New Laney Digbeth range

[Bunion]

29 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

But thank god that's up to us all the way we like it and this is just my opinion 🙂  I like it big and with some weight so the amp won't fall of the cab

Good man!! I love my SVT II pros and my Mesa eight 88 a man needs some heft to wrestle with now and again. 😉

[SumOne]

I got a Laney R500H Amp and it's decent (it's nothing special, but has been reliably pushing out quite a loud clean sound and has a decent EQ) so I didn't hesitate too much to get a Laney Digbeth Preamp which I'm impressed with:  

 

It has an aux in and headphone out, FX loop, XLR (pre/post and ground lift), jack output and link output, foot-switchable 2 channels (A/B/A+B) with clean channel and a decent sounding tube drive channel (reminds me of the BDDI - but it has been a few years since I owned one), good EQ, no crackly dials or hissing. Looks good and seems solid and well built.  If was trying to pick faults: It is quite big, the dials look cool but are a bit tricky to read, and a specific volume control for headphone out could be handy.

 

Considering the features and the £150 competition I'd say it's a winner. 

 

 

Edited September 23, 2021 by SumOne

[Al Krow]

On 23/09/2021 at 10:14, SumOne said:

I got a Laney R500H Amp and it's decent (it's nothing special, but has been reliably pushing out quite a loud clean sound and has a decent EQ) so I didn't hesitate too much to get a Laney Digbeth Preamp which I'm impressed with:  

 

It has an aux in and headphone out, FX loop, XLR (pre/post and ground lift), jack output and link output, foot-switchable 2 channels (A/B/A+B) with clean channel and a decent sounding tube drive channel (reminds me of the BDDI - but it has been a few years since I owned one), good EQ, no crackly dials or hissing. Looks good and seems solid and well built.  If was trying to pick faults: It is quite big, the dials look cool but are a bit tricky to read, and a specific volume control for headphone out could be handy.

 

Considering the features and the £150 competition I'd say it's a winner. 

 

What is the quality of the aux in / headphone out for use as a headphone amp - is it broadly similar to the quality you get from your Zoom B1-4 or is it a step up as a headphone amp? If it is, that would definitely be another string to its bow.

[SumOne]

1 hour ago, Al Krow said:

 

What is the quality of the aux in / headphone out for use as a headphone amp - is it broadly similar to the quality you get from your Zoom B1-4 or is it a step up as a headphone amp? If it is, that would definitely be another string to its bow.

 

It's decent enough - seems a good quality sound without hiss. Fine for home practice stuff playing along to something and hearing both on the headphones which it seems aimed at whereas something like the Bass Simplifier seemed to cater better for serious monitoring while recording or playing live. 

 

Aux can be heard via the headphones but not via the output so that's useful for things like playing to a Aux click track you don't want others to hear, not useful if you want to play backing music out of the output along with your Bass. The Aux isn't that loud - I had it on full via my phone volume and it was quite loud on headphones for home use but probably wouldn't be loud enough in a live situation. 

 

Likewise with the headphone out - it doesn't have its own volume (need to adjust the preamp output volume) and doesn't get that loud - so it's fine for home practice stuff, probably not good if you wanted to use it for live monitoring as you'd have to adjust output volumes to get the correct headphone volume. 

[gobasserk]

The new 500 head arrived today..... 😁

[Merton]

1 minute ago, gobasserk said:

The new 500 head arrived today..... 😁

…. And? 😎

[gobasserk]

I like it ! 🙂 But I think, it is not the amp for everyone. I tend to say it is a rock amp. Not for hifi-slap enthusiasts and not a metal amp. 
The drive section is nothing like a Darkglass ... I did record some very quick sounds but only from the headphone out cause I did not have a xlr cable when I unpacked it. I could do a quick rough mix ..

[gobasserk]

So...as i wrote before... this is just a very quick recording out of the headphone out after unpacking the thing. I will do some better riffs in better quality on the weekend. 
First bass: Harley Benton PB50 Telecaster out of the box, fresh strings (the originals) , second bass: Yamaha BB1000ma (a:P/J, b: only P mode) 

 

No good riff, no good timing ! Just fiddling for the first time with the amp 😄  Finger style, no external effects, well the SDrum of course.  Listen with headphones..

 

Digbeth DB500H - headphone out

Edited September 24, 2021 by gobasserk

[JottoSW1]

With regard to the excellent previous gen Nexus Cabs I enquired whether they were permanently out if production and Laney emailed me back a few months ago to say they would be back. Regretting not having picked up a 210 second hand when I had the chance. 

[gobasserk]

Some more fiddling. Just a Telecaster bass, cable and di out. Fingerstlyle. A littel bit of drive 😄 

Laney Digbeth di signal

Edited September 26, 2021 by gobasserk

[gobasserk]

How come that Laney does not get more credit even in the UK? I don't read anything about the new Digbeth line anywhere...

[eude]

24 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

How come that Laney does not get more credit even in the UK? I don't read anything about the new Digbeth line anywhere...

I really don't know.

They've always made super reliable, but not particularly sexy gear.

This new range really changes that, they've nailed the aesthetics, but they've missed some of the go to's for successful modern bass equipment.

• If you're selling class D gear, your flagship really needs to be 800W or 1000W (they usually the same power module in most cases) to keep up with everyone else. I reckon they could've probably got one of the 500W ICE power units in the little head too, instead of 200W, which just isn't going to have folks lining up to buy it.
• If you want to sell to your average bass player these days, you need to think about the weight and size of the cabs, as most of us don't have roadies. The cabs, all of them, are a bit old school in that capacity.

Regardless, I really hope the range is a success, as they sound fantastic in the demos I've heard, and I love to see a UK company doing well.

[gobasserk]

I think 500 watts are ok with the right cab. But yes, the marked goes 1000 watts... (maybe the light cabs sound crap..? 😉 )The cabs...well it is a shame... but not the cabs but the buyers. Everything goes light instead of good sounding. So I think 32 kg for a great sounding cab is very ok. The head..7kg...come on...who thinks 7 kg is too much... ? ANY bass player with a band and a car (not even a bus) can handle any top up to 20kg with no issues. We are bass players. It takes a bass and a good cab and a good head to have a good sound. It will end in playing a bass over an interface and in ears... not my future. 
I am using the DB500H for some weeks now and I am still amazed by the sound. My Telecasters never sounded better. A rock amp. Very nice. I just was wondering, why the amps are unseen. No youtube clips (private) , nothing. 

[eude]

Totally get you, I'm not concerned about the weight of the head, 7 kgs is nothing really.
It's the cabs that I feel are too big. 32kg for a. great sounding cab is fine for some, but others want something a little smaller and lighter without making a sacrifice in sound, it can be done.

My favourite cab I've ever owned as an Aguilar GS112, which was not a lightweight cab, compare to modern standards, 20kg, ceramic driver and it was great.

Two 1x12 cabs, 20kg or lighter, would be a better fit for me, and a lot of others on here I expect too.

[bartelby]

9 minutes ago, eude said:

 but others want something a little smaller and lighter without making a sacrifice in sound, it can be done.

 

But not for the price point Laney aim for.

[eude]

11 minutes ago, bartelby said:

But not for the price point Laney aim for.

True, but there are some out there making lighter cabs at similar price points.

I feel just a slightly more compact 1x12, even with the same heavier build would be a much needed addition to the lineup...

[gobasserk]

Of course we talk about "gusto" but you can't seriously listen to some yellow italian bass brand and call it good sounding.... light, yes... but that's it. And you can't compare a light 1x12 to a 4x10...

1x12.... if one is not able to lift a 1x12 cab with non neo speakers...... come on...it is bass, not nintendo! 

[gobasserk]

Let's just think about the guys WITH roadies. At least in the rock genre... how many of the "big guys" switched to a 2kg head? How many of them play 15kg cabs? And why not? 😉

[eude]

24 minutes ago, gobasserk said:

Of course we talk about "gusto" but you can't seriously listen to some yellow italian bass brand and call it good sounding.... light, yes... but that's it. And you can't compare a light 1x12 to a 4x10...

1x12.... if one is not able to lift a 1x12 cab with non neo speakers...... come on...it is bass, not nintendo! 

That's why I mentioned my Aggie cab

Although, I remember hearing a friend's Standard 104HF MB cab, weighed about 30kg I believe and sounded marvellous!

I don't think there's many pros out there that are using Class D amps for day to day touring though, they're just not as reliable.

[gobasserk]

Just a quick one.. Single coil Telecaster - cable- amp-410 (8ohms) Ashdown. Volume at the amp is LOW... I think this 500watts are real! 
Recorded with a Samsung S10, its microphone does not capture the bass in the room... Best listened to with headphones! 

DB500H

[eude]

17 hours ago, gobasserk said:

Just a quick one.. Single coil Telecaster - cable- amp-410 (8ohms) Ashdown. Volume at the amp is LOW... I think this 500watts are real! 
Recorded with a Samsung S10, its microphone does not capture the bass in the room... Best listened to with headphones! 

DB500H

Sounds lovely dude, real rock tone.

Aren't wheels on your cab cheating though

 

Eude

[gobasserk]

I recorded it in the living room... everything was already falling out of the cupboards...With the cab on the floor.... 🙈

[gobasserk]

Video of some more fiddling with a Telecaster... I just love that amp. Recorded with my smarthone, headphones will help. 

The 2x10 is on wheels, the bass in the room is full and warm! 

 

DB500H fiddling

Edited November 1, 2021 by gobasserk

[gobasserk]

I think I know why there are not more people with pics and stories of the Digbeth line... at least in Germany there seem to be some problems with delivery of Laney stuff. I am trying to get a Digbeth Pre preamp but it is not available.... I got one delivered but it was dead at arrival, something was rattling inside when I unboxed it. 

A second one I was not able to get my fingers on 😄 

[Merton]

I wonder if Brex** has anything to do with stock delays on the continent. Or if they’re just caught up in the wider supply chain delays (which let’s face it, is more likely). I’m quite tempted by the Digbeth pre pedal and also contemplating the DB200 head as a “little gig” option. It’s down to £299 at Andertons now, and in stock….