Nickthebass

40 minutes ago, BassAdder27 said:

My VU needle is often way over into the red zone on a low Eb ( we tune to Eb as standard ) but mostly it Mac’s at 0V value ( the ideal ) 

 

You will find that various things on the ABM600 affect the input obviously EQ settings, drive, shape and Compressor 

I get the feedback loop between gain stage, EQ etc. - it’s more that I’ve never had that visual thing saying “don’t be shy - you can give it some more beans”.

1 hour ago, Lozz196 said:

That`s a good call, and what I used to do in rehearsal rooms, adjust the main bass eq to suit the room.

4 hours ago, BassAdder27 said:

Let us know if you need any tips or questions about settings etc 

 

I find the Shape Out button ( instant smiley face EQ ) sounds great at home but in a band it gets a little lost. You can boost the 340hz slider to compensate or …

Run Shape Button IN and pull down the 340hz slider a bit 

I find that is an ideal setting for rock etc 

my settings below 

The onboard compressor isn’t great ( drops the output level too much and kills the top end sizzle )

Drive control is the best and sounds really good 

Using my PBass I run the input level as shown 

 

Thanks - with that visual gain stage reminder ... I might be a bit more brave with the input gain that I would have been!

3 hours ago, andyonbass said:

For 255 quid including a 3 yr warranty this could be worth a punt......  certainly worthy as a backup

https://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_solidbass_600h.htm

Thanks for this - definitely a good back up option. I've ended up going down the Ashdown route though. The ABM-600 just makes too much sense in particular from a UK support point of view. I had a couple of lovely chats with Dave Green and he has ended up making me a rack mount version which should be landing with me today.

15 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

If this is an amp you cannot do without then it would make sense to simply buy another, they are going for around £350 here in the for sale section. You have no guarantee about what part of the amp might go wrong. If it was the power supply or the pre amp then you'd have spent a lot of money for nothing.

 

Having said that I don't think you need to worry. If the failure rate is 5% a year the chances are that you'll have a long wait before you need the spare and modern amps are incredibly reliable, just relax and enjoy the amp you obviously love.

You make a good point Phil. To be honest though the older I get the less wedded I am to particular pieces of gear, particularly back line and pedals. I want it to be reliable, loud and reasonably portable - anything else is a bonus. At the end of the day I have yet to meet an amp that I can't do without (from a tonal / performance stand point). It's only a "can't do without" if it's my only amp of an appropriate size / power. I've got a new Ashdown head arriving today which will likely be my primary amp for the next wee while as I get used to it. It'll sound different to the Streamliner but that's fine - maybe the difference will be something I prefer even if it's only because it is different and the STM has been the only amp I've gigged for the past 10 years.

Neither amp is going to make my sub-Jamerson fumblings sound any more closer to the man himself.

3 hours ago, 2elliot said:

The Orange 4Stroke is excellent. I've had the ABM 600 and it's also very good.

 

The 4Stroke is the only amp I've owned more than once. 500watt is very loud, the 300watt is easily loud enough for most situations.

 

Thanks for this. Looks like the 4 Stroke is discontinued though. ABM is en route!

On 16/05/2022 at 20:01, Lozz196 said:

I think you’re headed towards that ABM at warp factor ten, Nick.

 

It fits the bill exactly, from sound to after-care/support.

 

 

For anyone keeping score ... @Lozz196 was on the money and wins a small prize. I spoke to Dave at Ashdown yesterday and a rackmount ABM600 should be with me tomorrow.

On 15/05/2022 at 22:11, agedhorse said:

Here in N. America, the Streamliners are still covered under the factory flat rate service program. I so rarely see a bad power module that it's almost the last thing on the list of potential issues and the replacement modules are in stock and still a current part.

 

All the other things are generally simple and straight forward for a QUALIFIED tech, but what's becoming far more of a challenge is finding a truly qualified tech... that's FAR more concerning than a class D amp (or any other amp for that matter).

 

As far as cost of repair of tube/valve amps being cheaper, has anybody priced out a set of tubes or a replacement transformer lately? Replacing a power module (as rare as it might be) is less costly (by quite a bit) than replacing a set of tubes/valves. Tube/valve amps (in my experience) are much less reliable than a quality solid state amp of any type.

Thanks very much for this. 

I may look into buying a spare power module to stick in the drawer in case of disaster! I'm still a massive fan of the Streamliner and in particular the pre-amp. If the worst ever came to the worst and the power amp did explode and was un-fixable I would still keep it as a DI box / pre-amp. In fact ... is someone happened to make a Streamliner style DI box I could be persuaded to be in the market for one!

13 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

I can say that the Handbox R-400 is - IMO - the God of class A/B's, but understand that it doesn't meet your criteria for native UK support.

I was waiting for you to chime in on behalf of Handbox! 😆 The lack of a UK network is a bit of a downer TBH. 

3 minutes ago, Lozz196 said:

I think you’re headed towards that ABM at warp factor ten, Nick.

 

It fits the bill exactly, from sound to after-care/support.

 

 

Haa!! That’s what I thought. I had some bad experiences with earlier ABMs being a bit wooly but I’m banking on that being partly down to lack of experience on my part. 

24 minutes ago, fretmeister said:

Glockenklang

 

Aguilar - AG700 / DB751

 

Ampeg - various SVT models

 

Orange OB-1 500

 

I'm sure there's loads more.

Looks like Glockenklang’s only new head is a class D.
 

DB751 is about £2k too much (budget added after you posted) and the AG700 is class D.

The Ampeg solid state stuff looks to be all class D other than the SVT3 - which is a good shout.

Hadn’t thought of the Orange option. Thanks

I’m looking for a new head as an alternative to my GB Streamliner 900 (which I plan to keep).

The list of requirements is pretty short … loud, reliable, not class D (nothing against class D, I’d want something different and easier to fix). Also good after sales support / repair (UK based for preference either dealer or distributor) and preferably 2 speakon outs. 
 

Budget in the £800 ish range ideally. 

I don’t really need super twinkly top end, more like “warm Jazz bass” but. I’ll back myself to get a good sound out of most amps.

Am I talking myself into an Ashdown ABM600? 
 

Any other bids?

For those interested the head will be atop (one or both) a Gen2 Barefaced Midget T and Gen2 Compact.

Gigs at the moment are either folky / singer songwriter or blues(ish).

On 04/11/2021 at 08:29, artisan said:

Lol,I'm an old hand at this malarkey now after 36 years or so of gigging😁

 

I've been using a Darkglass Microtubes 900 for the last 3 years but after using an old class A B at a new rehearsal room on Monday I notice there was so much "more" to the tone,hence my purchase 😀 

Can't wait to unleash it 

I’m thinking about an ABM600 as an alternative to my (much loved) GB Streamliner 900. How are you finding the ABM? Still loving it? Tell me that I won’t miss the extra 300 watts of power amp! 😆

5 hours ago, Gareth Hughes said:

Both my Streamliner heads (600 and 900) have zero volume/power problems, and both coming up on 10 years old. They both have crackling volume pots, but as AgedHorse said, the problem is finding a qualified tech to service/repair them. A well established local guy here won’t touch mine because of the Class D/transistor side of it.

The place I have been going to was recommended by a former Streamliner owner that I contacted from here. 
 

Turns out my issue this time was two preamp valves needing replaced. 

15 minutes ago, chris_b said:

In my experience, D class and SS amps are more reliable than valve amps. Since I started playing bass I've had 3 valve amps fail, one in the studio and 2 on stage. My SS amps (since the late 80's) and D class amps (since the early 2000's) have 100% reliability.

 

I take 2 D class amps to every gig. While one is nominally a "backup" I check them both out on the sound check and use the one I prefer.

How old are the class Ds? Like you I have never had a hiccup but the STM900 is now ~10 years old. 

11 minutes ago, King Tut said:

Well I guess anything can go wrong. I suggest taking a small backup amp or a di pedal with some to e shaping capabilities to use through pA as a backup. I always take a small spare amp.

I have a Radial Bassbone Mk1 and a SansAmp on my pedal board so I can run to the PA or into the head’s power amp if needs be (assuming the power stage hasn’t gone pop).

I’m trying to get a sense of the chance of me needing my back up option as that would change what I want as my primary back up vs 3rd string options. 

I have an early GB Streamliner 900 - it has been to the tech for preamp replacements a couple of time in the past year (I’m not too bothered by that as they’re still the original valves). The message I got from the tech was that the power amp may become unreliable or lose volume due to its age (can’t say I’ve noticed a problem).

I asked what he would buy his bass player (ignoring tonal considerations) -     something with transformers or valves in the power stage rather than class D.

Any of our resident boffins have a view? (Paging Dr @agedhorse).

Should I be worried about the fact that my only amp is a 10ish year old class D? (I have never had a problem with it before other than the noisy pre-amp valves.)

I’m looking at this purely from a reliability / fix ability point of view - this isn’t a question about the tone.

Thanks!

23 minutes ago, Bluepigbass said:

Yes a bit fussy about my action had shims in  all my pbass, it’s fine with it taken out

Ah! Thanks. You like it super low I take it? Do you know what strings is she wearing at the minute?

9 hours ago, Bluepigbass said:

Serial Number is MX15648875 

Cool - thanks. Looks like December 2015, with the Fender copy of the Badass. Is it just the photo or is there a shim in the neck pocket?

On 15/04/2022 at 21:45, ead said:

Looks like MX15 from the pic?

Must be better resolution on your machine than mine. 😆

On 26/03/2022 at 11:00, Eldon Tyrell said:

On the back of the headstock, underneath the G string tuner is a serial number. You can see it in your first photo but it is too blurred to read.

The serial number looks something like this: "MX19003133". The first two digits following "MX" (which stands for "Made in Mexico") tell you the year the bass was made in. 

 

As mentioned, a few more photos, especially showing the finish better (some are more reliced, some less and I am more interested in the less reliced ones) would be helpful.

 

Any news on the serial number?

Agreed - some more photos would be great. Would be good to be able to see the fit of the neck / body joint. 

11 hours ago, Bluepigbass said:

I have no idea of age it came to me second hand, is there a way to determine age on these ?

Throw the serial number into the Fender serial number decoder. That should give you a year. 😁

What year is this from? Does it have the Badass bridge or the newer Fender hi mass version?

17 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

Got to use this last night thanks to @warwickhunt. It's been a few years since I used to gig one regularly, and I've remembered how special these things are. The authority in the lows and detail in the mids and highs is absolutely beautiful.

I see you've moved off the "max out the volume and tweak the input gain" approach. Why was this (from reading the rest of the thread I thought this was the builder's recommended way of running the head)? Also - can you share a bit more about the gig and the room please? What was the line up, how big a space were you covering (room or stage), how loud a was the gig, was the DI pre or post EQ? 

Apologies if I've gone a bit "20 questions" on you but I'm trying to read across from your warm and fuzzy feelings about the amp into my situation.

On 13/03/2022 at 10:48, Woodinblack said:

you can get a dual speak on splitter from most places that sell speak on leads

@Woody1957 - thanks for the suggestion but I think the splitter is probably solution for me. If I change cabs again in the future it'll likely be to another 2 cab set up - making the splitter box a simple permanent fix. 

Thanks @Woodinblack - I hadn't even twigged that these were a thing!