Old school Soul/funk/disco

[lancer]

These are my favourite genres of music.

I believe that solid state amps were gaining popularity in the late 60’s and through the 70’s.

I guess my question is, what current brands of amplifier are better at getting close to that kind of sound.

I want to buy a new amp but I’m not keen on the “hifi” modern sound too much, being old and all.

I hope someone can point me in the right direction 

[sshorepunk]

My genzler is good for that, also goes the opposite way if needed
my old streamliner had a nice vintage tone too it

i hear people refer to Anguilla TH’s as old school sounding and the dark glass amps always sound like they do a good job in that area! 
 

Tony

Edited April 14, 2020 by sshorepunk

[bassfan]

3 hours ago, lancer said:

These are my favourite genres of music.

I believe that solid state amps were gaining popularity in the late 60’s and through the 70’s.

I guess my question is, what current brands of amplifier are better at getting close to that kind of sound.

I want to buy a new amp but I’m not keen on the “hifi” modern sound too much, being old and all.

I hope someone can point me in the right direction 

You just need some 10 year old dead strings and voila- chic! 😃
 

Great genre of music 👍🏻

[BassmanPaul]

Solid State in the Sixties not so much. The reliability just wasn't there yet. The VOX T60 was solid state but used Germanium transistors that would tend to cook themselves at regular intervals due to thermal runaway.

[Dan Dare]

Most decent modern amps will make a reasonable job of most things. Replicating recorded sound in a live situation is not simply a matter of using what people on the records use or used. Bass would virtually always have been (and still is) recorded direct, perhaps augmented with a mic'd cab, but often not. The sound you hear on the records was/is created via a lot of expensive studio-quality equipment that you could not possibly take out on the road. Even if you have very deep pockets (and people to carry it), it will still not necessarily produce the goods at live volumes without PA support (and high quality PA support at that).

You can end up chasing your own tail and wasting a lot of money trying to get 'that' sound/tone. Prices of a lot of average and even poor "classic" kit have been driven into the stratosphere as a result. A classic example is the myth that "An Ampeg B15 will give me that Jamerson tone because that's what he used in the studio". Leaving aside the fact that JJ's sound, as is that of all players, was largely in his fingers/technique, bass at Motown was recorded direct, via custom preamps (Motown built or had their own built) and so on. The amp was merely used for in-room monitoring so the band could hear the bass.

Best to visit a few well-stocked shops, ask their advice, try a few things, read some reviews and find out what you like. In view of what you're looking to re-create, some valves would be worth trying, but they're not essential. Fwiw, I get a decent approximation of the Jamerson tone with a Carvin class D head and Phil Jones cabs, which are hardly classic or vintage stuff.

[stewblack]

@Dan Dare has the answer.