worst amp you have owned or had the luck to use

[ern500evo]

Mine was a Marshall 1x15 combo, not sure of the exact model but it was by far the worst amp I've ever owned. It was a hateful crock of sh*t. Just pure mud.

[scalpy]

Laney Linebacker 100 and HH215. How to sound like a boiling vat of baked beans in one uneasy to move rig.

[rOB]

Wow, think I must have been lucky and spoilt. Never had an amp I hated. Rehearsal room amps sometimes aren't great but stick a pre amp in front and I've always been able to get a useable sound.

[voxpop]

[quote name='Hobbayne' timestamp='1359585890' post='1957270']
I had a Carlsboro Cobra 100w combo, utter sh*te!
[/quote]

Another one for the good old cobra 100. It was so bad I gave up playing for 2 years, utter crap.

[BluRay]

I had a Cougar 115 combo that was horrific. I'd "upgraded" from my first amp, a 1968 fender bassman silverface, because the cougar had more watts (which I thought meant it was better). I still weep bitter tears of regret.

[MarkW]

[quote name='VTypeV4' timestamp='1359596940' post='1957440']

I used a Carlsboro keyboard amp as a bass amp once and that was pretty diabolical. I know it could be argued that it wasn't really fit for purpose but it had no balls and when asked to do a bit of low end, the speaker complained with that horrible paper/flap bottoming out sound.

[/quote]

Just to make the unmitigated awfulness of my Sound City combo come to life for you, I was playing in a youth big band at the time, and the hiss and tone (or lack thereof) from the thing was truly unbearable. In the end the conductor went out and bought a Carlsbro keyboard amp, which whilst still being crap, was a MASSIVE improvement.

This has brought back some painful memories. I think I have to go and stroke my Trace Elliot rig now…

[Roland Rock]

My first combo, which was a Cougar 1x15, but then it was cheap as chips.

After that, some Electric Blue head at a rehearsal studio - horrible!

Oh, and my old SWR Basic Black. Couldn't get a sound I liked out of it

Edited January 31, 2013 by Roland Rock

[winterfire666]

Every ashdown thats been the shared rig at gigs.(too many times)
Its impossible to get my sound with them, they just dont cut it.
If i turn up and theres an ashdown on stage my heart sinks immediately.

[Marvin]

A truly dire Gorilla practice amp. Just shocking.

I borrowed some Laney combo for a practice once that was dreadful as well. None of the controls seemed to do anything, perhaps they were decorative. And it sounded, rubbish.

[BILL POSTERS]

I started with a Linear cage amp, actually an RSC version, into a home made 2X15 with Fane pop60s, pretty bad. Had an Elgen 100W that sounded OK with the same cab but was so unreliable I swapped it for a Marshall 100 head, which was even worse.

Also had a Fender 100W Transistor amp circa 1993, Truly sounded crap,but iirc it only cost about £60 or £70 new.

[steve-soar]

My first amp, McGregor Bassman 200, into an HH 2x15". Totally grim.

[Bassman Steve]

A couple of mentions of the HH 2x15. I had one and then bought an Ampeg V4B cab. In my youthful ignorance I figured the HH speakers (being double the power handling) would be great in the Ampeg. They were, as it happens but I would have appreciated the fact that the cab was a great design.

I once played through a Customs Sound Trucker - woeful!!!!

[Japhet]

[quote name='Marvin' timestamp='1359627881' post='1957702']
A truly dire Gorilla practice amp. Just shocking.

I borrowed some Laney combo for a practice once that was dreadful as well. None of the controls seemed to do anything, perhaps they were decorative. And it sounded, rubbish.
[/quote]

I had a 25w Gorilla practice amp. Horrible. Also had a Fender BXR 100watt (? I think) which weighed a ton and had virtually no volume.

[bartelby]

An Ampeg PF-500. Had 2 of them, both failed. Totally unreliable.

[JellyKnees]

[quote name='steve-soar' timestamp='1359633542' post='1957858']
My first amp, McGregor Bassman 200, into an HH 2x15". Totally grim.
[/quote]

Ha! I had a McGregor 200, which I ran into 2 15" no-name bass bins...I don't remember it sounding that bad at the time, although I was about 15 and probably didn't know better...it was probably pretty crap though, they were pretty cheapo amps.

[charic]

There was a Torque Bass amp at my old uni... that thing made everything sound crap

[danhkr]

Wow, a lot of hate for stuff on here. Maybe it was all broken!

I know Carlsbro are about as fashionable as Noel Edmonds, but the ones I've used in rehearsal dives etc I could always get a good solid if basic tone out of. Also Ashdown have a hell of an artist roster, so they must be doing something right, no?

Not heard [i]too[/i] many people comment on important factors such as reliability, value for money and sufficient volume for the wattage - are people mistaking 'not to my taste' as 'bad'?

Edited January 31, 2013 by danhkr

[BILL POSTERS]

[quote name='danhkr' timestamp='1359637424' post='1957979']
Wow, a lot of hate for stuff on here. Maybe it was all broken!

I know Carlsbro are about as fashionable as Noel Edmonds, but the ones I've used in rehearsal dives etc I could always get a good solid if basic tone out of. Also Ashdown have a hell of an artist roster, so they must be doing something right, no?

Not heard [i]too[/i] many people comment on important factors such as reliability, value for money and sufficient volume for the wattage - are people mistaking 'not to my taste' as 'bad'?
[/quote]

I had a grey coloured 150W Carlsbro 4X10 combo for a while and I tought it was pretty good. I think most people who knock Carlsbro are thinking theyre all liek the Stingray, which was dire.

[jackers]

the worst stuff I have had to play through are the old peavey combos that rehearsal places insist on providing. They always seem to buy them second hand cos they are cheap, and pretty much every one I have used farts out on low notes as soon as you get the volume high enough to rehearse with. Ghastly things.

[paulpirie8]

The worst amp I've ever had to use was an old Trace Elliot 4x10 combo which was the house amp at a venue I played. I'm not a fan of Trace stuff at the best of times but this thing was the most pokey, farty thing I've ever heard in my life. Truly awful!

The worst part is that people still regularly use it at that venue!

Paul

[Graham]

[quote name='charic' timestamp='1359636806' post='1957962']
There was a Torque Bass amp at my old uni... that thing made everything sound crap
[/quote]
You didn't go to Anglia Polytechnic did you? As I remember there being a Torque there, and you are in Cambs.....

[charic]

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1359639606' post='1958048']
You didn't go to Anglia Polytechnic did you? As I remember there being a Torque there, and you are in Cambs.....
[/quote]

Yeah

Hold on... Do I remember you have a Korn bass on here? If so I think I know who you are (via who you dated)

[razze06]

The practice room of an old band of mine was practically doubling up as a broken musical equipment storage area, and some of the ancient bits of kit would occasionally be pressed into service when needed.

Enter "Steelphon" 2x15 active PA speakers. A pair of them, only one working. Plugged the bass directly in, direst tone you can imagine. Had to use it for a couple of months until we got enough money to fix the TE combo. Which i disliked anyway...

[PaulWarning]

in defence of Carlsboro, I used a Beasty for quite a while, till the preamp packed in, decent combo, still use it as a 1x15 extension cab and a back up which I can use if I plug my fx pedal straight into the power amp

[bremen]

[quote name='Graham' timestamp='1359639606' post='1958048']
You didn't go to Anglia Polytechnic did you? As I remember there being a Torque there, and you are in Cambs.....
[/quote]

Anglia Polytechnic University, or 'APU'.

They ran an advertising campaign on the sides of buses in 2001, slogan 'Make it APU in 2002'

I looked forward to the following year's campaign: 'Have a wee in 2003'

Anyway. Crap amps. I had a Marshall transistor amp, 100W (yeah right). Looked like the classic Marshall but ran over with a steamroller. Sounded as thin as it looked.