Which amp head to go with my Bag End S-15D?

rcfs1834 · June 29th, 2008, 02:03 PM

A little background:
I'm in an alt-country project(2 guitars, bass, drum) that will be recording in a local music venue in a few weeks. We'll have the place to ourselves to record some live demos. The venue holds about 200 people max and will be empty for the recording session, well except for the band and sound man.

Up until now I've been using a Roland Cube 30 for rehearsals and since we're not loud and the practice space is small it has been keeping up fine. But I know it wont keep up in a real venue.

So I have a Bag End S-15D cab and need a head to go with it for the recording session and future gigs. What head would you guys suggest for my situation? My budget is under $650 and I'd prefer to buy new. Thanks in advance.

4mal · June 30th, 2008, 10:41 AM

I have a pair of those cabs. I've run them with two very different heads and I'm please with the reults of each.

Used - yeah I know you want new but...

Traynor YBA-200 . 200 watt tube amp. A little finicky to get tone from - that is to say - the tone is in there but it's counter intuitive getting it out. Once sussed - it is undeniably warm with a fat, fat low end yet detailed mids. For me the key has been running the input gain up between 2 and 3 pm on the clock dial. That would be serious grind territory on most amps. Not so much on the YBA - weird. I'm not really an amp 'architechture' guy but it appears as thought the tone stack is MUCH, MUCH more effective with the gain way up. with the gain down, the amp sounds thin, bright, anemic - not good - Like I said - counter intuitive... Mine is the generation 1, auto-biasing amp. Currently I'm running 12ax7's in the pre, the stock sovtek 6550's in the power section. I did install 2 upgraded 12ax7's/ The 12au7 phase inverter I left alone.

GK 700RB II - new from RMC audio, delivered to your door well under your budget. I actually run it'as big brother the 1001 but the Bag 15's are very efficient and can't hold the power of that amp anyway. Same pre-amp, smaller power amp is all - totally appropriate for the pair.

The GK is just a workhorse amp. A great DI on board. Easy amp to suss. Near indestructible. If you're buying for the future, the GK would be a great choice. Based on it's ease of setup - I use the contour control to find my sound and the 4-band tone stack (cut & boost) to adjust for the room. Set the boost at noon for a little warmth - that's it for me ... The GK might get the nod just because it is so easy to get a sound dialed in wth...

I would seriously consider renting something like a Showman for the dates if an under 100 watt tube amp will get you by - that cab is only rated at 200 watts - and that rating isn't for 200 watts at 40 hz ... more like 500 hz - At 103db efficient - it will still make a bunch of noise with a Showman I would think.

Whatever you do, I would try to land that pretty quick and start dialing it in. Last thing you really need on recording day is more time trying to dial your sound in ... oh yeah, take a good external DI along... just in case you need a backup.

rcfs1834 · June 30th, 2008, 03:25 PM

Thanks for the advice 4mal. I was actually thinking about either the 400rb or the 700rb, but I wanted to get some input on other ideas.

What backup DI would you suggest? I'm using a Fender Am Pbass and a Fender Mustang RI, both are passive.

4mal · July 1st, 2008, 10:12 AM

I've been shooting out DI's lately. For live use, near anything from Behringer on up will work. Rumor has it that Uli knocked off the countryman DI for his cheapie clone. I've had several sound guys react well to the DI in a GK head over the years. Every sound guy who notices it wants to use the DI from my Radial Bassbone.

The Bassbone can be quite colored depending on how you have it setup. It's not bad it's just that it has tone controls and the DI is post tone and effects loop, not pre. A pre-switch on the DI would make it a better recording device but for the dough - it's still a very useful tool to have in the arsenal. I typically run it flat or close to it so not a big problem for me.

For recording work I would step up though. The Radial J48 (active, requires phantom power) and JDI (passive) are very good. I have a GT Passive DI (PDI) that is also very good.

The Radial Pro, which appears to be the same as in the Bassbone are good - not quite in the J48 / JDI league.

I'm a fan of Radial (as you can probably tell). Sounds good and the stuff seems to be indestructible. If you were going to buy a really good DI for life - well a mid-level Radial (j48 / JDI) would be an easy pick...

June 29th, 2008, 02:03 PM	#1 (permalink)
rcfs1834 TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Portland, Maine Posts: 10	Which amp head to go with my Bag End S-15D? A little background: I'm in an alt-country project(2 guitars, bass, drum) that will be recording in a local music venue in a few weeks. We'll have the place to ourselves to record some live demos. The venue holds about 200 people max and will be empty for the recording session, well except for the band and sound man. Up until now I've been using a Roland Cube 30 for rehearsals and since we're not loud and the practice space is small it has been keeping up fine. But I know it wont keep up in a real venue. So I have a Bag End S-15D cab and need a head to go with it for the recording session and future gigs. What head would you guys suggest for my situation? My budget is under $650 and I'd prefer to buy new. Thanks in advance.

June 30th, 2008, 10:41 AM	#2 (permalink)
4mal Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Gorge Posts: 1,979	I have a pair of those cabs. I've run them with two very different heads and I'm please with the reults of each. Used - yeah I know you want new but... Traynor YBA-200 . 200 watt tube amp. A little finicky to get tone from - that is to say - the tone is in there but it's counter intuitive getting it out. Once sussed - it is undeniably warm with a fat, fat low end yet detailed mids. For me the key has been running the input gain up between 2 and 3 pm on the clock dial. That would be serious grind territory on most amps. Not so much on the YBA - weird. I'm not really an amp 'architechture' guy but it appears as thought the tone stack is MUCH, MUCH more effective with the gain way up. with the gain down, the amp sounds thin, bright, anemic - not good - Like I said - counter intuitive... Mine is the generation 1, auto-biasing amp. Currently I'm running 12ax7's in the pre, the stock sovtek 6550's in the power section. I did install 2 upgraded 12ax7's/ The 12au7 phase inverter I left alone. GK 700RB II - new from RMC audio, delivered to your door well under your budget. I actually run it'as big brother the 1001 but the Bag 15's are very efficient and can't hold the power of that amp anyway. Same pre-amp, smaller power amp is all - totally appropriate for the pair. The GK is just a workhorse amp. A great DI on board. Easy amp to suss. Near indestructible. If you're buying for the future, the GK would be a great choice. Based on it's ease of setup - I use the contour control to find my sound and the 4-band tone stack (cut & boost) to adjust for the room. Set the boost at noon for a little warmth - that's it for me ... The GK might get the nod just because it is so easy to get a sound dialed in wth... I would seriously consider renting something like a Showman for the dates if an under 100 watt tube amp will get you by - that cab is only rated at 200 watts - and that rating isn't for 200 watts at 40 hz ... more like 500 hz - At 103db efficient - it will still make a bunch of noise with a Showman I would think. Whatever you do, I would try to land that pretty quick and start dialing it in. Last thing you really need on recording day is more time trying to dial your sound in ... oh yeah, take a good external DI along... just in case you need a backup.

June 30th, 2008, 03:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
rcfs1834 TDPRI Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Portland, Maine Posts: 10	Thanks for the advice 4mal. I was actually thinking about either the 400rb or the 700rb, but I wanted to get some input on other ideas. What backup DI would you suggest? I'm using a Fender Am Pbass and a Fender Mustang RI, both are passive.

July 1st, 2008, 10:12 AM	#4 (permalink)
4mal Tele-Afflicted Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: The Gorge Posts: 1,979	I've been shooting out DI's lately. For live use, near anything from Behringer on up will work. Rumor has it that Uli knocked off the countryman DI for his cheapie clone. I've had several sound guys react well to the DI in a GK head over the years. Every sound guy who notices it wants to use the DI from my Radial Bassbone. The Bassbone can be quite colored depending on how you have it setup. It's not bad it's just that it has tone controls and the DI is post tone and effects loop, not pre. A pre-switch on the DI would make it a better recording device but for the dough - it's still a very useful tool to have in the arsenal. I typically run it flat or close to it so not a big problem for me. For recording work I would step up though. The Radial J48 (active, requires phantom power) and JDI (passive) are very good. I have a GT Passive DI (PDI) that is also very good. The Radial Pro, which appears to be the same as in the Bassbone are good - not quite in the J48 / JDI league. I'm a fan of Radial (as you can probably tell). Sounds good and the stuff seems to be indestructible. If you were going to buy a really good DI for life - well a mid-level Radial (j48 / JDI) would be an easy pick...