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Sorry, but there really is no substitute for big iron


JPJ
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So here's the thing, I've been an SWR fanboi for as long as I can remember and my love affair with all things SWR peaked when I bought my SM1500. But, as perfect as she is, she is a little on the heavy side, so for the last year or so, I've been gigging an Aguilar AG500 (which my back loves).
But this weekend, the Aguilar is in the shop having a new power light LED fitted, so I've had to man up and use the SWR for my two gigs and a rehearsal.
Now as many of you know, the Aguilar AG is not short in the 'heft' department, but holy cow batman, the SWR is just so much 'more' of everything. I'd forgotten just how good this amp is, needless to say I'm one very happy bassist, and any thoughts of selling the SWR have been completely dismissed.
Yes, the weight is an issue, but I could do with getting in shape, and I'm sure I have a 'bullworker' lying idle in the loft 😎

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[color=#323232][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=6]'Sorry, but there really is no substitute for big iron'[/size][/font][/color]

You'd really love my setup at the moment then. No amp on stage at all. Sansamp to desk and good in-ears. A revelation.

I understand that not everyone has their bands on full PA though, and regarding backline, I think it's a case of horses for courses. For me, the perceived lack of heft from a class-d amp is more than compensated for by the ease of transportation.

YMMV!

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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1477303215' post='3161166']
I don't like to compromise tone or light weight (IMO) - that's why I've got what I've got.
[/quote]
You sounded bloody good (and pretty hefty) through my (very lightweight) rig at the Central bonny lad! ;-)

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[quote name='Kevin Dean' timestamp='1477282960' post='3161057']
Perhaps try a Ahsdown ABM 1000 digital head ,it made my Mark Bass & Tc head sound very thin IMHO .
[/quote]

Still a class D though, which is the essential thrust of this thread... And given Ashdowns reluctance to release specs with any useful detail it's hard to make any real comparisons.. Or it's reviewed by someone with access to instrumentation like the guys as BassGear mag online..

Fancy popping the lid off you ABM1000 and taking some photos?

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As a moderator you are entitled to your opinion like anyone else but should not make unsubstantiated claims. ICEPower amps are designed for many purposes and the ICE part refers to the cool running not In Car Entertainment.

There are many great Class D power sections out there from Companies such as Hypex, Pascal, Powersoft, Abletec and yes ICEPower.

Of course it won't make it any better but you could put an output transformer on one of those to get the weight and Heft if you want.

The SWR, Ampeg, Mesa heavy amps sound great because there are well designed not because they have a big old transformer at both ends.

The TH500, in my opinion, is not well designed and it uses an underpowered module and poor heat management. If there is such a thing as heft, Aquiler have designed it out of the Tonehammer amps.

Yes I am tetchy, I have the flu!

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[quote name='Chienmortbb' timestamp='1477306523' post='3161190']
As a moderator you are entitled to your opinion like anyone else but should not make unsubstantiated claims. ICEPower amps are designed for many purposes and the ICE part refers to the cool running not In Car Entertainment.

There are many great Class D power sections out there from Companies such as Hypex, Pascal, Powersoft, Abletec and yes ICEPower.

Of course it won't make it any better but you could put an output transformer on one of those to get the weight and Heft if you want.

The SWR, Ampeg, Mesa heavy amps sound great because there are well designed not because they have a big old transformer at both ends.

The TH500, in my opinion, is not well designed and it uses an underpowered module and poor heat management. If there is such a thing as heft, Aquiler have designed it out of the Tonehammer amps.

Yes I am tetchy, I have the flu!
[/quote]

Settle down - 'car radio amps' is my tongue-in-cheek name for the micro crowd that use the ICE module.

That the same modules are also used by charvas in their cars is just coincidence :-)

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[quote name='markstuk' timestamp='1477305715' post='3161185']


Still a class D though, which is the essential thrust of this thread... And given Ashdowns reluctance to release specs with any useful detail it's hard to make any real comparisons.. Or it's reviewed by someone with access to instrumentation like the guys as BassGear mag online..

Fancy popping the lid off you ABM1000 and taking some photos?
[/quote]

I'm pretty sure the ABM1000 has the standard toroidal transformer and is just class d power amp. The big lumps of iron referred to here are actually the power supply, the transformer in particular, not the power amp. Most class d amps use SMPS power supplies as they are part and parcel of the module and it is often these which let down the bass amp performance.

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The ag500 is a good amp and does have a class d power section with traditional toroidal power supply and huge capacitors too. I had one and I did think it had heft etc but maybe its overall volume wasn't as good as other 500w heads of mainly class a/b but then again the ag500 is getting on a bit now. Also the sc version imo sounded horrible when the gain was pushed. Possible one of the nicest built amps overall I've seen though.

I still find that my 350w @ 4ohm bugera bvp5500 (svt 3pro clone) tube and class a/b head is as loud as the class d amps of around 500w ive tried. I don't like its 19kg weight though.

Soon class d amps will be truly on par with older tech I feel, they just need maybe another 1 or 2 generations more of r&d imo. Some people may feel they have already reached that point but to me and many others it seems not. And I'm deffinetly not a class d hater.

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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1477309019' post='3161223']
Ah... my entire contributon to this thread has been even more nonsense than usual. I thought we were taking about the TH500. Ha ha.
[/quote]

D'oh! It is Monday, we'll forgive you ;)

FWIW I have extolled the virtues of Ashdown's RM800 but will gladly admit that compared to an ABM the "old school" tech destroys it for that delightful "heft" ;) The RM as such is back being my backup head for bigger gigs now rather than go-to.

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