sratas

view.....if I knew this info when I purchased my Barefaced Big Baby 2, I sure wouldn't abuse it as I actually did with subsonic material to breaking it in...it seems that I have been lucky and/or Barefaced cabs are idiot proof. Hit it with wattage and a 20 Hz sine wave (with brief pauses between bursts) for 2 days...

Sorry boyz...what a meaningless thread we have here. I had a berg and a big baby 2 at the same time, preferred the bb2, but I liked some things in the ae210 as well, different taste. I suspect the hate against one of your homeland's best product may be caused by other factors than barefaced being a poor design. Myself, I have a mixed love-hate relationship with barefaced, mainly due to a less than pleasing appeal with the owner, but it's partly non rational, and I know it and it doesn't stop me liking the cab. It's not my dream cab, but it's damn good.

from markbass Big Bang (worst head I ever had) to Mesa walkabout and Peavey Tour 700....best move I made in my ente. life as a bassist. I'm even thining about going heavy for cabs. I currently play a Barefaced BB2, but I fell in love with the idea of one or two Orange OBC 115...

Back to traditional power supply, traditional transformer based power stage, and possibily some actual tube circuit for the pre. Sorry, I tried some class D micros. I really don't know what's wrong with them. they have volume, are light and tiny, it's all good and they can sound proper when I hear them played by another. in my hands there is something wrong. The lack of texture, harmonics, burst peak, I dunno...really, but I'm sure of what I perceive. Purchased a Walkabout, it may be rated at only 160 watts, but man it has balls. My Peavey Tour 700, low budget amp, wonderful definition in the low registers and dynamics. Not talking about all tube here, but I may revert things back to tubes and stop wandering around for gear

[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1482066708' post='3197307'] 6dB per octave below 40 Hz is as much use as a trap door in a canoe. [/quote] now that you made me think about it more, i may be wrong...somewhere in my mail there is the conversation between me and a Markbass engineer, where he (or she) refuses to confirm the technical details of the built in HPF, but he admitted that an HPF was used in every amp. I may be wrong in the details, like the slope, it could be 12 db/octave, it was long time ago. 12db/octave is not much more, in fact, but not lacking too. Anyway, with my markbass, now sold because in my opinion it sucked, I used my micro thumpinator with great results. I use it with other amps as well, but the thumpinator is conceived to be much more radical in the cut action below 30 Hz.

Markbass uses a HPF in its line of amps, a gentle slope if 6 db/octave at a frequency well below 40 hz...the vast majority of manufacturers use HPFs, some don't. I'm not sure, but I guess some old fashioned tube amp may not use it, think about svt, bassman of old, maybe even contemporary

No movement no sound

Oh...I use a HPF. ..the micro thumpinator. It dies wonders to the tone and no,it produces a clearly audible clean up of the tone. The mesa walkabout pushed hard is capable of huge subsonic content,i guess no built in hpf is used in the amp circuit

Wot...I want you to test and review the WB100....or wb 180...with the four kt88...think about it please

Wot is an enthusiast, he has found its tone in the r400, but this doesn't mean his reviews and samples are less useful. In fact, he did a lot of work and his method of showing tones is one of the best I know. I really appreciate his work. Keep on man, and thanks for all.

Very interesting, but I know there are not many reports of certain cabs failure. My barefaced bb2 can sustain prolonged sub bass abuse, I checked...trust me. and Alex Claber did not recommend a HPF setted too high, lt's say above 30 hz because the driver lowers its excursion and this can impair cooling. At least this is what I understood. Maybe it all depends on the whole design and quality. Waiting for opinions from manufacturers

Well...it should be heard by real. Maybe tweaking it a bit, but this quick demo gives me the sensation that: It can do dirt...sounding so so It can do a slight breakup very well To me it seems that the R400 does a good job in that pushed tube albeit clean tone that is not perceived as actual distortion.this is the tone I love and use with the Mesa (solved the muddy tone issues with two Tungsol 12ax7, the amp changed face, dramatically, much cleaner and transparent), gain up to the point that the preamp starts to fatten up and add tube harmonics but without actual distortion or burp. Also, the actual clean tone of the r400 seems more intriguing and rich sounding. On the contrary, the Mesa excels in the drive tone, that can be tweaked to sound like a full tube reminishent of a pushed SVT. All in all, a very interesting amp, at a bargain price, reassurely built with traditional power stage. I'm following these amps with great interest, but waiting for the WB 100 too...hope that the Handbox owner can find more time for amp development

hi, just dime the gain knob and push the drive button in, let's see what happens to the tone. The R400 seems capable of an outstanding clean tube tone, but with lots of complexity in the midrange. I really like this. And i may add that a colourful clean tone is not achievable with my Walkabout with ease, The Mesa is all about driven tone, from slightly to filthy. If I lower the gain knob on the Walkabout the tone just deadens. Just to clarify, the Mesa Walkabout is the "tone in my head" more or less, and I absolutely love it. I just wanted to check the versatility of the Handbox R400. Is it capable of some sort of grit or grind? Your Maruszczyks are more than capable to push the front end of a tube stage.

I would have liked a full gain and drive run inside the review. Maybe it's not your usual tone, but it could have been interesting and informative. Anyway, thanks for the effort, man. Great playing and talking.

[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1480236177' post='3182628'] I'm not sure - last I heard he was still tweaking the power stage. Drop him a mail at [email protected] and I'm sure he'll give you an update... And post it here, 'cos I'm intrigued, too :-) [/quote] done...I asked about the WT100, and especially if it is possible to have one built with KT88 output tubes. Here is the reply: [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=5]"Hi Mariano,[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=5]I have one pcs WB100 made on 4xkt88. It gives 180W.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=5]It is a very good result. Good enough for any kind of music or event. It has a great power-to-weight ratio.[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=5]I like this amp but for now we don't have enough hands to work on it. [/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=5]Regards[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=5]Leszek"[/size][/font][/color] [color=#000000][font=Helvetica][size=5]gosh...180 watts??? oh my....if the tone is on par and the weight stays in the 30 pounds range....it will be almost impossible to resist![/size][/font][/color]

Wateroftyne...I'm waiting for news about the wt 100. Are they still testing the prototype? Is there a way to have it with the four KT 66 ? Thanks!

This topic has been explained to me very clearly by agedhorse, a Mesa engineer. It all depends on the circuit design. Some circuits do not allow the tube to impart a certain character, while othes do. He suggests, instead of serching for night and day differencies amongst brands, to change tube type, for example running a 12at7 ibstead of a ax7... very different tubes, arguably yelding different results. Myself, I have a bunch of contemporary and old 12ax7 on hand and tried them in various combinations in my walkabout. Recorded every change and listened after....best way for non being biased. Despite the high current topology of my walkabout pre, all 12ax7 sounded very much alike. Differencies in gain capability was apparent, tone, much less. I choose to mount a Tungsol duo, because the lowend sounded tighter and allowed me to use the low eq more freely, that's it. I'm planning to try a 12at7 when I happen to buy one

A few months ago I wanted to buy a p bass from him, sent 3 mails because I wanted to know if I could specify a custom color from the Vibrance catalog. I remember a youtube vid where he stated that he could build in almost unlimited colors and talked about a line of Vibrance colors. End of story, I never got an answer to any mail. In my opinion it is a sign of bad customer care. Obviously I changed my mind and bought elsewhere

Want light in weight and sound, with a bland generic tone? The markbass is the right choice. If you want an authoritative, physical, complex tone and you crave for those order harmonics that a tube circuit can produce, then the Walkabout is hard to beat. Myself, used markbass for years, the jeff berlin combo, a Sa450 + 410 rig, and finally a big bang. Thought they sounded ok, but I was never sold on them. Things got worse when I aquired a walkabout head....my god...instantly my tone became insane. The tone punches with force, has an immense low bass presence but it stays clear. Just proper tube warmth and bass tone. Even the mb could go low, but it was an indistinct mushy lowend whereas the WA speaks with a natural complex voice that can benefit from those warm woody harmonics when pushed a little or grind and destroy if you want it to do it. those tube harmonics bring detail and definition in a mix and the resulting tone is full, big, detailed and punchy all at the same time. The wattage is very honest, and the poweramp when pushed adds other complex tones to the preamp stage, just like a full tube amp. I know guys, I'am raving, but it's all true, just find one to try for yourself.

For a combo it's a really smart tool, and gives some sense to the amp carpeting. It does it's job brilliantly, it's stable, and this way the amp looses little to nothing because it still couples with floor. It's light, it's portable and foldable. It's pricey but you pay fir the idea and for it's use. With two cabs stacked I can imagine putting it between the two to raise and angoe the top one only...perfect for little one driver cabs

2 x 210 lightweight affordable great sounding cabs? Super easy. Ampeg svt 210 av. Two of them cost less than a 112 from many other brands, weigh nothing, and sound superb. What's not to love?

Hi WOT, nope. I saw the picture if the 160 version with kt 88 I think, and it was an angled shot, but I was able to distinguish four output tubes and a single smaller one, arguably a preamp tube, or a driver tube. I missed the full compliment of the preamp. Anyway, could you specify a bit more about the differencies between the Walkabout and the 400? Is the handbox more hi fi compared to mesa? My wa is way coloured in the tone department, and that's what I like the most, maybe you want something different?

Hi, I'm new to this thread and I have been fascinated by these polish amps. The fact that wateroftyne has banned his walkabout in favour of a r 400 makes me thinking a lot. My mesa is my absolute amp, but in my future I see a beautiful contender, hybrid or all tube, and two hanbox models got my attention, the 100 or 160 watts all tube (please, kt 88) and that two channel Ampeg/Fender hybrid. It's a shame that handbox doesn't have any intention to start production on this last one. Hey, WOT, would you help me summing up the top features of the 160 watts all tube? I'm interested in weight and price mainly, but waiting to hear it, maybe from you. I do not have a facebook account so... Great vids by the way, keeping the playing consistent is the way to go, great way of doing test and reviews. Last but not least, I can see a si gle 12 ax7 in the pictures, am I missing something?

Used SS rounds and jazz basses forever, I was fond on this choice....intil 3 weeks ago I mounted a light set of GHS precision flats on my Jazz bass....what a revealing surprise. The jazz looses almost nothing of his personality and the sounds get enhanced in a way I love. It maintained the burpy bridge pickup tone that I use rarely, it developed a super burpy growly both pickup tone that now sits with authority in the mix, and it created a super pumped up P like tone with the neck PU, that's now woodier, chunckier, with great attack. All these tones, albeit very similar to what I obtained with rounds, sit now so better in a live mix that I revisited my EQ towards a flatter setting, in particular there is less need for a mid boost. I'm so pleased of the neck PU result that I'm toying with the idea of purchasing a Maruszczyk Jake with vintage specs that obviously would have these GHS flats on it. I'm a convert.

Hi wateroftyne, glad to see you in person and thanks for the review. Yesterday, after watching your vid, I wrote down a Word document containing the specifications for my future Jake. It has been a while from my first interest in Maruszczyk, but now I feel I'm ready to have one. I have to wait until some funds become available, but the purchase is now decided and I will buy in a few months, hope Adrian can satisfy my custom but common needs...