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The HandBox Amplification thread

wateroftyne

By wateroftyne,
in Amps and Cabs

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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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Posted (edited)

Just back from 6hr rehearsal with the WB-100 and my Mesa SW210 & 115 cabs.

What a tone with everything flat. Didn't seem too loud with gain at 1 o'clock and master at 12 until guitarist fired up his Freidman amp with his normal volume and i realised how loud i was. Brought the master back to 11 and it was nice in the mix.

Please note that this would be my normal gigging volume balanced against our drummers volume.

Using my Sandberg VM4 with bass boosted a bit on the VM4 i found i had to increase the mid to 1 o'clock for a little bit more definition. When i wanted a more Ric tone i just hit the Bright button and there it was. I was able to go from my normal warmer P type tone to a nice clanky Ric style tone at the press of a button. On some Glam songs i had to tweak the VM4's treble back a touch.

When i was digging in i could hear the overdrive kicking in just enough to keep me happy.

The amp has a natural compression and i was able to keep a nice even volume thru each song using fingerstyle with some fingernail click on the more raunchy songs. 

When i was experimenting a bit i hit the drive button and it was pretty full on overdriven tone but that's not really for me. At higher volumes the overdriven tone is more prominent than at home volumes. Something to be wary off when you start gigging @Clarky

All in all the amp has a great clarity with lots of valve depth of tone just what i was hoping for. Very very pleased with the amp today. This is the tone i had in my head. 

Its been a bit of a journey to get the amp i've been dreaming off (18mths) thru the wait for a Mesa TT800 and then the revised WB-100. 

Leszek has been exceptionally helpful and understanding throughout and i really can't fault the guy on how he does business and makes amazing amps. 

Job done i reckon.

Whether i would ever buy from outside the UK is another story but that's just been my personal story. Others had no issues with postal service.

Dave 

Edited by dmccombe7
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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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2 minutes ago, Jaybeevee said:

At last Dave, great news 👍💪🏻

Cheers Jay, hopefully not long for you now with the R-400.

Have to say that's a nice bass collection you have there. Peavey and a Gibson (Ripper or Grabber ???) What's the one at the front with the angled pick up. ?

Dave

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Jaybeevee Proficient

Jaybeevee

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8 hours ago, dmccombe7 said:

Cheers Jay, hopefully not long for you now with the R-400.

Have to say that's a nice bass collection you have there. Peavey and a Gibson (Ripper or Grabber ???) What's the one at the front with the angled pick up. ?

Dave

Ah.. my secret weapion. It’s a Peavey T20 with the Peavy super ferrite pick up. The bass isn’t the best in the world, but the pickup is 💪🏻

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  • 3 weeks later...
wateroftyne Grand Master

wateroftyne

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OK, so some observations & comments:

  • Leszek certainly knows how to pack an amp. I can only think Dave dmccombe7's first parcel must have fallen of a cliff during transit 😞
  • Feel the quality... it's beautiful & solid. The fit & finish is outstanding. Nothing feels cheap.
  • It's gorgeous. Just look at it.
  • Only one handle compared to previous iterations... I don't mind this at all, 'cos it's a one-hand lift and it means you can set it down on its end if you need to (for short periods under supervision!)
  • Mid knobs! 240kHz & 600kHz - I've always ran these preamps flat, and never felt the need to tweak. But I guess they're there if you need them... both EQ points feel sensibly chosen.

I haven't had a chance to break it into a sweat yet... I have a gig this weekend (if it's not cancelled) so I'll give it a run out then. Can't wait...

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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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Nice one @WoT you can't be disappointed with the WB-100 even after the issues i had with the 1st one its been well worthwhile for me. 

I love this amp, the looks and the tones i get are gorgeous and its not heavy. What more do you need.

One thing i have found using active and passive basses is that with the actives i run it virtually flat but with passives i need to drop the treble to around 9-10 o'clock to take the top edge of the tone.

I run the gain at crunch point marked on the amp and master at 10-11 o'clock and that gives me some overdrive but just nice. At the flick of the Bright button i go from a nice P sound to almost a Ric clank. 

As you say everything about this amp screams quality and Leszek definitely knows how to pack an amp.

Have fun with it over the weekend at gigs and keep us updated.

I'll be using mine again Sat night at a punk gig with my Sandberg MarloweDK. They do work very well together.

Dave

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wateroftyne Grand Master

wateroftyne

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Here's a clip from my debut run out with the WB-100 last night.

 

It's not a great example for a few reasons:

  • The camera is pointing right at my cab so there's not much context
  • I'm using flats for this one which won't appeal to most
  • The stage volume was pretty low, and there's no noisy guitars to fight against, so the WB didn't get a chance to work up any sort of sweat
  • With the benefit of hindsight, I'd have driven the input gain a little harder to get more glow - as a result, it's pretty much clean... which isn't a bad thing!

What I hope does come across is the huge amount of detail. There's no tweeter in my cab, but it's all so clear.

 

What probably doesn't come across is the low end, which seems to even bigger and immediate than the Mk1.

 

The DI seems to be the same as the MK1, albeit slightly hotter.

 

I'll post a rounds-with-louder-band clip soon.

 

 

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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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Was just about o ask what you thought of the WB-100 from your weekend gig.

Even with the ancient flats it sounds great.

Def like that cab of yours too.

Will be keeping an eye out for one of them. Might be easier than my 2 Mesa cabs.

Look forward  to hearing it with rounds on.

Dave

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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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Used my WB-100 on Sat night with punk covers band.

Vocal PA only and volume balanced against the drums i'm finding Gain at crunch point which is approx 1-2 o'clock and master at 11 o'clock. EQ mostly flat with treble brought back too 11 o'clock-ish. 

I have found that master volume doesn't seem to do a lot once you get above 12-1 o'clock-ish altho our drummer said he could hear quite an increase when i tried it at a rehearsal just after i received it.

The tone is really really nice tho with a nice warm depth and clarity of notes. There's no muddiness that i've experienced with some other all valve amps.

Will see how it gets on this weekend at a larger club venue with Glam covers band again just a vocal PA but a decent sized club venue.

I'm using it thru Mesa SW210/115 rig and a MarloweDK with punk band and VM4 with Glam band.

Dave

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wateroftyne Grand Master

wateroftyne

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After an unexpectedly quiet couple of weeks, I got to use the WB-100 last night for a semi-regular dep.

 

It's unreal... I genuinely struggle to explain it, but the detail and the - yes, I'm going to say it - heft is remarkable. It's just effortlessly dynamic.

 

Here's a clip from a camera capturing the stage sound. The amp was barely ticking over. So much headroom.

 

 

 

Edited by wateroftyne
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dmccombe7 Grand Master

dmccombe7

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Amazing amps, i'm doing a club tonight (approx 200 people) with just a vocal PA and will see how the WB-100 handles it volume wise. Backline only but i'm taking my Mpulse600 along just in case. We are looking at sorting PA out to get everything thru it. QSC 15's 3 way cabs on the med sized PA. If we need to use our QSC Bass bins we need to hire a van so its a bit of trial and error at moment.

This will be its big test for me. If it handles this size venue it can do anything. I love the simplicity of the WB-100.

Dave

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walshy Grand Master

walshy

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2 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

After an unexpectedly quiet couple of weeks, I got to use the WB-100 last night for a semi-regular dep.

 

It's unreal... I genuinely struggle to explain it, but the detail and the - yes, I'm going to say it - heft is remarkable. It's just effortlessly dynamic.

 

Here's a clip from a camera capturing the stage sound. The amp was barely ticking over. So much headroom.

 

 

 

Mate, not helping my Handbox GAS!

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