What's the best amp to use with a Sterling?

[The Crow]

The same amp that sounds best with ANY bass, Sunn 300T & a 2x15 cab, or even a 4x10 & 1x15.

[moanjam]

sure, everyone's gonna answer with their current rig, but i know you guys are ebmm maniacs and have kept searching for the best amp to pair with your ebmm's.

i have two combos for practicing/playing at home. i have an swr workingman's 12 (owned it for 8 years) and it's currently for sale as i'm tired with it's sound. kinda flat and uninspiring to my ears. and i just bought a line 6 studio 110 that emulates an eden, amped b-15 flip-top, ampeg svt and a sansamp through an svt. i've found that the svt setting pairs the best with the sterling. i'm getting close to tony levin's and flea's sound with it.

[phatduckk]

Wow I use an SVT-CL and it just flat out kills. I am also using the 6 x 10 HLF cabinet. Everything set at 12 except with the Sterling I add a bit more gain because it demands to be dirty . Right now the Sterling is the bass I keep going back to, the SR5 sounds mild mannered.

ya i used a 4x10 and didnt like it w/ that. when i was amp shopping i tried the svt thru an 8x10 and it was awesome. i lent a sterling to friend and saw em gig it with 2 4x10 cabs and again it was great.

maybe it didnt match my cab well. either way - i got sick of having a 90lb amp

[PzoLover]

You've really opened Pandora's box with this one!

Naturally, as Aussie Mark astutely observed, everyone is going to say that whatever rig they happen to own is the best...human nature, I guess. The bottom line is that Sterlings sound great, and there are many, many high-quality bass amps out there that will do the job...try as many as you can and go with whatever sounds good to you...

Personally, I run my Sterling into a pair of Peavey TKO 60s slaved into a couple of dozen Fender Rumble 25s slaved into my clock radio with a line-out to my door bell buzzer...

...sounds friggin' awesome!

'bout the one main thang you seem to have fergott was a line from the buzzer to the control module of a fuel injected 327 runnin' into a pair of woody woodpeckers if not straight from the exh manifolds.

/PL

[midopa]

To be honest, I've never met an amp I didn't like when paired with a MM bass. Then again, I haven't tried that many out. The Behringer cheapo combo amp + Bongo can move some serious air and sounds good to boot.

[tkarter]

Did anyone say Peavey yet?

If not I did.

tk

[ARES]

To my ears? ThunderFunk. But only because that's what I use.

I've never heard my Sterling sound bad.

[bovinehost]

To be honest, I've never met an amp I didn't like when paired with a MM bass.

I've made some seriously suspect rigs sound pretty good with a Music Man bass.

And I'm not even GOOD.

What's that tell you?

The only head I ever tried that made me say, "No, I don't think so" was an iAmp 800. It was just too sterile (for me).

I use an old Sunn 1200s and it sounds good. I use my Markbass stuff and it sounds good. Yes, Tom, I use my Peavey rig and it STILL sounds good.

Amps and cabinets, like strings and underwear, are personal. What you like, I might not, and vice versa.

But the first and most critical link in the sonic chain is a Music Man bass? Then it's probably going to be okay.

Jack

[Dr. Nick]

'bout the one main thang you seem to have fergott was a line from the buzzer to the control module of a fuel injected 327 runnin' into a pair of woody woodpeckers if not straight from the exh manifolds.

/PL

Well, I tried that, but the room filled up with smoke so much that I couldn't breathe...that 327 really added some low end punch, though! (Of course, when you have a monster rig like this running, anything added is just gravy!)