The HandBox Amplification thread

[drlargepants]

23 hours ago, Deedee said:

Just to confirm what was mentioned earlier in this thread, Sims Guitars are now a UK distributor for Handbox amps. I contacted them back in March and they confirmed this. At that time inc vat prices were as below plus £15 for uk shipping:

R-400 £678.00

WB-100 All Tube Head  £948.00

 

http://www.sims.guitars/

Gosh, they’ve gone up a bit (well the wb-100 has)

[warwickhunt]

22 hours ago, wateroftyne said:

I think there’s been one for sale on here, but it didn’t last long...!

There were 2 in the space of as many days... I should know.  😎

[Oldman]

1 hour ago, drlargepants said:

Gosh, they’ve gone up a bit (well the wb-100 has)

Buy direct !

[wateroftyne]

Messing around with the gain cranked a bit on the R-400... (cab is mic'd rather than DI'd).

 

[drlargepants]

On 10/06/2020 at 21:32, Oldman said:

Buy direct !

I did !

[Clarky]

On 10/06/2020 at 20:30, drlargepants said:

Gosh, they’ve gone up a bit (well the wb-100 has)

Said quietly, I paid Leszek £580 for my R-400 a month back, albeit the figure will move with the sterling/zloty exchange rate

[drlargepants]

My WB-100 was £750 iirc

[Lozz196]

On 11/06/2020 at 21:53, wateroftyne said:

Messing around with the gain cranked a bit on the R-400... (cab is mic'd rather than DI'd).

 

That’s a great Precision sound, it just works so well.

[Mudpup]

On 10/06/2020 at 20:30, drlargepants said:

Gosh, they’ve gone up a bit (well the wb-100 has)

They'll have to factor a distributor margin in now - it'll reflect in the price if you buy from the UK.

[peteb]

11 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

They'll have to factor a distributor margin in now - it'll reflect in the price if you buy from the UK.

The additional issue to factor in is that as of January 2021, you may well be paying import duty as well. So, if you are thinking of getting one, it might well be worth taking the plunge before the end of the year!

[peteb]

A quick question - does anyone know where I can get another blue bulb for my HB R400? This is the bulb that backlights the logo when the amp is in playing mode. 

The red light that shows that the amp is still warming up is still working, so I just need a suitable blue bulb. 

Cheers, Pete 

 

[JapanAxe]

On 15/06/2020 at 21:29, peteb said:

The additional issue to factor in is that as of January 2021, you may well be paying import duty as well. So, if you are thinking of getting one, it might well be worth taking the plunge before the end of the year!

I fear this could bite quite hard on a few EU online stores - Thomann, Musik Produktiv, Kitary, Banzai etc.

[Woodinblack]

12 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

I fear this could bite quite hard on a few EU online stores - Thomann, Musik Produktiv, Kitary, Banzai etc.

Indeed - I think with additional import duties and the value of our currencies, those won't really be viable for us here any more.

[peteb]

58 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Indeed - I think with additional import duties and the value of our currencies, those won't really be viable for us here any more.

Just to point out that it's not just Handbox - the same will apply to any imported amp (or pretty much any other item)... 

[Woodinblack]

Just now, peteb said:

Just to point out that it's not just Handbox - the same will apply to any imported amp (or pretty much any other item)... 

Indeed, although bigger manufacturers will have a bit of an easier time getting stuff in because the costs in bulk rather than the costs of individual shipments. Similar to getting something direct from the states. Obviously everything will cost more, but some things will be just too much hassle.

[peteb]

16 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

Indeed, although bigger manufacturers will have a bit of an easier time getting stuff in because the costs in bulk rather than the costs of individual shipments. Similar to getting something direct from the states. Obviously everything will cost more, but some things will be just too much hassle.

This is partly the reason that I pulled the trigger on my Handbox when I did. But, even for the bigger manufacturers, will the increased overhead and hassle be worth it for the margin they need to work on, especially when you factor in possible tariffs, etc?? Will the UK market be prepared (or able) to pay a higher price for their products? Of course, it will be even worse for small companies like HB. This will work both ways, which potentially could seriously affect some of my mates who sell services to mainland Europe.

But back to the immediate problem, does anyone know where I can get a blue light for my Handbox R-400?

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, peteb said:

But, even for the bigger manufacturers, will the increased overhead and hassle be worth it for the margin they need to work on, especially when you factor in possible tariffs, etc?? Will the UK market be prepared (or able) to pay a higher price for their products?

Some people will pay the higher price, some won't, I guess the market will just be smaller here. Maybe we will just have to play music and not buy so much gear

 

[JapanAxe]

1 hour ago, peteb said:

This is partly the reason that I pulled the trigger on my Handbox when I did. But, even for the bigger manufacturers, will the increased overhead and hassle be worth it for the margin they need to work on, especially when you factor in possible tariffs, etc?? Will the UK market be prepared (or able) to pay a higher price for their products? Of course, it will be even worse for small companies like HB. This will work both ways, which potentially could seriously affect some of my mates who sell services to mainland Europe.

But back to the immediate problem, does anyone know where I can get a blue light for my Handbox R-400?

Is it a blue light bulb, blue LED, or a whit light of either kind under a blue cover? Can you post a pic of it in situ?

[walshy]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Some people will pay the higher price, some won't, I guess the market will just be smaller here. Maybe we will just have to play music and not buy so much gear

 

NEVER!!! 😂😂😂

[scrumpymike]

So, I've just acquired a used R-400 off here.  Based on first impressions at home and subject to tomorrow night's gig, I have the feeling that I'll be giving wateroftyne a big virtual pat on the back for spreading the word about HandBox on here.  My main amp is a Mesa Subway TT-800 and I'm pleasantly surprised by how close the relatively simple R-400 gets me to the satisfying sounds I've dialled in to the highly-sophisticated TT-800.  Leaving control of the mids to the 'Contour' pot works unexpectedly well and having the 'Crunch' at the top end of the gain control plus the 'Drive' and 'Bright' buttons comes close to achieving the different voicings that the TT-800 relies on 2 channels to deliver.  The only thing I can find to criticise is the absence of 4 rubber feet on the side of the box opposite the carry handle, but that's an easy fix.  The added nice touch for me is that, being half Polish, supporting Leszek's stuff - albeit indirectly so far - gives me extra satisfaction 🙂

[scrumpymike]

Great gig at a new pub venue last night!  The R-400 blew me and the band away (apart from our drummer, who can only relate to standard P-bass sounds) and some of the muso punters came and told me how great the bass sounded.  For me this amp is a real 'find' and in all honesty I wasn't expecting it to be vying with my wonderful Mesa TT-800 (just short of 1200 quid's-worth) as my main gig amp.  Only remains to be seen how its 400W cope with bigger spaces.  I just have to get my head round the relationship between the gain 'Crunch' and the Drive button. Obviously time to read through this topic and see if there's a user manual out there.

[wateroftyne]

2 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

Great gig at a new pub venue last night!  The R-400 blew me and the band away (apart from our drummer, who can only relate to standard P-bass sounds) and some of the muso punters came and told me how great the bass sounded.  For me this amp is a real 'find' and in all honesty I wasn't expecting it to be vying with my wonderful Mesa TT-800 (just short of 1200 quid's-worth) as my main gig amp.  Only remains to be seen how its 400W cope with bigger spaces.  I just have to get my head round the relationship between the gain 'Crunch' and the Drive button. Obviously time to read through this topic and see if there's a user manual out there.

 

Glad to hear it! I think you'll find 400w is more than enough.. we're talking proper watts here 🙂

 

As far as I'm aware, the drive bumps the input gain up 6dB, so if you've got your input gain set clean, hitting the drive switch might start to warm the edges up a little.

[JapanAxe]

12 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

 

Glad to hear it! I think you'll find 400w is more than enough.. we're talking proper watts here 🙂

 

As far as I'm aware, the drive bumps the input gain up 6dB, so if you've got your input gain set clean, hitting the drive switch might start to warm the edges up a little.

Mmmm… warm edges!

[scrumpymike]

28 minutes ago, JapanAxe said:

Mmmm… warm edges!

My favourite! ☺️

[scrumpymike]

52 minutes ago, wateroftyne said:

 

As far as I'm aware, the drive bumps the input gain up 6dB, so if you've got your input gain set clean, hitting the drive switch might start to warm the edges up a little.

 

That should work perfectly for me to boost some of the thinner voices I use for some numbers without fiddling around with volume controls on the amp or bass.  This amp really has been well thought-out.

 

Btw, before the gig I replaced the rubber feet with some larger diameter ones I had and moved the originals to the side opposite the handle.  Much better IMHO... and Mrs Scrumpy is making a nice cover for it too ☺️

Edited August 15, 2021 by scrumpymike