Ever have a weak moment? (new amp pic)

[strummer]

You guys ever have a weak moment?

Never

Seriously, I am really looking forward to you getting the Aggie, because I remember my old Gibson 440, which was, I think, a predecessor to the TF550, and I am really intersted in your comparison of the two amps. We don't have TF in Sweden.

 

[Randracula]

You really do get more bang-for-the-buck with the GK's. I still prefer Ampeg cabs (for tone) to the other manufacturers, but my Backline Series cabs do a damn-fine job!

You gotta try the RBH and Neo cabs James..........

 

[azzy_wazzy]

I gave my B2R the boot a couple of weeks ago, and now rely on my GK 700RB w/540w power plant to drive my 410 and 115 cabs.

I also just ordered the Ashdown MAG 300H bass head for the times I only use my 115, and want that British tone.

Shamus, for British tone you should consider an Orange amp - as British as the sound gets and used by musicians far and wide!

(Plus they look funky)

 

[Freddy-G.]

Never

Seriously, I am really looking forward to you getting the Aggie, because I remember my old Gibson 440, which was, I think, a predecessor to the TF550, and I am really intersted in your comparison of the two amps.

Well, it's been a week since it was scheduled to arrive. FedEx is just shrugging their shoulders. I'm not familiar with the history of Thunderfunk, but I've read that Jaco used one their earlier models called the AMP.

We don't have TF in Sweden.

I'm sure Mr. Rubio at Atl. Bass Gallery could help you with that.
www.atlantabassgallery.com

 

[Freddy-G.]

Shamus, for British tone you should consider an Orange amp - as British as the sound gets and used by musicians far and wide!

(Plus they look funky)

I'll never forget, azzy, the ZZ Top concert I saw where they played in front of a solid wall of Orange amps (the huge drum set was covered in leopard skin). It looked quite spectacular. Now just a couple of years ago when I saw them again, there wasn't an amp in sight. Their entire sound was coming from the PA speakers. And let me tell you, that little band from Tejas knows how to put on a show!

 

[azzy_wazzy]

I'll never forget, azzy, the ZZ Top concert I saw where they played in front of a solid wall of Orange amps (the huge drum set was covered in leopard skin). It looked quite spectacular.

That sounds fantastic! It's not just the looks either - I love the sound of them. Oasis recorded Definately Maybe using Orange amps and it's their best sound by far! It's so disappointed to see them sporting a certain other brand of amp at concerts.

I'll have to have a dig around on Google and see if I can find any photos of said concert!

 

[Big Poppa]

Guys and gals

The best amps Ive played in thirty years are Mark Bass....hands down

they dont have us distribution now but I am helping set them up......

 

[Freddy-G.]

Guys and gals

The best amps Ive played in thirty years are Mark Bass....hands down

they dont have us distribution now but I am helping set them up......

I'm looking forward to trying one, BP.

 

[smallequestrian]

Thunderfunks heritage is something like the AMP 440, then Gibson made a version, and now both the Thunderfunk and the Eden 440 (can't remember the exact model number) are desendants of the the Gibson model.

 

[azzy_wazzy]

Guys and gals

The best amps Ive played in thirty years are Mark Bass....hands down

they dont have us distribution now but I am helping set them up......

Ooh - I am after a new amp!

Thanks BP - I'll go info hunting

What do you know? Looks what I found on the Mark Bass site! Looks like a sweet combination!

BP - did you run into these guys at NAMM or did you know about them before?

 

[shamus63]

Shamus, for British tone you should consider an Orange amp - as British as the sound gets and used by musicians far and wide!

(Plus they look funky)

Azzy ~ I went to the Orange website, and found that their bass head with the highest wattage is only 200w, compared to Ashdown's 307w. Plus, the MAG 300H is 1/3 the weight of the AD200B.

The Orange amps are cool looking, but I feel I would get better mileage from Ashdown...IMHO.

 

[Figjam]

But the 200w is TUBE, no?

The ashdown is good though, i use it.

 

[azzy_wazzy]

But the 200w is TUBE, no?

The ashdown is good though, i use it.

It is indeedy a tuby.

Shamus - not to worry - they are hefty! Wasn't sure how well known Orange amps are in the US - so thought I'd mention it!

 

[shamus63]

But the 200w is TUBE, no?

The ashdown is good though, i use it.

Yeah, it's a tube head, and may very well be much louder than its 200w rating would dictate.

But it's still 53# compared to the MAG 300H's 18#, and the lighter weight is very appealing to me.

 

[shamus63]

It is indeedy a tuby.

Shamus - not to worry - they are hefty! Wasn't sure how well known Orange amps are in the US - so thought I'd mention it!

Oh, I've known about them since I saw footage of Geezer Butler and Tony Iommi (War Pigs vid) playing them.

Plus, I just saw a huge Orange Amp stack last night on some T-Rex footage.

There's a shop across one of our bridges here that carries Orange Amps, so I may very well take a trip over there next Saturday to check them out.

 

[timmerz]

Freddy, can you go a little further on the Thunderfunk sound for me?

I just started hearing about them last year...are they what you would categorize as a "boutique" sound, like the Aggie's are?

Very upper-end High-Fidelity sound?

When I hear the name "Thunderfunk" I can't get the ringing of all the big Acoustic boxes I've had in the past out of my head for some reason....

Are they a new-style bass amp a la Eden, SWR, GK and so forth?

{edit}
And yes, much to my wife's eternal chagrin (just ask her!) I suffer from impulsive bass buys all the time...I just sold an SWR Megoliath so that I could try the new Schroeders I've been hearing about...got ahold of a used 21012, and am pretty impressed....

 

[Freddy-G.]

Freddy, can you go a little further on the Thunderfunk sound for me?

First thing I noticed is it's powerful. This B model is 550 watts into 4 ohms, and I'd say that's conservative. With the eq set flat, it sounds great. I would be happy with that setting only. This semiperimetric eq is something I've never used before. I'll have to spend some time with it. The enhance control really opens the tone up with smooth highs.

I'm hearing tone from my basses I haven't heard before. There's clarity, definition and attack that I haven't heard from my previous amps. And sustain. Differences between strings, preamps and basses are more noticeable than before. The sound stays clean, no matter how much you push it. I give props to the Aggie's tweeter. Even at its highest setting, it sounds good.

IMHO, this is hi-fi sound. Jim Rubio (owner of Atlanta Bass Gallery) gave it his highest recommendation. And he sells Aguilar, Epifani, Eden, Glockenklang, etc.

Congrats on the Schroeder. I hear they are some of the best cabs around.

 

[Randracula]

Here's a little history on the Thunderfunk amps for you.......
Over 20 years ago, Russ Allee, who designed the 360 and 370 amps for Acoustic left that company and started a new company called Amplified Music Products with a guy named Roger Smith. Russ had Steve Rabe, another ex-Acoustic guy, help design the preamp for the AMP 420 amplifier heads. The preamp section had an “enhance” switch, fixed frequency bass and treble knobs and four semi-parametric midrange bands. The amplifier also had a variable limiter and a crossover for biamping if you had another power amp. AMP also made a lower wattage version called the 260.

Steve Rabe left AMP at some point and founded SWR. He was across the street from Groove Tubes and designed the bass preamp that Groove Tubes used to sell. The GT preamp was identical to the front end of an SWR studio 220, just no power section. SWR’s studio 220 and SM-400 were designed by Steve and were pretty similar to the old AMP design except they used a 12AX-7 tube in the input gain stage, and the enhance switch was replaced with a variable “aural enhancer” knob.

Deciding that he wanted to offer cabinets as well as amplifiers, Rabe commissioned David Nordschow of Eden Electronics to make speaker cabinets for SWR. Up to that point Eden had been making PA speakers. Depending upon who you listen to, the development of the original goliath 4x10 + tweeter cabinet has a couple of versions. Eden claims that SWR wanted a two way cabinet (presumably a 15+horn) and David sent SWR the 410T as an afterthought, wanting to know what they thought of it. The other story is that Steve Rabe and David Nordschow collaborated on the design. In any event, Eden made cabinets for SWR for a while until SWR opted to make its own, presumably due to quality control concerns. The split was not entirely peaceful, but wasn’t quite up to the soap opera status of the rift between Nick Epifani and Jim Bergantino. After many years, Steve Rabe left SWR to found Raven labs, and subsequently retired.

Eden improved its quality control, and continued to make cabinets under its own name. Wanting to offer a complete line David released a couple of heads with a preamp designed by James Demeter. The Preamp was very similar to the VTBP-201, with the addition of a DBX-style two knob compressor. Later, David revamped the Eden amp line with the introduction of the “world tour” series, with a preamp designed by none other than Russ Allee. The front of the world tour series amps was very similar to the AMP-420 and SWR studio 220. There were only 3 semi parametric bands, and the compressor was a simple on/off switch. There was a variable “enhance” knob, but a crossover was offered only on the WT-800. Like the SWR, the Eden incorporated a 12AX-7 preamp tube, another departure from the all solid state design of the AMP-420.

Why was Allee available to consult for Eden? Well, AMP folded in 1988 and was reportedly bought by Gibson. Either Russ Allee designed the GB-440 for Gibson or Gibson just continued making the AMP-420 under the new Gibson GB-440 moniker. Rumor has it that Gibson made some changes that destroyed the reliability of the amplifier. (Imagine Gibson doing that to any company they’ve bought out). Production of the GB-440 was halted sometime around 1990 and the unbuilt amplifiers remained in a warehouse for some time.

Recently Dave Funk was involved with Gibson as a consultant/contractor, and was doing repairs for them. One of the managers approached him and asked if he wanted to purchase the contents of a warehouse they were cleaning out. When he bought it he found the remnants of the GB-440 line, including enough spare parts to build about 30 amps. Since then Dave has made several improvements to the design, including better components, a timbre control, and a switch to select two different preamp voicings. There is no crossover on the head. Thus we have the TF-420.

 

[Freddy-G.]

Wow! Funny how things work out. Thanks Randy!

 

[Dr Stankface]

I think I would go with the Backline 600 if your not going to use the 100 watt power section of the 800RB. At about 3 bills it's only a dollar a watt! I played one at NAMM through a Neo 412 and it sounded great.I might get one myself......

Sorry Randy. I'm a huge GK fan but I think the Backline stuff is just crap.

If I don't get an 800RB, then i'll probably grab a 400RB. Should do nicely.