Jack

[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1337970799' post='1668282'] Sure, so what's it called when it's stuck in the top right hand corner of my S12(T) ? [/quote] 'A tweeter'

It's a coaxial tweeter. 'Co' as in 'sharing' and 'axial' as in, well, 'axis'.

Hey guys, new amp day! So I'm waiting on Gallien Krueger to pull their finger out and release the MB Fusion 800 but who knows when that will be out and I've got my order in with Alex for a Midget+Compact but that's an 8 week wait. So the long and short of it that I was ampless. Whilst trawling the classifieds and amps forums here to find a bargain that I could use in the meantime I found the thread about the HB heads. For those of you who don't know the Ibanez Promethean amps are built by a company called Beta Alvin, who make an (almost) identical amp under a few different names including their own, RedSub and Harley Benton which is thomann.de's own brand. First, to the main reason I bought this amp and let's make now bones about it: it's £175. Actually it's currently £175 (€219) but when I got mine it was €189 or £151. [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/harley_benton_ba500h.htm"]Product page![/url] BONUS: Thomann do free delivery on all orders over €199 but as my €189 head had a €10 delivery charge I decided to get 36 of my favourite picks in order to qualify for the free delivery, ended up paying €1.55 for 36 dunlop picks! Kinda stings that they've put an extra £25 or so on, but when you consider this a 500W micro(ish) head with a variety of tone options plus features such as DI/ aux in etc it's a heck of deal. Even more so if it is anything like the well-reviewed Promethean. The amp arrived very well packed in a double box: Here we see the features: active/passive input; gain; low (with bass boost); high (with bright); switchable eq; colour; contour and master with a mute. The colour and contour are both switchable in/out. Contour is a typical, rubbish mid scoop and colour is something a bit like the Markbass VLF or whatever it is, basicially it progressively rolls back the HF content at lower and lower frequencies. Something that I thought I saw in the specs and that I can confirm is that the control is 'flat' at fully clockwise, what would be full-volume if it were a volume control. Odd, but there you go. Also we have a headphones out and an aux in. For those of you like me who are dubious about the preamp and want to use an external box I have two pieces of good news. Firstly, the aux in is controlled by the master volume so external preamps such as a Sansamp or my MXR M80 work perfectly. Secondly, the preamp in the amp itself is actually alright. I neglected to take a picture of the back but there is the XLR out with a ground lift, 1/4" tuner and footswitch jacks, a fan, 1 speakon and 1 1/4" speaker outputs and the power switch. The sound is pretty middy, maybe even bass-light. This is coming from someone who is a GK fan and likes a very mid-present sound. So if I think this, somebody who is used to an Ampeg type sound would probably find it [i]extremely[/i] bass-light. Having said that, liberal clockwise modification of the 'low' control sort this out nicely. I've actually been playing it (through my GK Neo 1x12") pretty much flat but with the bass boost button clicked in. The unit feels well made generally but I do have a few niggles. For one some of the buttons aren't on straight. The low knob on mine for example is at about 12:10 when in the centre detent and should be pointing to exactly 12:00. I guess I could probably fix this but it is something that you just shouldn't have to. It's also been said that the power connector is pretty flimsy and this is something I've noticed too. The whole thing wobbles about pretty badly and even though the power cable has a snug fit it's actually the whole assembly that's loose. There are photos in the main thread showing how it's clipped in and basically it's pretty weak. Hasn't broken yet though! As a rather odd aside, so far as I can tell from the manual and by listening, both the high knob and the top slider on the graphic eq boost at 10kHz, which seems redundant. . . . As for volume, it easily outpaces my GK Neo 1x12" and I fully endorse and believe the stated power claims of 500W at 4ohms. Generally I do really like this amp. Yes, I wish it had a separate level control for the DI and yes I wish it was slightly better made. But it sounds just fine, above average even. And I'll say it again: it's damed cheap! Even at the newer higher price it's an absolute steal. The same price range on Thomann shows the Behringer head (which has the downside of being awful), the Fender Rumble (only 150W) and the GK MB-200. Now I must admit I was tempted to get the GK, really. I think I might have done had the HB been closer to the GK price-wise as it is now. Having said that though, the HB is more powerful, more fully-featured and still a good £25 cheaper. I'd love to put it side-by-side with the Promethean (calling WaterofTyne?) but I'm pretty satisfied even if it turns out to be nothing like it. That GK keeps taunting me though, but I know it'll sit unused when I get the MB Fusion . . . . . .

Wow, jealous! Just got my order in, you mind me asking how long you waited?

That would be a hell of an amp, even if you use it into your current MAG cab.

I'd certainly snap that TVX up in the for sale, would you really ever need more than that cab in terms of volume? Depends if you are planning to join a doom band really. Certainly keep an eye out second hand, there is very little second hand market atm, people aren't buying like they used to so there are definitely deals to be had.

I was also quoted 6-8 weeks. I dunno about deep pockets, it's only money. EDIT - I should also add that I make sure my bass hobby pays for itself.

Dunlop Gator Grip .96 The best sound/feel I've found, and they don't fall out of my sweaty hands. does anybody else have a box full of random picks?

Well it seemed like the upsides to the stack were more bottom and modularity. The upsides to the S12 were more mids and price. In the end, I plan to use a very middy sound anyway (Stingrays or P into a GK Fusion) and I have the money but not the desire to carry one big cabinet . There was only really one choice.

Whoop! Compact and Midget order placed! Damn you 2 month waiting time!

Well 'aggressive and middy' sounds like me, but I plan on using this with a GK Mb Fusion 800, so I'm sure I'll have that covered whichever way I go. In my head I was thinking maybe the Super 12's larger internal volume would do something the 2 smaller cabs couldn't but if they overlap largely then the stack it is, a bit more expensive but modular and easier to move. Chrisb, what gigs do you do where the Compact is too big? Seriously that thing is pretty darned small!

Hello folks, I'm looking at buying a Barefaced rig and I was all set on a midget and compact but the more I read the more I am tempted by the Super12. Obviously the stack can be split for small gigs and for transport but the Super12 is cheaper and still only 40lbs. What are the sound differences? Volume? Ease of transport?

People saying the HB is quiter and not a lively, the colour control is off in he fully-clockwise position. You probably know this, but maybe not. So I need an amp until the GK MB Fusion 800 comes out. Can you use an extension speker with the combo? TBH I could get a hell of a cab second hand for the £80 or so you pay to have the combo over just the head.

I'm the world's biggest GK fan, but I would be hesitant to gig that MB200 and 1x15" rig for rock covers. Might struggle a bit with volume. FWIW, I just sold my pristine 1001-II for £400, and there are any number of 4x10s for £100-200. You can get a decent rock rig for that money.

We'd all love a big rig. I'll take a Millennia Media Origin, Lab Gruppen Power amps and two NV610s please. In the real world I have a small car, smaller stage and after a long day at work and a longer gig extremely small biceps. Smaller the better.

An idea would be to split the signal and have one of those split signal be full-range for your bass sound. The other could then go into the crossover, from which you only take the high output for your guitar sound.

Loads and loads of people sound great with mixed speakers, broken equipment, all sorts of 'incorrect' rigs in every way. Loads of people (more I'd argue) sound awful. Every real life situation decreases the effectiveness of every rig, I'd prefer having a rig that has better dispersion etc to help me fight my battles rather than also having to fight my amp. Being educated can only, only help. That way if choose to disregard the correct way of doing things, you know exactly what you're doing and why it sounds good enough to justify doing it incorrectly.

Your plan wont hurt anything, might as well give it a go. It's also the correct way to do it as far as the crossover is concerned, you wont find many that will work with the instrument-level signal before the preamp. Your gx700 might well clip as you think, just keep the gains low. The alternative would of course be the much-coveted Akai Unibass. Or faking one with a pedal board consisting of a splitter, octave up and distortion. That's essentially what your rack would be doing, just at the pedal board stage.