What's the best class D bass amp head you've used?

[Stofferson]

2 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’m seeing a lot of past tense ‘had’ comments and wondering why if these are ‘best’ then why aren’t they your current amp?

I’m just bored and asking, not questioning your choices. 

My backs still good 😂 I can still handle the A/B goodness 

[bassfan]

Bergantino BAmp.... just saying. 😊

[dave_bass5]

Just now, bassfan said:

Bergantino BAmp.... just saying. 😊

Haha, yeah, we heard the 11th time lol. 

[scrumpymike]

59 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’m seeing a lot of past tense ‘had’ comments and wondering why if these are ‘best’ then why aren’t they your current amp?

I’m just bored and asking, not questioning your choices. 

To quote a well-known song: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."  I ended up buying back the GK MB800 Fusion I mistakenly sold.

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, scrumpymike said:

To quote a well-known song: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."  I ended up buying back the GK MB800 Fusion I mistakenly sold.

Haha, yeah, that’s what I meant. Why not buy another?

[BCH]

11 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

To quote a well-known song: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."  I ended up buying back the GK MB800 Fusion I mistakenly sold.

From a top guy...so thats 2 top guys...ha

[Lozz196]

1 hour ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’m seeing a lot of past tense ‘had’ comments and wondering why if these are ‘best’ then why aren’t they your current amp?

I’m just bored and asking, not questioning your choices. 

 

27 minutes ago, scrumpymike said:

To quote a well-known song: "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone."  I ended up buying back the GK MB800 Fusion I mistakenly sold.

 

25 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Haha, yeah, that’s what I meant. Why not buy another?

That’s what I did, had to buy another Ashdown RM500. And then when they brought out the EVO II version (half the weight but more importantly brushed metal front panel rather than shiny) well I had to get one of those. So I did, sold the old one and said EVO II ain’t going anywhere. Luckily the EVO Is that I had I bought used so never lost out much on the buying/selling of them both.

[Woodinblack]

4 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Er hmmm...I think you must be on the wrong thread? All that being a rock god is clearly resulting in confusion. 

Why?

someone liked the mibass 2, never seen anyone comment about it. I had one for a few years, played it 5 times, luckily managed to sell it recently

[Mudpup]

5 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’m seeing a lot of past tense ‘had’ comments and wondering why if these are ‘best’ then why aren’t they your current amp?

I’m just bored and asking, not questioning your choices. 

It's because its "the best CLASS D amp" and not "the best amp"..... lots of people try them for a bit and then frequently find they're missing a bit of secret sauce compared with other amps. I've had quite a few and only found 2 that get close for me. But i still prefer my class A/B Gallien.

 

[dave_bass5]

8 minutes ago, Mudpup said:

It's because its "the best CLASS D amp" and not "the best amp"..... lots of people try them for a bit and then frequently find they're missing a bit of secret sauce compared with other amps. I've had quite a few and only found 2 that get close for me. But i still prefer my class A/B Gallien.

 

I’m talking bout those that have had class D and still have class D, only not the one they rate as the best. 

[chris_b]

5 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

I’m seeing a lot of past tense ‘had’ comments and wondering why if these are ‘best’ then why aren’t they your current amp?

+1

Over the years I've sold some great gear, but the best gear I've ever played is sitting right here in my front room.

[dave_bass5]

12 minutes ago, chris_b said:

+1

Over the years I've sold some great gear, but the best gear I've ever played is sitting right here in my front room.

And that’s the sad part, we all have fantastic gear sitting around at the moment 😬

 

[Merton]

12 hours ago, dave_bass5 said:

Haha, yeah, that’s what I meant. Why not buy another?

That’s exactly what I did with the RM800. Sold the first one when money was tight, eventually came back to the RM500 but then swapped it out for an 800 because I prefer the power section. Volume-wise there’s not a lot in it but it just kicks better IMO and feels more like a class AB which is why I love it so much.

[alanbass1]

I have owned a number of Class D amps previously from Markbass and TC Electronics.  At the beginning of 2014 I got a Demeter VTBP-M-800D (rolls of the tongue) and really haven't wanted another amp since.  Very simple, has a warmth with clarity, which I assume the valves play some part, and enough volume and 'slam' I require for the small to medium club venues I play (volume never above 10 O'clock paired with two Bergantino 1x12 cabs, and believe me we have a loud drummer and usually I'm not miked up to a PA).  Also, takes pedals really well to enable multiple flavours of sounds (I use a Darkglass B7K for rockier/grunge type sounds, Empress para eq for funkier stuff, and straight through for anything else - with a FEA labs compressor/limiter to smooth things out and a 3Leaf Chromotron to Bootsy it up a bit).  

I reckon there may be others that are different but equally good - maybe better in some ways, but there is something about the sound of the Demeter, and quality of build, that has stopped me looking.

[sshorepunk]

I'm uisng s Genzler Magellan 800, had it for a while now

Prior to that had a streamliner, which I really liked, had opurtunity to pick up the Genzler, figured it would be all the streamliner was and more

Wasn't wrong, it doesn't have the valve pre amp, but it's such a versatile am with a wide range of tones

I'm using it with Vanderkly 2x10's, I was giging this a lot, using just one cab when needed. With two cabs I had a nice compact set up that was is capable of some serious volume

Realy like what I hear about the Darkglass amps, wouldn't mind trying one at some point, the Microtube Mk1, the later version looks more complex, simple is good for me

Back to roiginal point, Genzler is good for me and I've had some nice amps over the years!

Tony

[dave_bass5]

54 minutes ago, sshorepunk said:

I'm uisng s Genzler Magellan 800, had it for a while now

Prior to that had a streamliner, which I really liked, had opurtunity to pick up the Genzler, figured it would be all the streamliner was and more

Wasn't wrong, it doesn't have the valve pre amp, but it's such a versatile am with a wide range of tones

I'm using it with Vanderkly 2x10's, I was giging this a lot, using just one cab when needed. With two cabs I had a nice compact set up that was is capable of some serious volume

Realy like what I hear about the Darkglass amps, wouldn't mind trying one at some point, the Microtube Mk1, the later version looks more complex, simple is good for me

Back to roiginal point, Genzler is good for me and I've had some nice amps over the years!

Tony

Ive come so close to getting a Genzler  a few times. In fact it was having owned a Streamliner when they first came out that put me off. Nice amp but I didn’t really like the voicing. I do still want to try one at some point, I think I’d lie it more. 

Edited April 24, 2020 by dave_bass5

[Al Krow]

7 hours ago, sshorepunk said:

Realy like what I hear about the Darkglass amps, wouldn't mind trying one at some point, the Microtube Mk1, the later version looks more complex, simple is good for me

Had the Mk1 and have moved on to the AO900. Not really more complex - you get some additional versatility on the EQ and a few bells and whistles on the rear which you may or may not use - headphone out with independent vol control is one nice touch.

Key point is whether you have a preference for the B3K / VMT drive (then a Mk1 will be fine) or prefer the the AO drive (in which case go for the AO 900) or are not a particular fan / positively dislike DG drives or have got your own fav drive pedal => effectively spending your cash on just the power amp, which is excellent, but maybe better spending your coin on something that doesn't have £300 of DG drives built into its front end.

[dave_bass5]

53 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Key point is whether you have a preference for the B3K / VMT drive (then a Mk1 will be fine) or prefer the the AO drive (in which case go for the AO 900) .

Doesn’t matter, just put a BDDI in front of either and you’re  good to go 😂😂

[Al Krow]

18 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Doesn’t matter, just put a BDDI in front of either and you’re  good to go 😂😂

Most pointless preamp I've ever had the pleasure of using. Now a VT Bass DI on the other hand... 

[dave_bass5]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Most pointless preamp I've ever had the pleasure of using. Now a VT Bass DI on the other hand... 

Freak 😂😂

[Lozz196]

34 minutes ago, dave_bass5 said:

Doesn’t matter, just put a BDDI in front of either and you’re  good to go 😂😂

 

15 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Most pointless preamp I've ever had the pleasure of using. Now a VT Bass DI on the other hand... 

Our old producer showed me the best way to use the BDDI, get the exact sound you want from your amp, put all controls on the BBDI except for Blend at midday, switch it on, then turn the Blend up til you get where you want. It tightens up the sound, reduces mids in virtually the exact area where they can congest a bit, and enables cutting through without being harsh. Quite a revelation really as I`d never got exactly what I wanted from one when I had one, but on our first recording with him he said no, put this in the chain, have a listen to the results, if you don`t like it we can take it out. I kept it there, sounded great. 

[dave_bass5]

1 minute ago, Lozz196 said:

 

Our old producer showed me the best way to use the BDDI, get the exact sound you want from your amp, put all controls on the BBDI except for Blend at midday, switch it on, then turn the Blend up til you get where you want. It tightens up the sound, reduces mids in virtually the exact area where they can congest a bit, and enables cutting through without being harsh. Quite a revelation really as I`d never got exactly what I wanted from one when I had one, but on our first recording with him he said no, put this in the chain, have a listen to the results, if you don`t like it we can take it out. I kept it there, sounded great. 

Pretty much spot on. Took me over a year of hating it to figure out the Blend is the key. As you say, it can be used to just bolster the tone without too much noticeable change. I like to think of it a bit like Turing active mode on a bass. The latest incarnation is the best yet, and  it’s a shame Line 6 didn’t update their version of the BDDI in the Helix. Still good as an always on for me though. 

[Al Krow]

Haha fair! So, to summarise it took two super experienced BCers:

- one, a whole year while hating it, and

- the other, never while he owned it

to actually work out how to use the thing, and you then got just one really good sound by dialling it exactly right? 

Well it took me exactly 24 hours to dial in a sound I really like on the VTDI and it's one of half a dozen great aounds. Which is why Tech 21 issued the deluxe version with presets, as they cottoned on to its versatility. 

Dave - you clearly have the patience of a saint, mate. Which, given that you generally don't do "waiting around", is quite surprising 😂 

Lozz - are you saying the Paradriver no longer trumps the BDDI for you? 

Edited April 24, 2020 by Al Krow

[dave_bass5]

It didn’t take me a year of using it to find the tone, I had it a year before I started using it after the first gig (the only gig I’ve ever done without back line, which is why I brought it). Tried it on and off over the following year, but only made 6-7 times. Back then I didn’t know the benefit of using a pre amp in front of a pre amp, so I’d just use it every now and then but it mostly stayed in the bag as a back up if needed. 
I must admit the VTBass DI is more immediately satisfying, but I also found it more of a tone changer, which is why I loved both but kept the BDDI. 

[Lozz196]

35 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

Lozz - are you saying the Paradriver no longer trumps the BDDI for you? 

No, definitely not, how very dare you!!!! 😡

What happened was that as per our producer, I got my sound from my - at the time - Aguilar Tonehammer, either amp if using my own set up or preamp pedal if using a provided rig - then beefed up/sculpted the sound with the BDDI as described. But I wanted to slim down the amount of pedals I used as we had overseas gigs which involved flying, wanted less gear to carry, so did a bit of research and found said Paradriver, which on its own did what the Tonehammer/BDDI combination did.

Similarly, that`s how I ended up with the Ashdown RM500 - at the London Bass Guitar Show I tried one and it could do on its own what I needed to add the BDDI in to the Tonehammer to get, so swapped Aguilar for Ashdown and stayed ever since.