Quilly

The thing about these valve amps is that they can all have little nuances and the only way to really know your amp is to experiment and see what works . It took me ages to get to grips with my Ashdown CTM100

If you want a clean sound turn the gain down and turn up the volume , that’ll drive the power valves more. if you want the sound to have a crunch at lower volumes keep the master low and crank the gain. You have more control over the bass/mid/treble with the gain control. The volume knob just turns up and down the power valve output . You can actually just use the power values by plugging into the effects loop return . It sounds pretty flat

Do you still have it ?

I think If I already didnt have 2 valve heads i'd snap this one up in a heartbeat. They get great reviews and contain a whopping 6 x EL34 power valves (I love the sound of these valves). Not the prettiest amp in the world and I dont like the look of that Tolex. I think if I bought it id get a new sleeve made for it. But €650 for a 225W all valve amp is hard to pass up. https://reverb.com/item/43320658-peavey-tour-vb-2-head-made-in-usa

I would have done the same, the only thing is these valve amps sound best when pushed a bit. I played a gig last week with a 30w head and it was pretty much maxed out on the edge of distorting and it sounded fantastic. Ditto with my 100w amp, it’s usually a bit beyond noon where it sings . I don’t think you’re gonna get that “verge” sound form a CTM300 without breaking windows 😆, or at least annoying your band mates. But what a 300w valve head will give you is oceans of deep deep clean warm bass .

These big 300+ W valve monsters are great and all but really they were designed in a time when the rig on stage was intended to be the source of bass for the whole concert. I can’t imagine lugging around 35-40kg of an amp to casual pub gigs . People do and more luck to them . For me 100w and a decent cab is plenty. that’s not to say I never came close to buying one on more that one occasion 😂😂

I think everyone should have at least one valve head but you needn’t go crazy and get an SVT or anything. Valve heads can surprise you volume wise and a 100w amp can be all you need using the correct cabinet. Even 30-50w amps out there that can quite easily manage small to medium gigs . You don’t need to break your back

I hear good things about these also - Good price aswell https://reverb.com/item/43320658-peavey-tour-vb-2-head-made-in-usa

Its a great feeling when a gig goes so well you secure more gigs out of it.

Stay away from valve heads… you’ll quickly get obsessed with them 😭

I got drafted into a Ragtime / New Orleans type jazz band as a substitute bassist for a gig last week and I was planking it. The band are really nice folks (and forgiving) but I was totally out of my comfort zone in terms of musical genres as this was their first gig in ages, I didn't want to make a dogs dinner of the bass. I needn't have worried (too much) its was a blast and I was able to blagg my way through most of it, the crowd loved it.

Not really but I tried a Mex Player Precision bass in a shop and thought, this is way better than I expected, ultimately bought one.

They're still for sale on their site, so I presume they're still making them. I have the CTM100 and I love it but they seem to be kind of rare these days. You tend to see a lot more CTM-300s and CTM-30s / Little bastards around. CTM-200s are as rare a hens teeth.

Whos left standing here ?

The beige one ?

The handbox WB100 is supposed to be a great amp also

I’ve the 100w Ashdown ctm100 head and their 30w “little bastard” , both pure valve and both cracking amps. Don’t let the low wattage fool you , the 100w amp can get seriously loud and even the 30w head can comfortably handle small gigs . The LB -30 appears regularly on this site and reverb for sale around the £300 mark. Well worth it

He picks the songs !

My little bastard/ barefaced two10 “rig”

Na , just trust your ears . They’re very forgiving these valve heads . The only thing that kills them is running them without a load.

I always tend to use the 0db input with my active bass set flat , maybe a smidgen of bass boost and it never hurt any of my valve heads . The worst that happens is the that the preamp tubes overdrive a bit - oh Damn 😅