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The HandBox Amplification thread


wateroftyne

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Great demo again WoT.
The amp sounds a lot more HiFi to my ear compared to the first HandBox amp, equally nice though, just different.
I'd be keen to see/hear the Dual Channel Class D amp they've got coming too, although I am starting to think that I'm not going to be happy with anything bar solid state these days...

As far as your demos go, I agree, it's so much better to hear something familiar and repetitive to get a real feel for how something sounds and how it compares to others.
There's nothing worse than a demo for an amp where the player just shows off making it impossible to actually figure out how the gear in question actual sounds in real life.
Keep it up man, don't let the haters get you down ;)

Cheers,
Ewan

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[quote name='Passinwind' timestamp='1465491379' post='3068749']
Are those from the DI again? In any case, nice job, as usual.
[/quote]

Thanks for the kind comments, Charlie - I'm still learning all the time!

And yes, it's the DI.

[quote name='eude' timestamp='1465562267' post='3069286']
Great demo again WoT.
The amp sounds a lot more HiFi to my ear compared to the first HandBox amp, equally nice though, just different.
I'd be keen to see/hear the Dual Channel Class D amp they've got coming too, although I am starting to think that I'm not going to be happy with anything bar solid state these days...

As far as your demos go, I agree, it's so much better to hear something familiar and repetitive to get a real feel for how something sounds and how it compares to others.
There's nothing worse than a demo for an amp where the player just shows off making it impossible to actually figure out how the gear in question actual sounds in real life.
Keep it up man, don't let the haters get you down ;)

Cheers,
Ewan
[/quote]

I would agree - it seems a lot more SS-sounding, but that might well be because I had the input pretty low. I need to spend more time with it, but someone has just picked it up to have a go of it. :)

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Thanks to the hospitality of Gary I was able to try out one of these beauts. They look a lot better in person, especially when they light up, plus their small foot print is a nice addition.

Sound wise, in the short time I had with it I was able to get nice and manageable tones without disturbing the neighbours. When Gary took over with his percision he had a lovely sound going, if any of you can id highly recommend checking one out.

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I had a trial with the R-400 a weekend ago and was very impressed, I started by setting the tone controls to flat and then all it needed was a slight tweak of the contour control and that was it, this amp really cuts through in a band setting, very easy to find a gap in the mix and be heard, I found that I had plenty of power when paired with my Barefaced Midgets, unfortunately I didn't have time to try out any other cabs but this head certainly has enough to make myself heard at any venue I'm likely to pay with my pub band, I don't think I'd need any more power (if I was playing bigger venues then I'd use the excellent DI and just use my rig for on-stage monitoring)

the overdrive is very controllable as well, very easy to dial in just the right amount of grit (or a lot of dirt) I found myself just setting it to just below the breakup point then using a boost pedal to push it over into breakup when I needed to.

I'm very tempted to order one of these but with a baby on the way and uncertainty about my employment it would have to wait a few months at least.

Matt

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I'm still totally in love with this amp. I've done a couple of big gigs recently, and the FOH have complimented the DI both times, without any prompting. And it's just sounded glorious on stage with no tweaking whatsoever.

Here's a clip from one of the gigs - bass is just DI'd from the head. The second song of the two has more bass stuff going on.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khp42FI55uk

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[quote name='wateroftyne' timestamp='1467365948' post='3083094']
I've got nothing this weekend, so if anyone in the Newcastle area would like to borrow the R-400, let me know...
[/quote]

Fancy a trip down to the Blues Bar at Harrogate tonight?

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  • 2 weeks later...

Thanks mate, I'm quite interested in this one, assuming it's got one of the newer Class D power sections that is.
I tried Merton's Rootmaster 800 a couple of weeks ago and the updated power sections sound SO much better...

Eude

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Hmmm... I've emailed HandBox twice now to acertain what they will charge to freight an R-400 to New Zealand, and no reply. Not very good in the PR dept methinks. I see they use FedEx, and I believe FedEx to be quite expensive, hence I need to see if it's gonna be worth it, or not.

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[quote name='Marty Forrer' timestamp='1468454742' post='3091101']
Hmmm... I've emailed HandBox twice now to acertain what they will charge to freight an R-400 to New Zealand, and no reply. Not very good in the PR dept methinks. I see they use FedEx, and I believe FedEx to be quite expensive, hence I need to see if it's gonna be worth it, or not.
[/quote]

Leszek is on holiday at the moment. He's back this weekend, I think...

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So I finally got to give the Red Fighter a run out last night.

It has two 500w analogue amps in it, only one of which I was using last night, and it just sounds huge. I haven't had much chance to play with the gain structure or OK yet, but it felt more solid state than the R-400 - I imagine this will change if I cranked the input or hit the crunch switch. It slammed through my 2x12 - if I had two 4ohm cabs I'd be able to run both sides of the amp, which would be ridiculous.

It's a big beast, but it's not actually that heavy. I imagine it would be a pretty easy lift once it's racked up.

And the construction quality is, as I've mentioned before, MESA standard. No cheap plastic or parts. Just solid quality.

Oh, and did I mention the pretty lights?

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[quote name='Marty Forrer' timestamp='1468876343' post='3094027']
Thanks wateroftyne. I tried to order an R-400 from the website, and it wouldn't work, kept saying there are none. Sent another email four days ago, still no reply. I'm picking I'm gonna give up on this exercise very shortly.
[/quote]

That's frustrating for you. I'll ask him to check his junk mail folder. He's had a similar problem before, I think...

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Thanks, I appreciate that. I'm struggling to understand why a new product is not available. When I try to order one from the website, as soon as I add to cart it comes up with a box saying not available. Maybe they're not in full production yet?

Edited by Marty Forrer
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[quote name='Bigwan' timestamp='1468997307' post='3094884']
Any idea if the Fortec 700T (the twin channel Ampeg/Fender mashup) that you showed pics of is likely to make production WoT? Interested to see a price on that one...
[/quote]

I just asked him - there are no plans for it to go into production. He says there's not enough demand for the bigger, pricier heads. :-(

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