4000 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Apologies if this has been asked before but has anyone compared the two? I really like my Ashdown but a lighter weight amp would go down very well due to chronic back problems. I've briefly tried a couple of TBs in a shop but would be interested to see if anyone had compared them in the real world. I'm running a Barefaced Compact. I'd also be interested to hear views on GK as it's one manufacturer that has bypassed me over the last 30 or so years, but from everything I've read so far (and judging by the guys who use them) it might do the job. I find a lot of the newer lightweight stuff too polite / neutral in most of the situations I play in (i.e. rock-based). FWIW my tonal ballpark lies somewhere between Chris Squire, Alembic-era Entwistle, Leigh Gorman (Bow Wow Wow) and early Stuart Zender. I can get approximations of these using the Ashdown. My brief experience seemd to suggest I couldn't get the same top out of the Orange, but that may or may not be accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peety Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 If you like your Ashdown then try the new mibass 550, i have recently swapped to one of these from an ABM 500 and there is literally no difference in what you can get out of it. There are some interesting reviews on it on here, If you wanted to try one they stock them at PMT in Manchester or feel free to give me a shout am only in Wigan and you are welcome to call and try mine. Cheers steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mog Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 Very different heads in many ways. Personally I'd be looking at a GK RB700 and upwards, which should cover your needs. The Ashdowns are very usable without being standout which is fine with me. I have a major graw against the Terror. It does one thing really well, probably better than a lot of amps which can cost a hell of a lot more, and fails miserably at just about everything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 The new GK MB amps are great, but have that very distinctive GK sound. Listen to Duff McKagan, and thats a good idea of what they do. Of course, with eq-ing, most amps can be made to do whatever is required, but they all have their own identities, and to me, Duffs sound is typical GK. I love my MB500 - it`s half the size of a laptop, and fits in my gigbox with my leads/pedals. I did have a Terror, very loud amp, and a nice old-school sound, but the eq wasn`t the most versatile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RandomBass Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I'm like peety, just got a MiBass 550 and am very impressed with it. I think my ABM possibly has more 'clout' (technical term, no idea what it means or describes) sound wise - but it's marginal. And tonally they are very alike. The only downsides are lack of mute, and valve and compressor can be done with my pedal. The upsides more than outweigh (pun intended) though! Cheers Geoff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phatbass787 Posted February 9, 2012 Share Posted February 9, 2012 I just got a MiBass and am also very impressed with it, just to throw another option out there though have you seen this? Tempted to chop in my Klystron head for one... http://www.ashdownmusic.com/bass/detail.asp?section=abm&ID=265 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 9, 2012 Author Share Posted February 9, 2012 All interesting replies, thanks. That new ABM isn't really sufficiently lighter to make it worthwhile for me (and may be overkill powerwise), but cool nonetheless. The MiBass and GK look decent options. Obviously I'm familiar with Duff's sound (Flea's too); not [i]quite[/i] what I'm after (though not a million miles away; nicely aggressive) but then he uses a very different bass and plays quite differently too. I would laugh if they turned out to be the best option as it's about the only well-known manufacturer I've never used in all my years of playing. I'll start looking around; oh and cheers for the offer Peety, I may take you up on that if I get no joy elsewhere! There's actually no great rush as due to nerve problems in my arm I still can't play for more than a few minutes a day, but it's always nice to be prepared for when (hopefully) I'm playing properly again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ejb Posted February 11, 2012 Share Posted February 11, 2012 [size=5][sub] Don't know about the GK but tried the Terror for 2 gigs before going back to my ABM..Terror very loud but lacked in tone, not a lot of variation. I am still looking had a dabble at a Genz Benz streamer I think this might be the one.[/sub][/size] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4000 Posted February 11, 2012 Author Share Posted February 11, 2012 The only Genz Benz I've ever tried was with a W&T through some Bergs at Bass Day and I hated the sound; it had no body whatsoever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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