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NAD for the second time. Thunderfunk TFB550


Gwilym
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Backstory: I bought a TFB-550 new from Dave Funk back in July 2005. Maybe the first in the country?

Anyway, I ended up selling it a couple of years later to Geoffbassist, probably for no good reason, other than going light weight. I've wondered since then whether I gave it a fair crack of the whip.

Fast forward to last night, and I see that the Gallery have a used TFB-550 just-in, so I went up there this morning. It looked like my old one. "The swtich" was the old-style up/down switch from when it was an optional extra, and it had the optional rack-ears that I had also ordered with the amp.

It sounded great through a Vanderkely 2x12, so the deal was done.

After I got home I checked the serial number and as chance would have it, it's the same one I imported. So now I have a new amp day, with the same amp for the second time.

Got it home, and it sounds very nice through my Acme B1's. Great EQ. Great sound. Job done!

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Since getting my Thunderfunk I've had 4 very good lightweight amps come and go. They just never got used enough.

Now I've upgraded to the TFB750 the 550 isn't getting used at all, but I'm having trouble letting it go! These amps are addictive.

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[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1339321712' post='1686697']
Since getting my Thunderfunk I've had 4 very good lightweight amps come and go. They just never got used enough.

Now I've upgraded to the TFB750 the 550 isn't getting used at all, but I'm having trouble letting it go! These amps are addictive.
[/quote]

Amen! ;)

I've had some of the best light-weight amps pass through my hands while I've had the TF and not one has stayed the distance (like Gwilym I was searching for a better 'light' amp). I presently have a Warwick Hellborg preamp (which alone would have cost more then my TF) and QSC power amp combo and they are still sitting unloved while I go back to my TF. I just don't know what it is about these amps that lifts them above their peers. I use mine with the EQ flat and I tweak the timbre/enhance dials and it is all the tone control that I need. My TF will never leave me! ;)

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cool, I'm looking forward to trying it out at rehearsal on Weds. so far I've been using my Tecamp (through the admittedly old and battered ampeg 8x10 cab), so I'll get to A/B them.

The Tecamp sounds great, but I'm wondering if I'll ever be in a position to bridge it @1000watts into a 8ohm cab. The TF sounds more mid-present through the ACME cabs than the Tecamp does, and not as "wide" sounding.

The class D heads I've tried all sound great, but I can't help feeling that they are missing something. I don't think it's power related or volume related. Just a certain "grunt" that I used to get from my old SWR Basic 350. Hopefully the TF will have it.

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[quote name='Gwilym' timestamp='1339329341' post='1686840']
The class D heads I've tried all sound great, but I can't help feeling that they are missing something. I don't think it's power related or volume related. Just a certain "grunt" that I used to get from my old SWR Basic 350. Hopefully the TF will have it.
[/quote]

I know EXACTLY what you mean. ;)

I was discussing this with someone the other day and they are in the amplification business and they did explain the science behind this perception of less 'grunt/punch/ooomph' from switching amps when compared to amps with big toroidal transformers and there is something in it... just don't ask me to relay all of the science behind it! :lol:

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[quote name='warwickhunt' timestamp='1339329767' post='1686848']
I know EXACTLY what you mean. ;)

I was discussing this with someone the other day and they are in the amplification business and they did explain the science behind this perception of less 'grunt/punch/ooomph' from switching amps when compared to amps with big toroidal transformers and there is something in it... just don't ask me to relay all of the science behind it! :lol:
[/quote]

good - I was hoping it wasn't some kind of gas induced placebo type effect :)

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Is it just plain old fashioned headroom? A big power supply can just deliver. You can go as fast as you are legally allowed to in an original VW Beetle. You can bet it will be more comfortable in a new Bentley.

I picked up the TF750 that was on here recently to try one. Tragically I have not managed to plug it in yet :o

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I am quite convinced that the power stage of the TF is key... and that this is what class D types suffer..which is why I haven't gotten rid of my heavier amps and can't bare to.
I don't consider 20lbs or so as heavy anyway.

If you get a bad sound with a TF amp..then you are doing something majorly wrong. Mine always surprises me with the lack of problems I get in a variety of situations and it is
the only amp where people comment on a great sound. Funny how they mention that days later though...and always bass players...!!!
The combination of TF and DB cabs is something else though so I have this unquantifiable suspsicion that there IS something in the weight aspect.
Had this conversation with a keyboard player who said the same thing about heavier cabs..and just as there is something mystical about valve power stages and the tone...this is continued with
transforners and output stages and cabs as well.

Of course, you have other considerations when hauling gear around but it depends on where you set the line on your own compromises.

Anyway..TF ..?? great amps...!! and no tech is going to mind working on one. IMO.

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[quote name='Gwilym' timestamp='1339329341' post='1686840']
The class D heads I've tried all sound great, but I can't help feeling that they are missing something. I don't think it's power related or volume related. Just a certain "grunt" that I used to get from my old SWR Basic 350. Hopefully the TF will have it.
[/quote]

I came from a the classic SWR SM400 which was a Benchmark amp of its day...and there is a degree in lineage here anyway.. and the TF incorporates all the good features and has refined them, IMO.
The main difference is how the TF stays online with its sound further up the volume level, IME..over the SWR..but that could be down to the valve pre..??? but anyway, it amps up far better, and I note
this is what majorly sets the TF apart, from the Markbass amps I've tried..very nice at lower levels but the sound doesn't stay as tight or focused when pushing them as I have to.

The TF retains the semi 4 para EQ as well..which is very useful for notching really bad rooms..but altho I have the feature, I have never had to use it. The EQ stage is so smooth and balanced you never have any boom whatsoever.

The only thing the SWR does better is grind the pre stage...but that is not a sound I cherish anyway. The tube simulation is ok and subtle... but this amp is for clean. IMO.

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[quote name='owen' timestamp='1339335024' post='1686948']
....I picked up the TF750 that was on here recently to try one. Tragically I have not managed to plug it in yet....
[/quote]

Whoa..... plug it in........now!!!!!

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  • 3 years later...

Just stumbled upon this old thread and nosied around a bit and discovered that this amp is now MINE!! I bought it last year off Silverfoxnik. :)

And everything above about Thunderfunk amps is, in my opinion, absolutely true. What a wonderful amp. Paired with my Barefaced Big Baby 2 it's the best sounding rig I've ever owned.

My Mesa Walkabout hasn't been used at all since the Thunderfunk arrived - that's how good the Thunderfunk is! (Very different sounding amps though, and both are brilliant.)

Frank.

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Do I miss my TF550-B....?? well, maybe, but I've got that more than covered with the the DB750 big block.
I think it was a loud amp .. and I've had to get 800 Class D watts to cover that.
The TH500 wasn't enough for me...altho I liked the sound.

The TF has a good EQ stage but I never needed or used it... simply volume to suit and you're good.

The only class D amp that gets there (IMO) is a Demeter 800 and the tone is good, I'm just not sure about the
sound when pushing the levels... need a bit more time on it....as I think it gets too grainey for my liking..???

The TF or DB's don't break up like that..and I think that is what I appreciate.

TF550-B... good amp and I can't think of many, if any, better, at their sale value or around £600, IMO.

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Totally agree JT.

Although my Streamliner 900 is class D and a pretty loud and beefy amp too. I tend to use the Streamliner with my Barefaced Super Midget and that tiny rig is killer for smaller pub gigs when space is tight.

When there's space it's always the Thunderfunk and BF Big Baby 2 for the depth and sheer balls.

Frank.

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[quote name='machinehead' timestamp='1454787603' post='2973041']
Just stumbled upon this old thread and nosied around a bit and discovered that this amp is now MINE!! I bought it last year off Silverfoxnik. :)

And everything above about Thunderfunk amps is, in my opinion, absolutely true. What a wonderful amp. Paired with my Barefaced Big Baby 2 it's the best sounding rig I've ever owned.

My Mesa Walkabout hasn't been used at all since the Thunderfunk arrived - that's how good the Thunderfunk is! (Very different sounding amps though, and both are brilliant.)

Frank.
[/quote] oddly enough I had the slightly more powerful thunderfunk and hated the preamp stage with active basses ... And ended up with a walkabout! Which goes to prove something.

Out if interest does the big baby and walkabout pair at all well?

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I had a Thunderfunk 550 and even though I was upgrading to the 750 I still regret selling it.

When I ran my 750 through 2 Barefaced Super Compacts a guy came up from the audience and told me it was the best sound he'd heard from a bass.

So much for "no one notices or cares about the bass"!

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