0175westwood29

went to mansons yesterday and tried a load of amps out! mainly all valve then tried a few hybrids and ss heads as a comparison well i found a beast! so part ex'd my pro 6 in and left! gonna take some better fotos tonight but heres a teaser can anyone guess? andy

[quote name='basshead56' post='722291' date='Jan 23 2010, 04:28 PM']Did you buy an Orange bass terror? [/quote] Nope! Its not even on the list. Ill give u a clue! It puts out 425w at 8ohms, 750w at 4ohms and 925w at 2 ohms. And offically blew the svt-cl not just out of the water but into space! Andy

[quote name='andy67' post='722061' date='Jan 23 2010, 11:58 AM']Loads of good valve amps out there! A few V4's have turned up of late as has V6's and 8's andy[/quote] Ok so I got something! Not all valve tho! But ill post pics 2moz :-) anyone wanna guess? Andy

[quote name='andy67' post='721471' date='Jan 22 2010, 06:06 PM']V4 every day of the week! I have not heard another valve amp equal mine for volume! tis a bloody rogue! 220w in your face and it aint gonna stop! no frills rock amp. anyone up this end is welcome to ab against any of the other girly woosie amps being discussed!!! andy[/quote] if my drummer would sell his v4 we wouldnt be having this conversion! they are so loud for the rating! and sound really awesome! but i actually think that it will be so rare that i can find. and the vba ive tried liked it but the size is silly! and it didnt really excite me tonally! but thats my views! andy

[quote name='andy67' post='721471' date='Jan 22 2010, 06:06 PM']V4 every day of the week! I have not heard another valve amp equal mine for volume! tis a bloody rogue! 220w in your face and it aint gonna stop! no frills rock amp. anyone up this end is welcome to ab against any of the other girly woosie amps being discussed!!! andy[/quote] if my drummer would sell his v4 we wouldnt be having this conversion! they are so loud for the rating! and sound really awesome! but i actually think that it will be so rare that i can find. and the vba ive tried liked it but the size is silly! and it didnt really excite me tonally! but thats my views! andy

[quote name='mildmanofrock' post='720760' date='Jan 22 2010, 07:42 AM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Fq0NRfeKs"]Here's one reason [/url]why it's Ampeg for me.[/quote] that is a wicked tone! andy

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='720762' date='Jan 22 2010, 07:49 AM']As the owner of a V8, I voted Mesa. Much more sophisticated eq and sounds every bit as good. I loved mine even if it killed me to lift it. The eq on the Trace V8 lets it down a little if you team it up with a harsh sounding bass. Never liked Ampeg SVT's just couldn't get a clean and honest sound out of them. Never played an Orange so can't comment on those. Tip on buying used Mesa 400+, as well as checking when the valves were last replaced, also check the condition of the transformers. If they show signs of significant rust then walk away. Mesa didn't coat their transformers and any corrosion weakens them by bridging the gaps between plates.[/quote] Ok so I'm getting an idea of what I need to look at in the mesa, I think I need to try out a 200b as all my feelings on oranges came from my old amp! Which was lovely but broke up way to early! Ill try the peg cl that they have to see how it sounds, im gonna try them all thru peg cabniet as that's what ill be using for the moment, I'm looking into getting a couple of mesa ph 210's for a small rig when we dnt have much room. Hopefully by tomoz night ill know more bout each head, and if I like the mesa and it looks k and in good heatlh I think ill go for it but we'll see Andy

[quote name='chris_b' post='718631' date='Jan 20 2010, 12:35 AM']I had a brand new 400+ which blew a valve and the fuses as soon as we powered it up in the shop! It didn't get much better and over the next 18 months, blew valves and fuses at regular intervals and occasionally other internal bits. All were replaced under warranty (for the whole 18 months, thank you Nick and Grant at the Bass Centre) so I've got no idea how much the repair bill would have been, except that I know I couldn't have afforded it! When the amp was working it sounded just great and pinned people to the back wall. I know 400+ amps don't do this often but I was glad when Nick finally said they'd take it back. No more valves for me![/quote] what other bits was it that went? from what i can see is there seems to have been an example with every amp about it crapping out? i guess the only thing i could do would be to keep what ever i choose well serviced and use it carefully! my orange ad140 never had any problems. well im going up on sat to have a whirl! also on the matamp front i dnt think they look nice! they might sound nice but need it to look good sorry! andy

[quote name='tonyxtiger' post='718589' date='Jan 19 2010, 11:52 PM']thought I'd chip in as I've had all of these... That sounds like I'm showing off but I'm trying to help honest. I still have an Orange AD200. Great amp, great tone breaks up far nicer than the ampeg and can go really dirty. Good volume for a 200 watt as long as you go for the KT88 version. Fat old school but very tight and growly. Not old school flubby indistict like an ampeg VB4 100w head or the Newer ampeg CLs. Drive the Ampegs and they fall to pieces tonally. Kills me to say it but avoid the ampegs. The mids are great but everything else is poor. The big Aguilar head (the 750) is the best ampeg replacement. Daft given it has a s/s power amp but try one. I still have mine and its fantastic. As you can imagine I am very much a believer in valves but after I started using the aguilar I shut up pretty quick. Humble pie all round. Believe the hype on these amps. The Trace V8 was very loud and very clean, tons of power, again KT88s. Good rock amp if you want the power and keeping it clean. Basically Ashdown make a new version of that head now as the BFA If you want a rock amp that sounds a bit more hairy, go Orange / Boogie. Again the Hiwatt head I really convinced myself I was going to like and it was the worst of the bunch. No bottom end whatsoever. It must have been a bad 'un because I can't believe they would make a bass amp that sounds so thin. The mesa 400+ I still have. Its a killer. Clean and powerful with headroom and fantastic for rock. works well when you drive it or use overdrive pedals. It will easily compete with two guitars and a kit. Used this for 10 years in loud bands and was always heard. Best amp period for staying in the mix at rehearsals. Great definition and punch and gives you a lot of confidence. Don't think I've ever needed to have the master set past 6. Pair it with an 8x10 or a 4x12 and it's all you need. Any amp can overdrive but Grit, growl,drive, distortion whatever you want to call it - its pointless on the bass if the amp can't hold it together so your still driving things along with the bottom end intact. my two all valve winners are the orange and Mesa. Engineers love them, band mates smile when you play them. Safe with both but Mesa is the better choice for competing with the volume of 2 stacks. I'm selling a few basses at the moment and I'm considering selling my 400+ along with a 4 x 10 and 2 x 10 boogie cabs. The older 90's ones with the EV drivers, again, rock classics. I don't play as full on these days so I don't really need a rig like this now. let me know if you are interested or have any questions. hope this helps?[/quote] Thanks man that was really an in depth review! Cheers! Oh and pm sent bout the mesa Andy

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' post='718525' date='Jan 19 2010, 10:51 PM']What impedance is the 6x10? Had dubious feelings with the 6x12s nominal 6 ohm, that is actually 5.3.[/quote] 4 ohms andy

[quote name='jonthebass' post='718515' date='Jan 19 2010, 10:36 PM']For all the details look [url="http://www.mesaboogie.com/Product_Info/Out_of%20_Production/Bass_400_/bass_400_.html"]HERE[/url] at the Mesa website. Off that page - 12 x Power amp valves and 4 x Pre amp valves! As for what to listen for - Once it's connected to a speaker cabinet and powered up it should be quiet when you're not playing/no instrument connected. If there's crackling, whistling or any weird noises then it probably needs new valves in there somewhere. At gigs I always have the amp on it's own socket, just to be sure all will be well. As for your massive rig idea - it will do 2 Ohms all day & night, as it has the dedicated outputs for it! Jon[/quote] thanks man ill keep an eye out, ill ask some questions about the power thing when im at the shop. from what you guys have described it seems like it will be just what i need! andy

[quote name='jonthebass' post='718464' date='Jan 19 2010, 09:43 PM']Hi Andy, It is as loud as sin and with a couple of sensitive & high powered cabinets it truly is a trouser flapper! I think you're right about the risk part, it's true of any second hand kit. All I can suggest is look and see if it all looks original and all the parts/valves/etc are present and correct. Mine's been solid as a rock and has been gigged hard up & down the country - a true war horse. Apart from regular maintenance it's been grand. As for power consumption I don't know. It has 2 of the biggest transformers I've ever seen in an amp though... Hope that helps a little? Jon[/quote] right dnt mean to sound thick but what should it have? i know what tubes look like but thats it? anything to listen for while im playing? well as far as cabs go im gonna stick with my 610 hlf, i really like it! i know some people disagree but we'll see im also looking at getting a set of mesa ph210's to use on the smaller gigs we do. basically on the power draw thing what do you plug into? ie do you have to be in your own plug of have you plugged into the same supply in small gigs with the guitarists? (did that make sense?) might have to get a massive rig on the go if it works really well at 2 ohms?! :-) andy

[quote name='misrule' post='718440' date='Jan 19 2010, 09:26 PM']My guitarists tell me to turn down at about 3 Cheers Mark[/quote] woh! so pretty loud then! 300rms is gonna be loud enough i think with tube power! the only thing that worries me is the secondhand part and cost of repairs if it goes wrong but i guess theres that with all amps! just like the idea of being covered with a warranty. all you 400+ guys had any problems? also does the amp draw loads of power? my pro 6 does and has created some probs at gigs because of this? andy

ive updated the thread to include some more amps lets hear what you think of em? also whats the 400+'s output at 4 ohms? andy

apparently the svt pro 7 is meant to be like a bigger version of this? ive not heard or played it tho andy

[quote name='alexisonfire' post='716207' date='Jan 17 2010, 11:50 PM']But you NEED it in orange [/quote] well i would get it in orange unless i could get the black for free andy

[quote name='Musicman20' post='716084' date='Jan 17 2010, 10:20 PM']+1..... Even Alkaline Trio have started using them. Also, Every Time I Die had one through an Aguilar DB810. [/quote] cool just a bit annoyed that they do the white cover instead of orange for free! and you have to pay 150 quid for the black! how does that make sense! andy

[quote name='alexisonfire' post='716068' date='Jan 17 2010, 10:07 PM']Just to add the the CL vs AD200B, I had the same decision, and as you can see from my sig the Orange won. Oh and if you play heavy metal, Norma Jean, Cancer Bats and Converge to name a couple, use the AD200B[/quote] ok 2 people can't be wrong ill have to give it a go! im guessing they must be louder than the 140b i used to own. so far my list of all tube amps that i wanna try has grown to 4, i really fancy trying out the laney nexus heads aswell as the ad200b, svt and the 2nd hand 400+ andy

ok ive just found a mesa 400+, its the same price second hand as the orange and peg are new but ive heard they awesome so gonna try that out to me thinks andy

[quote name='basshead56' post='710808' date='Jan 13 2010, 12:46 AM']Are there two versions of this-two different ratings? Can one of these heads power two (matching) cabs? Anyone got one? The reason I ask is... [url="http://www.dv247.com/search/0/0/ProductQuantity/Descending/ampeg+micro/1/"]http://www.dv247.com/search/0/0/ProductQua.../ampeg+micro/1/[/url] Two different descriptions and two different prices hmm crap, I've put this in the wrong place! Why is Spooks so bloody enthralling? Please move to amps and cabs discussion[/quote] its a mistake i'd say as the pics are the same head, and there is only one version. the heads are 200w at 4 ohms, yeh it powers to of the matching cabs just fine, only really loud enough for small gigs tho. but would be wicked for studio stuff! andy

[quote name='robocorpse' post='700862' date='Jan 4 2010, 07:53 PM']Fantastic late NWOBHM feel there, good stuff, but the drummer needs a lot of work, especially on his fills and double kick. Classic intermediate player trying to cram too much in, running out of time, then having to get back on the groove. Having said that, I'd definitely go and see this band if they played locally.[/quote] really? probs doesnt help that the drums sound isnt great. thanks for the kind words tho. any more people with some views out there? andy