New Amp Recommendations?

[Linus27]

My current rig is a Barefaced Two10 and an Ampeg PF500 and I play a fretless Jazz using rounds. I actually like it tonally, especially when playing in a 50's Rock n Roll group, it gave a nice warm, full rounded tone.

However, I now play in a wonderful acoustic group which is a singer/acoustic guitar, drums with brushes, beaters, shakers etc. and myself on fretless bass. Very chilled laid back affair with lots of space. I'm a very melodic player and gentle player and do quite a lot of runs and lead melodies, quite cello like in places. The band say I'm the more lead instrument in the group than anything else. I'm finding I'm not cutting through enough or clean enough and at times tend to get a little lost. I'm wondering if I need a more cleaner, hifi sounding amp over the warm Ampeg amp. Plus, I fancy slimming my gear down a bit if possible and losing the Ampeg in the flight case would be a benefit.

 

I'm not too sure what to consider, I hear Aguilar is a fairly clean amp and something like a MarkBass Vintage looks interesting. Both seem quite compact. Anything from TC Electronic's worth considering? Any other suggestions or recommendations? I'm sure with some tweaking I could get the Ampeg to work but as I say, I fancy slimming my gear down and I quite fancy a change as well.

 

[Bobo_08]

Ive heard, that Bergantino amps are super clean.

[thebassist]

I would go with an Eich BC112 from what you’re describing.

[Downunderwonder]

A GK MB500 would lighten your load and dead simple to do a little brighter than flat EQ. Flat being 10, 2, 1, 10 o'clock, bass >> treble.

[Osiris]

A few months ago I got together with a mate and tried his Ampeg PF 500 against my Genzler Magellan.

 

The Ampeg, to my ear, had that Ampeg sound - a boost in the deep lows with a cut in the low mids and you could dial in plenty of clank if you want it. It's a great sounding amp and was distinctly Ampeg.

 

The Genzler on the other hand was cleaner and the tone with everything flat and the filter off was much more even across the board, not at all bland though, just different to the Ampeg. 

 

Now I don't play fretless but I wouldn't have thought the low mid shy Ampeg tone wouldn't be the ideal amp choice - although you're obviously getting a great tone from it so what do I know 😀  - but my guess is that the Genzler would give you want you want, for example if you back off the bass EQ a bit, push the low mids a touch with the semi parametric, adjust treble to taste and I reckon you won't be too far off. There's also the 2 one-knob filters, filter B is a pleasing adjustable mid bump that increasingly rolls off the lows and highs that may also work really well on fretless. 

 

So my vote is definitely the Genzler Magellan. And don't rule out the 350 as being underpowered, it's more than loud enough to keep enough with shed building drummers. 

[Linus27]

9 minutes ago, Osiris said:

A few months ago I got together with a mate and tried his Ampeg PF 500 against my Genzler Magellan.

 

The Ampeg, to my ear, had that Ampeg sound - a boost in the deep lows with a cut in the low mids and you could dial in plenty of clank if you want it. It's a great sounding amp and was distinctly Ampeg.

 

The Genzler on the other hand was cleaner and the tone with everything flat and the filter off was much more even across the board, not at all bland though, just different to the Ampeg. 

 

Now I don't play fretless but I wouldn't have thought the low mid shy Ampeg tone wouldn't be the ideal amp choice - although you're obviously getting a great tone from it so what do I know 😀  - but my guess is that the Genzler would give you want you want, for example if you back off the bass EQ a bit, push the low mids a touch with the semi parametric, adjust treble to taste and I reckon you won't be too far off. There's also the 2 one-knob filters, filter B is a pleasing adjustable mid bump that increasingly rolls off the lows and highs that may also work really well on fretless. 

 

So my vote is definitely the Genzler Magellan. And don't rule out the 350 as being underpowered, it's more than loud enough to keep enough with shed building drummers. 

How you've described the Ampeg is exactly how mine performs. It does sound great but the boost in the lows is spot on. I think one way to simplify it is I no longer need a head for playing rock but a head for playing Jazz.

 

Will certainly check out the Genzler and the Gallien Krueger MB500 head as recommended. Thank you.

[Osiris]

7 minutes ago, Linus27 said:

How you've described the Ampeg is exactly how mine performs. It does sound great but the boost in the lows is spot on. I think one way to simplify it is I no longer need a head for playing rock but a head for playing Jazz.

 

Will certainly check out the Genzler and the Gallien Krueger MB500 head as recommended. Thank you.

 

Don't get me wrong, if you push the bass EQ on the Genzler you'll get a deep, weighty, and controlled low end. It has an inbuilt HPF with a steep roll off below 30Hz so it doesn't get bloated or needlessly chew up your headroom. 

[pete.young]

If you want clean, it might be worth looking at the iAmp classic by Euphonic Audio .

[CookPassBabtridge]

Another vote for the Genzler. @Osiris has explained it better than I could but I can also confirm it is super clean and transparent. There’s usually one or two in the classifieds here as well.

 

Another option might be GR, I’ve never used them myself but hear very good things about their transparency. Their carbon fibre range are super light too, but not cheap. 

[Burns-bass]

If you don’t need huge volume, I’d recommend an AER. These amps are the absolute best out there and sound incredible, however they’re not cheap.

[Phil Starr]

The AER is always a good shout if you can afford it. Lovely sounds impressively loud for the size and versatile too.

 

Can I suggest the Warwick Gnome/TC Bam route though, perfectly clean sounding (partly I suspect because they use generic chipsets and boards) 200W or even 130W through 8 ohms is plenty for working with an acoustic set and fits in your gig bag. Frankly at £120 you can't go wrong and if it's a mistake you'd be able to sell it on for £100

 

I've designed a tiny cab for working with acoustic bands, if you are West Country based I'd love a second opinion if you wanted to borrow it .

[Linus27]

2 hours ago, Phil Starr said:

The AER is always a good shout if you can afford it. Lovely sounds impressively loud for the size and versatile too.

 

Can I suggest the Warwick Gnome/TC Bam route though, perfectly clean sounding (partly I suspect because they use generic chipsets and boards) 200W or even 130W through 8 ohms is plenty for working with an acoustic set and fits in your gig bag. Frankly at £120 you can't go wrong and if it's a mistake you'd be able to sell it on for £100

 

I've designed a tiny cab for working with acoustic bands, if you are West Country based I'd love a second opinion if you wanted to borrow it .

I'm actually going to buy the 290 watt Warwick Gnome as a backup amp. It's going to replace my Ashdown Mi550 head as it's a lot smaller so a great option to slim down further. Not sure it will be powerful enough to be the main amp but I'll give it a go for sure.

[chris_b]

I'd suggest Aguilar amps, TH500 and AG700. They really work well with BF cabs.

[Linus27]

4 minutes ago, chris_b said:

I'd suggest Aguilar amps, TH500 and AG700. They really work well with BF cabs.

Hi Chris, I remember trying your one when I bought your Two10 and being very impressed with it. It's on the list for sure.

Edited October 16, 2021 by Linus27

[Dan Dare]

I bought an Aguilar AG700 after comparing it with a Genzler Magellan, Tone Hammer 500, Little Mark 3 (which I liked a lot) and few others. I think the Tone Hammers would be too similar to your Ampeg if you're looking for a cleaner sound. The AG700 is cleaner, but you can still add a little character/bloom if you need it. I find it a good compromise. I am using PJB cabs, which are known to be clean. Your BF 210 is designed to be a little more old school in character. It's always a balancing act according to the taste of the player. You should definitely try some amps with it and see what you like. The Gallien Krueger mentioned above is a good shout, too.

[taunton-hobbit]

Look at Matamp ...............

 

😎

[machinehead]

The EBS Reidmar is an overlooked and underrated amp. The 750 or even the lower powered version should suit what you want, and at a good price too.

Frank.

[Stub Mandrel]

Try a TE elf, it might do the job, and if not excellent backup.

 

If you want a clean but characterful amp, consider the Orange Bass Terror in 'clean' mode. That way you have a rock amp as well.

[binky_bass]

Get a Kemper and have it all.

[Phil Starr]

8 hours ago, Linus27 said:

I'm actually going to buy the 290 watt Warwick Gnome as a backup amp. It's going to replace my Ashdown Mi550 head as it's a lot smaller so a great option to slim down further. Not sure it will be powerful enough to be the main amp but I'll give it a go for sure.

I see Barefaced are claiming 98db/W for the 210. 280W into 4 ohms from the Gnome will give you +24db or 122dB overall. that's going to be loud enough to match a drummer. 

[lemmywinks]

The Two10 is designed to be an retro sounding coloured cab isn't it?  You may be looking an an entire new rig if you want a clean transparent sound. If you have a clean sounding preamp at your disposal then try that into the effects return of your Ampeg to see if the Barefaced will be able to deliver.

 

If I was gigging a fretless in your situation I would just use my QSC K10.2 and Fishman preamp tbh. At home I use a TC BH250 into a Basslite equipped EA 110 cab, it's super clean and sounds great for fretless (also has the Corona Toneprint capability) so a micro head into a relatively clean sounding cab would be a good starting point. There's a Phil Jones D400 for sale on here:

 

Edited October 16, 2021 by lemmywinks

[Frank Blank]

12 hours ago, Burns-bass said:

If you don’t need huge volume, I’d recommend an AER. These amps are the absolute best out there and sound incredible, however they’re not cheap.

Another vote for the AER, as someone who plays in an acoustic band it was a great amp, but, I sold mine to get an FRFR speaker which, IMHO, is the perfect solution to most amplification scenarios but particularly the acoustic band one.

[Boodang]

Mackie DLM12.

I play a Jazz fretless in much the same way with lots of melodic lines. Did some gigs abroad playing folk orientated music and got given the Mackie to play through. I eq my bass through pedals so don't need amp eq and the Mackie was perfect as it's quite neutral and plenty loud enough in the folk setting. And if you need more volume you can always add the subwoofer but haven't tried that setup yet.

[TheGreek]

In the marketplace currently are a Vanderkley Spartan and a couple of Glocks - both will do exactly what you're after - great tones from both. I foolishly sold my Glock Soul - one of the best Class D amps on the market. 

[tauzero]

I think your cab might be the issue, as it's tweeterless and retro sounding. The Super Compact or Super Midget might be a better bet.

 

If you still want to look at amps, there's a Tecamp Puma 900 in the For Sale section at the moment which would give you a good clean sound (not mine, but I do have one).