Unsung heros - amplifiers and speakers that are far better than they ought to be..

[VTypeV4]

I was thinking about a other popular thread on here at the moment (combinations of gear made in heaven) which got me on a bit of a nostalgia trip about gear I've had over the years..

 

Number 1 goes all the way back to 1998 / 99 and my early years of playing. Wanting a small and portable combo I could carry (unlike the heavy valve amp and WEM cabs I was using), my step dad and I went amp shopping. We tried a few home / practice amps in the local shops but all were a little underwhelming and we were about to give up but he suggested we go up to Academy of Sound store despite most of their stock being new. The words 'Trace' and 'Elliot' meant nothing to me at the time but a little green furry covered amp with 'Boxer 30' written on the black and green panel was sat there amongst much bigger examples. He said we should try it although it was likely to be alot more expensive as it was a Trace. It blew everything else we tried that day clean out of the water - it was louder, cleaner and had a proper, full sound. I paid £100 for it brand new - even to this day, I consider it good value and was very pleased with how it sounded. 25 years later, I don't have the little Boxer (I traded it for a Squier Tele, I think) but I do have any number of green furry boxes with the words 'Trace Elliot' on them and, despite them being much bigger that little Boxer helped pave the way. 

 

Number 2: A Peavey 410TVX which I bought used about 20 years ago. I was saving for a new one at the time as they were about £350 / £400 and I was a student. Luckily a very clean looking used one appeared in the local shop and he wanted much less (I think I paid less than £250) for it. It weighed as much as the world but it performed far beyond what I had expected. It played loud and clean with lots of articulation - all the dynamics and nuances shone through with every note. One of the best sounding cabs I've owned, a proper unsung hero in my opinion. I sold it to downsize to an Ashdown 2x10 which was OK but not a patch on the Peavey cab.

 

And Number 3: An Ashton BV300H valve amp with matching cabs. The head was a 300w all-valve head which sounded fantastic and came with EHX valves, chunky transformers and decent upholstery - it was basic with very few 'clever' features but was well up to the job and I did a good few gigs and recording sessions with it. The cabs appeared to be much the same and were again better built than their price tag suggested. Both came with TF series Celestion drivers which seemed to perform well above their apparently moderate specs suggested. I still have the 1x15" cab although the Celestion was replaced with a JBL K140 for an 'older skool' sound. 

 

Anyways, thanks for induging this rather long opener!   

[Mykesbass]

Unsung, yes. But not sure the rest of the thread title applies to my nomination: Purple Chili cabs. I had one (112), couldn't get a second anywhere so sold it. Then a pair came up and I had to have them. 

 

They never seem to appear in threads, perhaps there are just too few of them out there. They may also be too big for some in comparison to other 112s on the market, but they are light and sound absolutely wonderful. This pair are staying with me. 

 

Oh, and they were built by Mike Walsh -  @Cosmicrain maker of the very fine Zoot basses.

[stewblack]

I've mentioned this one before in a similar thread, but the Behringer BX4500H deserves another nomination.

I gigged mine again on Thursday and was reminded just how solid it is.

Incredibly flexible, every tonal configuration imaginable, loud and clear.

I've been underwhelmed by other Behringer heads, but not by this one. It's easily one of my all time favourites.

[casapete]

6 hours ago, VTypeV4 said:

Number 2: A Peavey 410TVX which I bought used about 20 years ago. I was saving for a new one at the time as they were about £350 / £400 and I was a student. Luckily a very clean looking used one appeared in the local shop and he wanted much less (I think I paid less than £250) for it. It weighed as much as the world but it performed far beyond what I had expected. It played loud and clean with lots of articulation - all the dynamics and nuances shone through with every note. One of the best sounding cabs I've owned, a proper unsung hero in my opinion. I sold it to downsize to an Ashdown 2x10 which was OK but not a patch on the Peavey cab

Totally with you on this! I had a 410TVX cab for a few years and remember it being fantastic. Despite only

being rated at 350 watts it handled some big amps I had with ease, great bottom end. As you say, the 

only downside was the weight, but to be fair other 410s were nearly as heavy back then. Also used mine 

every night for 2 months in Morocco paired with a big Trace head and it never missed a beat and survived

being transported over there and back. Eventually sold it and the Trace to get an early Ashdown rig

(ABM 500 amp with matching ABM 410) and regretted it. 

Soon after I got a Peavey 210TVX which again was a great sounding cab. Curiously only available in 4 ohm

rating, meaning many amps could only use the one cab which was a shame as it was only 175 watts RMS.
Some Peavey amps ran into 2 ohms though, so guess that was the plan. Like the 410, it was a weighty

little thing but I loved the sound. 

[Chienmortbb]

2 hours ago, stewblack said:

I've mentioned this one before in a similar thread, but the Behringer BX4500H deserves another nomination.

I gigged mine again on Thursday and was reminded just how solid it is.

Incredibly flexible, every tonal configuration imaginable, loud and clear.

I've been underwhelmed by other Behringer heads, but not by this one. It's easily one of my all time favourites.

I think a certain Essex company copied that design for their amps. 😜. I seem to remember GK cooying the Bugeras too.

[VTypeV4]

I had a Trace 4x10" (1048H - which was good enough) at the same time as the Peavey but it was quite a difference in performance when I compared the two. I sold the Trace cabinet to a friend not long after. 😀

 

It'll never happen as I have no intention of buying another but it'd be interesting to compare the 410TVX to my SWR cabs, I wonder if it's a similar tonal characteristic I heard and particularly liked in both? A slightly attenuated upper mid but with plenty of low, low mid range and bright 'ping' on top..?

 

I've seen the Peavey cabs on various sites including here and eBay for £100 or less which is an absolute bargain - providing you can lift it, of course! 😅 

[Lozz196]

Def agree re the TVX 410 cabs, sound great but I’d never want to try and lift one

[warwickhunt]

4 hours ago, casapete said:

Soon after I got a Peavey 210TVX which again was a great sounding cab. Curiously only available in 4 ohm

rating, meaning many amps could only use the one cab which was a shame as it was only 175 watts RMS.
Some Peavey amps ran into 2 ohms though, so guess that was the plan. Like the 410, it was a weighty

little thing but I loved the sound. 

 

I'll also praise the Peavey 410 TX TVX cabs.  I had a few of them 'back in the day' as I couldn't afford SWR but when stood side by side or gigged in comparison, there was not a lot (if anything) between them.  I also plumped for the 210TX at one point and paired it with a 410TX run off a GK800RB.  The 800RB had separate outputs to run 300w @ 4ohm and 100w @ 8ohm; oddly it meant the 210 had to be hooked up to the 300w  and the 410 to the 100w... seemed fine to me!    

[BassmanPaul]

For me it was the first time I played through an Acme 2x10 three way speaker cabinet. I bought one and loved it so much I bought a second. Then two more! LOL

 

Mine are all 4Ω  and I drive them nowadays with a 2KW capable Class D power amp.

Edited July 1, 2023 by BassmanPaul

[Baloney Balderdash]

The Thomann house brand budget passive PA speaker that I use as a FRFR cab for my "amp-less" setup, the The Box PA 502, featuring a 15" bass/mids woofer/driver speaker unit and a 1.7" high frequency tweeter horn.

 

Very well balanced, really articulate and clear sounding, with an impressive, but tight and punchy, low end response (better low end response than a lot of dedicated bass cabs, and most, including most high end, PA speakers, on the market).

 

No short of amazing sounding, regardless of price, perfect for use as a FRFR cab for bass.

 

And for the, taking the actual quality into consideration, absolutely ridiculous price of just 211 £/245 Euro.

 

Only downside really is that it weight about a ton, 25.5 kg (~56 lbs).

 

https://www.thomann.de/gb/the_box_pa502_fullrangesystem.htm

 

Edited July 5, 2023 by Baloney Balderdash

[casapete]

11 hours ago, warwickhunt said:

 

I'll also praise the Peavey 410 TX TVX cabs.  I had a few of them 'back in the day' as I couldn't afford SWR but when stood side by side or gigged in comparison, there was not a lot (if anything) between them.  I also plumped for the 210TX at one point and paired it with a 410TX run off a GK800RB.  The 800RB had separate outputs to run 300w @ 4ohm and 100w @ 8ohm; oddly it meant the 210 had to be hooked up to the 300w  and the 410 to the 100w... seemed fine to me!    

Interesting! I still have my 800RB which is one of my favourite ever heads. Never ran it in bi-amp mode,

but into two 4x10 8 ohm cabs ( by ‘Loud Inc’ - remember them?) it was phenomenal.

[warwickhunt]

8 hours ago, casapete said:

Interesting! I still have my 800RB which is one of my favourite ever heads. Never ran it in bi-amp mode,

but into two 4x10 8 ohm cabs ( by ‘Loud Inc’ - remember them?) it was phenomenal.

 

IIRC I wasn't so keen on the bi-amp sound so I ran it full range into both cabs... more is MORE, right? 

 

 

[Kiwi]

15 hours ago, BassmanPaul said:

Mine are all 4Ω  and I drive them nowadays with a 2KW capable Class D power amp.

They need a hell of a lot of power so the rig has to be planned around this limitation.  I had a couple as well but sold them because I couldn't swap amps.

 

21 hours ago, Lozz196 said:

Def agree re the TVX 410 cabs, sound great but I’d never want to try and lift one

I had one too for a short time.  Very heavy and I think mine might have been wired with a pair of the speakers out of phase with the other pair.  I didn't know enough about speakers back then to look into it but it definitely lacked mids.

 

9 hours ago, casapete said:

Interesting! I still have my 800RB which is one of my favourite ever heads. Never ran it in bi-amp mode,

but into two 4x10 8 ohm cabs ( by ‘Loud Inc’ - remember them?) it was phenomenal.

I had a pair of RB700 combos and really liked them.  That boost control in particular was fabulous.  The only thing that let them down was the disintegrating rubber on the wheels.  GK replaced them but the same thing happened with the new ones.  The rubber was too soft and perhaps not vulcanised properly.

I had a couple of Loud cabs as well, and they were pretty light for a non neo cab.  So light that they sometimes went walkabout on stage.

 

My vote goes to the EBS Session 30 combo - a really modest little thing if you look at it but it put out a really, really full sound for a 8"speaker.  Perfect for low volume practice.  I ended up buying another after I sold the first one. 

[Bleat]

Marshall MB30, and the older B25. Both loud, great sounding little practice amps. B25 no frills volume, the MB 30 being very versatile tone wise. I was also quite impressed with the small Blackstar Fly bass stereo speakers I had for a while.

[PaulThePlug]

^ I picked up an MB15 for £25... a year or so latter i came a cross an MB30 with Rocksolid cover for £35.

So had that and the MB15 was passed on via my eldest.

Sometimes these appear for daft money.

Picked up a Laney GC 30 on Faceache as a freebie as intermittent faulty.

Good clean of the pots and all is well.

Again great sounding lound practice amp

[DGBass]

I'll second any comments made about how well Peavey 410 TX/TVX cabs sounded. I owned one and used it with the matching 115 BW cab which was not quite as good and a bit of a boom box. Even before then when I had barely any spare pennies to rub together, especially for spending on dedicated bass equipment, some of the unsung heroes for me were the very cheap 4x12 cabs that could be picked up in pawn shops and the used gear corners of proper music stores. I found this photo a few days back while clearing out some old stuff. I remember this cab well, it was thrown in for free as a deal with the second hand but almost mint Stingray 150.

The cab was filled with McKenzie 75 watt heavy duty speakers and I rewired it from 16 ohms to 4 ohms to get the most from the Stingray. It was just one of several old 4x12 cabs I used for many years bought for buttons and used until they either blew up or I got tired of carrying them around. The sound was big and loud and clear from the Sound City at least and I eventually gave this particular cab away mainly because the band I was in at the time reckoned I was far too loud. It never missed a beat and did sound huge with the Stingray 150 head.

 

[Elfrasho]

5 hours ago, PaulThePlug said:

^ I picked up an MB15 for £25... a year or so latter i came a cross an MB30 with Rocksolid cover for £35.

So had that and the MB15 was passed on via my eldest.

Sometimes these appear for daft money.

Picked up a Laney GC 30 on Faceache as a freebie as intermittent faulty.

Good clean of the pots and all is well.

Again great sounding lound practice amp

 

I think the marshall bass amp range in general is underrated!

[stewblack]

On 01/07/2023 at 09:19, Chienmortbb said:

I think a certain Essex company copied that design for their amps. 😜. I seem to remember GK cooying the Bugeras too.

Having owned three different Ashdown amps, the only similarity with the Behringer is the meter. 

 

[casapete]

7 hours ago, Kiwi said:

had a couple of Loud cabs as well, and they were pretty light for a non neo cab.  So light that they sometimes went walkabout on stage.

Still got mine - 4x10 / 8 ohms. Sounds great and it has gone walkabout occasionally too. Had a couple at

one point, as well as a 1x15 one which wasn’t as good IIRC. Used the 4x10 on and off for years, and was

a revelation after heaving Peavey / Trace / Ashdown 410s around. Then I got an early BF Compact and

the same revelation again, only more so. Once you’ve gone lightweight there’s no going back! 

[Kiwi]

7 hours ago, casapete said:

Once you’ve gone lightweight there’s no going back! 

I traded my EBS Neo212's for FEARless 1x12's. Lot much of a weight saving unfortunately but really articulate with a sweet presence. No regrets so far but I've not gigged with them so far. 

[40hz]

On 01/07/2023 at 06:59, stewblack said:

I've mentioned this one before in a similar thread, but the Behringer BX4500H deserves another nomination.

I gigged mine again on Thursday and was reminded just how solid it is.

Incredibly flexible, every tonal configuration imaginable, loud and clear.

I've been underwhelmed by other Behringer heads, but not by this one. It's easily one of my all time favourites.

I used one of these in a rehearsal room a few times, and honestly, I agree. It was a very, very good sounding head. With lots of clean headroom and quite a clear bottom end (oo-er!).

[gafbass02]

On 01/07/2023 at 13:00, Lozz196 said:

Def agree re the TVX 410 cabs, sound great but I’d never want to try and lift one

Same! 
I’ll add in my Genz Benz contour 500 combo and extension cab. One of the best rigs I’ve had, despite that fact that I’ve had some really nice rigs. But this simple little combo was just flawlessly fabulous

Edited July 3, 2023 by gafbass02

[TheGreek]

I know that EBS are well respected but I still think that they don't get the full respect that the equipment deserves. 

I had a 360w head and 2x10 cab which I foolishly sold to go lightweight. 

IMO one of the best setups I ever had - coincidentally the same rig as Laurence Cottle was using at the time which led to a great conversation when he did a seminar at the first Herts Bash.

Really should have held on to it.

[Beedster]

 

Certainly worthy of the title 'unsung hero' 👍

[ebenezer]

A big nod must go to the Peavey Databass combo... very compact, 450 watt digital power amp with processor controlled low end along with DDT compression going through a 15 black widow speaker....blew your socks off!!!...all this 25 years ago...how ahead of the time were they!