Music Man HD-130 and Ampeg cab review

[drbassman]

Got the two hooked up today and I am very happy.  The amp arrived in perfect condition and married to the new Ampeg PF115HE 15" cab, it sounds great.  I didn't always believe you could hear the difference between SS and tube amps, but I believe I can easily discern it in this rig.  The real difference I notice with the MM head is the richness of the bass tonality and, interestingly, the speaker seems to be able to handle more volume with less effort/degradation of the sound.  The speaker performs better with this amp than with the SS Mesa.  The overall sound of the amp is clear and clean at lower volumes.  When my wife isn't around I'll crank it and see what happens!  She gets rattled when i do that.

I really like the simplicity of the controls.  I've never been all that found of 6 knob EQ systems, more hassle than they are worth IMHO.  The difference between the "Normal-Bright" and "Normal-Deep" switches is striking and really a nice feature.  I can go from really deep and thumpy to crispy and edgy with the flip of one or two switches.

My next experiments will involve playing with variations in the master vs. channel volume controls and mid-treble differences.

Thus far, the sound, power and tone of the amp-speaker combo is just what I had hoped for.   We'll see how things sound at our next practice with 2 15" cabs and some real volume.  A good report!

[drbassman]

BTW, I used my Hofner Club for the initial test.  I'll try a TB next.  The Club sounded amazingly clear through this combo.  Not boomy at all.

[Dave W]

Sounds promising so far. Then again I'm partial to tube tone.

[jumbodbassman]

Love my 2 MM 130 heads.  They even sound good with the matching cabs which were designed for both guitar and bass and are only 12' deep.  One on the left is 2 12 and on the right is 15 with reconditioned EVB pro with a 4ohm coil.  probably need to upgrade the 12's but both cabs  are  4 ohms.    The speaker outs on the back are wired in series BTW.  also the sound in the bass channel is rather poor compared to the guitar channel  and the bass boost is on the master volume so works in either channel.  sorry for the blurry picture.  recently got some new grillcloth for the 15 cab.  

[Granny Gremlin]

Love those MM RH115s!  Kinda curious about the 2 x12 version, which I have never experienced; how do they compare?

[drbassman]

Wow, cool setup.  Do you gig with them?  In tandem?  I haven't tried the guitar channel yet, I was pretty impressed with the bass side.  I'll have to give it a try.  I can't wait to try mine with two 15s.  Thanks for sharing.

[drbassman]

Btw, would you have a copy of a 130 owners manual?

[Pilgrim]

HD-130 article from VIntageGuitar.com:  http://www.vintageguitar.com/12887/music-man-hd-130-reverb/

[jumbodbassman]

usually just gig with one of the amps with the 2 12 cab.  plenty of volume for small club/bar type gigs.   Even though i love the 115 i feel safer on gigs with the 2 12 knowing it can put out more volume when needed.  When i get around to upgrading the speakers IMO the 212 will really rock.  I would use them together but any gig with that much stage space is usually an outside show and I end to get power hungry and go with the SVT 7 or Markbass 1200 both of which are stupid loud.

 

[Psycho Bass Guy]

HD-130 article from VIntageGuitar.com:  http://www.vintageguitar.com/12887/music-man-hd-130-reverb/

Funny thing is that in that photo, the two "inside tubes" are GE 6CA7's (only GE's have those type of plate welds) and the outside pair are actual EL34's, probably Mullard manufactured OEM Philips. It shows just how similar the two types are.

[drbassman]

HD-130 article from VIntageGuitar.com:  http://www.vintageguitar.com/12887/music-man-hd-130-reverb/

Cool review,thanks Al.  The tone on this amp is amazing and the price is a real bargain IMO.

[Pilgrim]

The way you guys swap amps and cabs, I don't know whether to be happy or sad that I'm settled on my Genz Shuttle 6.0.

But every time I pick it up and move it, I'm reminded of just how happy with it I really am!

[rahock]

The way you guys swap amps and cabs, I don't know whether to be happy or sad that I'm settled on my Genz Shuttle 6.0.

But every time I pick it up and move it, I'm reminded of just how happy with it I really am!

Gotta admit I'm pretty darn happy  with my Genz Shuttle  too. I'm using the Avatar 2 12 and tweeter cab but it's only around 50 lbs. I don't feel like I made any comprises with either choice, I'm just happy .
Rick

[drbassman]

The way you guys swap amps and cabs, I don't know whether to be happy or sad that I'm settled on my Genz Shuttle 6.0.

But every time I pick it up and move it, I'm reminded of just how happy with it I really am!

That's why I only play at our cafe.  No moving!  Anyway, I am always looking for something to get into and tube amps had to happen eventually.  I am looking for a new, or old, tone/sound and this is a fun experiment.  I still love my Mesa Walkabout, a super hybrid amp. Will always have that as an alternative. 

Say, how were the old original Fender Bassman heads?  Would it be worth trying one of those?

[Pilgrim]

Say, how were the old original Fender Bassman heads?  Would it be worth trying one of those?

I have a '67 sitting upstairs - had it since it was a couple of months old.

They're certainly loud for their power range, but anything above about 40% gain and you get into distortion territory, even having had it re-capped.  I like the sound, but (perhaps I have a tin ear) I can't claim that I've found it compelling enough to want a more powerful tube head.

I use it mainly for practice, because it has two inputs (low and high) so I can input my bass on one channel and the output of my computer into another.



In that photo it's sitting on top of my early 80's Bassman 120 amp, a solid state combo with a single 15" speaker.  I have played an outdoor gig with that 120 combo and it was dimed - made it through two hours, and I smelled ozone when i got close to it.  But it made it through just fine.