JGSpector

Yes. I had a SuperTwin which i absolutely loved but it was just too much for most of the stuff i do. i downsized to a BB3, which i use on its own for 80% of what I do and it's more than capable. It''s also a ridiculously easy one hand lift, whether it is easier than the tilt and role of the SuperTwin I suspect is down to personal preference but it suits me very well. I've just taken delivery of a SuperMini (no tweeter version) last Friday so I now have the fully modular flexibility I wanted/need. I used the SuperMini last night at my covers band rehearsal (loud rock with loud drummer, 2 loud guitarists vocals and little old me) and it absolutely blew me away as it was plenty loud enough even with my GK 700RB II only running into an 8 ohm load. The SuperMini is well worth considering as an option too as it's even smaller than the SuperCompact. It doesn't give quite as deep lows as the SuperCompact but they do feel more tight and focused from the SuperMini I think. As other people have said as well, a Barefaced 210 would be worth considering too as they are very portable and are just as loud as a single BF SM or SC

That's precisely why I have avoided opening the link you put in your post

Got to love a GK Rb series head. I still have my 700RB II which I love. Sure someone will snap that 400RB up at that price.

Overview. I’ve been playing bass for nearly 30 years now and gigging for around 26 of them. Over that time I’ve owned and played through amps from pretty much every bass amp manufacturer with one exception, Ampeg. I have looked at Ampeg offerings on and off over the last decade but to be honest, none of them have appealed to me at all. Then the new Venture series was announced in 2023 and my interest was piqued. I was particularly interested in the 700w Venture V7. So, I got myself one to properly try out. Here are my thoughts about it. Disclaimer: I’m just a dude who plays bass in a few projects and bands for fun, I am by no means a professional reviewer. All views are my own and I have not received any payment or other incentives to produce this review. I am only reviewing gear that I actually own or that I have access to due to items being on loan from various friends. Build Quality. I wasn’t really sure what to expect from the V7 as the only Ampeg amps I’ve ever experienced in real life were SVT 300s, which of course have their own aesthetic. I was pleasantly surprised however, as the V7 is a really nice tidy little amp. It’s incredibly cleanly laid out and is reassuringly solid feeling. It’s got a nice aluminium body and the front panel is angled back, meaning that the controls point up slightly rather than straight forward. This gives slightly easier access to the controls when the amp is on top of a cab. Amp Dimensions & Power. Dimensions: - Width, 11.42” (290.1mm). - Depth, 10.78” (273.8mm). - Height, 3.7” (94mm). Weight: 6.13 lbs (3.10kg). Power: 350 to 400 watts into 8 ohms, 700 watts into 4 ohms. Knobs & Switches. I can’t tell if the knobs on this amp are light weight aluminium or plastic to be honest but they feel good. My only problem with them really is that the line that indicates where the knob is pointing is barely tactile enough to feel with a thumb nail let alone with finger tips. I imagine that these knobs are used for aesthetic purposes so that the Venture series ties in with other Ampeg product lines, so I understand why they are used, it’s just a little frustrating from my perspective as a blind player. The power, ultra low and ultra high switches are all rocker style and have a nice solid clunk under the finger when used. The -15db pad, mute, SGT and SVT/B15 switches are all toggle style and also feel good and solid. The DI ground lift, DI pre/post and DI -20db pad switches are all sliding style and are pretty solid even though they are mini switches. Features, layout & ease of use. The V7 is a very compact little amp and the front panel is very neatly laid out. This means that it doesn’t take very long at all to figure out what’s what, as shown below. Front Panel, from left to right Input attenuation switch (top): Left position is 0db, right position is -15db. 1/4” Instrument input jack (bottom). Compression knob (bottom): All the way anti clockwise turns the compressor off. Turning this control clockwise increases the amount of compression applied to the signal. The compression LED to the left of this knob illuminates when compression occurs. SGT Switch (bottom): Up position is on, down position is off. This switch is disconnected when a foot switch is connected at the rear panel. SGT Voicing switch (bottom): Up position is SVT, down position is B15. SGT Duel Grit/Level Knob (bottom): The inner knob controls the amount of grit applied to the signal, turning this knob clockwise increases the amount of grit. The inner knob controls the output level of the SGT circuit, turning this knob clockwise increases the output level of the SGT circuit. Gain Knob (bottom): Turning this knob clockwise increases the amount of gain driving the pre amp. Ultra Low 3 Way Switch (top): The left position cuts 20db at 40Hz. The centre position disengages ultra low. The right position boosts 40Hz by 2db and cuts 500Hz by 10db. Bass EQ Knob (bottom): 14db cut or boost at 40Hz. Low frequency output is flat when this knob is at the 12 o’clock position. Mid EQ Duel Selection/Level Knob (bottom): The inner knob controls the mid frequency level giving 14db of cut or boost on the selected frequency. The outer knob selects the mid frequency to be adjusted by the mid level knob. Treble EQ Knob (bottom): 14db cut or 17db boost at 4KHz. High frequency output is flat when this knob is at the 12 o’clock position. Ultra High 2 Way Switch (top): The left position disengages ultra high. The right position boosts 8KHz by 9db. Peak LED (top): This LED illuminates if the amp input is too high. Use the -15db switch and/or reduce gain when this occurs. Mute Switch (top): The left position mutes the amp. The right position disengages mute. Master Volume Knob (bottom): This knob controls the output level of the amplifier. It effects the speaker, headphone and pre amp outputs. The rear panel is similar with its straight forward and intuitive layout, as shown below. Rear Panel, from left to right Ground Lift switch: Up position engages the ground lift, down position disengages ground lift. DI -20db Pad Switch: Up position is disengaged, down position is engaged. DI Pre/Post Switch: Up position is pre. Compression, SGT drive and EQ are not sent to the DI when in this setting. Down position is post. Compression, SGT drive and EQ are all sent to the DI when in this setting. Effects level mini knob (top): Use this control to adjust the effects level. Effects send 1/4” jack (top). Effects return 1/4” jack (bottom). Pre Amp Out 1/4” jack (top). Power Amp In 1/4” jack (bottom). Aux In 3.5mm stereo jack (between Pre Amp Out and Headphones jacks). Headphones 1/4” jack (top). Footswitch 1/4” jack (bottom). 2 x speak-on sockets. IEC power socket. Sound quality. As I’ve never actually owned an Ampeg before and considering I played through an SVT 300 a couple of times well over a decade ago, it’s fair to say that I don’t really have any previous Ampeg experience to compare the V7 to. So rather than trying to make any sort of comparison, I’ll just talk about my impressions from using the amp at several rehearsals. With the Ultra Low and Ultra High switches not engaged, the SGT drive not engaged and the EQ set flat I actually found the amp extremely bottom heavy and too dark sounding for my personal taste. Tweaking the EQ and engaging the Ultra High switch helped enormously and I started to enjoy playing through it more. I played around with the Ultra Low switch a fair bit and found that I liked it in the neutral middle position best for quite a lot of music styles but switching it to the left position which cuts 40Hz by 20db made the amp sound pretty modern. Switching it to the right position boosts 40Hz by 2db and cuts 500Hz by 10db. I didn’t like this at all to be honest as it made everything too bottom heavy for my taste and playing style. Having said that, I can see that in the right circumstances and for certain styles of music it would be an excellent option to have. The compressor on this amp is very useable and not particularly noisy. I tended to have it set so that it only engaged when playing quite hard just to even out any major peaks and it did a good job. I really like the SGT (Super Grit Technology) circuit on this amp. The option to use it with either a B15 or an SVT voicing is a really nice touch and gives the amp a ton of versatility. The B15 voicing has a nice rounded warmth to the tone whilst the SVT voicing covers a surprising breadth of tube emulation that ranges from subtle grit all the way through to full on tube overdrive. I found that I played with the voicing switch set to SVT with a moderate amount of grit and it was a very satisfying and playable tone that could be left on all of the time. The DI is nice and quiet with a very useful -20db switch and the standard pre/post and ground lift options. There is no cab simulation on the DI out which is a bit of a shame considering how many amps have it as standard these days but I don’t think it’s a major issue and doubt it would be a deal breaker for most players to be honest. The aux in and headphone out options are great for quiet home practice and both do their jobs well. There’s an effects level mini control on the rear of the amp which is a nice addition to an already pretty well equipped amp. The V7 Gig Bag. When I bought the amp I also bought the official Ampeg V7 gig bag for it. The bag is very well padded, has good strong zips and a detachable shoulder strap. It has a large external pocket which is almost as big as the bag itself meaning that there’s plenty of room to fit cables and ear protection, spare batteries if you need them plus any other bits and pieces you might need. What I particularly like though is that the amp fits in the main compartment really snuggly so that it doesn’t slide around meaning that the amp is very well protected. Conclusion. I wasn’t really sure what to expect with this amp. Having never owned an Ampeg before, I was pretty open to seeing what it was like and indeed what I would most want to play through it. I like a quite clean punchy tone, maybe with a little grit to give some texture and to be fair, the V7 can do that. I think where it really works best however, is when the SGT circuit is pushed more to bring in more of that classic Ampeg tone. I guess that’s what Ampeg are known for best and why the Venture series of amps will appeal to fans of the brand, particularly those who are looking for a smaller, more back friendly solution to a full SVT 300 rig. For me, the V7 was brilliant for rock and blues, it just fit perfectly in the mix and sounded great. I think the design of this amp is very nice. It’s compact, light and packs quite a punch with its 700 watts of power. The gig bag is also very well designed and put together. If you buy one of these amps, I would highly recommend you get the bag for it as well. If you are a blind player and are an Ampeg fan, this amp really is good. There are two things to consider however. The knobs are really not very tactile at all and I must admit, I found this to be a major let down for me. Even if I could see I’m pretty sure adjusting this amp during a gig would be pretty difficult on a dark stage. The second thing is that there is no centre detent on any of the EQ controls. Not a deal breaker for me to be honest, but from a blind player’s perspective a centre detent on EQ controls is a real help in easily setting the amp to a flat EQ position without too much faffing around. If you absolutely have to have a centre detent on your EQ then this amp is not for you. Both of these points can be worked around and you can get used to them but they do make the amp that bit less accessible for blind players. I won’t be keeping this amp. Not because it’s rubbish or anything, but simply because the Ampeg tone is not really my bag. The controls of the amp being barely tactile is also less than desirable from a practical standpoint for me. To find out more about the Venture series and other Ampeg gear, visit the Ampeg website at: https://ampeg.com #BlindMusician #BlindBassPlayer #Blindness #PlayingMusicBlind #AmpegVentureV7 #AmpegVentureV7GearReview #MusiciansWithDisabilities #ExperiencesOfTheBlind #BestBassAmpForTheBlind

Barefaced BigBaby III which is a 1x12 cab. Unbelievably loud and an easy one handed lift. alternatively, Barefaced SuperTwin which is a 2x12 cab. Again very light for its size and incredibly easy to move. Might be complete overkill for the size gigs you mentioned though.

Overview. I’ve wanted an EBS Fafner 2 since they first came out in 2010, but there was no way I could afford the hefty price back then. I have always kept an eye on the pre owned market in the hope that one would come up at some point however. Earlier this year (2024) a pre owned Fafner 2 became available from Bass Direct here in the UK. Needless to say, I was very keen and was particularly pleased when I found the price to be significantly less than half of what it would have cost new back in 2010. Naturally I bought it and man am I glad I did. Here’s my review of this beast of an amp. Disclaimer: I’m just a dude who plays bass in a few projects and bands, I am by no means an online reviewer. All views are my own and I have not received any payment or other incentives to produce this review. I am only reviewing gear that I actually own and have purchased with my own money or that I have access to due to items being on loan from various friends. Build Quality. The Fafner 2 is sadly no longer produced, in 2020 it was replaced as the EBS flagship model by the EBS 802. When it was being produced however, it was hand built in Sweden to ridiculously high levels of craftsmanship with high quality components. As I mentioned earlier, the amp wasn’t cheap when it was being produced, but I have to say, my example oozes quality and is showing no signs of falling apart. The amp is incredibly well constructed and has nice clear writing for the controls which, for those who can see, is very useful indeed. The aluminium casing is solid and the whole thing is generally built like a tank. The front panel facing is thick aluminium with a beautifully machined air intake for the fan and a stylised dragon head that illuminates red when the amp is on. The amp is rack mountable and even the rack mounts and guard plates that double as handles for manhandling the amp into a rack are beautifully engineered. Dimensions & Power. Width, 48 cm (19”). Depth, 36 cm (14.2”). Height, 13 cm (5.12”). Weight: 16 Kg (36 lbs). Power: 750 watts continuous into 2 ohms, 610 watts continuous into 4 ohms, 310 watts continuous into 8 ohms. Knobs & Switches. The knobs on this amp are solid aluminium with a raised ridge that runs down the centre. There is also a notch at the end of the ridge that indicates which position the control is set at. They feel great under the fingers and it’s incredibly easy for me as a blind player to feel how my controls are set. The push buttons on this amp are nice and chunky and all are of the type that stay in when engaged. This is brilliant for player’s like me with vision loss or indeed for people playing on dark stages as it is immediately obvious whether a button is engaged or not when relying on touch. There are 2 power switches of sorts on this amp, a power switch and a standby switch. They are both rocker style, are good and solid with a positive clunk under the fingertip when engaged. What I particularly like is that the power switch is wider than the standby switch that is located to the left of it. This again is fantastic for me as I can tell by feel which switch is which and because they are next to each other at the bottom right of the front panel, it’s very easy for me to get my bearings before adjusting any controls. Features, layout & ease of use. Front panel, from left to right. 1/4” instrument input jack. High (top) and Low (bottom) character filter push buttons. Pushing these buttons to the in position engages the associated character filter boosting the high or low frequencies respectively. Gain knob: This control has an LED that illuminates red when clipping occurs. EBS recommend setting this control so that the LED illuminates when playing loud notes such as when digging in or slapping. Compressor knob: Turning this knob clockwise increases the amount of compression applied to the incoming signal. This control has an LED that illuminates blue when compression is occurring. Tube mode push button (top): Tube mode is engaged when this button is in the in position. An LED on the button illuminates when this button is engaged. This applies the tube to the clean channel resulting in a gorgeous tube purr. Filter active push button (bottom): The EQ filters of the amp are engaged when this button is in the in position. An LED on the button illuminates when this button is engaged. Disengaging this button removes all filters, EQ and drive, leaving you with the pure tone of your instrument. Drive channel, top row, from left to right. Drive knob: Turning this knob clockwise increases the amount of drive. Mid EQ knob: This is a band pass filter that enables 15db cut or boost at the frequency selected on the Mid Frequency Selection knob. This control has a centre detent. Mid frequency selector knob: Turn this knob to select the frequency you wish to adjust with the Mid EQ knob. - 7 o’clock position is 50Hz. - 10 o’clock position is 200 Hz. - 12 o’clock position is 400Hz. - 2 o’clock position is 900Hz. - 5 o’clock position is 2KHz. Edge knob: Turn this knob clockwise for more sizzle, turn this knob anti clockwise for warmer tones. This control has a centre detent. Drive channel level knob: Clean channel, bottom row, from left to right. Bass EQ knob: This is a shelving filter that enables 18db cut or boost at 80Hz. This control has a centre detent. High Mid EQ knob: This is a band pass filter that enables 15db cut or boost at the frequency selected on the Mid Frequency Selection knob. This control has a centre detent. High Q push button: When this button is at the in position, a narrowed band of 1.8 that is effected by the High Mid EQ and Mid frequency selection knobs is engaged. When this button is at the out position, the affected band is 0.7. Mid EQ frequency selection knob: Turn this knob to select the frequency you wish to adjust with the High Mid EQ knob. - 7 o’clock position is 100Hz. - 10 o’clock position is 400 Hz. - 12 o’clock position is 800Hz. - 2 o’clock position is 1.8KHz. - 5 o’clock position is 4KHz. Treble EQ knob: This is a shelving filter that enables 15db cut or boost at 10KHz. This control has a centre detent. Clean channel level knob. Boost push button (top): Engaging this button gives a linear boost to the drive channel resulting in more of a fuzz tone. Serial push button (middle): Serial mode is engaged when this button is at the in position. Parallel mode is engaged when this button is at the out position. Drive active push button (bottom): Drive is engaged when this button is in the in position. Master volume knob. Standby switch: Turning this switch on supplies power to the tube section. This switch should only be turned on after a delay of at least 15 seconds after the power switch has been turned on. Power switch: Once this switch has been turned on, wait at least 15 seconds before turning on the standby switch. This allows power to warm up the tube section. Pre EQ DI out (left): This sends your clean unprocessed bass sound to the front of house sound desk or studio recording interface. Post EQ DI out (right): This sends your processed bass sound, including compression, EQ and drive, to the front of house sound desk or studio recording interface. Ground lift push button: Ground lift is engaged when this button is at the in position. Pad push button: Pad is engaged when this button is at the in position. Back panel, from left to right. Power cable socket. Line out 1/4” jack (top). Power amp in 1/4” jack (bottom). Clean channel send 1/4” jack (top). Clean channel return 1/4” jack (bottom). Drive channel send 1/4” jack (top). Drive channel return 1/4” jack (bottom). Standard FX send 1/4” jack (top). Standard FX return 1/4” jack (bottom). Lo-Z input 1/4” jack (top): You can plug the receiver of your wireless system directly into this jack. Tuner output 1/4” jack (bottom). Filters remote 1/4” jack (top): You can engage and disengage the high and low filters as well as the EQ section with a footswitch connected to this jack. Note that the high and low and filter push buttons must be at the in position for this to work. Remote 1/4” jack (bottom): You can engage and disengage the drive and mute the amp with a footswitch connected to this jack. Note that the drive push button must be at the in position for this to work. FX mix mini knob: 7 o’clock position is 0%, 12 o’clock position is 50%, 5 o’clock position is 100%. 2 Speak-on sockets. The RM4 Footswitch. My Fafner 2 came with an EBS RM4 footswitch. The RM4 is incredibly well made, very sturdy and has 4 high quality footswitches running across it. Here’s what they do, running from left to right. Character: Engages and disengages the high and low character filters. Filter: Engages and disengages the EQ filters. Drive: Engages and disengages the drive. Mute: Mutes and unmutes the amp. Sound quality. I said this in my review of the EBS Reidmar 752 but I’m going to have to say it again. EBS have some black magic going on in their amps which apparently maximises the power efficiency to squeeze out every last decibel of volume and tone. Whatever they are doing is very definitely working! The Fafner 2 is rated at 310 watts into an 8 ohm speaker load. I run mine into my Barefaced BigBaby III, which is an 8 ohm cab that can take a maximum amp power of 800 watts and I play in a very loud metal fusion instrumental band but have never taken the master volume above 3. I do not say this lightly, but my Fafner 2 is the loudest thing I have ever heard or played running into a single 12” speaker cab. I cannot imagine ever needing to run it into a 4 or 2 ohm speaker load to get the 610 watts or 750 watts respectively, but it’s good to know that I have the option if I ever need to go truly nuclear. This amp can do pretty much any tone you could ever possibly need. You want warm vintage Motown, no problem. Some 80s pop thin but bright tones, a few tweaks of the EQ and you’re there. Heavy tube saturation for some 70s classic rock, it won’t even break a sweat. Crisp definition for some funk slapping, it’ll give you all you could ever want or need. Gritty punchy clear attack for some modern metal, run the channels in parallel and watch your guitarists weep. The compressor on this amp is superb. It does a fantastic job of smoothing out your tone without squashing the life out of it, even when at its maximum setting. It’s also practically silent. I really love solid state amps, yes they are heavy compared to class D offerings but there is a certain weight and depth of tone that comes with a quality solid state analogue amp that just makes me want to play harder, louder and for longer. The sensitivity of the Fafner 2 is an absolute joy, it responds with immediacy to everything you put into it, whether it be heavy pick attack, galloping finger style, melodic finger picking or harmonics. The amount of tone shaping available on the amp across its 2 channels, not to mention its compressor and character filters make it unbelievably flexible and I haven’t even talked about the FX loop options and duel DIs yet! There are 3 FX loop options on the Fafner 2, clean channel, drive channel and standard. You could just use the standard FX loop like pretty much every other bass amp out there of course and there’s nothing wrong with that. Alternatively, you can split multiple FX between the clean and drive channels to maximise your tonal signature. I particularly like having an octave in my clean channel and will often add chorus to my drive channel. The whole set up is ridiculously flexible. The Fafner 2 has duel DI outputs, one unprocessed (without filters) and one processed (with filters). This makes it incredibly versatile for studio use. You can record both a processed and unprocessed signal at the same time and then mix the 2 together or pick what suits the track best or pretty much whatever you like. There are of course quite a few bass amps that have duel DIs these days, but I’m pretty sure that when the Fafner 2 came out in 2010, there were very few that did. Conclusion. I’ve waited a long time to own a Fafner 2 and I have to say that I’m not disappointed by it. In fact, it has surprised me and pleased me every time I’ve played through it. It’s the best solid state analogue bass amp I’ve ever owned for sure. It’s an absolute tone monster and so flexible I’d find it hard to believe anybody would fail to get exactly what tone they want out of it. It’s responsive, punchy and seems to have head room for days. It is a heavy amp, not as heavy as a full 300 watt tube amp of course, but significantly heavier than modern class D amps. Mine weighs in at 21.3kg in its rack bag with the RM4 footswitch and my cables in the external pocket, so it’s heavy but not unmanageable. Does the weight put me off taking it to rehearsals and gigs? HELL NO! It’s such a joy to play through that it’s worth the extra effort to take it. Obviously I cannot see it, but the first time the guitarist in my band saw it, he said, and I quote, “holly crap man, that thing is a beast. It’s bad ass”. I must admit, I couldn’t agree more. One of the things I enjoy the most about the amp, apart from how it sounds, is how tactile it is to use. The controls are well spaced, are intuitively laid out and all of the buttons are proper mechanical buttons rather than digital style buttons. This makes a huge difference to me, even though I can’t see any of the LEDs, the fact that I know if my character buttons or drive buttons are engaged simply by feeling them is a joy. I believe EBS take the same approach with all of their amps, it is certainly the case on the Reidmar 752 I’ve got for example, and I am a big big fan. Reading the user manual for the EBS 802, which is the Fafner 2s successor, I see that it is roughly the same size and weight as the Fafner 2 with a similar feature set but without the duel channels. I imagine it uses the same style buttons and knobs, but don’t quote me on that because I’ve never actually seen one or felt one in real life, so would hopefully be as tactile as the Fafner 2. As I mentioned earlier, my Fafner 2 was pre owned and although it had clearly been looked after, the tube had either been in it for a long time or the original had never been replaced. EBS recommend that the tube be replaced roughly every year as obviously they do wear out. I must admit that I was a little concerned that replacing the tube was going to be expensive but was delighted to find that even ordering directly through EBS a new tube cost me less than £25 including the shipping from Sweden to the UK. The difference the new tube has made is very very noticeable and I couldn’t be happier with the amp. If you are a blind player then the Fafner 2 or indeed any of the EBS amps I’ve experienced would definitely be worth serious consideration from a tactile and ease of use perspective. They sound fantastic and I’d be very surprised if you couldn’t find an EBS bass amp to meet your sound, size, weight and budget requirements. To find out more about EBS gear, visit their website at https://ebssweden.com/content2/amps/ #EBSFafner2 #EBSFafner2GearReview #BlindMusician #BlindBassPlayer #Blindness #PlayingMusicBlind #MusiciansWithDisabilities #ExperiencesOfTheBlind #BestBassAmpForTheBlind #EBSBassAmps