This is the best Aguilar Tone Hammer demo I have seen so far. For some reason virtually all Aguilar TH500 reviews/demos feature 5 and 6 string ultra modern active type basses only. These amps absolutely slay with passive P-basses and any-all vintage style basses.
Warning to the wise: These heads are fantastic BUT...DO NOT EVER SEND THEM INTO AGUILAR to get them fixed unless you want to deal with the most gigantic headache you've ever had. Get them fixed locally.
Mine doesn’t have that sound at all and I have been in contact with Aguilar for weeks now they are going to charge me to send it back for repair but are claiming that it doesn’t produce a over driven tone. I would have bought a different set up if I knew this just wanted to inform you case you were trying to buy one or for others that are interested in this tone.
I have the Tone Hammer 700, and it doesn't have the overdrive sound he gets in this video. Mine just sounds farty, and I rarely use it. I love the amp but not for the overdrive. The best amp for overdrive I've ever played through (without a pedal) was a Fender Super Bassman. It even beats the mighty Ampeg SVT.
I tried a TH500 in a store and loved it without getting a chance to really play with the settings, which made me want a TH350. This video convinced me that yes, I do in fact need one. Time to sell the old GK!
Surprisingly, they're not that expensive used - a best kept secret. Wonderful DI. HUGE forum on TalkBass to help you. Nuthin' against the TH but I LOVES me my WA. All the best!
Is fantastic!! The signal is fu@& hot. 0 gain in the interface, just the clean sound transmitted from your bass through the Aguilar direct to your track line.
@@handidrummed I could never replicate that tone I ended up trading in all my Aguilar and picked up orange. Orange amps actually sound like they do on videos and albums.
@@Andyanddiana467 what do you mean? I was playing using a musicman sringray hh active pick ups. Tone hammer just doesn’t sound like the videos I contacted Aguilar directly they said its working perfectly and there’s nothing they can do about it. Sold! Got the orange amp never buying Aguilar again. It was very expensive too that Aguilar gear.
I’m looking for a new head and cabinet for the near future and had my eyes on the Ashdown Rootmaster! Any advice on which one is the best buy (regardless of the price)
Thanks Will for yet another great review!!! Hey, would you consider making a review for the Behringer BDI VT 21? Always being curious about that one....if you do it, please do it thru the Aguilar 500
I would say as an owner of a berhinger bdi that it's worth buying, I recommend running a boost pedal behind it tho if you won't distorted tones, I personally use the behringer super fuzz on the boost setting, both pedals with the treble at 9'o clock and bass around 11'o clock, and crank the mids on my amp, I also sometimes use the hellbabe behringer wah on the boost setting for a cliff burton-ish tone. But the pedal by itself sounds great, really tightens your sound and makes it sparkly clean, sadly I don't have a compressor yet so not so sure how it sounds with one, but I bet it sounds fantastic if you know your stuff. Patrick Hunter made a pretty ok review of the pedal, you could check it out.
what you think a an SWR working pro 1x12 combo for $280? , are they crapo? I will use it for home only but I like it to be quality, dont mind if its only 100 watts as long as its a combo with a horn , any suggestions ? Thanks
Im in a huge dilemma... I'm between the Ampeg PF-500 and the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 or 350. I like that the Ampeg has a compressor built in.... but the quality control and reliability seem to be on the really really bad side.
It really depends on what kind of cabinet you hook it up to. These demos are kind of silly because they don’t address any situations people might be in with their amps. Bedroom gigging or practice. Plus he doesn’t even mention which can he has it paired with. Speaker configuration or ohms. All this stuff seems to matter more than I thought it did. If you do your research and have the money for it. The th500 is probably the perfect amp for you. It’s really gonna be selecting the right speakers for whatever you’re playing against.
Is this false advertising? I purchased a tone hammer and cab from Aguilar and it sounds nothing at all like the reviews that are being posted online. I have been in contact with Aguilar they are telling me that there is no over drive sound but a slight tub effect on the drive control. I spent a lot of money expecting to get a similar tone to the ones being portrayed on reviews such as this so much question is does this amp even have any type of over drive tone? I’m selling this crud if it doesn’t because that is false advertising.
When I used to rehearse at my local studio I often used to borrow the studio gear, saved me lugging round my ancient HH head and cab. I play a 74 Grabber so with a compressor and EQ in front, any amp would pretty much do the job for me. One evening a band was recording down the hall so my usual amps were being used and they gave me an Ashdown 300w combo. Never used one before. It redefined the word "suck" in about 1700 different ways lol, it was horrible 🤣 no matter what I did with it I could not get a nice sound out of this thing. I went out to the guy running the studio, apologised profusely and asked if I could have another amp as I couldn't get a decent tone out of this one. He explained that the guys recording had basically nabbed everything for their session but he was sure there was a separate head and cab out the back and I could use that... A. Sodding. Ashdown. Head and cab. I tried everything but all I could get it to do was make a fairly dark and warm sounding rumble in differing degrees. Bugger all definition. Just a horrible horrible thing. I'm not sure if it's just me who cannot stand these horrid little amps but I'm sure that they have their uses.... like being on fire heating a room lol
EBS Reidmar amps (analog preamp) sound better, distorted. And my 750 is loud as hell! My SWR Headlight amp sounds better, as well. (tube preamp) Both have a smoother sound and less of the 'BBs in a can' distortion sound. I do like the clean sound of the TH amps. Compare the sound and feel of the TH amps to a DB680 and I think you will hear what Aguilar were going for, in the digital amp realm. Close, indeed....but no cigar. Pardon the slight rant, but.... I have gone back to my Eden WT800 amp or Ag DB680/Crown XLS2000 rig, and either a 4x10 EBS, 6x10 Glockenklang, or an 8x10 SWR Megoliath cab. They just feel better, sound thicker, and throw farther. All good things.
This is the best Aguilar Tone Hammer demo I have seen so far. For some reason virtually all Aguilar TH500 reviews/demos feature 5 and 6 string ultra modern active type basses only. These amps absolutely slay with passive P-basses and any-all vintage style basses.
Warning to the wise: These heads are fantastic BUT...DO NOT EVER SEND THEM INTO AGUILAR to get them fixed unless you want to deal with the most gigantic headache you've ever had. Get them fixed locally.
I always was curious about this amp but when I heard the super overdriven/distorted tone I was sold. I definitely want one now
Mine doesn’t have that sound at all and I have been in contact with Aguilar for weeks now they are going to charge me to send it back for repair but are claiming that it doesn’t produce a over driven tone. I would have bought a different set up if I knew this just wanted to inform you case you were trying to buy one or for others that are interested in this tone.
I have the Tone Hammer 700, and it doesn't have the overdrive sound he gets in this video. Mine just sounds farty, and I rarely use it. I love the amp but not for the overdrive. The best amp for overdrive I've ever played through (without a pedal) was a Fender Super Bassman. It even beats the mighty Ampeg SVT.
I tried a TH500 in a store and loved it without getting a chance to really play with the settings, which made me want a TH350. This video convinced me that yes, I do in fact need one. Time to sell the old GK!
And get a Mesa/Boogie Walkabout… Just sayin.'
Way out of my price range, though it would be pretty sweet!
Surprisingly, they're not that expensive used - a best kept secret. Wonderful DI. HUGE forum on TalkBass to help you. Nuthin' against the TH but I LOVES me my WA. All the best!
How does the sound translate when using the DI to record to a DAW? Any tone loss whatsoever?
Is fantastic!! The signal is fu@& hot. 0 gain in the interface, just the clean sound transmitted from your bass through the Aguilar direct to your track line.
What pedal are you using to get that overdrive tone?
It's the gain and drive controls on the amp.
@@handidrummed I could never replicate that tone I ended up trading in all my Aguilar and picked up orange. Orange amps actually sound like they do on videos and albums.
@@lordthorby6199 Do you have enough output coming out of the bass? Gain sounds are very input level dependent.
@@Andyanddiana467 what do you mean? I was playing using a musicman sringray hh active pick ups. Tone hammer just doesn’t sound like the videos I contacted Aguilar directly they said its working perfectly and there’s nothing they can do about it. Sold! Got the orange amp never buying Aguilar again. It was very expensive too that Aguilar gear.
I bought a 350. It was alright. I returned it after 3 days. Imo, it sounded so dull.
I’m looking for a new head and cabinet for the near future and had my eyes on the Ashdown Rootmaster! Any advice on which one is the best buy (regardless of the price)
The Rootmaster looks awesome!
Bassic Gear Review it does look great but is the Tone Hammer a better choice or same quality?
We’ve never had any experience with the Ashdown but the Aguilar is definitely awesome!
Fuck yeah at 0:45 was not expecting that, I'm fucking sold come on tax season
Are you playing the TH 500 through a Fender neo 115 cab?
Is that a MIM Fender? Sounds great
Tomás Salvador Thanks! It's actually an American Special.
Thanks Will for yet another great review!!! Hey, would you consider making a review for the Behringer BDI VT 21? Always being curious about that one....if you do it, please do it thru the Aguilar 500
I would say as an owner of a berhinger bdi that it's worth buying, I recommend running a boost pedal behind it tho if you won't distorted tones, I personally use the behringer super fuzz on the boost setting, both pedals with the treble at 9'o clock and bass around 11'o clock, and crank the mids on my amp, I also sometimes use the hellbabe behringer wah on the boost setting for a cliff burton-ish tone.
But the pedal by itself sounds great, really tightens your sound and makes it sparkly clean, sadly I don't have a compressor yet so not so sure how it sounds with one, but I bet it sounds fantastic if you know your stuff.
Patrick Hunter made a pretty ok review of the pedal, you could check it out.
what you think a an SWR working pro 1x12 combo for $280? , are they crapo?
I will use it for home only but I like it to be quality, dont mind if its only 100 watts as long as its a combo with a horn , any suggestions ? Thanks
I'll have mine tomorrow!
Well, I've had mine for 8 months along with 2 Aguilar GS112 cabs. I'm in heaven.
@@atbglenn 3 years later. Is it still sounding good? I'm planning to get the Tone Hammer 500 and 2 Hartke HD210 cabs.
when u can yall a/b TH500 vs ag700
Hey, what cab are you using?
+Andrew Desiderio It's a Fender Bassman 4x10
Im in a huge dilemma... I'm between the Ampeg PF-500 and the Aguilar Tone Hammer 500 or 350. I like that the Ampeg has a compressor built in.... but the quality control and reliability seem to be on the really really bad side.
Went for a tone hammer 500 btw
Hi what's the tone hammer like
How loud do these get?
It really depends on what kind of cabinet you hook it up to. These demos are kind of silly because they don’t address any situations people might be in with their amps. Bedroom gigging or practice. Plus he doesn’t even mention which can he has it paired with. Speaker configuration or ohms. All this stuff seems to matter more than I thought it did. If you do your research and have the money for it. The th500 is probably the perfect amp for you. It’s really gonna be selecting the right speakers for whatever you’re playing against.
Is this false advertising? I purchased a tone hammer and cab from Aguilar and it sounds nothing at all like the reviews that are being posted online. I have been in contact with Aguilar they are telling me that there is no over drive sound but a slight tub effect on the drive control. I spent a lot of money expecting to get a similar tone to the ones being portrayed on reviews such as this so much question is does this amp even have any type of over drive tone? I’m selling this crud if it doesn’t because that is false advertising.
If you're missing the overdrive sound then you have to turn both gain and drive way up while contoling the volume with the master.
@@aikido666 do you think I wouldn’t have tried that after investing over a grand on this stuff?
maybe put an Ashdown in there as well lol
When I used to rehearse at my local studio I often used to borrow the studio gear, saved me lugging round my ancient HH head and cab. I play a 74 Grabber so with a compressor and EQ in front, any amp would pretty much do the job for me.
One evening a band was recording down the hall so my usual amps were being used and they gave me an Ashdown 300w combo. Never used one before. It redefined the word "suck" in about 1700 different ways lol, it was horrible 🤣 no matter what I did with it I could not get a nice sound out of this thing.
I went out to the guy running the studio, apologised profusely and asked if I could have another amp as I couldn't get a decent tone out of this one. He explained that the guys recording had basically nabbed everything for their session but he was sure there was a separate head and cab out the back and I could use that...
A. Sodding. Ashdown. Head and cab.
I tried everything but all I could get it to do was make a fairly dark and warm sounding rumble in differing degrees. Bugger all definition. Just a horrible horrible thing.
I'm not sure if it's just me who cannot stand these horrid little amps but I'm sure that they have their uses.... like being on fire heating a room lol
No headphone out is a dealbreaker for me.
Buy a DI man and connect them there
Can plug my bass to the tone hammer and then to the presonus interface for recording? Or would it blow away the interface ?
Eugenio Osorio as long as you use the direct output you should be fine.
At 0:30, distortion sound that came from only amp head?
I would'nt pick up my SVT 5 PRO with one hand! That head looks light AF.
Great amp
Want one!
EBS Reidmar amps (analog preamp) sound better, distorted. And my 750 is loud as hell!
My SWR Headlight amp sounds better, as well. (tube preamp) Both have a smoother sound and less of the 'BBs in a can' distortion sound. I do like the clean sound of the TH amps.
Compare the sound and feel of the TH amps to a DB680 and I think you will hear what Aguilar were going for, in the digital amp realm. Close, indeed....but no cigar.
Pardon the slight rant, but....
I have gone back to my Eden WT800 amp or Ag DB680/Crown XLS2000 rig, and either a 4x10 EBS, 6x10 Glockenklang, or an 8x10 SWR Megoliath cab. They just feel better, sound thicker, and throw farther. All good things.
Why is he yelling?
Point your thumb UP!!!
Thanks for a demo that's not neo soul or fusion with a 6 string