# Ibanez TB100H



## Shannon (Jul 14, 2005)

Well, I'm going to the music store tomorrow to check out the Ibanez TB100H amp head. I know Hatebreeder's got one, but does anyone else have one or tried one? From all the reviews I've read (tons of them), people are generally going nuts for them. Hell, even Dino Cazares is using them & I love his sound.

<puts flame suit on>  

Recently, I've really wanted to move away from my rack rig & get back to an SS head. I know, I know. The tube & rack purists are gonna eat me alive, but hey, I'm a SS guy at heart. 

So, please post up your opinions, thoughts, bitches, moans, flames, etc.


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## nyck (Jul 14, 2005)

I would love to try one too. I have this thought in my mind, that it's gonna be this awesome, powerful, RAW tone. I'm a little scared to try out a stack


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## Shannon (Jul 14, 2005)

Anyone?


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## VforVendetta00 (Jul 14, 2005)

Line 6 FOR LYFE!!!!! *runs for cover


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## eviltoaster (Jul 14, 2005)

engl engl engl !  

any questions


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## Shannon (Jul 14, 2005)

Line 6 - Ewww. None of their stuff has impressed me enough to even consider buying it.

Engl - Mmmmm, Engl's Savage 120....but WAY out of my price range.


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## Christopher (Jul 14, 2005)

I've heard a Toneblaster combo once but have no experience with the head. The combo was pretty cool, not my thing but hey whatever.

I'm a tube purist for myself. I just like 'em better. For others though, choosing your amp is like choosing a mate. I ain't going to tell you whether you should be doing your chick or not.


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## Christopher (Jul 14, 2005)

VforVendetta00 said:


> Line 6 FOR LYFE!!!!! *runs for cover



If they could only get the "feel" just a bit better, I'd be very close to joining you. Right now though, they're too heavily overcompressed and dead feeling in my hands.


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## Drew (Jul 14, 2005)

Hey, there's that vid from around the time he did Strange Beautiful Music of satch playing a tune on the beack through a small ToneBlaster combo - didn't sound half bad. 

Then again, it's f'in Joe Satriani, lol. 

-D


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## Shannon (Jul 14, 2005)

Well, I just got back from trying one. My verdict? Holy shit, dude! These suckers rock!

My short review (short, because I suck at this):
There's a ton of great tones lurking in this thing. The boost function was great. It essentially turns a 2-channel amp into a 4-channel monster. 
On the clean channel, you can go from Roland JC120 glassy cleans (and I mean GLASSY) to a cool classic crunch ala Angus Young-style crunch. With the boost on, you can get some smokin' bluesey leads happening. And unlike most amps, the clean channel has PLENTY of volume in comparison to the distortion channel. 

The distortion channel is unreal though. From a mild overdrive to full-on rip-your-face-off high gain sound, it just sounded amazing. The lows were very tight and focused. The mids and high were very touch sensitive (which I liked) & they just unleashed the beast within. When I kicked in the boost option, the gain went completely over the top & I had some SERIOUS lead tones happening. The Mid control it a push-pull post that switches the frequency center from 600Hz to 1KHz. I preferred to leave it in. When I pulled it out, it went from the darker Mesa-ish tone to a Marshall-esque tone (more harsher mids). I can see how this would be great from some, but it wasn't for me. Perhaps with more time to dial it in, I'll find a use for it. 

Again, the boost option is great. I thought the reverb was decent, but I'd prefer an actual spring tank vs. the digital one in the head. The cool thing is you have seperate reverb settings for each channel, as well as seperate volumes. The 4-button footswitch is great though. It really opens up a lot of diverse possibilities for live playing. You have buttons for Channel Selection (clean or distortion), Boost (to boost either channel), Mid Shift (to change the freq centers on the distortion channel), & Reverb (on and off). Another cool thing is the storage compartment in the back. It's perfectly fitted to store the footswitch and all your cables. And finally, this thing is fucking LOUD! Like, UNREAL LOUD! After I listened to this, I tried out a 550w Fender Metalhead. Dude, the 120w Ibanez head blew the Fender away. It's obvious that the Ibanez power is used way more efficiently. (Note: The Fender Metalhead sucks ass. Fucking generic at best.)

I didn't get to try the matching Ibanez 412 because they didn't have one. I'd love to hear this head through the Ibanez 412 though. The cab is 400w & CHAMBERED! Basically, it's like having 2 2x12 cabs in 1 4x12 box. I've heard that this thing produces very tight distortion tones. See the link below.

Overall, I'm very impressed with this head & I'm getting one asap. 

Here's a review where Guitar Player magazine gave this amp the Editor's Pick Award.
http://www.guitarplayer.com/archive/0204/0204_BenchTests3.htm


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## theunforgiven246 (Jul 14, 2005)

wow i thought the thing would suck ass! i guess i'm wrong. i would like to try this out now! but i cant leave my precious tubes!


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## Shannon (Jul 14, 2005)

theunforgiven246 said:


> but i cant leave my precious tubes!



I sure as hell can!  

Anyone wanna buy my Mesa 2:100 power amp? Only 5 months old.


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## Richardscuro (Jul 14, 2005)

How much do you want for it?


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## Shannon (Jul 14, 2005)

Richardscuro said:


> How much do you want for it?



PM me an offer.


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## jtm45 (Jul 14, 2005)

That's very interesting!

I've often wondered what these were like but never had the chance to try one. 
Even over here you can buy them quite cheaply so i may have to investigate further. There were a few places selling the head and the two 4x12's as a package for around £500,which isn't that cheap when you exchange it to $ but it is for a UK price.

Would you say it comes anywhere near the sound quality of your current set-up Shannon ?

What guitar/pickups did you try it with ?


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## Shannon (Jul 14, 2005)

jtm45 said:


> Would you say it comes anywhere near the sound quality of your current set-up Shannon ?
> 
> What guitar/pickups did you try it with ?



The sound quality is really close, not exactly though....but, I'm not looking for something to sound exactly like my current rig. The TB100H sounds great by itself, but I'd like to hear it with a BBE in the FX loop & played through the matching Ibanez cab. I'm sure I'll be doing this in no time >>>  

I brought my guitar with me...an ESP SC-607 with EMG707s.


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## eleven59 (Jul 14, 2005)

VforVendetta00 said:


> Line 6 FOR LYFE!!!!! *runs for cover


I'm with you man! With my Flextone II HD and Behringer 4x12 I've got the tone I've always wanted, and POWER! And totally versatile. The beauty of it comes out in the clean and semi-distorted tones, and the brutality of it comes out in the heavy distorted tones. Can't wait to get this thing in the studio. (still use the Flextone II combo at home for recording, and I love it too)


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## nyck (Jul 15, 2005)

I have a question for you. I've noticed when I play high gain stuff on some amps, and do lots of palm mutes on the B and E, it sounds slightly fizzled. Like it doesn't have any ball behind it's bass. Was the TB fizzly at all? Were the low notes clear?


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## Toshiro (Jul 15, 2005)

Cool, always wondered how those were... Ibanez dealer here sucks, he's rather have 100000000000 crappy little fender amps than a variety of brands.

I'm firmly in the solid state camp as of lately, tubes are just not my deal anymore.


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## Mind Riot (Jul 15, 2005)

Solid state isn't what it used to be, there's some really nice SS amps out there nowadays. 

I'm a home recordist with my PODxt myself, but I wouldn't hesitate to pick up an Ibanez head and cab if I liked it. I hear really good things about Randall, too, plus John Connelly from Sevendust uses Randall heads and Sevendust has some of the most awesome guitar tones I've ever heard. \m/\m/


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## Drew (Jul 15, 2005)

Cool. It sounds like it's a very "modern" sounding amp, which really isn't my thing, but really is yours.  Now if only you weren't on the f'in west coast, so I could see this thing in action live.


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## Shannon (Jul 15, 2005)

nyck said:


> I have a question for you. I've noticed when I play high gain stuff on some amps, and do lots of palm mutes on the B and E, it sounds slightly fizzled. Like it doesn't have any ball behind it's bass. Was the TB fizzly at all? Were the low notes clear?



^ If this were the case on the Ibanez, I wouldn't even be considering the amp. 2 of my main concerns is a tight, focused low end and the utmost clarity. It's delivered.


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## darren (Jul 15, 2005)

For someone who has tried as much gear as you, Shannon, your praise of this amp's tone carries a lot of weight. I had my doubts about Ibanez making amps, but it sounds like they nailed it on this one. How does the clean/crunch channel respond to turning down the volume on the guitar? Does it clean up well?

I think the combo version looks really interesting, too. It's a _closed-back_ 2x12, and they make a 2x12 extension cab as well, for a mini-stack kinda deal. This setup would be great for those of us who play smaller clubs or have smaller houses and cars. Take the combo with you for smaller gigs, and bring along the extension cab when you need to push more air.


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## Drache713 (Jul 15, 2005)

wow, I saw the ad for this thing and just dismissed it, but I just might have to go check it out now, especially considering shannon has such words of praise for it. And if it's as good as it sounds, it'd be a steal for the price!


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## Dylan7620 (Jul 15, 2005)

Drew said:


> Cool. It sounds like it's a very "modern" sounding amp, which really isn't my thing, but really is yours.  Now if only you weren't on the f'in west coast, so I could see this thing in action live.


HA! a mere hour away from me! (if i'm doin about 80 on I-5) now i def. gotta check out an end theory show. 
shannon, what place did u pick it up, all the places i go to dont carry ibanez amps.


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## butch (Jul 20, 2005)

Shannon,
I'm glad you liked the amp. It makes me feel pretty good. (For those who don't know, I worked at Hoshino/Ibanez for a few years). My biggest project while I was there was to be involved with the design and development of the ToneBlaster head and cab. We were extremely pleased with how it turned out, as it met more than 90% of our goals. Unfortunately, I never got one of the heads, as my employment with them ended before the amp went to market (I did end up getting one of the cabs a year ago).

With the success of the smaller combo amps, it only made sense for Ibanez to move into the stack market. The TB100 was/is the first of that line (when I was there, there was talk of a tube amp in the future, as well as a hybrid tube/solid state amp). We spent the better part of a year developing that amp. We played everything from Les Pauls and Strats to Jems, RGs, and UVs through the amp to help us dial in the target tone of the amp. This way, you didn't have to match up an Ibanez guitar with the amp to get a good tone.

The target tone we shot for was something along the lines of, "What if Mesa made something solid state?", and "How could we steal the business from Crate-(the biggest solid state competitor)". Lofty goals, surely, but ones I think we got pretty close to. One of the keys to that is the way the EQ section of the amp responds. You are able to boost and cut frequencies with different response than most other solid state amps. Unfortunately, many salespeople don't know this, and just dial in the EQ as they would any other amp. When you try this amp, ask to see the manual. There are sample settings from the factoey that will help you dial in a great bunch of sounds.

By the way, Dino's TB100s are 100% out-of-the-box stock...

Cheers,
Butch


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## Metal Ken (Jul 20, 2005)

I had a TB100H, they're great. i only sold it cause i couldnt fit it in my car. I must say, i am more than pleased w/ my replacement, a crate VTX120


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## rgplayer (Jul 20, 2005)

I have the Ibanez head and cab and i changed the speakers to celestion 75's and this made a huge difference, i think the ibz speakers suck.I also added the bbe and it is a great sounding amp.


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## eleven59 (Jul 20, 2005)

I would have thought Randall was the biggest solid state competitor rather than Crate...

Are we talking about a certain price-range maybe?


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## Toshiro (Jul 20, 2005)

eleven59 said:


> I would have thought Randall was the biggest solid state competitor rather than Crate...
> 
> Are we talking about a certain price-range maybe?



Looking at units sold Crate's still #1, even if they aren't considered high on the tone list.


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## Donnie (Jul 20, 2005)

I wouldn't mind trying out one of those Crate VTX350H heads. I tried the VTX200S combo and it sounded great.


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## Metal Ken (Jul 21, 2005)

Toshiro said:


> Looking at units sold Crate's still #1, even if they aren't considered high on the tone list.



I used to passionately hate crate amps till they came out w/ the VTX. Apparently, since St. Louis Music owns both Ampeg & Crate, they knew that since ampeg didnt have any guitar expereince, no one would buy ampeg guitar amps, so they had some of the designers work under the crate names, hence the VTX's ass kickery. Thats just what ive HEARD though


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## Toshiro (Jul 21, 2005)

HateBreeder said:


> I used to passionately hate crate amps till they came out w/ the VTX. Apparently, since St. Louis Music owns both Ampeg & Crate, they knew that since ampeg didnt have any guitar expereince, no one would buy ampeg guitar amps, so they had some of the designers work under the crate names, hence the VTX's ass kickery. Thats just what ive HEARD though




I dunno, our old Crate rep loved to blow smoke up our butts. Not saying Crate's sound bad or anything.  Just that I think they're the 'company to beat' because the have high sales numbers for SS amps, most of which are one 12" or smaller combos I would imagine.

Ampeg had Lee Jackson for a number of years for the VL-series, they "loaned" him to Crate for the Stealth amps. While the Stealth isn't bad, the VLs blow it away and still pull decent money used (twice what the stealth does).

I've had a BV120 and a Stealth 50 watt, and I'd actually prefer Crate's SS gear to their tube amps, at leats the one's I've had. Just not their digital modelling amp *shudder*.


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## Dylan7620 (Jul 21, 2005)

are the VTX the new ones with the delay and such on them.... i thought those sound pretty damn cool


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## NegaTiveXero (Jul 21, 2005)

Damn, now I'm regretting not getting one for my birthday last year and getting a Crate GT212. Still, the Crate is a good amp. I never got to try out the Toneblaster series, but Crate was readily available to me. I might try to track one down soon.


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## jski7 (Jul 22, 2005)

Anyone interested in the TB100 might be well served to wait until AFTER NAMM to purchase one ....
Something wicked this way comes - or so I've heard .


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## jtm45 (Jul 22, 2005)

jski7 said:


> Anyone interested in the TB100 might be well served to wait until AFTER NAMM to purchase one ....
> Something wicked this way comes - or so I've heard .



Any more details on that Jski7 ?


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## NiMH (Jul 22, 2005)

Shannon said:


> Anyone?



The tonebalster head is great, if you have alternate distortion. The amp distortion on the TB100 is a little thin for my tastes, but otherwise it's a badass amp.


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## jski7 (Jul 22, 2005)

jtm45 said:


> Any more details on that Jski7 ?


Ummm , it's gonna be a big deal , that's for sure  . I really don't want to go into details , because I gave my word . Put it this way : HateBreeder and I spoke to an Ibanez rep at JemFest , and we were told that something VERY COOL is on it's way from the Ibanez camp . Just remember - you heard it here first  . It'll be worth the wait (from what I know thus far) .


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## Robotechnology (Jul 22, 2005)

Rumor has it, Ibanez has a tube amp coming... I think that what's coming!


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## Drew (Jul 22, 2005)

butch said:


> With the success of the smaller combo amps, it only made sense for Ibanez to move into the stack market. The TB100 was/is the first of that line (when I was there, there was talk of a tube amp in the future, as well as a hybrid tube/solid state amp).



Looks promising.


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## theunforgiven246 (Jul 22, 2005)

indeed


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## Dylan7620 (Jul 23, 2005)

butch said:


> Originally Posted by butch
> there was talk of a tube amp in the future, as well as a hybrid tube/solid state amp).


any chance of this hybrid having the tube(s) in the power amp instead of the pre? or are there any amps at all like that?


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## Metal Ken (Jul 24, 2005)

Cant wait for the ibanez tube amp \m/ 
We heard about it before namm at jemfest, but apparently, its official \m/


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## Donnie (Jul 24, 2005)

http://www.ibanez.com/accessories/spec.asp?m=109&z=y

Pretty cool looking


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## NegaTiveXero (Jul 24, 2005)

http://www.ibanez.com/accessories/spec.asp?m=106

120 watts tube.


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## No Soul (Jul 24, 2005)

Dylan7620 said:


> any chance of this hybrid having the tube(s) in the power amp instead of the pre? or are there any amps at all like that?



technicaly, atomic amps are like that.

Truth of the matter is that most hybrid amps are a joke, they just toss one 12AX7 in the front end so they can claim its half tube. Big deal. For the most part its a marketing ploy for folks who dont know any better.


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## jtm45 (Jul 24, 2005)

Dylan7620 said:


> any chance of this hybrid having the tube(s) in the power amp instead of the pre? or are there any amps at all like that?



That would be cool but it appears to be a full tube amp.

I just got a Pod XT and i've been running it in front of my 2204 singl-channel Marshall with the Marshall set to a clean/neutral setting and it sounds amazing.

It really tightens the sound up and gives me much more definition and edge with my 7 strings.
It's quite easy to get a good Dino type sound from this set-up.


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## Bastard Toadflax (Jul 24, 2005)

butch said:


> The target tone we shot for was something along the lines of, "What if Mesa made something solid state?",


Do you know what the target tone of the tube amp is?


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## NiMH (Jul 24, 2005)

Bastard Toadflax said:


> Do you know what the target tone of the tube amp is?



[sarcasm]I'd think it would be that of a tube amp, but I'm still not sure...[/sarcasm]


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## VforVendetta00 (Jul 24, 2005)

i just tried that TB100 head and man does it suck balls. i don't know what u people like about it.


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## Metal Ken (Jul 24, 2005)

Donnie said:


> http://www.ibanez.com/accessories/spec.asp?m=109&z=y
> 
> Pretty cool looking




those are just special edition tone blasters. the Thermions are the Tube ones.


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## Shannon (Jul 30, 2005)

GETTING BACK ON TOPIC....

Well, I'm finally doing it. I'm purchasing the Ibanez TB100H today. When I tried it out in the store a few weeks back, I loved it. I tried out a bunch of other SS heads recently & none of them made the cut. The only amp I wish I could've tried was the Randall V-Max, but no one has them. Overall, the TB100H is the best SS heads I've come across. It's an amazing value.  

Look for an upcoming review once I've tried it out with my band.


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## dpm (May 19, 2006)

Shannon said:


> Line 6 - Ewww. None of their stuff has impressed me enough to even consider buying it.


 
 Ahh, that made me smile 

Thread res-erection time. I think there was one or two mentions here of the people having tried the Toneblaster cabs. Is there any more feedback to be had on them?


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## Donnie (May 19, 2006)




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## Shannon (May 20, 2006)

dpm said:


> Ahh, that made me smile



 Ok, so I like the XT Live & Vetta head.


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## Ibanez_fanboy (May 20, 2006)

your crazyyyy. i would never buy an ibanez amp. or a line 6 amp for that matter.


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## dpm (May 20, 2006)

coming from a guy with a Fender amp 

my point being that it really doesn't matter what the name on the front says. Does it sound right?


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## Shannon (May 20, 2006)

^ yep.


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## David (May 20, 2006)

dpm said:


> coming from a guy with a Fender amp
> 
> my point being that it really doesn't matter what the name on the front says. Does it sound right?


+1


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## Ibanez_fanboy (May 20, 2006)

dpm said:


> coming from a guy with a Fender amp
> 
> my point being that it really doesn't matter what the name on the front says. Does it sound right?



thanks for that Dan. but I like my tone atm. and prices aside, I'd go with my 'crap' fender frontman over any of the line 6 amps, even if i love their other products.


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## metalfiend666 (May 20, 2006)

dpm said:


> Ahh, that made me smile
> 
> Thread res-erection time. I think there was one or two mentions here of the people having tried the Toneblaster cabs. Is there any more feedback to be had on them?


 
They're Ok. Not the greatest cabs in the world, but they're damn cheap and work well for the money. My Marshall 1936's I've just picked up are a hell of a lot better, but they cost almost as much as the Tone Blaster full stack.

I had the angled cab in my room for practice and the base cab stayed downstairs for band practice and gigs. It stood up to nearly 2.5 years of high volume abuse before crapping out. It sounds like one of the speakers has blown, but I'm not 100% sure and really can't be arsed to find out.

If you want something cheap and useable, go with the TB cabs. If you want a higher class of tone, get a Marshall or a Mesa.


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## darren (May 20, 2006)

Or maybe consider the Behringer cabs if you're looking for cheap-but-good.


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## EdgeCrusher (May 26, 2006)

I have a TB412 cab and really like it. First off, it was cheap. $200 shipped of Ebay. It sounds pretty good too, really deep and powerful bass that stays pretty tight, nice punchy mids, and plenty of searing highs. The speakers are definatley not the best but they do not suck like the Valveking speakers or my Crate speakers. I plan on changing out the speaker eventually, but im not in a hurry. 

I compared this cab with my roomates Mesa and the Ibanez held up much better than I thought it would. The Mesa has even more bass (ridiculously bassy) and sounds a bit clearer. The Ibanez was just a bit harsher and sounded like it had a bit more speaker breakup. The last show we played I used my roomates Mesa Mark IV head into my TB412 instead of the Mesa cab because the Ibanez was a little smaller and easier to move and the sound difference was neglible. It sounded great. I have a video of the show I might post up if I get around to figuring how to do it.

I typed in T B 412 and it changed it to Tbefore12. Weird.


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## Cancer (May 26, 2006)

VforVendetta00 said:


> Line 6 FOR LYFE!!!!! *runs for cover




wOrd...yo...


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## 1longhorn (Jun 26, 2006)

hey shannon...you still playing that tb100h?...
if so, what's your latest take?...what cab are you pushin'?...


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## Scott (Jun 26, 2006)

Hah. After this long, i'd be surprised if Shannon had ANY of the same gear.


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## Shannon (Jun 27, 2006)

No, it's long gone. Although a killer head, I still wasn't ready to give up my rack rig for it. Now that I have a bit more expendable cash then I did at that time, I wouldn't mind picking another one up just for kicks.


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## 1longhorn (Jun 27, 2006)

understood...
but would you advise to get a half-stack?...play with it?...
right now i'm sans amplification...it's friggin' killing me...
guide me o' wise one....


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## Chris (Jun 27, 2006)

Get a 2101.


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## Rick (Jun 27, 2006)

I didn't think it was too bad. This, of course, coming from a diehard Line 6 user.


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