ase_one23 Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 wasn't getting any feedback to this post, and to be fair in retrospect possibly not the right forum for it so here it is reproduced! any info would be much appreciated! so these 2 are both on ebay: [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=290333645571"]1[/url] [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=160347485173"]2[/url] i'm on the hunt for a decent new amp and played through an old valve bassman a coupla weeks ago and liked the sound. however, my band plays pretty loud distorted stuff and i'm wondering whether either of these will cope with a fuzz or overdrive being run thro them (ie will they just feedback like hell constantly?) and also what kinda volume am i likely to get out of them? i'd really need it to be pretty damn loud! i suspect that possibly they might not be right, but any thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 (edited) These amps aren't that loud compared to modern valve bass heads. Plus, they deliver a clean-ish, but warm sound. IMO, shoving a fuzz through it might give you more of a compressed 'mushy' tone. But I've never tried that approach, so can't confirm. Also, you're looking at 40-ish year old bits of kit, and reliability is always an issue. And re-valving can be very expensive. Personally, in your band situation, I'd think about a big, modern tranny amp with a valve-driven OD pedal. Maybe give you more headroom to sculpt your sound... One of the BC experts on massive stacks of valve doom is JoeGarcia - maybe drop him a PM and ask his opinion - I bet he's tried one of these sometime. Edited July 24, 2009 by skankdelvar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ase_one23 Posted July 24, 2009 Author Share Posted July 24, 2009 thanks, yeah that kinda goes along with what i've been thinking - getting a cheaper SS (i've about £500 to spare) and whacking an english muffn in front of it. or possibly getting a DHA badboy. oh yes.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegas_hooker Posted July 24, 2009 Share Posted July 24, 2009 I used to use (and still have) an older Fender Bassman 135 and it was plenty loud for most gigs through a 4x10. That said, the Sunn 300T I have picked up since is much, much louder. I guess though if you are playing in a really loud band then it might not compete with more recent guitar heads. As mentioned by skankdelvar, they are old and from a time when bass amps didnt have to compete with massive guitar rigs. I used to drive it with both a Sansamp to sharpen the tone a little and then push it with a fulltone Bassdrive. I dont ever remember it sounding mushy but more of a solid grunt with plenty of clarity, grit and chest rattling goodness. If you do decide to go for it and it doesnt do your role in the band any justice then it is probably easily sold on. Folk love there retro amps! Thought about something smaller? Peavey T-max maybe? Rare, but not priced as such, brutally loud and SS/tube hybrid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I reckon Vegashookers got it about right - good idea on using the Sansamp to sharpen - didn't think of that. Although I'm usually the last man to counsel against valve amps, the following thought did occur... How about an old Acoustic SS? Maybe even a 370? Solid State Doom. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ase_one23 Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 yeah, i have to say i am a peavey fan, i play a t40 and used to have a mkiv which was awesome!!! i never realised the t-max was a hybrid, that may well be worth a wee look out for. as for the acoustic, yeah i know that jesse keeler from death from above used one, in fact i think it may have been the 370, and his sound rules. are they not pretty hard to get hold of over here tho? i managed to play through a bassman 100 last night at full volume, not too bad but i did have problems getting it up to high volumes and not feeding back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 [quote name='ase_one23' post='550891' date='Jul 25 2009, 09:43 AM']as for the acoustic, yeah i know that jesse keeler from death from above used one, in fact i think it may have been the 370, and his sound rules. are they not pretty hard to get hold of over here tho?[/quote] Pretty rare, but not impossible. I've got a search set up on the bay, and some sort of acoustic shows up every couple of months. About half are from the states. Nearer home, Thornybank had a 220 floating around last year at a modest price. Maybe PM him if you're interested? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vegas_hooker Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 To a certain extent you are always going to get feedback at high volumes and it can probably be sorted by any number of ways without affecting the sound you like from it. Good luck with the amp search, but by all means PM me if you need any help with a Bassman if you pick one up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ase_one23 Posted July 25, 2009 Author Share Posted July 25, 2009 hmm, Thornybank you say? just bought a headrush off him last month so i'll give him a shout. thanks for all the help so far guys, i'll keep you posted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Musky Posted July 25, 2009 Share Posted July 25, 2009 I used to use a Bassman 135 with a ODB3 or Marshall Guvnor regularly at a rehearsal. Like skankdelvar says, very warm. They don't really have a lot of tone shaping and using the EQ on the pedals didn't help hugely. Come to think of it I used to use a Boss EQ pedal as well and I was never particularly happy with the sound. No problems with feedback with either of the distortions, but I wasn't pushing either of them very hard. Never used it in a gig situation, but it was fine as far as rehearsal volumes went. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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