lxxwj Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Anyone know of any cheap tube amps for a just-beginning-to-gig bassist? the band's played quite a few festivals and such already, i'm looking for something i can afford, maybe around the 150-250W range i think. preferrably under 500$, with a lot of mids and overdrive on tap. any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxxwj Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 No suggestions? *shameless bump* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 (edited) A 200w valve head for under £315 sounds like a fairly tall order to me. The cheapest I can think of that's still available new and fits the power criteria is a Traynor YBA200, but even that costs twice what you want to spend and I have no idea what kind of tone it's capable of. Get trawling that second-hand market! Good hunting Oh, and as an afterthought, maybe something like a Peavey TB Raxx preamp driving a Peavey Classic 120 power amp in a 4U sleeve? I put the 60W version of that together for about £250 ($400ish?) from eBay, so I reckon the 120W shouldn't be more than another £50. Edit to add a photo without which, I'm told, nothing exists! [attachment=103031:TBRaxxClassic60.jpg] Edited March 20, 2012 by Ed_S Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxxwj Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 Maybe 150W was a bit hopeful. I do like the idea of a tube preamp/power amp combo. What do you suggest for preamps? I was looking at the DHA VT3 EQ: http://www.davehallamps.co.uk/page48.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clarkpegasus4001 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 As you are in the USA how about this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bugera-BVP5500-550W-Valve-Bass-Amplifier-Head-/160764176292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item256e4aa7a4 Or maybe this? http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARVIN-BX500-500W-LIGHTWEIGHT-BASS-AMP-AMPLIFIER-HEAD-W-12AX7-PREAMP-TUBE-/180845101183?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1b35407f or..... http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-KUSTOM-DEEP-END-300HD-300W-HYBRID-TUBE-BASS-HEAD-/360442716918?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53ec0f62f6 You can get overdrive by using a pedal if you need to? You may find a full valve amp difficult to come by at $500. Good luck with your search! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Cheap Tube Amp pick any two Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Smaller amp, bigger cab is the way to go for cheap tube power, big cabs are cheap cause unpopular, peavey 2x15 or two, an a sub 200w valve amp. Still be hard in that budget. Big cabs an the Bugera 1960 Marshall clone if you want the Lemmy sound might do you, but fairly specifically for that sound. Ashton BV300 is big power low budget, but isn't middly as it has a Fender type tone stack. Best way to achieve goo sound on a budget is Sansamp VT bass an power amp, and no valves at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed_S Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 As tube preamps go, my experience is relatively limited; the TB Raxx is as far as I've gone into 'vintage' and after that it's all been solid state stuff like Sansamp RBI / BBE Bmax / Rocktron Blue Thunder. I've never tried the DHA, though I'd certainly like to, along with a Fender TBP-1 and a Demeter VTBP-201 ...ok, daydream over. In truth, though, as nice as they might sound in a studio, I wouldn't expect them to be massively better for live work than what I already have, just for having tubes rather than emulating them. I take it that you've tried things like the Sansamp RBI / RPM before and found them to be in some way wanting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Have you thought of a hybrid amp? Tube preamp / Solid state power amp - much cheaper than all tube and you can drive the pre to get the overdriven tube sound. Its not quite all tube but some come close enough - heck of a lot more reliable on tour too! There's loads around and plenty secondhand. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxxwj Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 [quote name='clarkpegasus4001' timestamp='1332244221' post='1585345'] As you are in the USA how about this? [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bugera-BVP5500-550W-Valve-Bass-Amplifier-Head-/160764176292?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item256e4aa7a4"]http://www.ebay.com/...=item256e4aa7a4[/url] Or maybe this? [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/CARVIN-BX500-500W-LIGHTWEIGHT-BASS-AMP-AMPLIFIER-HEAD-W-12AX7-PREAMP-TUBE-/180845101183?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2a1b35407f"]http://www.ebay.com/...=item2a1b35407f[/url] or..... [url="http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-KUSTOM-DEEP-END-300HD-300W-HYBRID-TUBE-BASS-HEAD-/360442716918?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53ec0f62f6"]http://www.ebay.com/...=item53ec0f62f6[/url] You can get overdrive by using a pedal if you need to? You may find a full valve amp difficult to come by at $500. Good luck with your search! [/quote] Liking the look of that Bugera. Looks like I've found a use for the money I got from selling stuff.. [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1332264604' post='1585795'] Have you thought of a hybrid amp? Tube preamp / Solid state power amp - much cheaper than all tube and you can drive the pre to get the overdriven tube sound. Its not quite all tube but some come close enough - heck of a lot more reliable on tour too! There's loads around and plenty secondhand. [/quote] I was thinking about that. Another possibility would be seperate tube preamp/amp like stated above, although I can't seem to find many tube bass preamps. Mostly, I'm looking for a tube amp for a Phat Phuk B (booster) to drive, to give more overdrive than on a solid state. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 Tube preamps tend to be quite expensive on their own as they are specialist, but you should be able to get a tube drive pedal. Like a DHA or over your side of the pond I'm not sure if Devi Ever does a tube drive for bass. Generally the bass ones have a mix/blend control so you can keep the low end in there as overdrive tends to soak your low frequencies into oblivion. I stuck a Mullard valve in my Hartke amp with great results and then wound the valve pre all the way up for a dirty fat sound. I bet you can get a HA3500 or similar prett well within your budget. There are probably better amps you can get S/H for $500 though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxxwj Posted March 20, 2012 Author Share Posted March 20, 2012 The Hartke looks good. What do you suggest in terms of tubes for mids? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 By tubes for mids do you mean a tube that has a lot of mids in the tone? Or tubes that break up in the mids? I think someone on here has done a comparison of various tubes - obviously the effect of the individual tube will differ with each preamp design though. [url="http://thetubestore.com/12ax7review.html"]Here's[/url] a comparison i found on the net, a lot of these are more for guitar though but the description of the tonal characteristics may help you decide on a couple to experiment with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lxxwj Posted March 21, 2012 Author Share Posted March 21, 2012 [quote name='brensabre79' timestamp='1332327869' post='1586597'] By tubes for mids do you mean a tube that has a lot of mids in the tone? Or tubes that break up in the mids? I think someone on here has done a comparison of various tubes - obviously the effect of the individual tube will differ with each preamp design though. [url="http://thetubestore.com/12ax7review.html"]Here's[/url] a comparison i found on the net, a lot of these are more for guitar though but the description of the tonal characteristics may help you decide on a couple to experiment with... [/quote] The former. I like lots of mids. I like the look of this: http://thetubestore.com/goldlionecc83.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Foxen Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 The circuit is far more important than the tube. Loads of three band eq are fender tonestacks that are fundamentally mid scooped, fin something with a two band Baxandall eq and you actually have more tone options, like a mid boost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brensabre79 Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Not tried the gold lion ones, if you're thinking of getting a Hartke and swapping the preamp valve, the Mullard NOS/copies are quite smooth in response and really warm when they break up (no fizz), [url="http://thetubestore.com/12ax7wa.html"]Phillips[/url] quite rich sounding. But if you want lots of mid I'd go for a [url="http://thetubestore.com/tesla12ax7.html"]JJ-Tesla[/url] (which I've stuck into my DHA pedal) - maybe try the genelex and the JJ and see which you prefer... Mr Foxen probably knows far more than me about the technicalities of valves etc. and might have a better suggestion than getting an amp with a single 12ax7 valve preamp and solid state eq and power sections. My Hartke setup served me well in getting a pretty driven valvey sound - without hauling around an all valve amp and paying megabucks for an SVT or Mesa! These days I use a Genz Benz amp, its very clean sounding hence the dirty valve pedal in front Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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