What is the best amp to accompany the mighty StingRay?

[KennethB]

Hello, all good people at the EB forum. I'm new here so I'll introduce myself: I'm a 28 year old white male from Norway and a fellow Music Man-player. I bought my Stingray 10 years ago and I LOVE it! It's a friend for life!
Well, on to my question:
First a little background: The amp I used when I got the Stingray was a Hartke 3500 amp/ combo which had a speaker in it of unknown brand. It was the holy grail of sound. A couple of months ago the speaker died and I had to get a cab.
I got a Hartke VX410A, took it home, plugged in and expected to hear my sound coming out. Well, it didn't! In fact it sounded horrible. The tight, muscular bottom. The robust mids. The sweet top. The Stingray character.It was all gone! What was left was a indistinct mess with ugly peaks in the upper midrange. It's impossible to gig with. I can't hear if I'm in time or in tune.
So I have to replace it. I'm considering getting a new amp as well.
The band is playing pop, rock, funk, blues mostly.
I want pretty much an 'un-colored' sound.
So my question is this: Which amp/cab combination (in your experience) is best to bring out the Stingray-sound?
Thank you.

 

[Mobay45]

Welcome and get ready for a bigger variety of answers than you can imagine. I have been through 4 or 5 rigs in the last year and a half and still don't know the answer to your question. I can tell you that the guy who owns the company is really into the Mark Bass amps from Italy. They're not marketed in the States yet though.

 

[hankSRay]

Welcome to the forums. Gallien-Krueger amps seem to be pretty popular amongst the guys here. I use em' and think they're unbeatable for the money. They really dont color your tone the way some amps do.

 

[Dr Stankface]

Personally, i'd say Gallien-Krueger brings out the sound of a Ray quite nicely but i'm a teenager so what do I know?

 

[Psycho Ward]

Welcome to the forum KennetB, make yourself at home and have fun here!

I've been to Stavanger a couple of times and had a blast.


As for amps I would say to check out an Ashdown and a MarkBass... along with GK of course

 

[dougmoser]

Good news boys, I emailed Markbass the other day.

Dear Doug,

Firstly I'd like to thank you for contacting us and also for your interest in Markbass.

In the next days We'll start officially with the US Markbass distribution that were settled at the NAMM show with GUITAR CENTER.

We expect to have our products in select Guitar Center US stores no later than June.



I encourage you to put your name on our mailing list at www.markbass.it so we can let you know where you'll be able to check out the Markbass gear for yourself.



Thank you once again,

 

[maddog]

Thanks for the update Doug. Looks like my credit card is gonna get warmer. Hope it isn't gonna hit critical mass tho'.

 

[limitk7]

GK GK GK for un-colored sound!

Proof: When I set my headphone amp to bypass all effects / virtual / amps / cabs, the sound it puts out is very similar to the sound that comes out of my GK MicroBass.

So, since
Bongo through that headphone amp on "bypass" = pure Bongo sound, and
Bongo through GK MicroBass = Bongo through headphone amp on "bypass,"
therefore
Bongo through GK = pure Bongo sound

Welcome to the forum, KennetB, and good luck with the amp search.

 

[KennethB]

Thanks!
I say, you guys are fast!
Well, keep 'em comming.
I'll also look around on the different treads to see if I can find something.
By the way, is there a place on the forum where amps are discussed in general?

 

[Dr Stankface]

EBMM no longer makes amps so they have no specific forum on them but they did make some in the past and from what i've heard/played, they sound incredible. Good luck on your search.

 

[Musicfreak1988]

I run my SR trough an Eden rig (WT-600 (discontinued) and a D-410-XLT cab). Sounds really good and it gives me a lot of headroom.

 

[RitchieDarling]

Dessverre snakker jeg bare litt norsk!

Det er så hyggelig å treffe deg.

I quite like my new Ampeg B4-R. I have yet to dial it in just right. but I like what I hear so far. I did have GK for a while. And a Trace Elliot when i was overseas. But Ampeg is about all I use now. That and a tiny little Behringer BX-108 I keep on my computer desk.


All the best,

Ritchie

 

[Aussie Mark]

For uncolored preamps, try an Alembix F1-X or a Demeter VTBP-201. Then take your pick of power amp to suit your budget and preferred level of grunt. For cabs, there are plenty to choose from, largely a matter of personal choice, portability and budget.

 

[Hutton]

Hey Kennet - I use a Mesa Boogie Walkabout Scout with my Ray. Don't let the size of this 1x12 combo put you off. It has a BIG sound. Being able to remove the amp to use with different cabs is also a nice touch. All the best with your quest!

 

[bth88]

I really like running my Stingray into a 100W Marshall Plexi with 6550's in the output. Loads of clean with the preamp on the SR set lower and un-godly sweet distortion with the SR pre full. Don't get me wrong, this setup is crazy loud if you want it clean. Loads of clean headroom. But if you want to dominate the room... I mean dominate, push that preamp full, the sweet distortion of real tubes is where it's at.

If you want 'un-colored' I would rent a PA system...

LOL

Just kidding mate.

 

[Moondog]

I'm also Norwegian & I like this set-up:
(preferred by most Norwegians)

 

[koogie2k]

Welcome to the Addiction KennetB!

I use a GK. This was after reading a ton of info from my forum bros here. I had a problem (settings issue on my end....again, much help from my forum bros) and I love the amp. I have heard great things about Markbass as well, but never played through one.

Personally, i'd say Gallien-Krueger brings out the sound of a Ray quite nicely but i'm a teenager so what do I know?

Hey Doc.....you know quite a bit...you are one of the big reasons why I got a GK my friend. But, like most teenagers, STAY OFF MY LAWN AND AWAY FROM MY DAUGHTER! hehehehhe......

 

[Dr Stankface]

Many thanks Koog-ster. I must say i'm sold on GK stuff.

If I mowed your lawn, would that get me an evening out with your daughter?

 

[dougmoser]

anyone have any recommendations on a solid state preamp for me to check out?

 

[Aussie Mark]

anyone have any recommendations on a solid state preamp for me to check out?

You should be able to score a used Yamaha PB1 quite cheap. Not sure why you want a totally solid state preamp, given the number of great tube preamps on the market.