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Why doesnt anyone make a small tube combo or head for bass?


lidl e

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Anyone im missing?

 

I know ampeg and ashodwn had some cool looking ones a few years back.

 

That handbox looks killer, but at 1/2 the power would be perfect.

 

Not a hybrid, but actually tube power to drive a 1x12 at home.

 

 

 

 

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23 minutes ago, lidl e said:

So cool. But i feel like it's a guitar amp moreso than a bass amp.

It says on the website, works well with guitar, bass, pedal steel etc 

but at €1600.00 

you would be better if with 

 

I use mine at home no issues and you’ve got the extra in case you need it. 
 

 

 

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I was looking around for a small valve head for a while. In the end I bought a vintage Fender Bassman 50 which had been badly messed around with previously. I’ve taken it to Martin Garton to be completely rebuilt and reimagined as a usable  gigging amp. I’ll have an amp with cool vintage looks, but seriously reliable and toneful (I hope)

 

Rob

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1 hour ago, fretmeister said:

If it isn’t made it’s usually because companies that could make it have done their market research and discovered it wouldn’t sell in sufficient volumes to make it worthwhile.

I agree completely. My 'sound' was a clean clear bass tone. I didn't want to sound like I was playing through a fuzz box. The search led me down the path of designing my own amplification. The largest tube amp I ever built was 150W using six 6L6GC tubes. I had originally designed it before I left the UK for six EL34s. Being in North America I went with the US tubes. It worked very well but still gave me some distortion at loud volumes. I went Solid State and designed a 200W per channel @ 4Ω Stereo power amp and a pre-amp to drive it.  That kept me happy for a few years. LOL

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7 minutes ago, ossyrocks said:

I was looking around for a small valve head for a while. In the end I bought a vintage Fender Bassman 50 which had been badly messed around with previously. I’ve taken it to Martin Garton to be completely rebuilt and reimagined as a usable  gigging amp. I’ll have an amp with cool vintage looks, but seriously reliable and toneful (I hope)

 

Rob

In 1968 I bought a Blonde Blackface Fender Bassman brand new from Dawson's music shop in Runcorn Cheshire. I set it up on stage, leaned it back on its legs and switched it on. What came out was the biggest disappointment of my playing career. The gig was pure torture. I took it back as soon as I could. They had sold my trade-in but I left the Bassman anyway. I still have nightmares about that amp!

 

Giggable? I really hope that you find that it works for you. For myself and a lot of other players it was not!  The Ampeg B15 series of amps were so much better.

 

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1 minute ago, BassmanPaul said:

In 1968 I bought a Blonde Blackface Fender Bassman brand new from Dawson's music shop in Runcorn Cheshire. I set it up on stage, leaned it back on its legs and switched it on. What came out was the biggest disappointment of my playing career. The gig was pure torture. I took it back as soon as I could. They had sold my trade-in but I left the Bassman anyway. I still have nightmares about that amp!

 

Giggable? I really hope that you find that it works for you. For myself and a lot of other players it was not!  The Ampeg B15 series of amps were so much better.

 

I’m pretty sure I’m going to be able to use it. This won’t be your regular Bassman.

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On 25/02/2023 at 18:04, ossyrocks said:

I’m pretty sure I’m going to be able to use it. This won’t be your regular Bassman.

 

I could only gig mine when it was connected to a Marshal 4x12 speaker cabinet. I did have to rewire the cabinet for 4Ω to suit the output impedance of the amp.

 

The pre-amp that you linked to was interesting. I'd never have thought to leave the tubes in such a precarious position.  That said I do have a soft spot for the old octal based tubes! :)

 

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On 25/02/2023 at 20:05, lidl e said:

Anyone im missing?

 

I know ampeg and ashodwn had some cool looking ones a few years back.

 

That handbox looks killer, but at 1/2 the power would be perfect.

 

Not a hybrid, but actually tube power to drive a 1x12 at home.

 

 

 

 

Ashdown still make these:

 

https://ashdownmusic.com/products/ctm-30-little-stubby

 

 

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Thinking on this it struck me that the Aplex amp you linked to has 50W output. There are a plethora of amplifiers out there with around that level of output.  The answer to the question posed by the head title is that there are many, many amps available to meet your requirements.

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4 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

Thinking on this it struck me that the Aplex amp you linked to has 50W output. There are a plethora of amplifiers out there with around that level of output.  The answer to the question posed by the head title is that there are many, many amps available to meet your requirements.

Could you point the way to some?

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16 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

Thinking on this it struck me that the Aplex amp you linked to has 50W output. There are a plethora of amplifiers out there with around that level of output.  The answer to the question posed by the head title is that there are many, many amps available to meet your requirements.

Made explicitly for bass though?

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On 25/02/2023 at 15:05, lidl e said:

Anyone im missing?

 

I know ampeg and ashodwn had some cool looking ones a few years back.

 

That handbox looks killer, but at 1/2 the power would be perfect.

 I looked at the Handbox tube amp and was amused to see it specified 6L6 tubes. The 6L6 is a metal tube and in such an amp would melt in an instant. The correct tube is a 6L6GC, the letters are important. 

 

Why do you want a 50W amp for anyway. A 100W amp can be turned down quite simply to the required volume.

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