Marshall VBA400 All-Tube Bass Amplifier Head (400 Watts)

The Marshall name, together with our famous scripted logo, has always been synonymous with world-class, valve driven tone. In keeping with this tradition, the 400 Watt, all-valve VBA400 bass head is being hailed by players and press alike as another true classic.

Designed with the serious bass player in mind and drawing from Marshall's many years of valve, 'tone crafting' experience, the VBA400 boasts a staggering 8x 6550 power valves, plus 3x ECC83 and 1x ECC82 preamp valves.

One of the main things that makes this amp special is the sheer vastness of pure valve power on tap from the 12 valves it houses. Consequently, Marshall didn't want to dilute any of this natural purity by incorporating unnecessary features and controls. For this very reason, only the essential front panel controls have been included.

This said, the VBA400's 3-band passive EQ network for Bass, Middle and Treble has been designed so that it offers you all the tonal adjustment you'll need. Furthermore, this tone network can be totally changed by means of the 3 position Contour switch which reconfigures the mid range as follows:
Contour Position 1 - drops the low mids and creates a rounder, fuller fat bottom end.
Contour Position 2 - boosts the midrange, giving greater edge and aggression to your sound.
Contour Position 3 - moves the mid range higher than you would normally expect on a bass amplifier. This adds an aggressive twang while leaving the essential body of your tone intact, making it ideal for… read more percussive styles such as slap bass.

Further tone control is provided by Deep and Bright switches. Engaging the Deep switch increases low-end thud without losing definition while the Bright option adds extra high-end brilliance and bite to your sound.

Other essential features include Active and Passive inputs, an XLR DI output, complete with switches for Earth (ground) Lift and pre / post EQ selection, a Series FX loop and a High / Low Fan Speed switch to ensure the valves are kept at a safe operating temperature.

Another very practical 'bassist friendly' addition is a Tuner Mute facility which, when activated, mutes the signal to both the loudspeakers and the DI Output, enabling the user to tune 'silently' in the live situation - providing a tuner is hooked up, of course! read less