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Valve Amp - who’s still using them?


SamPlaysBass

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8 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

The CTM300 will take a few years off it!

Well i'm 45, use a CTM300 and an ABM610 both flight cased and I do about 50 festival gigs a year alongside pub stuff. I don't mind the weight as the sound I get is far, far better than any lightweight class D set up I have tried and I reckon I have tried them all. Honestly don't get the complaining about weight of stuff. Its not like you arrive at the gig and no one will help you ship gear in! I have never thought Oh I won't buy that because its heavier than 5 kg. Unless you live in a top floor flat, who cares 🙄

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4 minutes ago, walshy said:

Honestly don't get the complaining about weight of stuff. Its not like you arrive at the gig and no one will help you ship gear in!

Umm.. isn't it?

I haven't used my CTM100 for the last 20 gigs or so, just didn't have the space to take it in or the effort to fight through a pub crowd with it.

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Just now, Woodinblack said:

Umm.. isn't it?

I haven't used my CTM100 for the last 20 gigs or so, just didn't have the space to take it in or the effort to fight through a pub crowd with it.

We always load in together, even the front man humps gear. If they don't help they're a bit shitty

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Hello Walshy.

How old are you, and are you in good health?

"Honestly don't get the complaining about weight of stuff. Its not like you arrive at the gig and no one will help you ship gear in! I have never thought Oh I won't buy that because its heavier than 5 kg. Unless you live in a top floor flat, who cares 🙄 "

 

image.png.9d8424a8447c9d4cde5ee1637d1fae3f.png

Edited by grandad
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4 minutes ago, grandad said:

Hello Walshy.

How old are you, and are you in good health?

"Honestly don't get the complaining about weight of stuff. Its not like you arrive at the gig and no one will help you ship gear in! I have never thought Oh I won't buy that because its heavier than 5 kg. Unless you live in a top floor flat, who cares 🙄 "

 

image.png.9d8424a8447c9d4cde5ee1637d1fae3f.png

Ha ha, yeah I am 45 and pretty strong 😉

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6 minutes ago, walshy said:

Ha ha, yeah I am 45 and pretty strong 😉

I was until 46 when my knee collapsed. Now I can't be bothered struggling with stuff.

for 95% of my gigs in pubs, absolutely noone in the audience is going to be able to tell the difference between my valve amp and my tc450, which goes over my neck in a bag and I can carry it at the same time as the speakers. If I have the space on stage and the easy load in I will take the CTM. As long as I can be far enough away from it as my main gigging basses have nordy big singles in and multiple large transformers don't mix well with them.

Edited by Woodinblack
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I use a matamp gt200 every week at rehearsal and every gig (when we did them)

I use a post power section DI from the head live. I've not owned anything that comes close (for me) in the band I'm in, either traditional hybrid or newer class d. 

Reliability has been fine and the tone is plug and play and is wonderful. 

That said, I drive everywhere and loads aren't too long. I've also gone modular on my cabs to increase load runs but reduce the weight. 

If the gt200 gets too heavy for me (I have arthritis) I'll probably switch to an ashdown ctm100 as I think the weight and handling on those is pretty good.

Weirdly my home practice amp is a little genz Benz.... Kinda the wrong way round to logic I guess 🤣

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On 07/09/2020 at 09:03, la bam said:

I think if you go one way - valve to class a/b to class d you dont notice as much. But when you go the other class d to a/b to valve you do.

I'll never forget years ago - late 80s early 90s - when everyone used to record on cassettes at home. I had A kind of magic by queen which I recorded from tape to tape. My brother had the cd which had some extras on so I tagged the extras on the end of the cassette recording.

Listening back to the cassette it's fantastic. Great sound. Good depth. Great quality. Then the original recording ends and the songs I'd recorded from cd come on and wow! Absolutely different quality, depth, space, everything. Making the cassette recordings I'd had on earlier sound weak and poor. Yet only 5 minutes before they were great!

I think it's just what your ears attune to.

I used a/b for years, then went to class d for years. Then valve briefly, then back to class d. Now back to a/b and valve. Theres a place for them all.

99% of amps are perfectly acceptable. Sound good and do the job. But in a side by side comparison are quite a way apart in my opinion.

Also, some styles of music suit certain amp types better too.

It's interesting, I think of CD as being very high on detail, hi-fi and clean (digital in the technical and subjective sense), whilst tape is lower on detail but has warmth and, perhaps, a slightly more 'acoustic' feel (analog in technical and subjective sense). For me all tube amps are the best of both worlds, the detail of the former, the warmth of the latter :)

Please note that it was not easy to write the above without using the word 'heft'

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I reached my limits last year, I did my back in twice carrying my ABM410 up the stairs (nowhere to store it downstairs as front door is ground floor, rest of property first floor). Up until then I was fine with it, yes it was heavy but whilst I was able to manage it all I did. Sadly I now can’t, boo-hiss.

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I decided to put together a few set-ups to cater for both large, small and personal gigs. 

therefore:

Large: Ampeg SVT-3pro or Bugera Veyron BV1001t head and Hartke AK410 cab. Still all reasonable weight and easily moved.

Small: Ampeg PF50T, Bugera veyron or TC Electronic BH250 and Hartke HD112 and or TC Electronic BC208, all really easily moved.

Personal: TC Electronic BH250 & BC208, so cool and easy :D  Bass and amp in gig bag and carry cab - feels like air lol

*However, I have absolutely no use for any of it right now! Maybe next year or the year after ...

Edited by andy67
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I’ve 2 pure tube Ashdown Heads the CTM100 and little bastard and a hybrid Ashdown Spyder. I just really like the sound of valves clean or driven but I can see how they might not be the most practical head in the world. To me the perfect combination is a valve preamp with an MOSFET A/B power section (not class D) so you get some of that valve tone and with heaps of power without breaking your back or bank . I reckon the ABM 600 is probably the ideal working mans amp.

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On 27/08/2020 at 16:06, stewblack said:

Yep. Same here. Nothing else comes remotely close. It's not a sound, it's an experience. 

Yes, the smells and sounds of a valve amp...it’s hard to describe. People say “but you have to change the valves etc” I say yes, and ? I like the maintenance and long term aspect of them . 

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1 hour ago, Quilly said:

Did you gig with this recently ? As you know I’ve pretty much the same set up now. sounds loud to me?

Rehearsing with it tomorrow night - never actually managed to gig this exact rig before but have gigged this head with a Super Compact and that was ace :)

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11 hours ago, Quilly said:

Did you gig with this recently ? As you know I’ve pretty much the same set up now. sounds loud to me?

A few weeks ago I had an audition and took my CTM30 and ABM Mini48 and Mini15 cabs and it managed to comfortably keep up with an enthusiastic drummer without getting too dirty - albeit in a smallish rehearsal room. I imagine those Barefaced cabs would be louder. 

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