Bass Amps

Oh...so when I forgot to post in a timely manner about the Mr. Roberts show I also forgot to mention the amp I used. And that's a real omission.

When we arrived at the show the Dead Beat Club had already backlined their equipment (pros). The bass player...who I THINK is named Andy and MIGHT be the bass player for The Shabelles too (dear internet...is this true? It is? Great!)...offered for me to play through his amp. Since his amp was nicer than mine...and mine was still in the car...and space was tight...I said "sure and thanks".

I did not get the model...which is a shame and might need to be righted (dear internet...can I friend Andy on facebook and ask him? I can? Great!). It was maybe the best amp I've ever used. And that is saying something, because for the Dane101 gig last December I played through a REALLY nice amp (note: I can't believe I didn't mention THAT amp in THAT show summary EITHER. I am really slacking and missing the whole original point of these gig summary posts. It was an Aguilar AG500 and GS412).

This one at Mr. Roberts was better, though...and here's why:
1. It weighed like...nothing. Less than my amp, and my amp is pretty light for a 15" combo amp
2. It was a human sized combo amp...it would fit into your car no problem. None of this giant cabinet bs.
3. Frankly I just liked the sound. Very clean and clear and loud. Just great. The boys commented on it too.

So...what the hell was it? It was Ampeg brand combo amp...probably with a 15" speaker. It had two channels...Andy told me only the "vintage" channel worked. It had two input jacks for different "dbs". It probably was an older model since one of the channels was broken. If he even knows what model it is...I'll be able to ask him pretty soon if I manage to remember. All the powerful combos listed at Ampeg now are more than 50 pounds...and this thing seemed to be more like 35.

Someday when my amp dies I want to be able to buy a new one based on some understanding of what I like and don't like in an amp. It's nice to have the Sun to fall back on, but it is too big to haul around and I don't feel comfortable using someone else's equipment long term due to the potential of damaging it and then having to figure out how one deals with that (fixing or replacing a decent vintage amp).

UPDATE: It was indeed an Ampeg BA600 just as I guessed. It sure did not seem like it weighed 50 pounds...but maybe mine, which I thought was 55 pounds is more like 60 or 65 due to replacement speaker. At Sam Ash this amp will run you $849...which, while more than I have to spend right now, might be a very decent deal in a year or so. 600 Watts in a compact package for less than 900 bucks is reasonable...and would be a solid step up from where I'm at currently. A side note...the 300W version of the same amp is $649 and is listed as only 40 pounds. I have heard bad things about Ampeg in the past...but maybe this is only with respect to the low end products. If it is good enough for Kim, it's good enough for me.