Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 Bass Amplifier Review

Howdy!

Well, my latest Genz Benz Shuttle finally crapped out and I have given up on it. Seven year ago I said if I was happy enough with it, but that I though the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 had a slight edge on tone. So... now I have an amp to match my two Aguilar 1x12 cabinets!

Aguilar has been making extra-nice tube bass amplifiers since 1995, and they have a reputation for high quality as well as a clean and warm vintage tone. The Tone Hammer 500 aimed to recreate this tone, but in a totally solid-state package; there is not even a tube for the pre-amp. By the way, this amplifier is essentially an Aguilar Tone Hammer preamp/direct box with a class D amplifier added on.

This unit is rated at 500watts at 4 ohms and 250 watts at 8 ohms, and it is very small, measuring 10" x 3" x 9". It is very light as well, coming in at around 4 pounds. Despite its light weight and small size it is very solidly built.

There are a few different controls on the front of the Tone Hammer 500, including these knobs: gain, master, bass, mid level, treble, and drive. Drive uses Aguilar’s Adaptive Gain Shaping circuit, which works by using the gain and mid controls to change the tone from warm all the way to overdrive. Also included on the front are the balance XLR out and effects loop jacks, as well as the ground lift, signal pad and a mute switch.

The back is pretty barren with two Speakon outs, the tuner out a voltage selection switch. Oh yes, and the power switch. I hate it when they put the power switch on the back.

I hooked the Tone Hammer 500 up to my pair of Aguilar GS112 cabs, one with a a tweeter and one without, and I am very impressed. I tested it out with my Nash P basses and my ESP 5-string, as well as some miscellaneous crap from around the studio, and I got some very tube-like tones out of it, and it is definitely voiced like the other Aguilar amplifiers I have played before.

With all of the controls set flat, it dis a wonderful job of reproducing the inherent tone of whatever instrument I was using at the time. And as I started to futz with the knobs (especially the drive knob) I was able to get a panoply of tones from it -- everything from an aggressive growl down to a warm and mellow purr. At high volume levels it never got very harsh, and I actually had trouble getting a high-fidelity tone out of it. They really did make this thing sound like a tube amplifier!

As far as volume goes, this thing is just as loud as my Shuttle, which was rated at 600 watts 9now it is rated at zero watts). I guess manufacturers can rate things however they want, but the proof is in the pudding. It is plenty loud for smaller shows or quieter bands, but if you are really going to crank it out and compete with the guys with the Marshall stacks, you will need to bring another amplifier or go through the PA system.

Aguilar’s is in line with the rest of the industry, and the Tone Hammer 500 has a list price of $999, and a street price of $749. I am happy with my choice, and hope that it holds up longer than the Genz!

Mahalo!

Aguilar GS 112 Bass Speaker Cabinet Review

Howdy!

I recently re-vamped my main bass amplification system, and decided to use a pair of Aguilar GS 112 speaker cabinets with my Genz Benz Shuttle 9.2, and it is turned out to be a match made in heaven.

Aguilar Amplifiers was founded in New York City by Alex Aguilar and Dave Boonshoft in 1995. Dave was a studio musician on bass, of course) and Alex was an electronics guru that designed Roger Sadowsky’s now legendary bass pre-amplifier. They started by building pre-amplifiers, then moved on to amplifiers and speaker cabinets. Alex sold his share of the company to Boonshoft in 2004, and Dave continues to run the show. The company’s products are very well-regarded and are a staple of many gigging bassists’ arsenals.

The GS 112 is available either with a tweeter or without (I have one of each), and they are a neat piece of work. The cabinet is made of carpeted 7-ply Philippine mahogany and is loaded up with a single 12-inch speaker that has a cast frame and a 56-ounce magnet (3 ½ pounds!). The GS is not terribly coming in around 42 pounds, and the single spring-loaded handle on the side is sufficient for a beefy boy like me to haul it around with. The whole thing measures 19 x 14 x 18 inches, and there are plastic interlocking protectors on each corner.

The speaker is rated for 300W (@ 8 ohms), and the phenolic tweeter has an integrated phase plug. Round back there is a Neutrik Speakon connector as well as two ¼-inch jacks. On models with a tweeter there is an adjustment knob to set the level.

I first tried out the Aguilar GS 112 cabinets with my Genz Benz Shuttle 9.2, and came away very impressed. They do a surprisingly good job on the lows (frequency response spec is 42Hz to 16kHz), and the overall tone was clean but still very thick and punchy. In this case when I say “clean” I do not mean sterile, but instead that there was very good note definition.

As I said earlier, these cabinets are rated for 300W, and thought they are not as efficient as some (95dB) they are still very very loud. Putting two of them together is enough for any gig I will ever do, and if I ever needed more power the signal would need to go through the PA anyway. Have the tweeter on only one speaker worked well, and I placed that speaker on top so I could hear the highs better.

The second combination I tried was with both speakers on the floor and my old Ampeg V4B sitting on top. I dialed the tweeter all the way back, and an acquaintance of mine put the set-up through its paces with his upright as well as his old P bass. He is an old-school blues and rock guy, and the results were monstrous, with a very organic sound and tone galore. It was pretty perfect, which is all anyone could hope for.

As far as other details, they are easy to lug around and set up, and there is only two things that I do not care for with them. I wish that there were two Speakon connectors on the back so that they can be hooked up in series. There are two ¼-inch jacks, and I do not know why they could not go the extra mile and do the same with the Neutrik parts. Also, I am not a fan of carpeted cabinets as the covering pills up and collects all kinds of fuzz and junk as time goes on. That’s it!

So, these cabinets are at the top of my list, and I would wholeheartedly recommend them to anyone that is looking for a new 1x12 speaker.

The Aguilar GS 112 is not cheap, with a list price of $799 and a street price of $599, but it is an incredible speaker and is good value for the money. Plus, it comes with a 3-year limited warranty if you buy it new. Check one (or two) out if you get the chance!

Mahalo!

Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 Bass Head Amplifier Review

Howdy!

Today there are a lot of great high-powered yet small bass heads on the market, and they are generally very good units. Genz Benz, Markbass and Gallien-Krueger dominate this market, but there is yet another choice – the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500.

Aguilar has been making extra-nice tube bass amplifiers since 1995, and they have a reputation for high quality as well as a clean and warm vintage tone. The Tone Hammer 500 aims at recreating this tone, but in a totally solid-state package; there is not even a tube for the pre-amp. By the way , this amplifier is essentially an Aguilar Tone Hammer preamp/direct box with a class D amplifier added on.

This unit is rated at 500watts at 4 ohms and 250 watts at 8 ohms, and it is very small, measuring 10" x 3" x 9". It is very light as well, coming in at around 4 pounds. Despite its light weight and small size it seems to be very solidly built.

There are a few different controls on the front of the Tone Hammer 500, including these knobs: gain, master, bass, mid level, treble, and drive. Drive uses Aguilar’s Adaptive Gain Shaping circuit, which works by using the gain and mid controls to change the tone from warm all the way to overdrive. Also included on the front are the balance XLR out and effects loop jacks, as well as the ground lift, signal pad and a mute switch.

The back is pretty barren with two Speakon outs, the tuner out a voltage selection switch. Oh yes, and the power switch. I hate it when they put the power switch on the back.

I hooked the Tone Hammer 500 up to a pair of Genz Benz Shuttle STL-12T cabinets, so I could get a good comparison to my Shuttle 6.0 amplifier and I came away very impressed. I tested it out with my Stingray Classic, as well as some P basses and a Sadowsky PJ, and I got some very tube-like tones out of it, and it is definitely voiced like the other Aguilar amplifiers I have played before.

With all of the controls set flat, it did a wonderful job of reproducing the inherent tone of whatever instrument I was using at the time. And as I started to futz with the knobs (especially the drive knob) I was able to get a panoply of tones from it -- everything from an aggressive growl down to a warm and mellow purr. At high volume levels it never got very harsh, and I actually had trouble getting a high-fidelity tone out of it. They really did make this thing sound like a tube amplifier!

As far as volume goes, this thing is just as loud as my Shuttle, which is rated at 600 watts. I guess manufacturers can rate things however they want, but the proof is in the pudding. It is plenty loud for smaller shows or quieter bands, but if you are really going to crank it out and compete with the guys with the Marshall stacks, you will need to bring another amplifier or go through the PA system.

Aguilar’s pricing seems to be in line with the rest of the industry, and the Tone Hammer 500 has a list price of $949, and a street price of $699. If I did not already own the Genz Benz Shuttle I would probably buy one of these, as I think it edges out the Genz a bit in the tone department, and does not give up anything in volume.

Mahalo!