Laney RBG400

Its' an all-valve Bass amp: 165W of power, two inputs (passive/active), gain knob, compression switch (on/off) with two switchable pre-shapes (hi,lo, both or none), 6 Band EQ + treble & Bass knobs and of course the volume knob. It also includes a rather handy DI output and an effects loop. It DOESN'T have any switchable channels, nor anything resembling effects or suchlike (other than the Compression), however it does at least provide for the basic requirements you'd expect on a bass amp. One "feature" thats quite good in terms of robustness is the fact that its covered in a thick carpetted material, so it looks quite furry and funky - but this helps to keep the thing looking in good shape.

I use two principal Basses with this amp: an Epiphone EB-3 with 1 sidewinder humbucker at the neck ( very boomy, almost double bass like tone) and a mini-humbucker at the bridge ( bright, twangy tone when clean - similar to active bass pickup sound) and a Precision copy. I tend to play a lot of 60's style blues-rock, however I do also play funk and slap bass.

At gigging volumes, this amp is certainly more suited to playing rock and heavier music. Its got solid bass and mid tones, but suffers a little from a slight lacking in the treble end. This can be compensated for by making use of a combination of the preshapes and the EQ, but I think it could definitely do with having a small horn or tweeter to reinforce the high ends, particularly if you want that P-funk or disco bass sound.

At bedroom volumes the amp performs really well suprisingly ( given how powerful it is), you get a nice clean tone out of it. Word of warning though, being a pure valve bass amp it WILL begin to overdrive at gain levels above about 5 or 6. This is fine for me, as I like that overdriven tone players like Jack Bruce and Noel Redding got from their huge stacks, however if you are a clean bass purist, you'll probably find it infuritating.

The compression effect is next to useless too: it clips far too agressively, meaning that you get an audible "blip" everytime it engages. You'd be better off using a pedal or rack compression in this case. Despite this, the uncompressed tone you get from the amp is very useable and fairly flexible.

I've gigged with this amp without backup a few times and its been fine. I've owned it for about 2 years and I've never had a problem with it. Its' built like a tank and feels very solid ( incidentally its really heavy too).

This is the first and only bass amp I've owned, however I've played quite a few at various rehearsal and recording studios + shops and I think it stands up fairly well compared to more expensive amps and proper stacks. It's fairly cheap too and hence has been good value for money. Its basic nature is both an asset and its main flaw - it fulfils the basic obligations a bass amp is required to do and not much more - hence it can be a bit limiting, plus the problems with the compressor. For the money, particularly given that it is all valve, its a very solid,loud amp and you can't ask for much more than that.

It's a 165 watt bass combo with a 15" speaker. It's got 6-band graphic eq, 2 inputs (active/passive), onboard compressor (without a single knob, just a button), 2 eq. preshapes (buttons...), bass knob, treble knob, gain and volume knobs. Also a fx-loop, speaker output and a DI output (directly to mixer) which I find very useful (no D.I.box and stuff needed). I use it mostly for rock/metal playing and I must admit that this amp can handle it very well - the sound is stron and punchy. Literally earthshaking. Turning the knobs a little can get you some smooth tones, however you rather want some compression for it. By the way - the onboard compressor really sucks. It's always late, it doesn't really affect the sound, it doesn't even prevent the speaker from distortion when the signal is really strong. If you want your sound compressed, just get yourself some stompbox stuff or sth.
I would like to have headphone output as well as tuner output... It would be cool to be able to connect 4 ohm cabinets to it (8+ ohms required).
The worst feature is the handle fitted on the top of the amp. It lacks handles on the sides. Considering its size and weight, it's necessary to install the extra handles by yourself.

It's got pretty much power, however it seems to be designed for rock playing. However it works pretty well with my fretless too. Slap playing could sound better if the amp had horn isnstalled (or with an extra 4x10 cabinet). Nevertheless, it's much better than for instance the HardCore Laney bass amps. REALLY MUCH BETTER. Practically, the RBG400 and 500 are the only Laney combos that sound decently. For rock/metal playing I find it much better then Warwick CL, H&K BassForce XL and similar.

I had some problems with distortion of the speaker. It has a -20 dB active input, (I use active basses only) still the sound would distort if the signal was too strong. Strangely, the sound did not distort when I connected the same guitars into passive input. I had it repaired then - no malfunction was found, but the amp stopped distorting... Since then everything is okay.

1 year warranty, I had quickly repaired. The good thing was, that I got it delivered home both at the purchase and for the repair. I've never dealt with Laney directly, though.

It's a good amp. Played a few gigs with it and I guess I'm satisfied. I don't think I'd get the same one if I got it stolen. I'd rather pay some more to get Peavey TNT or Yamaha BassStage 150.