Marshall Bass Amplifier

Marshall Bass Amplifier
by Barry Rudolph

The VBA400 is an all-tube Marshall bass guitar head. There are three 12AX7s, one 12AU7 and, count 'em, eight Svetlana 6550 power tubes. With 400 watts of power, the VBA has no trouble with clean and loud sounds at maximum stage volumes.

The pre-amp section has individual inputs for both passive and active bass guitars and controls for bass, middle, treble, gain and master volume. These tone controls are augmented by a three-position contour switch. Contour Position 1 is set for a vintage bass tone with smooth lows and a slight treble lift. Position 2 gives you a boost in the lower mids with the upper mids reduced. This combination produces an aggressive, modern growl. Finally, Position 3 gives you a gentle overall mid boost for a very up front presence.

Besides these presets, are both Bright and Deep switches to add crispness and a resonant bass boost. Since this amp top has a master volume, you can certainly grunge up your tone just by winding up the Gain control and dialing down the Master. Other features on this high-end amp are: a tuner out jack with a tune mute front panel switch; a low impedance XLR direct output for direct recording; series effect loop; ground lift switch; and over-temperature protection that triggers a two-speed cooling fan or shuts the amp down completely if inadequately cooled.

To go with your VBA are two choices of Marshall speaker cabinets: the 400watt @ 4 Ohms VBC412, at $1,000 has 4X12 speakers and the 640watt @ 4 Ohms VBC810 at $1,399 with 8X10 speakers. The VBA sells for $2,000 and represents a worthwhile investment for any bass player looking for the ultimate in sound and durability. Contact Marshall at 316 South Service Road, Melville, New York 11747-3201. Call them at: 516-333-9100 or FAX at 516-333-9108

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