worst amp you have owned or had the luck to use

[Merton]

I have to say I actually liked the basic tone of the Commando. Ok they weren't a very powerful amp and the speaker in them let them down (plus lack of any wadding, but they were built to a price) but the actual preamp was voiced nicely and was simple to use

[chrisanthony1211]

Kustom 200watts of terribleness, shocking, no bass, no volume, just a crappy trebly farty noise, not nice!

[BassManGraham]

Carlsbro Stingray; sounded like a box of synthetic frogs! Bought as a budget back-up in a moment of madness. I regret selling many amps I've owned over the years including a Hiwatt Custom, a Fender Bassman 135, an Acoustic 220, even a Laney DP300, and a Dodgy GK700 but was so glad to see the back of that Carlsbro, one gig and out!

Edited April 13, 2016 by BassManGraham

[Qlank]

Carlsbro Stingrays seem to be getting a bit of stick here.
I had 2 at different times. Maybe not a great sounding amp but neither let me down at a gig. Ever.
If anybody has one they want to get rid of, I will gladly take it off their hands and give it a loving home.
I honestly think they look really cool as well.

[BassManGraham]

[quote name='Qlank' timestamp='1460668939' post='3027810']
Carlsbro Stingrays seem to be getting a bit of stick here.
I had 2 at different times. Maybe not a great sounding amp but neither let me down at a gig. Ever.
If anybody has one they want to get rid of, I will gladly take it off their hands and give it a loving home.
I honestly think they look really cool as well.
[/quote]

No longer have a Carlsbro Stingray, but can recommend a good therapist LOL!

[PaulWarning]

Carlsboro Stingray may or may not be a crap amp, great name though, perhaps it would be a great name for a bass, oh hang on

Edited April 14, 2016 by PaulWarning

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='PaulWarning' timestamp='1460674985' post='3027860']
Carlsboro Stingray may or may not be a crap amp, great name though, perhaps it would be a great name for a bass, oh hang on
[/quote]

I had a Carlsbro Viper for a while in the 90s... That was crap too.

[PaulWarning]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1460701009' post='3027899']
I had a Carlsbro Viper for a while in the 90s... That was crap too.
[/quote]I had a Carlsboro Bass Beasty for a few years, no complaints, till the pre amp went up in smoke, bloody heavy though

[Billy Apple]

My Carlsboro Stingray was great. Did innumerable gigs over many years and never once let me down. All I ever got was favourable comments. Once I ran out of lead and it jerked off stage. It landed completely square on its top and never missed a beat! When I put it up against higher priced stuff it couldn't compete, but it was loud, clear and never muddy.

[BigRedX]

I don't get all the Carlsbro Stingray hate either. The bassist from one of my favourite bands of the early 80s had one (the green and black version) which he used with an Aria SB1000. Great sound and you never had a problem hearing him despite the fact that his band also had 2 guitarists and a synth player. Compared with the pricier amplification that's come since it hasn't aged well, but in those pre-Trace Elliot days it was IMO unbeatable.

Edited April 15, 2016 by BigRedX

[Lw.]

My heart sinks a little every time I walk into a practice studio & see any of those Ashdown ABM/MAG amps - I just find it impossible to get a good tone out of them, every single one of them seems to have very slightly different designs but when I see that light blue face with the VU meter I just have to sigh. Strangely there's a Carlsbro Viper at one of the studios that actually sounds alright though isn't particularly loud.

[Rich]

[quote name='Lw.' timestamp='1460712159' post='3028018']
My heart sinks a little every time I walk into a practice studio & see any of those Ashdown ABM/MAG amps - I just find it impossible to get a good tone out of them.
[/quote]
^^ This, absolutely.

[kodiakblair]

In a bout of nostalgia last month I bought a Carlsbro Stingray head ( black & green ). Not the best amp but certainly not the worst.

At £45 it was a must have. Pretty certain my old Stingray combo is still living in some lassie's spare room,hoping to get that back sometime.

[40hz]

I used to own a Carlsbro B150 4x10 combo, it was my first 'proper' amp. It really wasn't that bad! Celestions, compressor and a graphic eq! It was bloody huge though and I remember having to clear out dozens and dozens of dead moths that had made their way in the port. A punchy amp, Certainly better than the 50w Torque combo i used at school!

[chriswareham]

Thought I'd already posted a "defence" of Carlsbro combos in this thread, but can't seem to find it. My first amp was a Cobra 90, and it was great - bought it from a friend who got an excellent tone from it with his active bass. Didn't sound quite as good with my passive bass, but with a 15" speaker and decent EQ it was perfect for pub gigs. A band I liked even did a gig at the Birmingham NEC with one - Taru from Sunshot - and she had a great bass sound.

[Twincam]

I think the carlsbro amps were just so bland that they got a bad rep. It had one and if it had a better cab it might not of been so bad. But in combo form it was boomy and no matter what I did with the eq I couldn't make it sound right.
In its defence while being a bit rubbish and not having the best tone it wasn't the worst thing I've heard.

I once opened it up was so simple inside but was fairly well put together and used nearly all British parts and the transistors were USA made. Does that make it a boutique amp or future classic!?

[KingBollock]

[quote name='Twincam' timestamp='1460743016' post='3028457']
I think the carlsbro amps were just so bland that they got a bad rep. It had one and if it had a better cab it might not of been so bad. But in combo form it was boomy and no matter what I did with the eq I couldn't make it sound right.
In its defence while being a bit rubbish and not having the best tone it wasn't the worst thing I've heard.

I once opened it up was so simple inside but was fairly well put together and used nearly all British parts and the transistors were USA made. Does that make it a boutique amp or future classic!?
[/quote]
I opened my Carlsboro Stingray up, too. To replace the dodgy bridge rectifier...

I ended up swapping it for my first ever PC (a 286 with a monochrome monitor).

[Cato]

My first 'proper' rig was an HA3500 through a Carlsbro 4x10.

Sounded a lot better than my mates Trace Elliott combo.

Edited April 15, 2016 by Cato

[lefrash]

This. Barf.

My bro got me it when I was 16 as my first gigging amp. Huge. And not that loud. Pure rubbish.

And looking at it... a rid neck!

Edited April 15, 2016 by lefrash

[taunton-hobbit]

Seems to be turning into a Carlsbro hate thread......
My first 'real' amp was a Grampian 50watt -
weighed a ton & sounded like sh*te............

[Billy Apple]

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1461350594' post='3034002']
Seems to be turning into a Carlsbro hate thread......
My first 'real' amp was a Grampian 50watt -
weighed a ton & sounded like sh*te............


[/quote]

Well, I hope there's room for Ashdown, because they're the worst I've played through in rehearsal rooms. Wooley and tone-less.

[Twincam]

Ive just had an Ashdown abm thought it was dark, not the most defined amp but not too woolly, it needed the treble putting up though. Great pre amp with its valve blend.

[Guest McBass]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1428257347' post='2739680']
Worst amps that I've ever owned were my old Trace Elliott AH250 head that sounded OK but was very unreliable - used to cut out quite a bit when gigging & I didn't used to drive it hard at all.

The other was my EBS Gorm combo, again due to reliability issues that, even though the combo was under warranty, both the UK distributor & EBS themselves refused to fix.
The whole episode left such a bad taste in my mouth that I would never use EBS gear ever again even if I was given it for nothing.
[/quote]
Can i ask what the issues were, i'm well on my way to a 3rd Unit failure?

[RhysP]

[quote name='McBass' timestamp='1475484053' post='3146168']

Can i ask what the issues were, i'm well on my way to a 3rd Unit failure?
[/quote]

The input section crapped out. Also there was a strange high pitched whine & loud bang when the amp was switched off.

[Guest McBass]

[quote name='RhysP' timestamp='1475485964' post='3146185']
The input section crapped out. Also there was a strange high pitched whine & loud bang when the amp was switched off.
[/quote]
They replaced the chassis a year ago on my Neogorm 210, it's started to play up again. I had a TD 650 that developed a high frequency oscillation which required a new power board...their reliability sucks.