GRamp out does Markbass?

[Al Krow]

Was at a jazz / blues venue last night with a full set by Davide Shorty & The Fresh Prints. Great little band over here from Italy. Bass player was very good. Had a quick chat with him at the end of the night. He mentioned he had started using GR amps (gonna quickly get known as the "gramp", right? ) in place of Markbass and he found them to be really "true" to what he was actually playing. I've not come across them before and he suggested I check them out.

A recent review on MusicRadar seems to echo what he is saying - although annoyingly there was no mention of what cab they were playing it through!

[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][i]"Rizzi's motto is 'Respect your bass'. By this, he means that the 700+ does not modify the sound of your bass guitar. The philosophy is that you create your sound with your fingers and your bass: with this in mind, we plugged in our Music Man Stingray Classic, activated the -10 dB switch, set the EQ controls to the 12 o'clock position and left the subsonic filter switched off.[/i][/font][/size]
[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][i]Using the VU meter we added a decent amount of gain before setting the master volume to the 11 o'clock position. [b]We're happy to report that the 700+ immediately sounded immense. [/b]We'd have been ready to play a gig with that basic flat setting there and then.[/i][/font][/size]
[size=4][font=arial,helvetica,sans-serif][i]Don't get us wrong, we've achieved some entirely pleasing results using other micro heads, but this was [b]unquestionably the most impressive flat setting, plug in and play moment we've enjoyed to date[/b]."[/i][/font][/size]

[Cuzzie]

Yep

Come across them before and they seem pretty well made, good principles with a decent sound from what I have heard without having road tested in the flesh.
If I am correct you can also get custom colours, very Italian!

Another to add to this which may do the job are a Dutch manufacturer called Hevos.

This is all going on specs and on what little sound bites you can get on the internet, but seems a very credible alternative.

I think there are loads of things out there to use which will do the job really well, sometimes you need to take a punt similar to what Wateroftyne has done with Handbox.
I've done a similar with Form Factor Audio.

I suppose for most folks it's a question of sticking with tried and tested in case you want to move it on.

Finally nice to have a trusted ear hear it in the flesh.

Were you impressed?

Is this a Ferrari vs Maserati or a Fiat vs Alfa Romeo debate?!

[Al Krow]

I was impressed by the bass player for sure, but he was playing via a Markbass house amp(!) DI'd to the (excellent) house PA at Boisdale in Canary Wharf. So I have not heard "Gramp" amp in the flesh yet. However the bass player was very enthusiastic about them, so I thought I would check them out further and share with my fellow BCers.

Btw Markbass = Alfa Romeo (and Genzler Magellan in this category too?). Definitely not a Ferrrari / Maserati = Glockenlang / Form Factor / Mesa Boogie, or indeed a Fiat = Fender Rumble. All great amps in their own way. There you go. Nice controversial black and white statement to get the morning off to a tin hat start

[Cuzzie]

Good to hear

You are nearly right on the comparisons though

Glock will be Audi/Mercedes/BMW battle, we can even through minis in there

Form factor vs Mesa you are looking at Shelby mustang vs corvette etc!

[bazzbass]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1504951720' post='3368488']
Btw Markbass = Alfa Romeo (
[/quote]

I strongly disagree, Alfa Romeos are probably the worst cars to own in Australia where they rust out within a decade.

Nice cars to drive, but no, you don't buy one in Oz. I spent so many friggin hour filling in my cousins Alfasud with chicken wire and putty lol.

No, not in Australia.

[stingrayPete1977]

What about a stunning Alfa 4c made of composites?

[url=https://postimages.org/][/url]

Edited September 11, 2017 by stingrayPete1977

[Hellzero]

Alfasud's weren't real Alfa's and, man, you must be old, even older than me... ;-)

What about AER amps, are these the Rolls Royce of amps ?

[Al Krow]

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1505118657' post='3369512']
Alfasud's weren't real Alfa's and, man, you must be old, even older than me... ;-)
What about AER amps, are these the Rolls Royce of amps ?
[/quote]

I remember driving an Alfasud, belonging to one of my parents, as youth. They were a good looking and fun car back in their day! Is it just me or is that alfa 4c does look like a porsche rip off (a Fender P Bass clone?)

AERs haven't been updated for a decade! So what car they equate to is anyone's guess but it would need to be a 2007 model.

Has anyone actually tried out a GRamp? [i][OP vaguely trying to keep the thread on track, but actually really enjoying the vehicular distraction][/i]

[yorks5stringer]

[quote name='bazztard' timestamp='1505108958' post='3369444']
I strongly disagree, Alfa Romeos are probably the worst cars to own in Australia where they rust out within a decade.

Nice cars to drive, but no, you don't buy one in Oz. I spent so many friggin hour filling in my cousins Alfasud with chicken wire and putty lol.

No, not in Australia.
[/quote]
Alfasuds were built in a new state subsidised factory using cheap steel from Russia obtained in a deal with the Italian Government: the last ones were built in the late 80's. (note: 37 years ago)!

There is still a market for current and older Alfas in Australia judging from the owners who contribute to some of the Alfa forums I lurk in.

Next you'll be saying all Fords are dull because they are only available in Black......

[Al Krow]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1505133437' post='3369668']
Alfasuds were built in a new state subsidised factory using cheap steel from Russia obtained in a deal with the Italian Government: the last ones were built in the late 80's. (note: 37 years ago)!

There is still a market for current and older Alfas in Australia judging from the owners who contribute to some of the Alfa forums I lurk in.

Next you'll be saying all Fords are dull because they are only available in Black......
[/quote]

Haha! I didn't realise you could still only get Fords in black - I'd put that down to London pollution (but they are dull, right?!)

Edited September 11, 2017 by Al Krow

[Count Bassy]

[quote name='Hellzero' timestamp='1505118657' post='3369512']
Alfasud's weren't real Alfa's and, man, you must be old, even older than me... ;-)

What about AER amps, are these the Rolls Royce of amps ?
[/quote]
But they did have the wonderful horizontally opposed engine.

Edited September 11, 2017 by Count Bassy

[chris_b]

GR amps don't seem to have a presence in any of their dealerships yet. I gave up trying to find them in shops in Europe.

I've heard many players using the "best" gear and still sounding terrible. The good players will sound good through most amps.

The market is saturated with great sounding amps. IMO finding yet another piece of gear, even good quality, isn't a particularly exciting event anymore.

[Al Krow]

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1505138804' post='3369726']
I've heard many players using the "best" gear and still sounding terrible. The good players will sound good through most amps.
[/quote]

VERY true!

[quote name='chris_b' timestamp='1505138804' post='3369726']
The market is saturated with great sounding amps. IMO finding yet another piece of gear, even good quality, isn't a particularly exciting event anymore.
[/quote]

You told Alex that and to abandon his new BFamp?

I guess what you're saying is that a great new amp is a bit like:
Someone coming up with a fantastic new piece of music ([i]so dull, heard it all before, wasn't there this band called the Beatles, been nothing better since...[/i])?
Or going out and hearing yet [i]another[/i] really tight band, playing a great set ([i]man, really? [/i][i]yawn[/i])?
Or just another amazing blockbuster movie or stunning episode of Game of Thrones ([i]Another battle scene, [/i][i]zzzz...I'm falling asleep already. W[/i][i]hat happened to Charlton Heston and Ben Hur, that was some chariot race! [/i])?

Yup. It's time for a cup o cocoa and some nice comfy slippers...

[Dan Dare]

[quote name='yorks5stringer' timestamp='1505133437' post='3369668']

Alfasuds were built in a new state subsidised factory using cheap steel from Russia obtained in a deal with the Italian Government: the last ones were built in the late 80's. (note: 37 years ago)!

There is still a market for current and older Alfas in Australia judging from the owners who contribute to some of the Alfa forums I lurk in.

Next you'll be saying all Fords are dull because they are only available in Black......
[/quote]

A garage-owning pal of mine told me the reason Italian cars had a rust problem (they are better now, thanks to improved finishing, although you shouldn't delay in getting scratches and paint chips fixed), was because Italy has no steel reserves and has to import it all. As a result, they use a lot of recycled steel. When you re-smelt steel, the sulphur content goes up and makes it more susceptible to rusting.

[chris_b]

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1505141002' post='3369744']
You told Alex that and to abandon his new BFamp? [/quote]

If his cabs are anything to go by, I'm sure Alex will come up with a show stopper. I will certainly check it out when it arrives.