Kenny Gair Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Hi all, OK...dilemma. I have a wee Ampeg B2re tranny head that, despite what you may think about them, has been fantastic. Great wee head, loud and, coupled with a 4 ohm 4x10, sounds great. However, I am going to try out a Markbass TTE 500 later this week. Does anyone have any experience of the TTE 500? Particularly if you have played with both, I'd really appreciate your findings/thoughts. Thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Not gigged with either, although I have tried out a few Mark Bass amps and have been impressed by all of them. If the Ampeg is giving you the sound you like and is reliable, may be save yourself the expense. If you just fancy an upgrade, then hope you enjoy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Gair Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Way too sensible advice! Maybe I just fancy an upgrade.... at £500 odd quid, it seems like reasonable option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gary mac Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Who needs sensible advice when GAS is calling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Handwired Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 TTE500 is a great amp with decent old school tones, I got rid of mine as I thought it lacked a bit of width at the bottom end. The Genz Benz Streamliner does the same job but much better, cheaper too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Gair Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Handwired, that's good info thanks. As I spend a lot of time playing blues/jazz style of music, the old school really appeals however, the lack of bottom end may pose a bit of a problem. Perhaps a different bass and style of play may change that....I'll see soon enough. I was a bit concerned about the DI only having post and not pre. All that said, that's the engineer's problem, not mine :-P Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 I've just got a TTE after a MB LMII and LMIII. Its bigger than my LM's but more old school in sound. Don't find it deficient in the bottom end but have only the LM's to compare to. Also running it through a RJ NYC151 cab as opposed to my old T102 cab ( both MB). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Gair Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 How do you find the 15? I have a 4x10 and am sick of having a sore back but I like the 4ohm ness of it. I see the 15 is 8 Ohms..... bit concerned about having to buy two cabs to get the full 500w. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted February 20, 2014 Share Posted February 20, 2014 Not used either of the amps mentioned in the original post, but have used a fair few Ampegs and Markbass amps/cabs along the way. I love Ampeg sound, but just can`t carry them anymore. Every time I heard a bassist whose sound I liked, it was either a Precision into Ampeg or a Precision into Markbass. So I went Markbass. They seem to sit in that same place in the mix as Ampeg, especially with a Precision. I don`t know about the TTE but I really have to watch the lows on my CMD121P & NY121, there are far more available than I need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kenny Gair Posted February 20, 2014 Author Share Posted February 20, 2014 Brill thanks Lozz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) I've had one for a few weeks now, replacing an Orange TB500, and I love it. It's taken a lot of playing around with the gain/compressor/colour settings to find 'my' tone, but it sounds so much 'fatter' than the TB Certainly sounds good through a BF Super 12T - and no shortage of bottom end It really did sound good with a Precision I had recently I got mine brand new from Thomann, with a 3 year warranty, for not much more than some used ones on here And as a bonus, the little orange LED's inside it add to the valve glow so it looks super-cool as well Edited February 21, 2014 by davehux Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Jack Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 If you don't get on with the Markbass Dilemma, try the Powersoft Digam: http://www.thomann.de/gb/powersoft_digam_m50_q.htm Sorted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 [quote name='Kenny Gair' timestamp='1392908492' post='2374054'] How do you find the 15? I have a 4x10 and am sick of having a sore back but I like the 4ohm ness of it. I see the 15 is 8 Ohms..... bit concerned about having to buy two cabs to get the full 500w. [/quote] More than adequate for smaller venues, we played a social club last Sat night with it just as backline and then on the Sunday played the West of England Showground DI'd through the PA- huge large hall full of cars. I think Walman was using this rig with 2 of these cabs at one stage, you could ask him if he really needed them for a decent sound? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 (edited) [quote name='davehux' timestamp='1392973100' post='2374719'] I've had one for a few weeks now, replacing an Orange TB500, and I love it. It's taken a lot of playing around with the gain/compressor/colour settings to find 'my' tone, but it sounds so much 'fatter' than the TB Certainly sounds good through a BF Super 12T - and no shortage of bottom end It really did sound good with a Precision I had recently Can't quite see all your settings, could you list them on here please? I tend to favour a smooth sound so do not have the gain above 9' o clock. I got mine brand new from Thomann, with a 3 year warranty, for not much more than some used ones on here And as a bonus, the little orange LED's inside it add to the valve glow so it looks super-cool as well [/quote] Could you list your settings please, can't quite see them all! I tend to go for a smooth sound so gain is at 9'oclock. Edited February 21, 2014 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davehux Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 My current settings (in clock format) are Gain 12.00 Compressor 9.00 Bass 2.00 Mid 12.00 Treble 1.00 Colour - off or up to 9.00 depending on what I'm playing. Any more than that and I find it too mushy It doesn't have the full-on dirty grind of the TB500 gain, but I like that. I want 'chunky' not 'dirty' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 [quote name='davehux' timestamp='1392979353' post='2374812'] My current settings (in clock format) are Gain 12.00 Compressor 9.00 Bass 2.00 Mid 12.00 Treble 1.00 Colour - off or up to 9.00 depending on what I'm playing. Any more than that and I find it too mushy It doesn't have the full-on dirty grind of the TB500 gain, but I like that. I want 'chunky' not 'dirty' [/quote] Ta, I'll give it a spin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 I had a TTE500 for a few weeks. Same here, couldn't get any bottom out of it for love nor money. Cabs I tried it with.....Barefaced BigOne, Techsoundsystems ND410s and a Trace 1048. I tried some fancy valves in it as well but to no avail. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Opticaleye Posted February 21, 2014 Share Posted February 21, 2014 The TTE has a fairly tight bottom end (which I quite like with my cabs) especially with the passive bass control below about 2 o'clock. I've used a Zoom B3 before to open it up a little more (very successfully) but it will depend on your cabs and bass too. All my cabs are Markbass and sound great with the TTE but I've tried it with an Ampeg 410HLF and it sounded fantastic too. A lot of people complain about the Streamliner being too flabby on the bottom end but I suppose it's personal taste and your cabs, style etc. I'm still loving mine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.