Gr Bass One 800 Vs Aguilar Tonehammer 500

[johnpaulbass]

So, 

this morning I decide to do a little test between these 2 amazing amps.

Received the Gr Bass yesterday so I did a comparison between what used to be my "to go" rig.
I have to say that I'm amazed with the quality of Gr Bass, the tone, clarity and build quality. I must say I was quite skeptical regarding the weight of the At212 but man.. 900w, weights like a feather and amazing sound.

So, enough talking, listen to them yourself

Soundclound Link: Gr Bass 800 Vs Aguilar Tone Hammer 500

Edited March 30, 2021 by johnpaulbass

[stevie]

Interesting. I'll give it a go after a quick listen. The Tonehammer has no lows and no highs. It's all mids and they're not very pleasant. The GR has more lows and a smoother sound, but the top end is lacking. I'd personally be much happier with the GR.

The drums sound great but are too loud for this exercise.

Nice one @johnpaulbass! We could do with more of these.

[Al Krow]

4 hours ago, stevie said:

Interesting. I'll give it a go after a quick listen. The Tonehammer has no lows and no highs. It's all mids and they're not very pleasant. The GR has more lows and a smoother sound, but the top end is lacking. I'd personally be much happier with the GR.

The drums sound great but are too loud for this exercise.

Nice one @johnpaulbass! We could do with more of these.

What's not clear is if the DI out is being taken pre or post EQ?

If it's post DI in both cases and the EQ settings are as per the pics i.e. significant mid cut on the GR and significant mid boost on the Aggie it's apples vs pears and @stevie's comments would then very much be expected.

 

[acidbass]

I owned the TH500 for a couple of years and could never get a clean sound out of it at gig volume.  The Drive control is completely redundant.

[Al Krow]

I'd love to hear how GRBass AT212slim stacks up against the Barefaced cab you have?

They're pretty much the same weight as my BF BB2 but there's a 4ohm version of the GR, unlike the BB2, which would unleash the headroom in a lot of amps including my DG M900 and as much as I love my 1x12s, there's something even better about a 2x12! Stated f resp of 35Hz to 22kHz looks very good too.

[johnpaulbass]

2 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

I'd love to hear how GRBass AT212slim stacks up against the Barefaced cab you have?

They're pretty much the same weight as my BF BB2 but there's a 4ohm version of the GR, unlike the BB2, which would unleash the headroom in a lot of amps including my DG M900 and as much as I love my 1x12s, there's something even better about a 2x12! Stated f resp of 35Hz to 22kHz looks very good too.

Much more clearer, "di" sounding .. it doesen't colour the sound at all. The Barefaced is a TOP Notch cab although has some more lows, more boomy I might say. Some like it (I did for many years) but the more "uncolored" sound of the GR bass suits me more I have to say.

[Al Krow]

2 minutes ago, johnpaulbass said:

Much more clearer, "di" sounding .. it doesen't colour the sound at all. The Barefaced is a TOP Notch cab although has some more lows, more boomy I might say. Some like it (I did for many years) but the more "uncolored" sound of the GR bass suits me more I have to say.

Excellent thanks. Barefaced are considered to be pretty uncoloured, so the GR really is getting into "FRFR" territory then!

Which model BF cab do you have?

PS btw this thread is NOT helping at all in reducing my GR AT212 GAS 😁

Edited March 30, 2021 by Al Krow

[stevie]

51 minutes ago, Al Krow said:

What's not clear is if the DI out is being taken pre or post EQ?

If it's post DI in both cases and the EQ settings are as per the pics i.e. significant mid cut on the GR and significant mid boost on the Aggie it's apples vs pears and @stevie's comments would then very much be expected. 

 

With these kinds of comparisons, it really is necessary to compare like with like. It's not clear whether both amps were set flat but they should be. Was a DI being used or the matching cab? This can complicate matters because you are then comparing two different components at the same time. Interesting though.

[johnpaulbass]

4 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Excellent thanks. Barefaced are considered to be pretty uncoloured, so the GR really is getting into "FRFR" territory then!

Which model BF cab do you have?

PS btw this thread is NOT helping at all in reducing my GR AT212 GAS 😁

https://barefacedbass.com/product-range/Super-Compact.htm (gen 2)

[Al Krow]

Ok that's a little bit of a one sided 'fight' then. 😁

I'd love to hear how it matches up against its bigger brother the BB2 which is the same weight as your AT212. Trouble is Bass Direct who stock the GR kit in the UK, don't stock Barefaced so it's going to be tricky to hear them side by side. So I guess your comparison of the two is going to be the best we are likely to get for a while. 

Have you gone for the 8ohm or 4ohm version? 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Al Krow

[Lozz196]

I preferred the GR, it seemed to have more clarity.

[nilebodgers]

The GR sounded a bit dull to me and the Tonehammer was a bit mid-prominent. Would a bit of an eq tweak on both have sorted them out though?

[Chienmortbb]

As @Stevie says the amps should be set to be flat to start with and for some amps flat is not all EQ knobs at 12 o'clock. I did a frequency sweep of both my Ashdown MiBass 2.0 and Bugera Veyron (mosfet model) and both were flat at 12 o'clock but I don't believe the Tonehammers are.

 

Of course some amps e.g. Ashdown RM500 have an EQ defeat switch, most useful for this purpose.

 

Edited March 31, 2021 by Chienmortbb

[johnpaulbass]

18 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Ok that's a little bit of a one sided 'fight' then. 😁

I'd love to hear how it matches up against its bigger brother the BB2 which is the same weight as your AT212. Trouble is Bass Direct who stock the GR kit in the UK, don't stock Barefaced so it's going to be tricky to hear them side by side. So I guess your comparison of the two is going to be the best we are likely to get for a while. 

Have you gone for the 8ohm or 4ohm version? 

4 ohm because in my mind it's planned to be a standalone since all my projects are quickly moving to in ear so there's no need to have a large cab.
Most of the time though I like to have one one, so one ear "free", therefor I still like to have a cab on stage.
A friend of mine used to own the 212 from Barefaced and switched to Gr too (not the slim version like mine, but the "normal" version... also Aerotech though).

 

[johnpaulbass]

4 hours ago, Chienmortbb said:

As @Stevie says the amps should be set to be flat to start with and for some amps flat is not all EQ knobs at 12 o'clock. I did a frequency sweep of both my Ashdown MiBass 2.0 and Bugera Veyron (mosfet model) and both were flat at 12 o'clock but I don't believe the Tonehammers are.

 

Of course some amps e.g. Ashdown RM500 have an EQ defeat switch, most useful for this purpose.

 

For a "flat" response in my clips you have the "pure" ones. If you engage the "pure" setting on the GR head it bypasses the eq section.

[Al Krow]

7 minutes ago, johnpaulbass said:

For a "flat" response in my clips you have the "pure" ones. If you engage the "pure" setting on the GR head it bypasses the eq section.

Was the Aguilar also set flat too? 

[Al Krow]

13 minutes ago, johnpaulbass said:

4 ohm because in my mind it's planned to be a standalone since all my projects are quickly moving to in ear so there's no need to have a large cab.
Most of the time though I like to have one one, so one ear "free", therefor I still like to have a cab on stage.
A friend of mine used to own the 212 from Barefaced and switched to Gr too (not the slim version like mine, but the "normal" version... also Aerotech though).

 

Agreed on the 4ohm being my preferred option here too.

You do realise there are NO decent YT clips of the new Aerotech line up, and certainly none of it being compared to a BF cab.

So if you could A/B your two cabs with a decent mic set up and played through exactly the same amp set flat that would be really awesome.

[Al Krow]

This is a pretty good explanatory video. No sound samples. But the thinking behind the cab sounds fantastic.

 

[johnpaulbass]

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Agreed on the 4ohm being my preferred option here too.

You do realise there are NO decent YT clips of the new Aerotech line up, and certainly none of it being compared to a BF cab.

So if you could A/B your two cabs with a decent mic set up and played through exactly the same amp set flat that would be really awesome.

Sadly the BF is sold and not in my possession any more

[johnpaulbass]

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Was the Aguilar also set flat too? 

wasn't but the settings were similar (let's say my "preferred" settings) to those "non pure" on the GR

[johnpaulbass]

6 hours ago, Al Krow said:

This is a pretty good explanatory video. No sound samples. But the thinking behind the cab sounds fantastic.

 

It is.. and I do thing their aerotech technology is a game changer for sure.
Their wooden cabs, being great as well too, were light... but the aerotech man.. they're ridiculously light without interfering on the sound.

[Al Krow]

11 minutes ago, johnpaulbass said:

Sadly the BF is sold and not in my possession any more

Ah ok - fair enough. 

I see we have just both also discovered the TB thread at the same time!

Looks like I'm going need to make a trip to Bass Direct (a UK specialist retailer, in case you're not familiar) who stock AT cabs - hopefully they will have some AT cabs in stock without my needing to place a pre-order - and take my BF BB2 up with me at the same time, so I can A/B them. I've already persuaded a fellow BC'er to come along for the ride  

Edited March 31, 2021 by Al Krow

[johnpaulbass]

14 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Ah ok - fair enough. 

I see we have just both also discovered the TB thread at the same time!

Looks like I'm going need to make a trip to Bass Direct (a UK specialist retailer, in case you're not familiar) who stock AT cabs - hopefully they will have some AT cabs in stock without my needing to place a pre-order - and take my BF BB2 up with me at the same time, so I can A/B them. I've already persuaded a fellow BC'er to come along for the ride  

 You won't be disappointed ... I assure you that.

[Belka]

 

I just checked the Bass Direct site and they have a second hand AT 212 and a One 800 for sale - 2020 model and a considerable saving on a new one.

I've been hearing great stuff about GR since 2018 and once gigging starts again I fully intend to get a 1400 head (I use a few basses with low output so would appreciate the power). I have a BB2 too so will initially just get the head but will perhaps look at a cab down the line.

[BeLow]

I have just sent my GR BassOne 800 back as it had a few issues - most noticeably a loud repeated clicking when I connected it to my BFM Omni 105's. As they were self builds suspicion would normally fall on them, but they have done over 10 years of gigs, never missed a beat and, I can't replicate the fault with either a LittleMark2 or a Trace Elliot Elf. The amp was generally Ok with other 8 ohm and 4 ohm cabs I have, although I did think I could hear some background pops occasionally and the volume "hunted up and down" occasionally. Also I found the top of the casing was pretty warm even at low volumes, so about the temperature you might expect on TE ELF after a gig. My Markbass head only evert got this warm after a hard 3 hour wedding gig in the summer. I know different amps would expect to have different thermal behaviour, and I am guessing the GR Bass head is pretty tightly packed inside its chassis compared to the much taller / larger LMK2.  

 

When it was working properly I loved the sound, but after a chat with a knowledgeable engineer who suggested it was likely to be a capacitor problem (repeated clicking, charging and discharging) and the other slightly strange anomalies, I thought it was potentially a faulty unit. It had the edge on my elderly MB head, but didn't want to have concerns about reliability from new. 

 

Have others had issues with the amp being noticeably warm?