Sugden

+2

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='104638' date='Dec 15 2007, 12:57 PM']They end up in the same places as all the biros.[/quote] Well if thats true thats some weird world some where which means your very likely to be able to get a good job as a chauffeur. If thats the case for basses I'd love to visit.

With no insult to fenders I would have thought with that kind of money asking someone like shuker, or ACG to build you a custom bass would get exactly what you want to your own specifications and to a alot better quality and some really nice electronics. Thats just me though I haven't personly played a stock bass I have prefered in quality to any custom built instrument for the same price. With an additional point being for the king of narrow necks the Ibanez SR range something like the SR1000 comes in around the £700 mark and they are very very nice basses my sister has one and I almost steal it every time I'm home. Plus you could just spend £200 and upgrade your own electronics and sheild your cavities. I personaly spent abit more on a custom but hell I'm a fool with money and a weakness for shiney ACG basses.

[b]Initial Thoughts:[/b] Well why go for something completely new, think I was just seeing what I could get. I’ve used Dave’s pedals in the past and thought they were great. I spent awhile going through things looking for what I wanted. The amp I have held onto through out everything is a Mark bass Littlemark II which to be honest for weight to cost and performance I don’t think it can be beaten. But then again you can’t get the rich valve tone which is on the fallen in love with list by so many bassists. So that’s what I was after valve tone without the weight of a normal valve head. The main comparisons in this review will be between the LMII, a trace V6, and the DHA offering. Now I have all the amps on top of each other so quick side by side comparisons where easy to make. I have just spent a good few hours playing around. For those who don’t know what the DHA amp is about in simpletons terms its two amps in one; an all tube 5w amp which has its output taken down to line level and literally amplified by a 400w solid state. The aim is to get the valve tone with no need for 6+ power tubes and a heap of weight. But the main thing to remember here through out is that it is a proto-type and as such has a few niggles but they are being addressed by Dave. He has been very helpful through-out and is upgrading/sorting any problems that arise through out testing. This was just all theory and small test runs before it become this proto-type. I’ll include all follow up’s as a result of speaking to Dave about the problems I’ve had. I had offered to leave off posting this till everything was sorted but he was insistent that even with the problem I should post it. [b]The amp:[/b] The amps build quality looks great, and as a product I think looks stunning beats the hell out of the other amps I was comparing it too. I asked for the silly blue finish so that’s personal preference I think the production models will be all black and screen printed. But I like the custom look of Dave’s products. Plus it looks lovely next to my blue Harlot (if you hadn’t guessed I like Blue) When you open it up the thought that’s gone into the amp is very apparent. There are some lovely 3 tier circuit boards with some nice soldering on. The thought is shown in an interesting way in regards to the dummy load which you can select between (I’m not exactly sure what it all does and why but from what I’ve been told sounds like a stunning plan) an actually speaker and a resistor load. The idea is the speaker reacts differently to different frequencies/peaks where as the diode has a flat response. The result of which is when you use the speaker dummy load the tone is much smoother. [b]The Knobs:[/b] Well there are tones of knobs on the DHA amp and nearly all of them affect each other in some way Id hate to think of all the combinations. Dave hasn’t finished the manual yet but I got a brief overview from him at BassDay and the rest I’m figuring out on my own. There’s the DHA I/P level control handy for going from passive to active. There are Gain and drive controls from the pre amp section and separate valve drive for the valve amp as well. Normal Bass Mid and Treble along with another Colour control which to be honest I don’t think I’ll ever touch as it puts everything into a crunchy distortion sound, pretty nice but not my cup of tea. There’s a bright switch and fat switch which do exactly what they say on the tin. A switch between the two dummy loads to just fine tune things a little. Plus a mute switch for the tuner out, there’s a tuner out on the back and the front. O also a clipping switch which as of yet I haven’t worked out what it does except lower the volume. In the amp there is also one of Dave’s compression sections and a bob the blender FX loop which are also fully valve. With a plus I get to have a three switch start up sequence one for the main power to heat everything up etc like a normal valve amp. The next for the valve amp standby and then another for the solid state. The reason for three is because you can use the initial valve amp without the solid-state for recording and a low level practise amp. [b]So the sound plus good and bad bits:[/b] The other two amps being compared with it too the LMII is pretty much where it’s at for me for solid-state heads pretty level response might be missing a touch top end and has a lot of clarity. The V6 is full of warmth I mean a tone of it. It’s rich and full of valve loveliness. It can lack clarity and some mid to for my tastes, and also be a bit heavy on the bass but a lot of people who are after the valve clean tone would agree with me again this is where it’s at for valve tone. That’s why I kept hold of both for the comparison as the way things are they are my favourite of both. Those were my views on the amps before trying the DHA. So the DHA well I have to say at the moment I’m pretty won over by the amp it has a bit of a problem with a slight lack of bass response. People who love their huge bass tone might be a bit disappointed its there alright just you will find it hard to knock someone into the ground with it. Plus with the fact it’s got such a level treble and mid response it hides the bass more than normal this is defiantly a clean response head. I think this is mainly down to the EQ. It really doesn’t do much at all but then because I’m used to having an active EQ on my amps, and as this is a passive one I wasn’t expecting much. (There is an EQ by-pass on back so a more powerful EQ can be used that takes the one on the amp out completely). But then again I would have certainly expected more. I’d go as far to say that it wouldn’t make any difference if it wasn’t there. The treble does a bit but then that adds some noise to the amp. I was more than happy with that idea because I do most of my tone shaping on the bass. But having to add another unit to a rack may annoy people just so you can simply add a very basic level of EQ. [b]Follow up: [/b]After talking to Dave he is upgrading the EQ to an active all tube circuit that will give a level in the middle setting and plus and minus around 15db plus and minus. So we’ll see how this goes when I get the amp back. But it should address a slight lack of bass response it quite a level amp but with more mid and treble. This is because some of the pots have bright caps on them which he is changing so they are only engaged by the bright switch so its personal choice. The amp has the valve edge of distortion down to a fine art and you can dial in as much as you want. You don’t have to drive it anywhere near as hard or as loud as the trace to get that stunning clean valve tone. The valve harmonics are rich and exactly what I’m after. It’s got quite a warm tone not buckets of it but it is lovely. But with those things it lacks it has an absolute whack of clarity. I haven’t heard an amp that is clearer then this maybe down to missing a little bit of the bass and such a level response on mid and treble but when you turn on the mark bass and the V6 they sound really muddy in comparison. It has got some warmth but not in the same league as the V6. People who buy epifani and mark bass for the clarity are defiantly looking in the wrong place. But then again it’s far from Hi-Fi. Plus this thing has the harmonics and the valve drive that those amps miss. One major downside is there is quite a lot of line noise coming from the amp (you know the low hum you get at high volumes). It’s not that bad but when you compare it to the other amps it’s pretty loud. The little mark doesn’t have any until your right up the top of it volume and gain levels, and the V6 has its fan but line noise again not much till higher levels. The treble control on My ACG’s seemed to make it worse a bit and with the compressor on it goes up quite a bit as well in fact a lot. [b]Follow up:[/b] I have spoken to Dave and I understand Alpha Dave is having some problems with hum on his amp as well. Dave has decided it’s down to mains hum and is going to isolate and shield the mains part of the amp more thoroughly and hopefully go a long way to get rid of the hum. Of course it will always slightly be there as that’s the nature of valve driven sound. I’d have to say I wouldn’t like to record with the amp through a cab with the compressor on it is certainly a live tool only, as playing at any real volume you would have to gate the sound to get rid of the hum/hiss. Plus when the compressor is on you got even more hum when you engage the mute and FX loop. It’s kind of like an extra level of noise rather than getting louder as it sounds slightly different. [b]Follow up: [/b]Dave has improved his compressor design and thinks he can solve this quite a bit. But thinks he is going to take the compressor out of the head. Make it foot pedal only. Well I spent the day recording my friend’s band and a stupidly long day it was too. The DI appeared not to be working and had a very weak signal not quite sure why this was something may have been damaged in transit something loose or maybe a dodgy DI etc not sure. But when the new EQ is being fitted Dave’s going to look into this and make the out put a bit hotter too. Anyone happen to know an optimum DI level for a bass head, nothing that’s going to go any where near frying a desk but a hot enough level for a good strong signal? So we took the line out on the back into a DI and set it up through my Mark bass cab and away we went. My ACG sounded lovely through it all when sound checking. But my friend was using his first bass always dos for recording it’s his thing cheap musicman copy, and loves a punk driven sound. So when I get around to uploading some sound clips form today those are what I’ll be able to show you, and clean will have to wait for my next personal recording session. Getting through 6 songs in a day and 12 hours behind a desk was quite enough for one day. [b]Initial Verdict:[/b] I’m very won over by the amp I’d get involved in doing this proto-type again for sure. Even with the few problems it’s a heck of an amp especially for a first prototype. I’d like to see the new EQ in it which will be some time after x-mas I think. Dave’s busy and I’m in no rush. The noise reduced or eliminated would be great. I know Dave wants it to be a full all valve amp which it is and sounds at this stage fantastic but there’s scope for improvement, and Dave seems set on getting this up to a very high level. If the compressor noise can’t be sorted it’s pretty useless in my opinion, but it’s got the potential for sure. Anywhere from people after clean and clarity of tone to those who like to drive their sound this thing will be it. It’s not the lightest amp in the world but it’s certainly no feather weight. Looks great in my rack though. Sorry about the wordy entry but it’s a full initial review with a final one after the problems have been ironed out. Hope you all enjoy the update. As a side note both the markbass and the V6 are for sale now.

Bit of a massive intial review/update going to be added bellow enjoy: Testing set-up

Hey chris hows things? When did you get that traveler cab hows it going? I have been after that tube sund for quite awhile now I can quite happily say I've been through and have in my possesion a number of ways of acheiving it. First port of call I tried a DHA VT2 Dual thought it was ok nothing to write home about (later to be told it must have been damaged before I got or during transit as the person after me had it fixed and said it sounded stunning, I should have spent more time with it) Then moved onto trying a trave V-type pre amp into the markbass LMII sounded nice gave the valve warmth but never realy gets the power tube overdrive edge of distortion sound. I also at the same time got a DHA VT1 Purist now this was a lovely little pedal and did in my view a better job than the V-type pre so I sold the V-type and kept the Purist. Then I spotted a Mesa boogie walkabout on ebay snaped that up and that became my favorite tone over the LMII and purist. But it wasn't quite on the edge of distortion tone I'd changed my mind slightly and favoured solid again but ti was a short lived thing. But Purist went with my big pedal clear out (silly move no job and a summer ment it had to happen) Then I went in search of a valve power amp to drive things an a new preamp failed couldn't find anything. As a result of searching got put onto DHA again so I ended up ordering a DHA VT5-400 which is his new amp. Im hopfuly about to write a full review after this weekend and sit down and look at the amp in more depth and do some proper comparisons between the LMII, MB walkabout, a Trave elliot V6 and the DHA VT5-400. But it does the valve drive and power and pre drive better than anything else I have tried at low volumes you dont have to push it super hard to get the drive. But the DHA purist was a good way to get 70% there without changing amp. Im told the EBS valve drive does the same job with more powerful EQ. Also the warwick tubepath 10.1 is ment to be of similar design and idea. So thats my path to where I am now on my search for valve drive/warmth with a sweet clean tone. Lovely story resulting with this in my living room:

I acctualy need to get around to writing a review on this bass I always get side tracked. I'll do it while doing afew other reviews I'v promised. I'm glad you liked the bass I adore it. Tbh letting others try it without my constant supervision was more down to trusting alan than anything else when you see a man smile quite so wide at seeing most of his creations in one place you can trust him to look after them all. I got alot of nice comments during the say about both my basses. I did say to my self earlier I wouldnt hang around too much think I might have got a little over protective. Plus helping alan to show people how good his basses are is more than enough reason. He's a great guy to work with very helpful and always willing to talk to you through silly mind changes, think he got a little talked out on sunday. Ortho funniest thing was quite happily when I strolled over picked up my recurve and walked away with it to try the DHA amp. Couple of people gave me some pretty stunned looks. Think they must have thought I was making a runner with it for a second.

They sound fantastic don't they. Can wait to get my project off the floor tbh I need to sell all these excess amps before I can really get going lol. I played through a set at steves, he's a great guy and had a good day the cabs really left an impression on me.

Hey nope Im picking up the amp at bass day so Im sure more than my self can see how it does. The omni's are simply bits of wood at the moment ortho if I get all my work done tomorrow Im hoping to do all the 45degree angle cuts I need to do so I can begin construction next week. Some foolish mans letting me have a week off uni so I may have to hit the workshop. Plus of corse work on my other uni work too....

[quote name='Brave Sir Robin' post='83883' date='Nov 5 2007, 10:53 AM']I'm also toying with the idea of pushing the MM pickup at the bridge further towards the neck, in an attempt to capture more of a Stingray vibe. Then again, I'm not sure if 1) it will actually make a difference and 2) it wont mess up the thing. Nothing drastic, something like 1 cm, or 1/2 inch. Note that I will have a slim humbucker at the neck, with coil tapping option. So if you guys have any thoughts...[/quote] I dont think you will mess it up moving the pickup foward I moved the front pickup back on my recurve mainly for more area to slap and it didnt seem to effect the sound. But I dont think you have quite gathered how powerful the pre-amp is. Mixing together the front and rear pickup and playing with the filter controls can quite easily create a musicmanesk tone where ever you put the pickup I would have thought. I can certainly get close to the musicman sound even with the normal pickups on my recurve and the harlot I have I think gets there even easier. I would certainly suggest one of alans musicman style pickups they sound huge. As for moving it forward I dont think it makes too much difference.

I'm pretty sure Dave has replied somewhere else that he isn't going anymore. But Im not certain and I'm sur ehe will correct me if I'm wrong.

The peavey Microbass I have is great but that doesnt have a cd input. The new Peavey Max 126 has all you need plus some new fangled things peavey have put into it including a tube.

[quote name='queenofthedepths' post='76751' date='Oct 19 2007, 09:54 PM'][url="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tribal-Planet-electric-guitar-gx15e/dp/B000NIRIOU"]Right here![/url] These certainly look nice - I might get one myself if I have to keep carrying basses around...[/quote] Dont buy this one!! Its the guitar version and also only the gx15 now I think thats the lighter model but Im also sure the price isnt that different from the GX40 so it depends what level of protection you want. But you want the (if you want the strong one) GX40B Strangely the B stands for bass...

I agree with bassBod. I've never been to a shop with an actual good aray of gig bags especialy for bass. Plus near gloucester no chance nearest I would say is PMT in birmingham or soundcontrol birmingham. But then again dont remember there been a large range at either. Onlines the way forwards. Id go with a tribal planet GX40.

Thats a great video cheers.