LukeFRC

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1390843836' post='2350236'] That's the innards of my SWR SM1500 [/quote] ooh I can join in.... inside (well half the inside of an ashdown APM 1000 power amp - can you guess what I'm replacing in there?

[quote name='dincz' timestamp='1390843007' post='2350213'] Compare and contrast - Behringer EPQ900 (class H, 900 pretend watts). To be fair to Behringer, this is a perfectly adequate amp if you're looking for around 300 watts: [url="http://s1070.photobucket.com/user/dincz/media/P1010228.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] to be fair though the powersoft is probably 10 times the price.

[quote name='lefrash' timestamp='1390843549' post='2350226'] I'm convinced there would be a market for a tiny class D 'power amp' that we would plug our preamp pedal of choice into. Literally an amp to power the sound, not to colour it.... . just a box with a volume knob. [/quote]SWR tried that. Demeter do it.

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1390843226' post='2350217'] I'm with WoT - give me big iron every time [url="http://smg.photobucket.com/user/JPJ/media/IMG_0785_zps2d111b8e.jpg.html"][/url] [/quote] so what is it? we cannae tell from the pictures.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1390832913' post='2350002'] The power supply. The main deficiency of most Class D amps is that they lack sufficient capacitive storage capacity. Manufacturers in their zeal to make the amp as small as possible don't put in enough capacitors to do the job. If you look under the hood of a really well made Class D you'll find half the chassis filled with storage capacitors. [/quote] as show by the inside of one of those powersofts....

I can get a wide verity of sounds with my right hand that I loose if I lower my action. I like the custom Strings the boys at Alpher got made - they are fairly low tension but chunky round core gauge which means you can have both the higher action and fly around the fretboard if that's your thing.

[quote name='Bill Fitzmaurice' timestamp='1390687199' post='2348397'] There are two issues here. One is Class D amps. There is nothing about Class D that's inherently any better or worse than any other class. How well or how poorly the manufacturer makes it is the question, and where that's concerned you can make a really good or a really bad amp of any class. The worst amp I ever had was all valve A/B. The other issue is DSP. You're seeing a lot of Class D amps using it, because that's what accounts for the majority of new amp designs. If DSP had been available when SET ruled the roost they'd have been in those as well. Here also implementation is the issue. Some are very good, some not so much. You can pretty much tell which came out of the minds of engineers who also happen to be bassplayers, and which from those who'd be more at home doing video games. [/quote] Good distinctions Bill. (though no idea what SET is ) I agree there's nowt wrong inherently with class D, you rarely hear the "they lack punch" point of view when it comes to PA amps (mind you I haven't looked for that long) You've hit it though with the DSP more than the added features - there's very little discussion explanation as to what they are aiming for and some things... well you can hear the compression - which is fine if that's what you want. Just lack of discussion. The most surprising thing I found was when I took the top off my old Tecamp puma 1000 and found they hadn't used any DSP in it.

[quote name='Funky Dunky' timestamp='1390665861' post='2348112'] I'm in Beith sadly, about 18 miles from Glasgow. Thanks for the offer though, I appreciate it. I'm a novive bassist so I'm a bit out of me depth. [/quote] almost played a festival in Lochwinnoch that our singer was involved in organising.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1390672850' post='2348226'] Apologies, Luke, if I've mis-represented your intentions. I wonder what bass player asked for programmable colour-changing lighting panel, though. [/quote] I realised that my post seemed to contradict you- went to change it and the power went off. Let threads go off on any sort of tangent more interesting that way!

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1390671258' post='2348199'] Cross purposes..? Hardly. The original question was concerning the growing plethora of D-class amps with added 'features', wondering whether there was any real added value in these novelties. [/quote] no it was more wondering what was behind the design process - more what do they think us bass players want and prioritise. I for one almost bought a RH450 when they came out, 4 band sweepable eq, inbuilt tuner and so on - stuff I would use. I was all set to find one till I heard one... and then realised there had been design decisions that I wasn't so excited about.

I must say I enjoy the prominent STATUS logo on that buzzard.

sit ontop of this? :

plus I think it's the intonation

where are you? I'll look at it for free if anywhere near leeds.

[quote name='JPJ' timestamp='1390662335' post='2348071'] The main problem with the class D stuff is the lack of real umph. There is no other way of describing it but all the class D stuff I've tried is missing that real 'weight' to the sound. I do want to try the Aguilar Tone Hammer as allegedly this amp suffers least from this issue, but until someone brings out a class D module that sounds the same to my knackered old ears as a good old a/b design with huge transformers, then I'll keep the SWR and continue to be on first name terms with my chiropractor [/quote] I don't disagree (not enough exp to) I know the powersoft tecamp stuff sounded nice. But it's part of the thing I don't get.... do PA amps that are class D get the same decription? Some do, and you can go on forums and they discuss the low freq. abilities of various amps... but you get to bass amps.... and.... one of the big companies can bring out a loud 450w amp with lots of clever DSP and power management and it takes a while for people to work out that it's only 120w or whatever it was - which isn't the worst thing but...

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1390661828' post='2348061'] There's a flaw here, though (to me...). My 'choice' has always been pretty much minimalist. I play drums, bass and guitar ([i]no, you fool; not all at once..![/i] ), and have always thought that less is more. I respect the wishes of those attracted to the 'City of Tiny Lights' gadgets, bells and whistles, but would appreciate the 'choice' of having nowt to frig about with. It's purely consumer commercialism, imo, driven by the perceived need to renew, just because one can; built-in obsolescence. Yes, I'm old. That explains it..? No, I've always been like this. Thanks anyway. [/quote] it's the lack of focus on "sound" that gets me. Over the years everything has seemed to go towards a "simple as possible tone path with the smallest number of the highest quality components" as the way to go... this doesn't seem to be happening with some of these smaller amps, and if anything the other way - tecamp for instance going from a high end amp unit to a cheaper one.

intonation? Learn to set the thing up yourself. Save £50 time and time again

I used to have a JV squier Precision - it really was amazing and one of the best instruments (fender type) I've ever played. I sold it. Why? because my flatmate at the time had a Mexican Precison - now the JV was a lot better and more vintage sounding... but the mexican was very very good. The flatmate was moving to oz for a year and considered selling it, chatting about it he decided not too- because, as I pointed out, you would probably have to pay a lot more than you'd get to find one as good. Other mexicans I've played have been awful though. I like japanese, and japanese squiers are good too. Chinese squiers... not bad either american fender.... some good a lot bad... so ignore where it was made and go by what it sounds like. My squier MIJ jazz sounds better than most oner jazzes IMO, but you luck into a good one.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1389978173' post='2340251'] Clarky's band All The Queen's Ravens .. Really clever 'fusion', amazing live too. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EysgZI-BPc[/media] [/quote] i enjoyed that a lot!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1390648424' post='2347859'] I think that most probably know what they are aiming for. The advent of digital has opened up a lot of creativity in the bass world. It's a great time to be a bass player. [/quote] i think we're still waiting for one or two people to put forward the "benchmark" class D amps.

It's been interesting looking at the new class D mini bass amps coming out of NAMM and elsewhere - it does strike me though that design wise there seems to be confusion as too what they are trying to build and what the end user wants/expects. In traditional non-class D amps there is are certain vernaculars of what they are providing that they fall into - and when they offer more advanced features you understand why they have them for the market they are aiming for. For instance the Ashdown abm has the valve preamp and the sub octave- and you can imagine that the type of folk who wanted an ashdown would use it, likewise the first time I saw a EA head and the features it had it was kinda clear what the uses for it would be and the perspective users. It's less clear IMO for the class D stuff. a few years ago the MarkBass Little mark seemed to be the standard, preamp into a class D module with a couple of filters thrown in. My old tecamp puma was literally an analogue preamp going into the amp module. and then the TC RH450 seemed to throw the cat among the pigeons with a fully digital front end too* - and added tuners and sweepable mids and all sorts. I think the Aguilar Tone Hammer and the GB Streamliner as exceptions which had a very simple brief and did them well. And now every other amp seems to be adding more and more bells and whistles. The video and thread about the peavey amp kinda prompted this. Sure they are good amps. Flashing lights and two filters to make the bottom end seem bigger than it actually was... I wonder if ten years ago we would have seen that kind of feature as a positive or a negative? So I don't know what a lot of these amps are trying to do, what their designs are aiming for. it doesn't seem to be high end sound reproduction, just squeezing more into a smaller space. *I know yamaha and ashdown got there first but the RH450 seemed to be the first one that sold well.