Another Promethean Clone?

[neepheid]

Sorry for the thread revival, but evidence of long term usage (and success or failure) is important considering we're at the "it might blow up in a week or the first time you really crank it" price point.

I thought that I would report on a very successful studio recording session using the RedSub combo. Captured what I think sounds pretty good with the Gibson Victory Artist using a combination of DI and mic'ing up the combo. A tickle of bass boost, a tickle of treble boost, a small low mid boost on the EQ, colour off, contour at about 1 o' clock. Some overdubs/mixing still to be done, but will share the results once I have them.

The more I use mine, the happier I get with it. I'm off this weekend to Portsoy to play a few tunes with some of the band (acoustic thing) and the combo will be perfect for that. The weekend after that, it's a big pub gig and I doubt I'll have PA support, so I'll have to bring the noise.

So this thing does: band rehearsal (combo), bass lessons (combo), little gigs (combo), big gigs (hooked up to bigger cab), recording and general amplification (watching films on my laptop with busted speakers, some tunes when I was painting the bedroom). Err, that's everything covered, isn't it?

Oh, and the unusual smell I reported on back when I got it has mostly gone away. Either that or I've got used to it

[eude]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1340100062' post='1698954']
Sorry for the thread revival, but evidence of long term usage (and success or failure) is important considering we're at the "it might blow up in a week or the first time you really crank it" price point.

I thought that I would report on a very successful studio recording session using the RedSub combo. Captured what I think sounds pretty good with the Gibson Victory Artist using a combination of DI and mic'ing up the combo. A tickle of bass boost, a tickle of treble boost, a small low mid boost on the EQ, colour off, contour at about 1 o' clock. Some overdubs/mixing still to be done, but will share the results once I have them.

The more I use mine, the happier I get with it. I'm off this weekend to Portsoy to play a few tunes with some of the band (acoustic thing) and the combo will be perfect for that. The weekend after that, it's a big pub gig and I doubt I'll have PA support, so I'll have to bring the noise.

So this thing does: band rehearsal (combo), bass lessons (combo), little gigs (combo), big gigs (hooked up to bigger cab), recording and general amplification (watching films on my laptop with busted speakers, some tunes when I was painting the bedroom). Err, that's everything covered, isn't it?

Oh, and the unusual smell I reported on back when I got it has mostly gone away. Either that or I've got used to it
[/quote]

Awesome Matt!
Regardless of what model you have, RedSub, HB or Ibby, the form factor of these little pups is insanely versatile, practice amp that can push 500W, crazy.
I've not tried recording using mine yet, but I might have to very soon, probably just DI though, as I'll be doing it at home. Interestingly, I set mine up very similar to you, bar the smidge of treble.
The only thing I miss is a bit more natural low end, that would come from a bigger speaker, but an additional cab would sort all that out.

Eude

[neepheid]

OK you scamps, here's a very advance sneak preview, simply for hearing the bass. Please don't pass it around because it isn't finished. I really hope the chopped start is just a mistake when the guy exported this MP3 for us

[url="http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/mp3/oxbow/recordings20120616/The%20Oxbow%20Lake%20Band%20-%20Boy%20Angus%20is%20a%20Dreamer.mp3"]http://www.ifb.co.uk/~matthew/mp3/oxbow/recordings20120616/The%20Oxbow%20Lake%20Band%20-%20Boy%20Angus%20is%20a%20Dreamer.mp3[/url]

Funny when you're recording you get to use settings that you normally wouldn't live. The Victory Artist is set to use both pickups, a setting I consider to be way too "smooth" for live use, +2 on the bass and flat on the treble. Live it would likely be +2 on bass and treble and probably front pickup only.

[eude]

Really nice mate
Nice playing and a very pleasant thick tone too.

Top work fella!

[Ancient Mariner]

Nicely rounded and yet quite present in the background. Sounds good for the song.

[neepheid]

Thanks for the kind words, guys

[Dick]

Hi to all
Many thanks for the really good reviews here. Helped me make up my mind to sell the Micromark (best sounding portable bass amp I have ever had) & buy the HB combo 500. As I teach, record & gig but still never have any money this amp seems like a winner to me but I would not have gone for it without the reviews on this thread.
Nice one fellow bass freaks.

[Dick]

BTW
The 4X10 bass cabs from Thomann to go with the 500 head seem to be crazy low money at £140 a pop. I was thinking of buying two of these so that all bases (poo pun) are covered. To my uneducated thinking, that gives me 1k driver headroom to 500 watts output at 4 ohms. Lots of air movement too!
Are these cabs OK? This might be another thread right here so soz if it is. Just linking to the Harley Benton part of the topic.

[neepheid]

[quote name='Dick' timestamp='1343028824' post='1743842']
BTW
The 4X10 bass cabs from Thomann to go with the 500 head seem to be crazy low money at £140 a pop. I was thinking of buying two of these so that all bases (poo pun) are covered. To my uneducated thinking, that gives me 1k driver headroom to 500 watts output at 4 ohms. Lots of air movement too!
Are these cabs OK? This might be another thread right here so soz if it is. Just linking to the Harley Benton part of the topic.
[/quote]

Couldn't possibly comment, having neither seen in the flesh nor heard or used them. Sure will be interesting to find out though

[Dick]

Okey dokey.
I am going to take the plunge soon. New thread or add onto this monster?

[discreet]

[quote name='Dick' timestamp='1343154449' post='1746275']
New thread or add onto this monster?[/quote]

New thread! I'll be very interested to see how you get on.

[4 Strings]

[quote name='Dick' timestamp='1343028824' post='1743842']
BTW
The 4X10 bass cabs from Thomann to go with the 500 head seem to be crazy low money at £140 a pop. I was thinking of buying two of these so that all bases (poo pun) are covered. To my uneducated thinking, that gives me 1k driver headroom to 500 watts output at 4 ohms. Lots of air movement too!
Are these cabs OK? This might be another thread right here so soz if it is. Just linking to the Harley Benton part of the topic.
[/quote]

The cabs look so similar to the Hartke XL range, I could be forgiven for thinking that Hartke just used these generic cabs for their ally drivers. The Hartke XL are great cabs btw, if the HB drivers are any good these are fab bargains.

[discreet]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1343210361' post='1746974']
...if the HB drivers are any good these are fab bargains.[/quote]

I really hope you're right! I can't help but think, 'if something seems to good to be true, then it probably is.'
But I am an old cynic, of course...

[4 Strings]

Ooh, don't know about cynic...

[spellonyou]

I am happy with the 2x10 version of their cab as an extension to the combo. It sounds fine to me and handles the low B well enough for band practice situations. I have not gigged with this semi halfstack, but cranked it up once or twice and it looks like it can get quite loud before losing its tone.

I like the tone quite well but I am still developing my hearing sense in that area and do not hear many of the subtleties that the more experienced musicians can.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 16, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[hollywoodrox]

Just discovered this thread am amazed at the reports on these little amps The HB 2 x 10s look like they would make awesome ext cabinets for the redsub and the hb 500. I had been looking at small amps like the ampeg and ashdown mini stacks but at 100w they were not really useful enough, these HB and redsubs sound almost to good to be true, I seem to recall that the promethius by ibanez which they are modeled on had some sort of family tie to the little mark amp too so the family pedigree is quite intriguing.
They are definitely going on my list of possibles for when I need an amp for jamming with others as opposed to practising. so glad I found the thread

[glider]

id been looking at a promethean on ebay starting at £400.... but partly as a result of reading posts here, and elsewhere, i decided to go for the harley benton from thomann for £228... bit of a gamble as i couldnt check it in advance, but figured i could return it if i didnt like it... so only gambling the return postage really. anyway... im totally delighted with the harley!...
i play a vintage 80's bc rich custom bass ( badass bridge, grover heads... single-piece neck, 4 pickups [some italian make i forget!] great understated design from before bc rich went mental... its a fantastic guitar)
i normally borrow a friends orange terror bass to play through, and i reckon the harley benton 5110c sounds as good (going to do a side by side comparison next rehearsal). full rich tones, and great definition (10" driver helps). loses nothing when its loud enough to worry about structural damage to the house, and sounds full and mean even at real low volumes.
im not your typical bass player... i kind of do quite intricate, fast playing, and a lot of chords (think nomeansno, but bigger!)... i play solo sets, just bass and vocals, and in the band i play 'lead bass' and guitars are secondary to our sound. i play through a 'tech21 vt bass' pedal (reproduces the ampeg vt valve sound), giving a good hard overdriven sound... i like a quite mid-rangey sound so the single 10" suits me. other amps tend to muddy the sound (even the orange terror bass, a little), and havent given me the clarity and precision that i looked for. and when i get the sharpness of the midrange, the bass heft is lacking.... and vice versa. but not with this harley.
we dont do big gigs so the 250w output should be plenty... itll keep up with a drumkit.
i only got the amp this morning, so i cant say anything about long term stuff, but overall im delighted with it. perfect sharp clear sound with plenty of bass behind it... you can hear each string distinctly. overall the harley is full, mean, clear (and with my sound gives a good hard punch combined with good low-end growl) i cant recommend this amp enough... and for the price... wow! fantastic. if youre thinking about it, just get one and gamble the return postage fee... youd spend that much in fuel just to go try one out.
i fooled around with lots of sounds this morning... all the controls make a good difference and you can really tweak the sound. clean sounds good too, though i dont really use it myself, so thats for others to talk about.
i also do stuff with an acoustic bass (tanglewood) and that sounds lovely through it too.... full rich tones and the same clarity as with the electric.
and the size of it is a great bonus... i dont have to have big black boxes in my front room any more. its only a little bigger than the 15w peavy guitar practice amp i use (for 6 string guitar)!
price... 5 stars... sound... 5 stars... portability... 5 stars.................... get one!

and btw... i cant find any seriously negative posts about this amp anywhere on the web. (but do your own research!)

hope this opinion helps some... you might get the harley and disagree, but for me and the sound im looking for, this amp is a real pleasure, and im properly excited about it.
prometheus is dead!!

[hollywoodrox]

Wow Glider , that's a really helpful review, it has helped me a lot I currently just use a practice amp for jamming at home but am hoping to buy something before or after christmas with enough power to be able to jam with others playing 80s claasic rock and hair metal. Im thinking the HB or the redsub would be just the thing, now after your review the HB is looking to be a real winner ,im mighty interested in their speaker cabinets too im assuming you could plug the (bb210t) 2 x 10 cab in and get the full 500 w

Thanks anyway for posting about the amp it was a good read, cheers....Paul

[guitarjong]

I keep looking at the various Harley Benton head/cab package deals on Thomann. They really seem to be great value for money. Just not sure if the old adage "you get what you pay for" should concern me???

I read good reviews and comments, then a ad one crops up.

[gafbass02]

I'm considering one as a backup pa power amp, any reason why that wouldn't work?

[4 Strings]

[quote name='guitarjong' timestamp='1348786452' post='1818383'] I keep looking at the various Harley Benton head/cab package deals on Thomann. They really seem to be great value for money. Just not sure if the old adage "you get what you pay for" should concern me??? I read good reviews and comments, then a ad one crops up. [/quote]

What you don't get and don't have to pay for is a fancy name on the badge.

[guitarjong]

[quote name='4 Strings' timestamp='1348876191' post='1819505']


What you don't get and don't have to pay for is a fancy name on the badge.
[/quote]

Could well be right. I had decided to go for named gear, but now I am not so sure.

[lockpicker1969]

like i said in a previous post, i have had my fender guitar amp for 25years from new and my trace for 20 and both of them have never let me down . i buy an unknown HB all the way from germany and withing a couple of months its not working. experiance tells me you do get what you pay. its the same with tools ect. quality costs

[guitarjong]

I see that, but I also believe that you hear most about the really bad cases. I am sure that Lockpicker1969's experience has been really very crap, but then Thomman must be selling loads of HB kit to loads of very happy and satisfied punters, otherwise why bother with selling HB kit????

Personally I have had a very very poor experience with some very big name recording kit from a very big name UK music supplier website. It doesn't mean that everyone buying that kit had the same experience. The website handled the two problems very well, but I was very disappointed with kit.

Because of the 3 year warranty, I've decided to get the 500w HB head and at least the HB2x10 cab. I am always careful with my kit, so if it fails within three years it will get fixed/replaced/refunded. After 3 years, at this price, it owes me nothing.

As you all say, you pays your money and you take your chances..........I'll post reviews when I have rocked the amp and the other gear Iam adding to my order.