Cleanest sounding amp?

[Musicman20]

To be honest, I've never heard a Stingray not sound like a Stingray, no matter what amp!

[LemonCello]

The sound engineer at our first gig commented that my Markbass R500 and 151H cab had the cleanest signal he'd ever come across.

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='shizznit' timestamp='1345372893' post='1776707']
My EA iAmp 500 is the cleanest amp I have ever played through and really brings out the natural tone of your instrument with very little tweaking
[/quote]

Agreed, except mine was a 350

[Spoombung]

Most bass amps are clean and sound pretty similar. It's the cab that makes the difference.

[Spoombung]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1345313277' post='1776223']
Cab is going to be a fairly significant amount of colour, standard bass cabs have pretty limited bandwidth.
[/quote]

This.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='LemonCello' timestamp='1345382389' post='1776859']
The sound engineer at our first gig commented that my Markbass R500 and 151H cab had the cleanest signal he'd ever come across.
[/quote]
How did he get this signal, especially concerning the cab?

[stevie]

[quote name='Spoombung' timestamp='1345394531' post='1777037']
Most bass amps are clean and sound pretty similar. It's the cab that makes the difference.
[/quote]
It should be so but it isn't. Many bass amps don't even try for a flat response for a start.

[PlungerModerno]

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1345319323' post='1776316']
Orange Terror Bass.

I`ll get my coat.......................
[/quote]

Nope - it's got to be Mesa Boogie or Marshall head... Dimed.
Orange heads are close though... Love that crystal clear Hi-Fi tone

[Graham]

I suspect there's some confusion of terminology in this thread, where some people are thinking of clean as un-distorted and others (myself included) are thinking of it as un-coloured - not saying either are correct, but it might account for why people are saying Markbass are really clean, when - IME - they colour the sound remarkably.

[nottswarwick]

I meant clean as in un coloured.

Couple of options / thoughts have come up - either a super clean head, or get myself a decent power amp and experiment with Pre-Amps to taste.

[fretmeister]

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1345550844' post='1778667']
I suspect there's some confusion of terminology in this thread, where some people are thinking of clean as un-distorted and others (myself included) are thinking of it as un-coloured - not saying either are correct, but it might account for why people are saying Markbass are really clean, when - IME - they colour the sound remarkably.
[/quote]

I was thinking clean = no drive / clipping at all.

If I want Uncoloured - then the bass goes DI into the desk.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1345551461' post='1778685']
I meant clean as in un coloured.

Couple of options / thoughts have come up - either a super clean head, or get myself a decent power amp and experiment with Pre-Amps to taste.
[/quote]

Cab is definitely the bigger deal there. Power amps are mostly designed to be clean and uncoloured across a broad frequency, and preamps aiming for clean are not uncommon (but not generally aimed at bass). Broad range cab that is flat is the challenge.

[bobe01]

Markbass LM. tho I didn't like it. too clean for me.

Edited August 21, 2012 by bobe01

[fretmeister]

Some clean amps I like, some dirty amps I like.

[Conan]

[quote name='fretmeister' timestamp='1345551747' post='1778695']If I want Uncoloured - then the bass goes DI into the desk.
[/quote]

This. But amp-wise, as previously mentioned, the Hartke LHs give clarity (and volume) for very little cash.

[fretmeister]

[quote name='Conan' timestamp='1345555611' post='1778757']
This. But amp-wise, as previously mentioned, the Hartke LHs give clarity (and volume) for very little cash.
[/quote]

Agreed - I have one, and I really like it for that reason.

[51m0n]

Nope, you need to head into the scary world of hardcore mastering amp solutions for the cleanest of amps:-

[url="http://www.hexateq.com/studio700.html"]Hexateq Studio 700[/url] a 700w into 4Ohm monobloc amp.


Look very spiffy driving a rather ace selection of monitors they do:-


Nifty bit if engineering in that casework:-

Edited August 21, 2012 by 51m0n

[51m0n]

The Hartke LH500 is a very nice amp for the really rather small outlay, but Plux's is a tad on the harsh side (too brite) and they can be a tad noisey. It may be that swapping the tube out would calm that down a bit - anyone here tried swapping out an LH500 tube to mellow it out a little?

[barkin]

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1345588593' post='1779322'] The Hartke LH500 is a very nice amp for the really rather small outlay, but Plux's is a tad on the harsh side (too brite) and they can be a tad noisey. It may be that swapping the tube out would calm that down a bit - anyone here tried swapping out an LH500 tube to mellow it out a little? [/quote]

I agree with the "nice amp...small outlay" (Thomann are knocking 'em out for 299 Euro's at the mo', which seems a crazy good deal to me)

Mine's also a tad noisy but I only notice it when I'm noodling at home, and only then at volumes that'd take the cats fur off ! (It's b*&&$% loud too...)
I never notice it in a live band situation, and I can't say I find it harsh/brite either - horses for courses, eh ?

I am, though, thinking of swapping the stock (Sovtek) valve for something else, but more out of interest than a need to change its sound - just curious as to what tonal changes could (possibly) be had. Trouble is, I'm not at all sure what to swap it for.

Should I just try a different 12AX7 (if so, any recommendations?) or can I drop in something else - an ECC83? ECC803?
And what about 12AU7/12AT7's - would they work, or would I risk damaging the amp?

As you can probably tell, I know next to nothing about these valve things...and this should probably be a new thread.

[thumperbob 2002]

I have an LM2 and also a Hartke lh1000. I think both amps can be pretty clean (uncoloured ) but using the EQ etc can also be particularly coloured too.

Its ok talking about these points in a studio environment ( Hartke too noisy for that )- but for Live use, once you add a cab and god forbid people in a strange sized room ( Venue ) - forget about uncoloured tone - sometimes its jsut a battle to get a good sound and to be heard above the band.

[4 Strings]

Haven't read all the posts but I'm wondering if the OP is running his GB amp into the same speakers as his desk system.

I have an STM900 too and while 'warm' may apply, 'wooly' doesn't (sounds like a winter garment!). I wondered if there was more colouration from the cab than the amp.

[51m0n]

[quote name='thumperbob 2002' timestamp='1348141257' post='1809848']
I have an LM2 and also a Hartke lh1000. I think both amps can be pretty clean (uncoloured ) but using the EQ etc can also be particularly coloured too.

Its ok talking about these points in a studio environment ( Hartke too noisy for that )- but for Live use, once you add a cab and god forbid people in a strange sized room ( Venue ) - forget about uncoloured tone - sometimes its jsut a battle to get a good sound and to be heard above the band.
[/quote]

The stranger (ie more complex) the room shape, and the more people filling it, the better chance you ahve of a half decent sound. Acoustics are very counter intuitive, all that meat in the space acts as a really good bass trap and a hell of a good broadband absorber, all the odd angles help to diffuse reflected sound, preventing nasty standing wave and large peaks and nulls.

Of course some venues still manage to make it all sound horrid, and never bother to look into fixing it, but the one truth is the more bodies the better the sound will be!

[Lfalex v1.1]

[quote name='nottswarwick' timestamp='1345551461' post='1778685']
I meant clean as in un coloured.

Couple of options / thoughts have come up - either a super clean head, or get myself a decent power amp and experiment with Pre-Amps to taste.
[/quote]

This.
Or, better still, have an A/B switch between preamps/power amp.. Then you can have a coloured/uncoloured/dirty set-up. Just insert a DI box before the power amp if a DI feed for the desk is needed...