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END OF YEAR REPORT 2019. Lucky year for me. No real bad buys for once, but yet again a full new rig. ___________ NEW BUYS THAT ARE STAYING: New rig consists of: 1. G&L LB100 bass. 2. Quilter BB800 amp. 3. Line 6 Stomp. 4. Line 6 G75 wireless. 5. Laney N410 cab. 6. Custom made case to hold the lot (except the cab). _____________ HONOURABLE MENTIONS: 1. Laney NX Tube 400 all valve head. Awesome. Absolutely awesome. But, having had a prolapsed disc and bad back injuries I had to decide to let it go just on the off chance i could do my back if some idiot was stood in the doorway or ran in front of me when loading or unloading and I'd never forgive myself. 2. Laney N210 cab. The idea was to couple this with the N410. So I could have a 6x10, 4x10 or 2x10. In truth, the 4x10 is all I'll ever need so the 6x10 idea went. And the 4x10 wasnt that much bigger or heavier than the 2x10, so the 2x10 idea went. Leaving me with just the 4x10. 3. G&L M2000 in honeyburst. Lovely bass, but being a P player I just couldnt get used to the second humbucker at the bridge getting in the way. Also the fact that it had no sound at all when the batteries went really made me too paranoid to gig live. I did gig it once and it sounded great. _______________ WORST BUYS: 1. ZS10 headphones. I just couldnt get on with these. Just wouldnt stay in my ears. Bought loads of different fitments and buds, but no luck. 2. Behringer P2. Again just part of a failed IEM experiment. In fairness probably did exactly what I wanted, but just didnt work out. ________________ OUT THE DOOR Some of these were existing kit that went for different reasons. Some I didnt like, some I did but needed the money. Some went to fund other projects. 1. Ashdown RM212 cab. The idea was to have a high quality, cheap, powerful yet lightweight cab. In reality it was a pig to move around. Over 30kg. Pull out side handles that meant you couldnt fit through doorways. 2. Trace Elliot ELF. To be fair this had a great sound and enough power for indoor gigs, but we had quite a few outdoor gigs and wouldnt have kept up as a spare. I'd have kept it if I didnt need the money for a replacement (laney nx tube). 3. Tech 21 VT RM rack bass preamp. Lovely bit of kit. Only sold as i went back to a simple set up. 4. Markbass evo 1. Great amp. Has everything you'll ever need in one box, but the missing mids were needed. 5. Ashdown ABM600. Lovely amp. All the amp you'll need. However, it was a victim of it's own success. It was that nice of an amp that it deserved a proper padded hard case. Which then made it hard work to carry around, and then I had to add a tuner etc too. I sold it and kept the markbass evo 1 before moving that on too.

Well.....years ago, when I was young, fit and healthy, I borrowed a trace 4x10 combo. Great sound, very punchy. I did however try and move it a few feet across stage..... and gave up. Those things are SERIOUSLY heavy!!

Like you say, its horses for courses. What suits someone wont suit someone else. Theres no perfect one size fits all amp, or we'd all own one and nothing else.

Ok. Good luck. If you've bought it new there shouldn't be an issue having it fixed / replaced.

Are you using the Speakon out, or Jack's to cab? Also, have you tried the gnd lift, just in case.

Nice one!

No, that's not right. Open up the software on pc and see what settings your fx are. Or to start, turn all fx off.

I've A/B them at playing level through ok PA - Mackie etc and to me the emulators seem more harsh and modern. I've used them on recording at low levels and they do sound great there. I know the emulators are in fact just more complex eq patches, but I feel it's just missing something. If anyone has a good svt 8x10 IR let me know.

I had a look at the 802, a little frustrating... although no doubt itll be a great amp. Why they've done a jack DI out and not an xlr baffles me. An xlr would have been perfect. Yes, it does the same thing, but you'll be forever carrying a jack to xlr cable around or a jack to xlr adaptor. I get it with the stomp as it was to keep everything small and compact, but I'm sure they could have fitted an xlr on the 802. Shame they didnt keep faith with the 2 eq dials, but I suppose the 802 is for people who have tried that and found they were missing that extra eq for mids and high end control. In all honesty I love the 2 dial eq more so than the 4 band ones. I've had lots of amps with useless eq (markbass with no real mids) and lots with loads of eq bands (9 band ashdown etc) and the 10 channel eq pedals on the stomp, but nothing has been easier then the bb800. Needs more character and drive (turn gain up), needs more depth and bass (turn depth up), sound needs smoothing out (turn contour clockwise) sound needs brightening (turn contour anti clockwise) so much easier than trying to work out what frequencies need adjusting - I just always found that led to a never ending ordeal or turning dials endlessly until I fluked upon what was needed. I do like what they've called the eq settings on the 802 though - kind of makes sense when your looking for what to change in the sound.

I genuinely (despite owning a stomp and several IRs) havent found a satisfactory svt 8x10 emulator yet.

I agree. But then again you could say that about any cab.

I used my quilter with an svt 8x10 cab last night. Those cabs are fantastic. Soft, cushiony feel and fit lovely in the mix. I genuinely think a lot of the ampeg svt magic is in those cabs, not just the amp heads. I'd never have one though. As much as I'd love one. Far too heavy and impractical. x2 4x10s make much more sense if you need a full stack, and even then that's only for massive outdoor gigs.

Ok, here goes.... (from memory) and it's only my experience... and it could be because it replicates the bass more rather than being coloured with a particular sound. Trace elliot commando 12 Ashdown mag 300 Ashdown superfly Line 6 lowdown 300 Mark bass LM3 Genz Benz contour Ashdown abm 2 500 Mark bass evo1 Ashdown little giant Tech 21 VTRM and power amp Ashdown evo iv 600 Trace elliot elf Laney Nexus 400 all tube As I said, it's my favourite "all round" amp. That includes taking the following into consideration: SIZE: very small and compact. WEIGHT: easy lift with one hand. PORTABILITY: fits in bass case, or takes up no room in gig bag. SOUND: everything flat at mid gain the sound is a kind of modern mid heavy sound to my ears. But winding up the volume really makes it a powerful sound that sits great in the mix. Giving that nice space to keys and bass drums. It really tidied up our band sound. SOUNDS AVAILABLE: as said above there are a range of sounds available from Motown to modern to classic rock. EASE OF USE: plug in, set flat. Turn 2 eq dials to taste. Add in drive. Set volume. Leave alone for entire gig. Takes 1 minute. POWER ON TAP: seriously with a 4x10 upwards you'll not need anything over 200w of the 800w available. But if you do - it's there. No need to worry about running out of juice anywhere. FEATURES: headphone amp, line in, line out, drive and compression (via gain). All good. RELIABILITY: no problems whatsoever. No issues online either. CONS: The only thing that could really improve this amp imho is a small built in tuner and a dedicated DI out. The line out works great as a DI, I've used it indoor and outdoor as a DI, but occasionally you'll get paranoid sound engineers who want a dedicated DI. A DI would also be pre eq so would give the sound guys a flat sound to work with. So in conclusion, yes, theres better sounding amps. Theres lighter amps. Theres smaller amps. There are more featureful amps. There are cheaper amps. There are amps better suited to certain genres. But for me, taking into account all the above, and the amps I've used over the years, this is the beat all round amp.

Haha, yes, sorry, I should have added "......that I've used."

I had an hour or so with mine yesterday in the house dialling in different tones. Winding up the depth and winding forward the contour, then rolling off the tone on the bass guitar gives a lovely Motown esque vibe. Adjust gain and volume to taste. Winding the contour back gives that kind of ampeg clank. Again add gain drive to taste. Having the gain at between 9 o'clock and 12 o'clock gives a really tight sound to start with, removing the slight grind and drive. From there you can get modern and vintage on tap. What I did find really interesting is that it seems to react to the tone control on the bass itself more than any other amp.

In fact thinking about it, I've had: Ashdown mag 307 head. Ashdown mag 410 deep cab. Ashdown Superfly. Ashdown mini 4x8. Ashdown mini 15. Ashdown Little Giant. Ashdown RM212 cab. Ashdown ABM 600 evo iv. In the end, in the mix, most sounded great just set fairly flat. Although the abm600s eq though is something else! Amazing powerful detail in that amp. So, they must be doing something right! I'd happily gig (and have done) with all of those apart from the superfly.

The ashdown mag300 was the first serious amp head I got. Got it at the same time I bought an ashdown mag410 deep cab. In all honesty I hadn't a clue what I was doing eq wise in those days, but as a band we always sounded good, so its core sound must be good, even if I could have tweaked it to sound better. The old mags are a little harsher or spikier than the cushiony warm abms, but whenever I've heard bands use them they sound great.

Mine is my favourite all round amp ever. I think people get can get confused, but take time to properly understand the controls. I say this as I assumed at first 'depth' was clockwise for more bass (which it is), and 'contour' was clockwise for more highs. But it isnt. Clockwise is a smooth smoothed out sound. Anti clockwise gives you that high end bite especially when then turning 'depth' anti clockwise also. All the controls work with each other. Gain adds a bit of dirt and compression clockwise, and is clean as a bell anti clockwise. Again, work that in with your eq sound.

Great amp. I had one. Spend as much time as possible getting used to the controls. Its confusing to how all 4 main outputs work together. Also, use the software - the compressore on there is by far and away the best compressor I have used.

For me, I just go off feel if I'm starting anything, or anything else has to be drummer lead. Lock in with your drummer and you'll be fine. If it's too fast or too slow you'll feel it, rather than know it from memory.

Markbass couldnt even be bothered responding to me when I wanted to buy some rack ears for one of their amps I'd spent a fortune on buying. I asked by email and their own facebook page and messenger. Got nothing back. Ashdown responded within an hour for rack ears for one of their amps I also had, and transaction done in less than 2 hours. I kept the Ashdown. The markbass went. Customer service is essential for a brand for me.

I love an 8x10, but the reality is i never really run them hard. If i do, i cant hear the drummer. So it renders the whole thing a bit pointless. Only time I've ran an 8x10 hard has been at big festivals on large stages outdoors when we dont get anywhere near a sound check or chance to amend anything. My lightweight 4x10 is all I'll ever need from now on.

I had one of those (if it's the mini 4x8). I thought it would be light and easy to move. It was like lifting 10 tonnes of lead.

Me too! Weird.

In theory it shouldn't be enough. But, with a high quality efficient 4x10 it's more than enough, honestly. I run mine with a helix in the loop just for tuning and detune. I have the helix volume on 3 o'clock. The quilter sound just cuts through so well it doesnt need much volume. Genuinely, and I tried, if I went one click over 40w on the bb800 I then struggled to hear guitar, and we are a really loud full on band, with drummer, guitarist, bass, keys, synths and 4 backing vocals. My previous amps were: 400w laney nexus all valve nx tube. Ashdown evo iv 600 abm. Markbass evo I 500w. Most of them lived on between 50% and 75% volume. Oh, and I forgot......I wear ear plugs as well! So its be louder still if I took them out. Obviously what works for some wont for others, but dont dismiss it purely on wattage.