Here's my backline history:
VOX 100 (borrowed) >> Marshall Bass-State 250w + 1x15 cab (yuck!) >> Peavey Mk2 400 + Black Widow 1x15 cab >> Trace Elliott AH500 + 2x10 cab >> Hartke Transient 3500 + Transporter 4x10 cab >> Hartke Transient 7000 + 2 4x10XL cabs >> Warwick 2 Quad VI + 4 Pro 4x11 cabs
My favorite rig(s) was the Hartke. You can get so many different tones out of those amps and very clean and punchy, but the cooling fans in the amps are quite noisey...they drove me insane when I used them in the studio. The aluminium drivers in the cabs look really cool, especially from the stage! Not the loudest amps in the world, but great value for money.
I have had a handful of combos to practice at home with, but the one I have now is a Warwick CCL. Best practice combo I have ever bought...even has wheels and a retractable handle to pull it along...like what you get on suitcases!
I am too looking to change my backline. The main contenders for me at the moment are EBS, David Eden, Euphonic Audio, Glockenlang or Genz Benz. I like them all for different reasons, but the EBS is ahead by a nose at the moment. It does help that I am friendly with the UK distributor
. Whatever I will choose next for my backline will be a much conservative affair compared to my monstrous Warwick rig. I will probably use a 300-400w RMS head with a powerful 2x10 cab...that's all I need these days.
Ampegs are cool. They definitely hold a lot of grunt and power and if that's what you are looking for then I would go for it. The SVT Pro4 amps are my favorite and I have recorded with my friends SVT Pro4 amp in his studio on a couple of occasions and you can really punish it. However, I do think that Ampegs are over priced, weight is ridiculous and the power amps overheat very easily, so if you buy one be kind with the time that you use it and don't put anything combustible near it! You could fry an egg on the chassis after 2hrs! Despite that, they are reliable as a German Panzer tank! They are popular with touring musicians because they can take quite a hefty knock and keep on smiling, so they are very good work horses. SWR, Aguilar, Hughes & Kettner, Gallien Krueger and Mesa are good alternatives if you want an aggressive tone.
