Conan

I have one of these amp heads which I got in a trade for my Trace Elliot gear a few years ago. I know very little about it other than the fact that it sounds very good and is extremely heavy! It gives 200 watts into 8 ohms and 350 into 4. It is an all-transistor amp and I believe they were only made for a couple of years in the late 1980s. This one is (if I recall correctly!) a 1987 model. I will post some pix of it later as I am at work now, but I was just wondering if anyone has any experience of these amps or knows what it would be worth? It is in excellent condition and has recently been cleaned and serviced. All replies appreciated! Thanks in advance.

Jaco is usually held up as the paragon of virtue on a fretless (whatever that means!), but often you can't tell that he is actually playing a fretless! He tended not to overdo the vibrato/glissando stuff and ended up with a very "punchy" tone. Compare that to, say, Pino Paladino's work in the early and mid eighties where the slides and stuff were rather overdone... a different kettle of fish altogether. Jeff Berlin is another unusual example as he can make a fretted bass sound like a fretless! Check out his playing on Bill Bruford's "Feels good to me". They are as different or as similar as you want them to be. One of the reasons I have given up fretless playing (for the moment anyway) is that I was annoying myself by slipping into all those eighties stereotypes and cliches. Boring. Horses for courses though!

[quote name='discreet' post='761646' date='Mar 2 2010, 11:15 AM']Thanks for the info... the Peavey in question is a new amp so I'm guessing few have used it in a live situation yet.[/quote] True. that will also make it difficult to pick up used!

[quote name='0175westwood29' post='760992' date='Mar 1 2010, 05:55 PM']how much of a difference is there? can't find any sound clips of a db750 being played thru an aggie cab apart from people randomly playing live, or a jazz guy noodling which would be wrong for me to judge the cab for my needs from. andy[/quote] Exactly! Which is why you need to try them out yourself with your own bass, cables, amp etc!

[quote name='discreet' post='761633' date='Mar 2 2010, 11:03 AM']Thanks for that! Though 450w could well be sufficient, depending...[/quote] Remember that "watts" are units of electrical power, not volume! There are many threads on here debating the relative volume outputs of certain amps that state certain wattage levels.... For example, there seems to be a consensus of opinion that TC amps (particularly the RH450) are rated very conservatively, whereas some Ampeg products are sometimes a bit shy in the volume department despite their claimed output!

[quote name='smurfitt' post='759631' date='Feb 28 2010, 10:42 AM']I don't really want a monstrosity to cart around (I know, I want it all).Someone suggested waiting for the Peavey TNT tour 600w combo to reach dealerships. Any advice on this or other set ups would be appreciated. Cheers[/quote] How long have you got?! There are an almost infinite number of solutions to your "problem". Nice problem to have BTW! A grand is a good budget, and I wish I had that much to invest in amplification... Used is DEFINITELY the way to go IMO. Even if you buy something a few months old you are effectively turning your £1000 into something closer to £1300-£1500! Why buy new when you can get a quality item that has been loved and cherished for a short period of time - especially if it is from a fellow Basschatter! OK, you may have to wait a bit until the "ideal" solution becomes available, but it will save money and you can ask the original owner all sorts of pertinent questions about the set-up! It's a win-win situation!! Brand-wise, you have an almost limited choice in that price bracket. There are massive fans of Trace Elliot, Ampeg, TC, MarkBass, Genz benz, Marshall, Peavey, Orange and many others on here - and they will all recommend that you buy whatever THEY have!! Try as much as you can! "Sound" and "Tone" and such things are extremely subjective so just going on the recommendation of another bassist is unreliable. You can always try new gear in a dealer's place and then look for that same gear used! Naughty maybe, but its up to them to fight for your custom if they want it!

Actually, I've just had a proper look and my thumb, which I previously THOUGHT was pointing up, is in reality parallel to the strings most of the time! Jeez, if I can't even analyse my OWN technique, how can i comment on anyone else's?!