Bass head with valve pre, what's good nowadays?

[agedhorse]

5 hours ago, andy67 said:

I'm sure the Bugera BV1001T is a copy of the Streamliner, @agedhorse will definitely know

Cosmetic copy, features copy, intended to look like a Streamliner but an entirely different circuit.

[andy67]

37 minutes ago, agedhorse said:

Cosmetic copy, features copy, intended to look like a Streamliner but an entirely different circuit.

Chinese pap? lol 😂 

[Dan Dare]

On 25/01/2023 at 19:31, andy67 said:

Chinese pap? lol 😂 

 

It's actually a pretty decent budget head. The claimed output is a bit of a fairy story, but it works well, especially for the money. Used to have one as a backup amp and it did the job very competently.

[andy67]

6 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

 

It's actually a pretty decent budget head. The claimed output is a bit of a fairy story, but it works well, especially for the money. Used to have one as a backup amp and it did the job very competently.

I totally adore my BV1001T and it is all you say and more  The 'Chinese pap' thing is an olde joke from a previous thread between AgedHorse and I regarding Hartke.

[King Tut]

8 hours ago, Dan Dare said:

It's actually a pretty decent budget head. The claimed output is a bit of a fairy story, but it works well, especially for the money. Used to have one as a backup amp and it did the job very competently.

I use one as main head with Stray and The Verity Bromham band. I’ve had the valve version for ages and just picked up the mosfet version, which was being knocked out at a stupid low price. I prefer the mosfet version and I couldn’t really imagine me ever needing more volume. Great little heads.

[Dan Dare]

50 minutes ago, King Tut said:

I use one as main head with Stray and The Verity Bromham band. I’ve had the valve version for ages and just picked up the mosfet version, which was being knocked out at a stupid low price. I prefer the mosfet version and I couldn’t really imagine me ever needing more volume. Great little heads.

 

Mine was the mosfet version, too and I picked it up at a silly price in a sale. I only sold it - for almost what I paid for it - because having three heads seemed a bit excessive.

[Quilly]

I really like the looks of the Fender 800 head .

[Mudpup]

There's a Mesa MPulse 600 in the classifieds on here for a steal of a price. I would bite his arm off.....(It's not mine BTW)

[foya]

my Sisma JAD & FREER head become my main head since i tried for the first time.

 

during the last 20 years I think I've tried all the best that the market offers .. from transistors, to valves, to hybrids, to Class D. nothing is absolutely comparable to the Sisma!!

 

my last setup was Aguilar Db750 coupled with Bergantino NV610...  

what used to be a benchmark rig for me, has been absolutely blown away, in every way

 

 

not for nothing, "sisma" in Italian means earthquake

 

ok, I understand the comments of those who said that it is a very expensive product..

it's not cheap, but the price is more or less in line with the top of the range of several brands, such as trickfish, bergantino, mesa boogie, etc ..but if I'm not mistaken, these other brands are not "handcrafted" and are more classifiable as large-scale products, with different components perhaps pre-assembled...   

 

the sisma is the result of a project that took about 5 years... about sixty prototypes... and about 2 years of work by the research and development team on the final prototype, tested on stages and in very different contexts by professional musicians.

the sisma is a product made without compromises, by the maniacal genius of Mauro Freddi who is the owner and designer of Jad & Freer, a small Italian artisan reality, which at the moment is reaping the first results of an exhausting design work, even with the Chief preamo , which has now become a permanent part of the pedalboards of sound "guru" bass players like Tim Lefebvre, Ian Martin Allison, Chris Chaney, Sean Hurley, Kevin Scott and many more.

 

For me, as italian bass player, is really amazing to see these sacred monsters use products that are the result of the hard work of a craftsman who comes out of nowhere and has to fight against the overwhelming power of overseas brands that have now monopolized the market (Korg, Fender, Gibson, etc)

 

and I'm not surprised by this success, because they really are products that deserve to be tried.

 

 

if you need any other more technical details about the earthquake, don't hesitate to ask... I've become a very good friend and supporter of the brand and by now I'm so passionate about this product that I'm trying to make it known.

 

this under is the new amp who will use by Tim Lefebvre on some tour 

 

 

Edited May 16, 2023 by foya

[Ander87]

@foya thank you for this. I am very intrigued about the Sisma indeed, I got the capo and I couldn’t be happier. 
 

it’s time to downsize for me so I will have a chance to own a Handbox R400, transformers and 3 tubes in the preamp, that sure should be exciting coming from my Mesa WD800. 
 

I will say the Mesa has been the best class D I’ve tried, I would’ve loved to compare it against Sisma. 
 

maybe some day.  

[foya]

9 minutes ago, Ander87 said:

@foya thank you for this. I am very intrigued about the Sisma indeed, I got the capo and I couldn’t be happier. 
 

it’s time to downsize for me so I will have a chance to own a Handbox R400, transformers and 3 tubes in the preamp, that sure should be exciting coming from my Mesa WD800. 
 

I will say the Mesa has been the best class D I’ve tried, I would’ve loved to compare it against Sisma. 
 

maybe some day.  

 

I realize that the problem with a reality like J&F is that unfortunately there are no shops or other places where you can try its products well, you have to buy them because in terms of distribution they will never be at the level of a multinational...

 

so far I have only been able to recommend their products, and whoever bought them has thanked me so far

[Ander87]

I can see you wouldn’t be wrong as my experience with the Capo has been superb - it’s now the core of my sound. 
 

I was gonna say, what’s the character of the amp like? Is it in any way based on the capo preamp or it’s own thing?

 

Do you have the matching cab?

I’ll do some research. 
 

Ander. 

[foya]

1 hour ago, Ander87 said:

I can see you wouldn’t be wrong as my experience with the Capo has been superb - it’s now the core of my sound. 
 

I was gonna say, what’s the character of the amp like? Is it in any way based on the capo preamp or it’s own thing?

 

Do you have the matching cab?

I’ll do some research. 
 

Ander. 

 

 

the character of the preamp is based on the glorious B15 AMPEG.

it's not a totally identical sound.. on the contrary.. through the equalizer you can go and shape the sound in a truly surgical way the eq is similiar to a semi parametric API channel strip.. and it cover almost over all frequencies of the instrument spectrum

 

the bass sound always remains very transparent and focused.. the level of gain also determines the coloration that the tube brings to the sound.

 

if before the Cali76 compact bass compressor was always on for me due to its "color" .. just to give you an idea now I no longer felt it necessary to use it .. and I sold it

 

 

and what I think is the most amazing thing about this little marvel is the power amp.. nothing comparable to anything else on the market.. an out of the ordinary speed, I would like to say that you are immediately blown away by the feeling under your fingers for such speed.

 

the power is endless.. the transients never send the amplifier into pain.. and you realizes that for many other amplifiers, the power amp becomes a bottleneck.. and like many other amps digital then all end up sounding the same.

 

i tried and bought their cabs too.. i have a pair of 1x12s and they are amazing..

i choosed the heavy speakers.. but they use very light birtch and they are definitely not too heavy to carry

 

The speakers are great too.. i sold my epifani and  the trusty bergantinos.. i added more presence in the mix, and  i didn't think i could improve my tone any further!

 

I know it seems very strange.. the first time I heard about these products too I was skeptical and it seemed strange to me that there could be something that could be so innovative and valid in the market... but.. luckily I touched with my hands, and my ears!! I hope you too can try these incredible products

 

 

 

[msb]

Thank you foya, for this insight. 

[Ander87]

1 hour ago, foya said:

I hope you too can try these incredible products

thanks a lot mate, this is great info. 
 

I now wonder about the Coda, did you have a chance to try that one out or enquire with the good guys at JF? 
 

not sure if this is deemed as off topic by now but I’m just curious - promise I’m not testing your knowledge mate haha!

 

thanks 

 

Ander. 

[MrDinsdale]

I'd love to try the Sisma, if it's as good as the Capo then it's gonna be one hell of an amp.

 

As it stands I'm very happy with my Capo and Handbox valve head, if i was going to get a solid state (and could afford it) it'd be that though I think. @foya have you tried the Capo?

 

Someone wrote a pretty in-depth review on talkbass which was very favourable.

[MrDinsdale]

Sorry for derailing into Jad Freer fanboyism. 

[Ander87]

4 minutes ago, MrDinsdale said:

Capo and Handbox

Fanboy you say? I’m waiting patiently for this Friday to be impressed - it’s even in my signature already lol

[foya]

13 hours ago, Ander87 said:

thanks a lot mate, this is great info. 
 

Ora mi chiedo della Coda, hai avuto la possibilità di provarla o informarti con i bravi ragazzi di JF?
 

non sono sicuro che questo sia considerato fuori tema ormai, ma sono solo curioso - prometto che non sto testando la tua conoscenza compagno haha!

 

Grazie

 

Altro.

 

unfortunately I've never been interested in the Coda 😅

... but if you need I can find out, what did you want to know??

 

[foya]

10 hours ago, MrDinsdale said:

Mi piacerebbe provare il Sisma, se è buono come il Capo, allora sarà un amplificatore infernale.

 

Così com'è sono molto contento della mia testa valvola Capo e Handbox, se dovessi ottenere uno stato solido (e potessi permettermelo) sarebbe quello anche se penso. @foya hai provato il Capo?

 

Qualcuno ha scritto una recensione piuttosto approfondita su talkbass che è stata molto favorevole.

 

Yes. I have the Capo too.. fixed in my pedal board..

very useful, you can practically do anything with it. Both as a real preamp and as an effect to saturate and color the sound in a different way

very interesting demonstration videos will soon be released on the Jad&Freer youtube page

 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0h2qQsNhBo

 

[Ander87]

11 minutes ago, foya said:

what did you want to know??

I guess the differences between both in terms of character… what was the coda modelled after or what can it compare to etc…

 

… I will ask the guys too if I’m in the market but really shouldn’t be this year as I’m right in the middle of downsizing and really don’t need more than the R400 + BF Two10 - I’m trading sight unseen but trying it out with the band right after. 
 

still Capo and Motorcycle going in front of the amp anyway. 
 

Ander. 

[foya]

9 minutes ago, Ander87 said:

I guess the differences between both in terms of character… what was the coda modelled after or what can it compare to etc…

 

… I will ask the guys too if I’m in the market but really shouldn’t be this year as I’m right in the middle of downsizing and really don’t need more than the R400 + BF Two10 - I’m trading sight unseen but trying it out with the band right after. 
 

still Capo and Motorcycle going in front of the amp anyway. 
 

Ander. 

 

 

i asked to Mauro, che "chief" of J&F

 

the CODA and SISMA have the both the same power amp section.

but CODA change  in the preamplifier, which is a straight, balanced or unbalanced hi fi preamplifier input,

the gain control can also slightly saturate.

it's like a gallien krueger but without equalizer, but with transformer equipped  DI.

a simple, straight bass head, as if it were a simple power amp.

i hope to have explained in a good way... sorry for my english 😁

 

[Ander87]

Hey @foya thanks, that does make sense and is super useful!

[bigbottomend]

Handbox R400 <--