mind paying a premium for a very nice thing. All help will be most welcome, cheers Marco [/quote] Hey Marco, I would stick to a 12AX7, you need a certain amount of gain to get a FMV tonestack cooking. This tone stack is lifted straight out of a Fender showman. In my experience if you use a lower gain tube in this type, the bandwidth starts to narrow and you loose the high and lows and the sensitivity of controls. If you are looking for a cleaner sound, I would work on the level of the signal you are putting in. A slight bit of harmonic distortion and compression is what its all about. I would have a look at the Gold Lion reissue 12AX7 its a great valve in this application as its very warm and musical the bass definition is superb and its dead quiet. Karltone is the best place to get these from. A new valve takes a while possibly up to 10 hrs to sound its best. I usually run some music through my amps for a while to burn the tubes in. If yo get any trouble getting hold of one I transit back from Porto to London quite a bit!! I live in Foz!!

I have used mine with a ashdown cl610 at a gig and it was plenty loud enough for me. I also use it with a LB212 As with any valve amp cab choice is paramount. A high sensitivity cab is a must, (the cls and lbs are) tweeter is best off as they sound horrid as they cant reproduce the harmonics that a valve output stage produces. Cheap cabs are a no, a lb30 will nail a behringer cab, for example (i tried) even with its 30 watts, the low end is a problem and you cant eq it out. With the LB30 the preamp goes into overdrive before the output stage so, if you turn down the treble /mids / bass in equal measure you will have maximum headroom. If you do this you will hear the powerstage 'on the money' its wonderful warm, punchy tight. No compressor / solid stage will ever do that. I use mine a lot in the studio and on gigs, just cant leave it alone. I also have a CTM300 which is the other end of the spectrum, its as loud as hell. I think a CTM100 and a CL610 or a barefaced 69er is all you need for most gigs. Cabs that are great with this amp are ashdowns own cl series, ashdown lb series (havnt tried the vs) Aguilar DB's are great, Bergantino CN and HD are good. Ashdown ABM and Trace elliot stuff also sounds cool, but the sensitivity is down so they are not that loud, cabs of choice would be a cl610, berg nv610, aguilar db412, barefaced 69er. I.e big cab with high sensitivity. That is the way to go. I love the tone of a CL610 but I think you could get the same results with one of the other esp the barefaced 69er as it very sensitive and lightweight. Now you have the same problem as me, once you have heard the 3D tone, the warmth, the punch and clarity, its difficult to use anything else.......... I think it is very possible to gig with this amp, most often I use a LB212, its all about volume on stage, for most bands it is always too loud, you need to work with the drummer and guitarist to get the sound levels down. the singer will thank you and you the band will sound much more balanced and professional. But that is a problem world over, for most bands.

Mine had ruby ac5 in which i think once they burn in are pretty good for bass amps, they do take a while to burn in though. They are very warm, I dont think they are so good for guitar amps though, in high gain situations they sound like mud. But you are right about the preamp tube, since they are actually doing all the tone generation they make a massive difference to the tone. My preference are brimars too, they are very underated and cheap as chips, but the modern tungsols and gold lions are also pretty good. I love the ABM power stage, it really is fast, dynamic and powerful. it does add to the character of the amp greatly. Although nothing really emulates the tone of big iron tube power. This power stage however, does nail the feel of Ashdown take on valve amps, which is fast, dynamic and powerful, with a solid bass and tight articulate clarity love it. I wasn't trying to knock the ABM down either its a great amp too, I have an early one. Its just so different in feel and tone. I am waiting for the woolly comments haha, thats a load of bulls@@t look at the diverse range of dudes who use one, pino, nick fyffe, macca, norman watt roy. I would be embassed to make such a comment haha as it would show i didnt know how to eq..........

Just snagged one of these I am valve powered, but due to a lot of short notice bass related travelling these days, its not been practical to take the CTM300. So I got one of these. My lightweight set up. What can I say about this amp.... Its pretty darn good, its warm punchy, loud very dynamic and quick, the response is lightening. The bass is cellar deep and very tight, crystal clear highs, and a good amount of mids. It has a great deal of clarity, so it wont hide sloppy playing.I would never give up my CTM300 or LB30, but its much better for me than other solid state bass amps that I have had to use,it suits my playing style very well. The tone s all in your fingers with this amp. Perfect! Its the polar opposite of an ABM. The caveat with this amp you have to use it with a decent cab, theres's a lot of sub 100hz tight defined thump going on. Don't connect it to that fart in a bag, Behringer cab at your rehearsal place....... I opened it up to have a look, the preamp actually runs at high voltage, I checked the primary and there is a 250 volt tap. If you look it is real hybrid, Dave Green designed preamp and a Clive Button designed ABM power board. The preamp is a work of art very high quality double tracks, shows up the ABM board sorry, clive,! that's not to say however that the output board is poor quality. On di the pre is silent no hiss hum as good as hifi Very Impressed question is why aren't there more of these around, its a great amp, you all missed a good 'un. I tried the Chinese made one (blackface rather than red) nowhere near as good, it didn't have the same clarity and response....

AKG K77, AKG K99, 99's are the best they have superb sound quality, either of these do a great job of monitoring bass, and when you are playing along or listening to to choones they sound great, they can handle the low end without any noticeable distortion and being closed back the sound is just for you. They punch (both) well above their weight, stand up to competition from much more expensive cans. They are easy to drive so they will sound good on any output jack. They are purpose built for studio monitoring K77 sound great but they are a bit uncomfortable to wear for long periods. I would go with the 99's even audiophiles love em (they call em the hidden gem, read reviews) £30. If you get one of those Bravo ocean tube headphone amps and some K99's, you will have a tidy cheap headphone system. Listen to your ipod through this and once the tube warms it will blow your mind. You will be amazed at what you can now hear.....

These won't fit in any of my amps, as all my amp have valve cans for the preamp tubes. They look like shugangs to me by looking at the guts. I have tried their top end ECC83 via pm componets (golden dragon) they are actually quite nice. They are very warm, in fact too warm for me in my gear as its all valve and high voltage. But suspect they would be very good in a hybrid amp which you are looking for maximum warm. In my humble opinion there are two modern production valves that are good, that is the Gold Lions (russia) and the Full Music (china) Both have zero microphonics, balanced, smooth and very linear. The full music is the best it has a huge sound stage and a very low noise floor. Totally overkill for a bass amp but great in my stereo. I hear Rode have started putting them in their mics, they used to put telefunkens in..... But if you can find one to buy you are a better man than me, as they a produced in small quantities by a very old man in china!

Cheers Lurksalot!!! yep i know what you mean it was in a basement !!! its hard to try and do cook on the cheap.......

any one watched this prob not haha

Could be contentious here but I thought a lot of the 80s US stuff was firewood, seriously, hit and miss sometimes, worst of the worst. Thats why they went to Japan to Fujigen for the JV series and had all production shifted there for a bit. As Fujigen turned them out as good as Leo did. Which is why Fender Japan stuff from 83-95 is appreciating in value. They are very good esp the necks. I dont understand the emotiveness behind old Fenders even though I am exclusively a Jazz bass player. I have two pre cbs jazzes a modded mexican and a couple of late 80s early 90s japan jazzes. I cant homestly say the the early ones are any better than what the custom shop turns out these days. Pre cbs fenders where very expensive, i guess similar to price to what a custom shop job is these days. My favourite jazz is the modded mexi, plays like butter the pre cbs ones sound great but they suffer (I suffer) neck dive, which gets tiresome and they both have 7.25 finger boards i prefer the 9 of the more modern ones. I would not buy this bass unless i played it, it could be a gem, some of them are from this period, but it is more likely a lemon, for a fullerton 80s 1000-1500 is more realistic depending on the condition. If it was me i would buy a custom shop, or head over to new york, mucho choice you will find that bass over there!

I have been out and about on here for a while but never posted any playing videos or what not.... so here is the first one. Bands called Von Fever its a work in progress. Kind of cross between the Who and the Killers. Song is called Jimmy. Bass line is kind of a walking thing in the A minor scale, I was playing a mexican fender jazz, with wizard pickups (64's) straight into an Ashdown LB30. It was a live take although the vid and sound are different takes. Its only a scratch vid. Recorded in the basement of the Samuel a Becket old kent road. Drummer is Sinclair Seales Lee Scratch Perry's drummer, doing a bit of moonlighting....... I'm gonna post one every month, lots of different bands and styles just for fun Here it is <iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/5kmuqN2kDGE" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Alternatively [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kmuqN2kDGE[/media] Cheers Dan P.s yes I look like a puffer fish in the vid. Turns out the singer is a proper drinker who can hide Guinness like no tommorrow. That's what I look like after a night on the juice with no sleep ......

[quote name='Pow_22' timestamp='1380195149' post='2222094'] Having played both 610's i would say the ABM is miles better. Ive heard the CL speakers take a while to 'break in' but to me they just sounded cheap and undefined (and that was with a CTM300). The ABM on the other hand sounded full and warm. Just my two penneth worth [/quote] The cl610 has very expensive custom made drivers mine has uk made celestions. its far from tinny. bass is cellar deep very defined and tight, and it also has a very smooth top end. much better than the abm. I must admit it was a while before the speakers broke in which involved using the ctm300 i have at loud volumes which is not for the faint hearted....

[quote name='spud19870' timestamp='1380214644' post='2222455'] I would agree, the CL especially for the money isn't worth it. Go for the ABM, those things are versatile and are tough to break. Plus they sound very good [/quote] The cl is specifically designed for valve amps, its a industrial strength sealed cab, and is designed to handle the massive low end that ashdowns tube range chuck out, and also distorted sounds, tube grind i.e no tweater. Tweaters sound horrid with distortion... and a valve amp would quickly kill it. if you are using ss amp i would go for the abm. the cl is smaller in width and it will fit though doors on its wheels the abm and most other 610s wont. Both have wheels so are supprising easy to move about. Are you sure you need a 610!! 300 watts or so into either of these is enough to make your ears bleed.!

Its all about the middle men these days. Case in point my brother has a manufacturing business it was cheaper for him to buy a 250kw diesel generator (the diesel engine is a 37litre V12 diesel) and run it, than get some k nob company to dig a hole in the road/ ground and lay 10 metres of 3 phase cable..... one day everyone will sell direct to everyone and cut out the phat. its better all round, we get better products because the manufacturer makes more money. The other important factor is import tax, it can be as high as 20% on some items!

[quote name='badboy1984' timestamp='1380114473' post='2220982'] I really don't get sometimes when i lugged my big ampeg in the past then i get DI to the PA for a bigger sound. Now i can just bring the LB30 and a BC212 cab and use that on stage as monitor and DI the bass out from the LB30 ...... I tend to go less these days now. [/quote] Yep thats the long a short of it, i dont even bother with a 212 these days a 112 shining in my face does the trick. The tone arrgh!!

[quote name='RichT1969' timestamp='1377675611' post='2190081'] I bought a mark bass TTE 500 with a mark bass 6 x 10 cab. I love the look of it and it sounded great in a small room in the shop. However, on stage or at a practice I can never get enough bottom end bass. I've tried all control positions and all my bass guitars through it, from fender deluxe, musicman stingray and a GB custom 5 string but still the same. Has anyone else had this problem? Rich [/quote] Someone said this sounds like a big tube amp of the 70s !! I tried one it isnt, no where near Big valve amps are still mustard, a 100 watt big iron amp will toast it through the same cab. Nothing can do lows with definition like big iron. You can still hear the note, no mud, just tight and defined, thats how you get rib rattle. Having said that... It sounds nice though The tone of it is great. If you are used to clasd D stuff its top.

[quote name='mickster' timestamp='1380042677' post='2220036'] Great thread. thanks to all, esp Mr Foxen &amp; Dan for all the advice re valves...priceless info. Have taken delivery of an LB30 last week and am absolutely gobsmacked with how great it sounds with my Pbass &amp; Jazz. With the P &amp; flats, its just chocolatey rich &amp; smooth; with the J &amp; rounds its bright, edgy and deep. Love this amp! Just one Q - haven't checked but am sure mine has Ruby branded EL84s in the power section (Chinese amp). They sound lovely to me, but is there any point in me swapping them out for something fancier? I'm gonna buy a set of spares anyway so any advice on what to get for this specific amp greatly appreciated. [/quote] Nothing wrong with the ruby's (in this case shugang) they sound great in this amp. Someone with a Vox AC30 may disagree with me on their fidelity but in a lb30 they are great and cheap, its a bass amp! Just pay particular attention to where you get your valves from and you will be fine with rubys or any other modern valve. Its a modern design so it designed with modern valves in mind. Its not hard on the valves like older amps like a deluxe reverb or older design AC30. I would strongly suggest buying from Karltone. I think they really do a good job on sifting the crap out of what they get in. They probably use a digital tester and burn in machine like a maximatcher, they must also have a great big rubbish skip of not up to spec valves. How they make money I dont know! Trying different types of valves in your amp is all part of the fun and is a rite of passage, its up to you to find the best combination The level of gain of the preamp the two 12ax7 ecc83 in my book!! affects the eq so different brands of 12ax7 produce different tones subtle, but different also fun! The eq is passive and extremes of setting produce interesting results. Your cannot get a crap sound out of this amp and really its all you need if you are near a decent PA and monitors, you can gig anything. Its the future, you don't need 900 watts let the pa do the work then you wont go deaf, its all about tone!

Not many studios record live bass i.e through an amp these days. A quality set of preamps usually does the trick, or a decent di check out the Reddi valve Di its a must for a studio for guitars or bass its killer as its not a pretend valve on front of a solid state stage thing. Really warms up and its very dynamic which is the thing bassists usually complain about, they need to express themselves!! If you want to record a live bass amp, i guess you are thinking valve as anything solidstate you can do with a good preamp/ reamp later when they have gone.... it supprising the eq ideas of some dudes, you just need to capture you can mess about later!!!! you are looking at B15 marshall 2061x or try the Ashdown LB30 or ctm30 stunning warm valve tones at moderate to low volumes. The lb30 is great for reamping as its dead quiet no hiss or hum. But unless you really have sorted the room acoustics preamp it, and just spend the money on good monitoring equipment so the musician can hear what he/she is doing. Miccing up bass cabs in not acoustically perfect rooms without great isolation and damping is asking for trouble!!!!

Mmm good concept but I see two flies, one is a question of personal taste the other is silly! 1. There are solid state IC s in the signal path, this is a personal taste thing for me and is a no. I don't like solid state and tube / valves to mix, but I am a purist !!! to me a valve amp has to have a valve signal path. If you are going to go to the trouble of all that lovely high voltage bandwidth only to push it through a 15 volt Solid state bit... you are missing the point. If you have good gear massive eq adjustment is not really necessary. Its all about dynamics and that means a simplistic signal path. As you will buy a valve amp to display the nuances in your playing, even if you are chugging out punk. Dynamics make it interesting... Laney Nexus, Peavey VB3 anyone? i didnt think so Ampeg V4 b15 SVT ashdown Ctm30/100/300 now you are talking. 2. 200 watts 4x kt88 going to the speakers through jack plugs !!! yes you can, but speakons are better esp on a £1500 pound amps. A bad connection is quickly going to degrade the ot transformer. Silly

If you want to clean up the preamp distortion just turn down the TMB controls in equal measure. I have tried all sorts of valves in the pre but it messes with the balance of the eq. Its a passive tone stack so it needs a few beans going through it to get some control of the tone. Its a 30 watt amp. It as they say is not going to rip your head off. It can get loud enough as a stand alone through a big sensitive sealed cab like a cl610 810 or barefaced 69er. But thats really pointless. Its a studio amp, practice amp etc on its own. But the trick is the di which is run out from the output transformer. This allows you to get that special tone into the FOH and monitor set. If the pa at the venue is QT then you can really impress people with the tone and dynamics. If the valve path is your way you need to look carefully at the speaker cabs as well. A lot of modern cabs on the mid to cheap side will simply not put up with the low end chucked out even by a tiddler like a lb30 or not be sensitive enough to get loud with a valve amp, sensitive in the very late 90 or 100db range is needed. Some ported cabs also really mess up a valve amps karma and it can get a little agro, as tube amps dont have a very good damping factor, to control the speaker. My lb is used for light rehearsals, recording and di gigs. thats the purpose intended. If you want to go valve with no monitoring the CTM100 is more up your street, with a sensitive 15, 4x10 or whatever. Its quite small and light in the scheme of valve stuff. The CTM300 will rip your head off its a very powerful amp, it has a lot of low end to rattle the ribs, its huge in size, but not as heavy as an svt. The transformers are massive This amp I would think is overkill kill for 99% of applications. Its a big stage amp, The 100 is more than enough. They are expensive but brilliant made to last an amp for life!

mr foxen is right two ecc83 in the preamp a ecc82 phase inverter and 4 El84's the phase inverter ecc82 must be balanced. The best output valves i have found are philips el84 from langerex they are powerful and clean russian ex mod el84 are also good. I use my lb30 the chinese one, a lot probably 20hrs a week for at least a year. The valves are still good. I have a valve tester so check them regularly. The main thing is to find a reputable valve supplier, that doesnt send you duff valves in the first place. I am a serious valve nutcase, all bass amps, home stereos etc are valve powered, even the telly and computers are fed into valve amps.... i like the sound. The best thing i did was get hold of a valve tester, i think one of those orange divos will do an good enough job. My tester was a real eye opener, I can now tell if the valve is good before it goes in. Can tell if someone has sent a pile of crap to me. I touch wood now dont get any problems. The key to using valve stuff is getting good valves under the hood and checking them, then they are reliable. The quality control on modern valves, is not good and there is a lot of variation. There is also a lot of NOS crap about. I can't recommend Karltone enough for modern production valves and Chelmer and Langerex for Nos. The last two supply the MOD, who I guess is rather demanding.... Can't believe they still use valves in amplifiers and transmitters. But someone told me a valve is EMP resistant, just what you need if the big bomb goes off!

If any one is interested the CTM tone is rather similar but there is much more low end punch and the bass is tighter and its obviously louder. It has a master volume so its not quite as dynamic as the ctm30, lb30 but compared to other amps it is very dynamic. If you buy a CTM it comes in two flavours a low gain version and a high gain version, mine is low gain. I found the preamp too hot in the high gain, its great for playing rock etc, but I dont.... I run my master volume dimed to give the dynamics. The CTM is so quiet, you can dime everything and it is totally silent, no hum or hiss, totally black, The only thing to watch is the phase invertor ECC99 I have had enormous problems with this valve they just don't make them like they used to. Mine went dodgy soon after purchase, a JJ no less. It took me a few goes to get a decent balanced one that was any good. In the end I bought a stock of Nos from a dealer , but thats not Ashdown's fault. I think new production valve quality seems to be getting worse!! but thankfully there is Langerex and Chelmer valves in this country who will sort you out proper nos valves for reasonable money. The ctm30 has the same circuit as a lb30 i.e no master volume, it guess its a revamp as the little bastard moniker was too much for some........... the LB30's I have have

I have LB30 no. 2010065664 a chinese one LB30 no85 uk, love both of them and a LB212 l I will never sell either. They are plently loud enough for me to gig with if you turn the TMB pots down so the preamp doesnt get too excited..... On really loud gigs I have used the CL610 I have. But for big gigs with Von Fever I use the CTM300 no. 3 also a great amp. I also have a CTM100.... I think I have a problem......

Hi I am currently playing in the Band Fonixx. [url="http://www.fonixx.com"]www.fonixx.com[/url] they are also on reverbnation, facebook twitter, the usual theres pics of me and obviously the tracks I have done. I can cover all styles from reggae (I jam with Sinclair from the Lee perrys upsetters to keep tuned) to rock. and I am very inventive player. I write bass lines for a lot of other artists. Mail me a [email="[email protected]"][email protected][/email] if interested as Im not here that often.

I have an early ABM and it's the dogsB of an amp, the later ones I don't really like they sound less defined. Klystron heads were cool sound like my ole ABM. The 550 Spyder ( the red one) was the bollocks but they discontinued it before people discovered it. The TE head JJ Burnell Mark king head was basically a reincarnation of a Trace Elliot GP12 I.e the bollocks if you know how to use it. mark king (tackle tart) dropped this amp and went to a TC electronic head which is just laughable the MK500 is louder when it's switched off. the LB30 is the best recording amp in the history of the universe, it' earns me money every day, it's a classic amp, shame it didn't come out on the 60s as it would be an icon. It's a modern day B15 but a lot more versatile. the CTM300 also is an amazing amplifier modern / old school power precision all with a passive tone stack just great if you can afford one! BTAs great idea tube and solid state in reverse I.e the best way round, but tube snobs don't get it. Leo Fender would... The LB VS CL cabs are the bollocks but take an age to break in. I have a cl610 it is musical fidelity but took so long to break. I don't like ABM cabs the cones move to slow for me. The mag cabs have all the definition of a soapy t@t wa@k the mids are there last Tuesday. You can basically play anything and get away with it. Mag heads are good. I like the tone. ESP the latest incarn. Mi cabs are very nice indeed. Mi10 is what it is a noodle and monitor cab, the mi12 punches way above its weight, the tweeter is the smoothest I have ever heard great. Biggest question why did they kill the dual tube series, I guess lack of sales, but with a good cab I.e flat response no mid scoopy, they are great. Mibass eq is great, but they suffer like every other switch mode amp lack dynamics. Mibass 2.0 I haven't tried. Superfly great but they can fry an egg. Little giant only good if used with the superbly 484 cab which was about 3 times the cost of the amp I.e dumb. Mibass interface just playing with it but promising, but why just ABM software what about all the other amps CTM lb30 Spyder? Dr green pedals 1st one on order......